"You two go to the entrance. ANBU, take them there," Shisui said, sending away the children first. He then turned to the ninja present there.
"Even if they are our enemies, they have fought alongside us, they have helped us by saving the lives of our allies. As a return to that favor, let's give them a painless death," Shisui said, providing the best solution he could give, getting a nod from everyone present there.
Everyone present there knew that this was the final outcome designated to happen today. Even though these ninja fought alongside them, it was not because of their own free will but their commander's genjutsu. There is no way they will be the same after the effect of genjutsu wears off.
So following Shisui's advice was the best possible thing they could do as thanks for their service.
Getting the approval from the team, Shisui went inside the room where 13 ninja were sitting all around - only 13 from the initial number of 24. This just showed why everyone was rather reluctant to kill them; even though these guys were just chunin and elite chunin level, they did their best during the attack, even lost their lives fighting. Alas, all of that was the effect of genjutsu.
The ninja sitting in the room also had uncertain expressions on their faces, like they couldn't form any more thoughts after what they did in the outpost. Some of them, which Shisui could tell were very well elite chunin level ninja, were even more doubtful. Their brains had already started to mend themselves due to the high amount of chakra they used during the mission.
This would be detrimental in just an hour at most, as when they get out of genjutsu, they will become the most unexpected variable on the field.
With a final push of his thoughts to the back of his mind, Shisui entered the room.
"Commander," one of the Iwa ninja said and stood up, followed by everyone present there. Shisui nodded his head, greeting everyone back, though he didn't waste any more time to thank them or anything. There was no need to make things difficult for them. His eyes once again glowed red, three tomoe rotating in them. Normally any of the Iwa ninja would either turn their head or close their eyes in front of them, but those ninja had nothing to fear against those eyes, as they were one of the greatest assets of their village - though they should have feared them.
As the next second, all of them fell to the ground, all unconscious. Shisui then looked back and nodded his head. The team standing outside entered the room, and Shisui took his leave, waiting outside for a minute before they also came out of the room, each holding a bloody kunai.
All 13 of Iwa ninja died in their sleep, though they didn't feel any pain or betrayal in their last seconds of life like their comrades did.
Phooooo Releasing a tired sigh, Shisui turned to Yuuto.
"Report."
"Sir, the mission was successful. Not a single Iwa ninja was able to run away, though we have fallen for a suicide attack of an elite jonin and 4 jonin... Four of our ninja are heavily injured and one is..." Yuuto completed his report, short and detailed, like the one required in the battlefield.
"Even with all that preparation, we still lost one jonin, huh!" Shisui said, looking toward his team present there. None of the ninja present there said anything - they couldn't, as the ninja in front of them alone did more than half of the work on the mission and they messed up such a small task. What could they say?
But Shisui was not taunting them or anything; he was just genuinely considering the randomness of the battlefield. No amount of preparation or strength could guarantee anything here.
"How are the injured?" Shisui asked.
"They are out of danger for now, sir, but need immediate medical attention. Otherwise, they may lose their career; the damage was too much for the medical ninja to cure here," Yuuto said, a little urgency in his voice.
"Then what are we doing here? Let's go back," Shisui said, and all of the team started moving out of the outpost.
Just as soon as they left the outpost, the five ninja outside the base were ready, their hands moving in rapid motion forming one seal after another. All of them using hand seals for a single jutsu - Earth Release: Earth-Style Rampart.
A B-rank jutsu capable of forming a 30-meter tall mountain alone by a single user. When five ninja did it from all sides of the outpost, the outpost got buried under a mountain wider than any present in the area.
But that was not it - the Konoha ninja who just came out of the base did the same thing themselves, not increasing the size of the mountain but just the width.
In just a few minutes, there was the widest mountain in the area in the place which once had the fortified outpost of Iwa. There were many reasons why they did this, aside from just confusing Iwagakure about what happened there, though they will come forward with time.
After creating a new mountain, the team fell back to their temporary base, with all thirty ninja present there.
"So we lost one even with all that," Renjiro asked the same question Shisui had asked.
"Yeah, the battlefield is truly unpredictable, Renjiro-sama. No amount of preparation guarantees full security," Shisui said.
"True. Now let's discuss about the elephant in the room. I thought Shikaku said about no prisoners, then what are these two doing here, Shisui?" Renjiro asked.
"These two are just some orphans, here because of some politics. Hardworking kids, reached this level on their own, wanted to help poor people like them when they became better medical ninjas. In short, these are good people and don't have to die here. Though I will let Lord Third decide what to do after we reach the village, but till then they are under my protection," Shisui said.
"Don't worry, I was not trying to do anything, hahaha," Renjiro said with a small chuckle, looking toward the two medical ninja in the corner who were shivering like two sheep present in the cave of wolves. The occasional glances from the ninjas toward them didn't help either.
"Then let's return. They need urgent medical treatment; I don't want to lose anyone else on the mission," Shisui said.
"I agree, one loss is already far too much," Renjiro said, though whether it was meant to be a joke or truth couldn't be determined. On one side, loss of a jonin was really too much, but considering the situation they were in, this loss was nothing but inconsequential for Konoha.
Though no one asked any questions and prepared to leave. The injured ninja were carried by a team of jonins, while the rest of them split up to return to the village. Unlike Iwa and Kumo's attempt, they had more than enough time to even erase all of their traces.
All those who were going toward Konoha, though there were some paths still hidden, could be found with enough effort - the trail which went toward a village who was about to face a similar situation.