"Lady Tsunade?" Shizune knocked on the Hokage's office door, but there was no response from within.
"Lady Tsunade? Lady Tsunade, are you in there?" Shizune felt a growing sense of urgency. She had an extremely pressing matter that required the Hokage's decision.
After waiting for what felt like an eternity with no reply, Shizune paradoxically calmed down. At the same time, she realized the surrounding silence was almost terrifying.
Knowing Tsunade, even if she had finished for the day, she would often stay late in the office. And with Shizune knocking like this, if there was no response from inside, ANBU should have appeared by now as per standard procedure.
Yet, there wasn't a single stir. Frowning, a sudden possibility struck Shizune. Without further hesitation, she threw caution to the wind and slammed open the doors to the Hokage's office.
Stepping inside, Shizune stared, dumbfounded at the wide-open glass window.
She walked closer and saw a note left on the desk. Shizune picked it up. It read: "Shizune, protect the village."
Just that one sentence. Shizune stood frozen for a moment, then gazed out the window. After a long while, she sighed and stepped forward to close the window properly.
Although Shizune didn't know where Tsunade had gone, she knew tonight was the night the encirclement operation was set to depart...
After Shikamaru and the others gathered at the Hokage Rock, Kiba led them to a secret passage he and Akamaru usually used to sneak out of the village.
Shikamaru did a headcount – exactly ten people. He once again emphasized to everyone, "Without my command, do not engage rashly. Unless you encounter danger, we..."
"Alright, alright, we know! Let's get going," Ino interrupted, slapping Shikamaru on the shoulder with a pah.
"Ahem." Shikamaru shot Ino a look, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "In short, everyone be careful."
Truthfully, while Shikamaru was somewhat worried, he also understood the situation clearly. Among the ten of them, aside from Tenten and Lee, everyone else came from prominent clans. As long as they didn't do anything too outrageous, there would likely be room for maneuver.
So, he wasn't overly concerned about them leaving the village without authorization. His main worry was them acting rashly, causing the situation to spiral out of control. That was why he kept stressing not to engage recklessly.
"Lady Hinata, I believe it would be best if you didn't participate in this mission," Neji suddenly said to Hinata. "You are the eldest daughter of the main family. If something unexpected happens, it will be difficult for me to look out for you."
"I... I..." Hearing Neji's words, Hinata's expression turned somewhat sorrowful and hesitant.
"Tch, what's that supposed to mean?!" Kiba stepped between them, looking at Neji with dissatisfaction. "If there's danger, Shino and I will protect her! We're a team! Besides, Hinata is strong too, right, Shino?"
Shino silently nodded, indicating his agreement with Kiba.
Neji looked at the three of them without a word. It wasn't that Neji had any particular issue with Hinata now; rather, he was genuinely worried she might encounter danger. The personnel lineup for this encirclement operation, based solely on the intelligence Sasuke had provided, already made him feel immense pressure, let alone any members Sasuke wasn't aware of.
Neji didn't care what happened to the others, but he was determined to stop this encirclement. When that time came, the ANBU would inevitably treat their group as enemies as well. Hinata was the main family's eldest daughter; if something happened to her...
Thinking this, Neji shook his head, not wanting to dwell on it further. He would absolutely not admit he was worried about her safety. What did the Hyuga main family have to do with him?
"I hope you don't drag us down." Casting a sideways glance at Hinata, Neji turned and walked towards the secret passage.
"Hmph." Kiba rubbed his nose, looking at Neji's retreating back with indignation. "Hinata, Shino, let's go."
"Yes," Hinata replied weakly.
"Actually, he was genuinely worried about you just now," Karin whispered, quietly moving to Hinata's side. "I could feel it."
With that, she walked past Hinata and also headed towards the secret passage. Hinata, however, looked up at Karin's back in surprise, her gaze simultaneously growing resolute.
Shikamaru watched the team, already showing signs of internal conflict before they had even departed, and sighed with a sense of helplessness.
"Let's go, we should follow them," Shikamaru said to his two teammates.
Under the cover of darkness, the ten of them moved through the forest. Each person had their own reasons for joining this operation – perhaps for a comrade, perhaps out of admiration, perhaps to show off, perhaps due to bonds... but their ultimate goal was the same.
Not long after they had set out, Akamaru, who was perched on Kiba's head, suddenly began to bark frantically.
Everyone was startled and came to an abrupt halt.
"What's wrong, Akamaru?" Kiba asked nervously.
Before Akamaru could answer, Ino and Shino suddenly spoke in unison, "We're... surrounded."
The words had barely left their lips when, with several shua shua sounds, a number of ANBU members wearing masks appeared, encircling them.
"ANBU!" Shikamaru exclaimed in alarm. "Everyone, don't move!" He then looked at the ANBU and asked, "What is the meaning of this?"
"Did the Ninja Academy teach you to leave the village without authorization and without orders?" A somewhat familiar voice reached their ears.
A figure suddenly appeared before them. When everyone got a clear look, they couldn't help but let out hushed gasps. "The Fifth Hokage!"
"Hmph," Tsunade scoffed. "It seems the Third truly became senile in his old age, to have taught ninjas who disregard the rules like this."
"Lady Fifth Hokage." Beads of sweat formed on Shikamaru's forehead. He had thought their movements wouldn't be noticed, yet they had been caught red-handed just as they left the village.
"Return to the village immediately! I'll pretend I didn't see this. Otherwise, you'll be dealt with as rogue ninjas!" Tsunade reprimanded sharply.
A tense silence fell over the group. Neji gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and took a step forward. "I must go. The rest of you should go back."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed, glaring at Neji. Neji met the Fifth Hokage's gaze without backing down.
A moment later, Lee also stepped forward. "Giving up is not my nindō! I'll go with you, Neji!"
"Fools! Do you think I don't know what you're trying to do?" Tsunade roared. "All of you, get back! Or I'll drag you back myself!"
"I'm going too!" Although Karin was usually somewhat afraid of her master, Tsunade, for Sakura's sake, she also stepped forward.
"Karin!!" Only then did Tsunade notice Karin at the back of the group. "What are you doing here?! Get back immediately!!!"
Shikamaru stared at the Fifth Hokage, his mind racing. This isn't right. Lady Tsunade, as Hokage, can't just leave the village at will. Now she's not only left but also brought a considerable number of ANBU. It's illogical. Besides, up until now, she's only been scolding us, not making a move. This means she doesn't want to waste time, because if she did engage, she'd inevitably have to escort us back to the village. If she wasn't deliberately waiting for us here, it means they are also leaving the village.
Furthermore, according to Neji's intelligence about the encirclement operation, there was no mention of the Hokage participating. So...
"Lady Hokage!" Shikamaru spoke up. "We will not be returning."
Hearing this, Tsunade's aura flared intensely. She glared at Shikamaru. "Are you trying to betray the village?!"
"No, Lady Hokage," Shikamaru said. "Our objective for this mission is not what you might think. However, time is of the essence right now. Therefore, let's not waste any more of it. We are prepared to follow all of your commands, Lady Hokage, with the sole exception of returning to the village."
As he finished speaking, Shikamaru's heart pounded relentlessly. He didn't know if his deduction was correct. If he was wrong, today's operation was undoubtedly doomed to fail.
Hearing Shikamaru's words, Tsunade's imposing aura receded. She looked at him silently for a moment. Although neither of them explicitly stated what they were referring to, both understood perfectly.
Encountering them was both within and outside Tsunade's expectations. Ever since Neji had learned the truth from that previous mission, Tsunade had suspected that Sakura's peers might react to the village's decision.
Tsunade looked at them, then turned around. "Since that's the case," she said softly, "then keep up."
There was no more time to waste. Departing now, they would probably only arrive by tomorrow evening. Moreover, Tsunade was unfamiliar with that area. Once there, she would also have to avoid making contact with the ANBU team that had gone ahead. Otherwise, how things might develop was truly hard to say.
Shikamaru let out a sigh of relief. It seemed his deduction had been correct. Lady Hokage was also sneaking out of the village, and her objective was Sakura as well. With the Fifth Hokage joining them, the tension Shikamaru had been feeling finally eased a little.
Sakura Haruno closed her eyes, her entire body relaxed, seemingly completely unconcerned by the two Kiri ANBU launching a deadly assault from behind her.
The Kiri ANBU had initially been steeled with the resolve to kill. Yet, seeing Sakura in such a state, a flicker of doubt instantly arose in their minds.
Could this be a trap?
The thought simultaneously crossed both ANBU operatives' minds. However, their target was already within reach. Trap or not, they had to strike.
But, as the saying goes, it happened in a flash. Just as their ninja swords were about to descend upon the young woman, an alarm bell suddenly blared in the minds of the two ANBU. They immediately executed an explosive retreat.
Sakura, her eyes still closed, heard the whoosh whoosh of something cutting through the air beside her ears, followed by the sound of the two Kiri ANBU retreating behind her.
At the same time, a series of thwack thwack thwack sounds came from the ground. The path where the Kiri ANBU had just retreated was now densely packed with embedded kunai and shuriken.
"Who's there?!" the Kiri ANBU shouted, tensely looking in the direction from which the kunai had been thrown. It really was a trap!
Sakura, too, was curious. But beyond her curiosity lay an even deeper despair. This seemed to further confirm that she was trapped within the Infinite Tsukuyomi. She wanted to die, yet she couldn't, no matter what. There would always be some kind of "death-prevention patch."
Several figures gradually materialized in front of Sakura. They wore animal-like masks.
"Heh, more ANBU?" Sakura scoffed coldly.