Hiru and his two companions rushed towards the direction from which the explosive booming sounds had come, hurrying as fast as they could until they finally reached the location where the battle had just occurred.
What met their eyes was a scene that left the three of them utterly shocked.
The ground was littered with the corpses of Iwa-nin.
Much of the surrounding terrain had been altered beyond recognition by ninjutsu.
At the very center of the battlefield was a huge crater, and many Iwa-nin lay dead at the bottom of it, their deaths gruesome, their bodies so mangled it was impossible to tell who was who.
It was as if they had been crushed directly by some tremendous force.
Even Daisuke, who was usually quiet, asked a question with a shocked expression:
"Was all this... done by that one ninja from earlier?"
Hiru's expression was grave. At the edge of the crater, he spotted Egawa's body.
There was a large hole in his chest, and the blood had already begun to dry slightly.
His body was covered in various wounds, large and small, from what looked like blade slashes, and his eyes were wide open, as if he had been in a state of extreme shock just before he died.
On the periphery of the battlefield, the bodies of several Iwa-nin genin were scattered here and there.
They, too, had been killed by some unknown bladed weapon; some were even missing arms or legs.
Judging by some of the remaining wound marks, it looked like they had been caused by the claws of a fierce beast, but they were far sharper than any beast's claws.
The carnage all around showed just how fierce and dangerous this battle had been!
Hiru took a deep breath. Smelling the blood that hung in the air, he discovered something even more shocking.
There were only Iwa-nin corpses here; not a single body of the enemy!
This meant that this enemy squad, here with the Iwa-nin forces led by Egawa,
had engaged in an extremely intense battle.
In terms of numbers, Egawa's side had nearly a tenfold advantage.
Yet the result of the battle was that the Iwa-nin forces led by Egawa had been completely annihilated,
while this enemy squad hadn't left behind a single corpse!
A sharp glint appeared in Hiru's eyes as he spoke to Daisuke and Nakamura Takumi:
"No matter what, we must retrieve the village's belongings. Takumi, try to find their current location. Looking at the blood here, the battle probably ended not too long ago. They couldn't have gotten far! Prepare to pursue them!"
Nakamura Takumi nodded upon hearing this and began to perform the secret technique of Iwagakure, one specifically used to search for enemies and track their movements.
Nakamura Takumi's sensory abilities were considered quite good even among Iwa-nin jōnin, and by using the tracking secret techniques he had mastered, he could always pinpoint the enemy's trail in battle.
Hiru had initially chosen to bring Nakamura Takumi along just for the convenience of having such a ninja to help with directions while traveling.
He never imagined that Nakamura Takumi's abilities would actually prove so useful now!
"Furthermore, I believe that although this squad accomplished something like this, they must have paid a price for it. Otherwise, when Egawa and his men discovered them, there would have been no need for them to choose to flee."
"After two battles, their exhaustion must be even greater. They might even be seriously wounded! Even if they weren't killed, they're pretty much at the end of their rope."
Hiru shared his assessment with the other two.
Just then, Nakamura Takumi suddenly looked up, pointed in a specific direction, and said, "Found them! That way!"
With that,
Hiru and his two companions immediately set off, launching a rapid pursuit in the direction Ryoma's group had taken!
...
Meanwhile, Ryoma was leading the already completely limp and temporarily unconscious Chōza, moving towards the Land of Fire as quickly as possible.
Above, several Flying Corps soldiers from the Night Bat Corps were still scouting the surroundings.
Asuma's injured arm had been hastily bandaged, but it was clear he had lost his combat effectiveness for the time being.
Although Kurenai had no obvious external injuries, the continuous high-intensity fighting had made her already pale face look even more pallid.
She was clearly in a state of exhaustion.
In the end, it turned out that Ryoma was the only one in Squad Six who still had any combat ability left.
However, Ryoma's own reserves were also running low. From the very first battle until now, Ryoma had never stopped summoning the Shadow Corps.
Fighting, ambushing, scouting, erasing traces—the Shadow Corps had contributed to everything.
Hiru's judgment was correct. Although Squad Six had achieved remarkable results with the help of Chōza's secret pills,
the powerful side effects of the pills had caused Chōza to fall into a coma from which he had not yet awakened.
And currently, Squad Six's effective fighting strength amounted to, at most, one and a half people:
Ryoma counted as one, while Asuma and Kurenai together barely counted as half...
Just then, a Flying Corps soldier in the sky relayed some bad news back to Ryoma:
three ninjas were rapidly approaching their direction.
Ryoma cursed inwardly, "Damn! Did we steal the Tsuchikage's diary or something?!! Sending this many people to chase us down! Is there no end to this?!!"
Thinking this, he led Asuma and Kurenai in constantly changing the direction of their advance once again.
As soon as Asuma saw Ryoma change their retreat route again, he naturally guessed what was happening.
He couldn't help but ask Ryoma worriedly, "Ryoma, have more enemies caught up? How many are there?"
Ryoma nodded in response, "Three for now, but I don't know if more will show up later."
Asuma fell silent upon hearing Ryoma's answer.
He knew in his heart that their retreat was even slower now than before. It wasn't just because of the unconscious Chōga-sensei.
He himself was injured, Kurenai was exhausted—both of their speeds had dropped.
Once enemies gave chase, being caught was only a matter of time.
Looking at Ryoma, whose gaze was constantly searching around, Asuma made up his mind to do something for Squad Six.
But Ryoma seemed to see right through Asuma's thoughts. He said to him, "Hey, Asuma, I'm the squad leader now. All actions are under my command. No acting on your own. Come help, I've found a hidden cave!"
Asuma was taken aback, but could only silently move ahead and help Ryoma carry Chōza-sensei into the cave.
The four of them entered the cave. Ryoma looked at the panting Kurenai and the battered Asuma,
and said calmly, "You two hide here first. I'll lead the enemies away, then find a chance to escape and return to the Land of Fire from a different direction."
Asuma started to object to Ryoma's proposal, but Ryoma cut him off directly: "Enough, Asuma. I know what you want to say. In this situation, you going wouldn't help much!"
"The three ninjas chasing us are fast, and one of them probably has some special tracking secret technique. I can't shake them. If you and Kurenai went in your current state, you'd just be walking into their trap. It's better if I go alone; that way my speed won't be hindered by you two either."
Asuma lowered his head in pain, not wanting Ryoma to see the tears in his eyes, while Kurenai's tears had already spilled over.
Never in their lives had they craved power more than they did at this moment!
Seeing their state, Ryoma softened his tone and said, "Hey, it's not like I'm going to die. Why the long faces? I still have some trump cards left unused!"
Asuma felt Ryoma was just trying to comfort them. He stood up and said firmly to Ryoma, "I'm going with you!"
Kurenai also choked out, "Aren't we teammates? How can we let you go die alone?!"
Ryoma barked, "Shut up! Don't forget we have a mission. Asuma, I now formally appoint you as the new squad leader. After I leave, wait about an hour or two, then you take the unconscious Chōza-sensei and Kurenai, slip away quietly from here, and return to the Land of Fire!"
With that, he handed the mission scroll he was carrying to Asuma and continued, "This is the intelligence we need to bring back to the village for this mission. You're in charge of it now. Make sure it's safe, understand, Asuma!"
Asuma took the scroll blankly, gritted his teeth, nodded, and gave a sound of agreement.
Ryoma nodded with satisfaction, patted Asuma on the shoulder, and said casually, "Alright, Asuma, trust your big brother here. I really do have other trump cards. Also, remember, don't you dare set up any flags for me, like 'when we get back to the village, I'll do this or that' or anything. I'm a pretty superstitious guy."
Then he turned to look at Kurenai, "You too, Kurenai. Don't think just because you're a cute girl you can secretly set up flags for me. Careful, or I'll ignore Asuma and give you a good beating!"
Having said that, Ryoma waved his hand stylishly and popped a soldier pill into his mouth.
Without hesitation, he walked out of the cave.
Ryoma felt that, at this moment, he was pretty cool~
Asuma and Kurenai silently prayed in their hearts,
"Make sure you come back alive, Ryoma!"
...
Well, well, aren't they setting up a flag for him!
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