The moment Hoshishita Shu finished off his third opponent, he didn't slow down.
With a swift leap he yanked the ninja blade from the corpse and flashed forward again.
In the blink of an eye he appeared behind the Sky Ninja Tsunade was about to kill.
Thrust.
The blade pierced straight through the man's heart.
Tsunade froze for a moment, her fist still raised to strike.
Shu pulled the sword free.
"You three retreat first."
Before she could respond, he was already moving again—charging toward the group fighting Jiraiya.
Tsunade glanced down at the corpse.
Her expression shifted slightly.
Fast.
Too fast.
And brutal.
Every kill had been swift, vicious, and utterly decisive.
She quickly scanned the battlefield.
Despite their smaller numbers, the Konoha side had already seized the advantage.
She clenched her teeth.
Then instead of retreating as Shu suggested—
She rushed toward Orochimaru's position.
Tch.
She had never been the type to abandon her comrades and run.
Five minutes later, the battle was over.
Every Sky Ninja lay dead.
Tsunade knelt beside Jiraiya, treating his injuries.
Nearby, Orochimaru's golden eyes quietly followed Sarutobi Atsushi and the others as they moved through the battlefield.
They were checking every corpse.
Finishing off the wounded.
Only after watching them for a moment did Orochimaru shift his gaze toward Shu—the masked ANBU squad captain.
The scene from earlier lingered vividly in his mind.
Shu's fighting style had been unforgettable.
Simple.
Direct.
Violent.
Yet strangely… elegant.
Every kill carried a brutal sort of beauty.
Jiraiya noticed Orochimaru's gaze and winced while Tsunade treated him.
"That guy…"
He jerked his chin toward Shu.
"He's not one of the old man's direct ANBU, is he?"
The three of them were familiar with the Hokage's ANBU forces.
Not every member—but the general style.
Sarutobi Atsushi and the others were nothing unusual.
But Shu?
His combat style was completely different.
Almost like a machine built purely for killing.
Orochimaru looked away calmly.
"He's probably one of Danzo's men."
Jiraiya thought about it for a moment.
Then nodded.
"Yeah… that definitely fits his style."
"But somehow even crazier."
"Shut up!"
Tsunade's fist dropped instantly.
BAM.
Jiraiya clutched his head and howled as stars exploded in his vision.
Orochimaru watched the familiar scene without reaction.
Then his gaze drifted again toward Atsushi and the others.
"How cautious."
They were systematically finishing off every body.
Orochimaru had never seen anything quite like it.
"Captain. No survivors."
After confirming every corpse, Sarutobi Atsushi reported to Shu.
Shu nodded.
Then he walked over to Tsunade's group.
"How long until you can move?"
Tsunade didn't look up from her work.
"Five minutes."
Shu nodded again.
"When you're done, withdraw immediately toward the Fire Country border."
"We'll stay behind and cover the rear."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.
"You think the Sky Ninja will attack again?"
Before Shu could answer, Orochimaru spoke.
"Don't ask stupid questions."
"If they already attacked once, they won't stop so easily."
Jiraiya grimaced.
"Come to think of it… the guy who tried to blow me up said they wanted to capture one of us alive."
"Probably to exchange hostages."
"That means these guys aren't afraid of starting a war."
"There must be information we don't know."
Orochimaru's mind immediately turned toward one possibility.
Kumogakure.
The Sky Ninja Village was weaker even than the Hidden Rain.
Yet they repeatedly provoked Konoha.
That didn't make sense—unless someone else was backing them.
Silent beside them, Shu arrived at the same conclusion.
North of the Land of the Moon lay the Land of Lightning.
If the Sky Ninja clashed with Konoha—
No matter who won—
The Hidden Cloud would benefit.
Of course…
There was also another possibility.
Maybe the Sky Ninja leader was simply insane.
Thinking of Shinno and the creation of the Zero-Tails, Shu couldn't rule that out.
Five minutes later, Tsunade finished the treatment.
The three Sannin began withdrawing.
Shu didn't follow.
Instead he turned to Atsushi and the others.
Using the scattered corpses, they began setting traps across the battlefield.
Ten minutes passed.
Shu raised his hand.
"Disperse."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The four of them vanished into the forest instantly.
Meanwhile, after crossing the forest edge, Tsunade suddenly stopped.
"Jiraiya… can you still sense them?"
Jiraiya shook his head.
"They probably have another mission."
Tsunade frowned.
"So we're just leaving them?"
They were all jōnin.
Shu's team—
Aside from Shu himself—
The others were clearly below even special jōnin level.
Tsunade disliked Danzo.
But Shu had just saved them.
And as fellow Konoha ninja—
She had no intention of abandoning them.
Jiraiya understood her thoughts.
"They'll catch up soon."
"And we have something more important to do."
"We have to bring this information back to the village."
"Konoha needs to change its attitude toward the Sky Ninja."
Tsunade shook her head.
"One person can deliver the information."
She stopped moving entirely.
Jiraiya immediately stopped as well.
"Orochimaru—you take the intel back."
"Tsunade and I will stay."
Orochimaru sighed inwardly.
Idiots.
But instead of arguing, he turned around calmly.
"They're only Sky Ninja."
"We haven't even used our full strength yet."
Jiraiya grinned.
"That's right."
"We can't let Danzo's men look down on us."
Tsunade snorted.
But her eyes held a hint of laughter.
So the three Sannin turned back the way they came.
Hidden behind a tree, Shu frowned as he saw them returning.
Why are they back?
Jiraiya scratched his head and grinned.
"Two squads together should have better odds, right?"
Shu was speechless.
With you three here… how am I supposed to use Wood Release?
If I don't use Wood Release, how do I intimidate Atsushi's team properly?
Should I just kill you all to keep the secret?
He dismissed the thought immediately.
Not only was that impossible—
But who in their right mind would kill a golden twin-tailed beauty like Tsunade?
Shu gave a small nod.
"Then take the opposite side of the forest and set your positions."
Jiraiya nodded immediately.
"No problem."
As the three of them moved away, Tsunade's voice drifted back.
"Jiraiya, you idiot! Why did you agree so quickly? We're supposed to be leading this mission!"
But despite the complaint—
She had no intention of actually taking command.
Shu's team had clearly already prepared their trap.
Interfering now would only cause confusion.
Her irritation came more from her dislike of Danzo than anything else.
Shu didn't care about Tsunade's complaints.
Technically, their mission had already ended.
The fact that the Sannin had returned to fight beside them was… not bad.
Though whether they helped or not didn't really matter.
Not because Shu was arrogant.
But because his plan had never depended on allied support.
Even if things went wrong—
He was confident he could still escape.
Time passed slowly.
About twenty minutes later—
Movement appeared.
At the forest edge, one of Shu's Wood Clones was merged with a tree trunk.
Only its face was visible, watching the approaching figures.
Eight Sky Ninja emerged cautiously.
They quickly moved onto the battlefield and began examining the corpses.
Soon, a middle-aged Sky Ninja spoke.
"It seems Konoha came prepared."
"The intelligence said a three-man team."
"But clearly there were more."
"With only our two squads pursuing them, we won't achieve the objective."
"We need to request reinforcements."
Another leader—a female ninja—frowned.
"They left nearly half an hour ago."
"Calling for help now won't catch them in time."
The middle-aged ninja smiled faintly.
"You forgot about the Cloud Ninja."
"They already stationed people nearby."
"We rejected their help earlier…"
"But under these circumstances—"
"It no longer matters."
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