Anger Brewing in the Silence
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Tenzen betrayed them, the secret letter scroll was stolen, and the Team 8 was defeated and fled.
Without a doubt, this A-Rank Mission was a failure.
However, for ninjas, failure in a mission is unforgivable, especially for higher-level missions.
As dusk fell, Shunren and Kurenai finally awoke, having been cared for by Inoichi, their Jonin instructor.
"I'm sorry, Inoichi- sensei..." Hongyi couldn't accept the double blow of being betrayed by her new comrade and failing her mission. It also made her, with her strong personality, feel extremely humiliated.
Shunren remained calm and composed, surveying his surroundings to determine that the location was far from the border army group and closer to Konoha Ninja Village.
As a result, the Cloud Ninja pursuers dared not venture too far.
Inoichi shook his head and said, "No, our mission has been successful."
"Huh?" Hong asked, looking puzzled. "What does this mean?"
"So that's how it is?" A look of understanding appeared on Shunren's face.
A complex look flashed in his blue eyes as Inoichi continued, "The real purpose of our mission is to deliver the secret letter scroll to the Cloud Ninja."
"What? So that means..." Hong's eyes widened slightly, and the clever girl quickly realized the crux of the matter, "The secret scroll is fake?"
"We're sending false intelligence to the Cloud Ninja military to cause them to misjudge our tactics," Inoichi said calmly.
Hong looked bewildered but impressed. With her mind not yet ten years old, she couldn't immediately grasp the treachery and deceit of war. However, she didn't miss one thing. "Then why doesn't the village tell us about our real mission?"
Upon hearing Inoichi's expression stiffened, unsure how to respond.
However, Shunren was able to understand the reason behind it.
It must be that the higher-ups in Konoha don't trust them!
A-Rank Mission, a tactical deception against the Cloud Ninja. Knowing in advance that the Cloud Ninja would send a powerful elite force to attack them, letting them know might instill fear. Also, displaying excessive vigilance upon learning of an impending attack would arouse suspicion from the Cloud Ninja.
To deceive others, you must first deceive yourself.
Only if the Shunren are convinced that the scroll and secret letter are genuine will they fight to the death to protect it, and only then will the Cloud Ninja spare no effort to seize it.
"Before setting off, someone from the Anbu gave me an instruction: I should only activate it when I encounter the enemy."
Inoichi's words reminded Shunren of what Inoichi had said when they set off: that he sensed the approach of the Anbu Guard. It must have been at that time that the message was delivered.
Inoichi pretended to stay behind to cover the retreat, and handed the secret letter scroll to Shunren, telling Shunren in a telepathic message that if the enemy caught up, he should give the scroll to Tenzen.
Shunren's eyes flickered, and he immediately asked, "So, that Tenzen is one of our people?"
Inoichi hesitated for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Maybe, but I don't know. The village didn't tell me any of this."
Shunren thought that Inoichi probably knew some things, but he couldn't say them. This made Shunren realize even more deeply that the seemingly sunny and harmonious Konoha Ninja Village hid too much unknown darkness.
In order to ensure the mission was successfully achieved, the Konoha leadership concealed the details of the mission from them, even the enemy's attack, brazenly placing them in danger. It's chilling to even think about.
Yotsuki Teki, Raikage Guard, possesses the strength of Quasi-Kage. Shunren used all his means to only injure him slightly, yet Ye Yue Di was able to withstand his Zangetsu head-on without flinching, shattering his strongest ultimate technique Getsuga Tensho.
To deal with an enemy of this level,
Shunren's battle was a near-death experience; it's already quite remarkable that he survived. The Konoha High Command knew what kind of people the Cloud Ninja had sent, yet they kept it from them, clearly setting them up.
Perhaps Konoha believed that Inoichi, with his Elite Jonin strength, should be able to protect himself and escape even if he couldn't win. As for Shunren, they were just a few Genin, and their deaths were insignificant. A small sacrifice yielded a huge tactical result, a brilliant move for Konoha!
Another point is that even if Shunren were lucky enough to escape this calamity, they would not be hailed as heroes after returning to the village. Since they had to deceive the Cloud Ninja and claim that Team 8's mission had to fail, they were destined to bear the stigma of mission failure.
Inoichi was well aware of this, so he could not tell his subordinates Shunren and Hong frankly.
"Shunren, could it be that you...?" Sensing the fleeting anger in Shunren's eyes, Inoichi's heart skipped a beat, knowing that the latter had seen through something.
"Hoo~" Shunren let out a deep breath. On the surface, he remained calm, but it was impossible not to feel resentment after being bullied to this extent. He appeared unusually calm, as if anger was brewing in the stillness!
Shunren possesses all the thoughts of an adult; he is calm and composed, and not easily angered. Shunren doesn't get angry with people like Asuma, Mangshan, Kakashi, and Yuta, whom he has clashed with, because they are all just bratty kids. But the higher-ups in Konoha are different; a government making such a judgment!
After this incident, Shunren developed a complete aversion to Konoha.