After returning to camp, the severely injured Juzo Biwa immediately sought out a Medical Ninja for treatment, while the less seriously wounded Kushimaru Kuriarare reported on the mission to Karatachi Yagura first.
"While carrying out our mission, we encountered a powerful Konoha squad. They outnumbered us by one person. We fought desperately, but ultimately lost. During the battle, Suikazan Fuguki was killed," Kushimaru Kuriarare said grimly.
Hidden Mist Village was a ninja village with cruel rules, so Kushimaru Kuriarare had to use careful wording to lessen the consequences of their mission failure.
In a sense, Kushimaru Kuriarare had not lied either. Kakashi's side really had one more person than they did, even if not everyone on Kakashi's team had played a major role.
"Suikazan Fuguki did not die in vain. Several ninjas from that Konoha squad were severely wounded by us as well. However, our casualties were greater, so we ultimately chose to withdraw to avoid affecting the battle situation. But then, a ninja who had mastered Ice Release arrived and blocked us.
"Fortunately, Lord Hana also came to support us. Since Juzo Biwa and I were seriously injured, we withdrew to camp ahead of time. The remaining ninja swordsmen stayed behind with Lord Hana to deal with the Konoha ninjas." Kushimaru Kuriarare briefly recounted the entire battle.
Kushimaru Kuriarare believed this mission should not be a major problem. Although they had lost one member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Konoha's losses had certainly been greater.
After all, that had been a team of geniuses capable of defeating the Seven Ninja Swordsmen head-on. If they did not die, their future strength would be plain for all to see.
"A powerful Konoha squad? Which ninjas were they? Ino–Shika–Chō?" Karatachi Yagura asked after giving it some thought.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen fighting