Raijin Maki's Turning Point!

It seemed I was right. This Konoha team had to be carrying out some important mission—a secretive and urgent one! At this moment, a kilometer away from where Chiba and the other two were, Raijin Maki formed a hand seal with one hand. His pupils continuously contracted and dilated as he faced the direction where Chiba and the others were.

Because it was secret, they had to wipe out all of us who had come into contact with them. After all, the camp in that clearing from the beginning would still arouse our suspicions. And once we became suspicious, none of us could be allowed to survive, or it would be detrimental to them. Once there was suspicion, both sides would inevitably take action, and those actions would greatly affect their mission. Even the suspicion itself could cause their mission to fail.

That was why they had split into two groups. One to fight me and Iwa, the other to intercept Dodai, Kuroi, and Saroi.

And precisely because it was urgent and they needed a swift conclusion, they launched a surprise attack the instant I was about to make contact with Iwa. Otherwise, they could have sent one group to intercept Dodai and the others while the other secretly observed my battle with Iwa, attacking after we had fought ourselves nearly to a standstill or decided the victor. That would have been easier and safer.

But they had not. Clearly, it was because time was too tight—so tight that they could not even wait for a battle to be decided.

But...

At this thought, Raijin Maki's expression darkened slightly. His gaze involuntarily shifted to his left shoulder, where dead skin was flaking away in sheets. A large patch of explosive burns was healing at a visible rate, while the flashes