Never Allow It

Give up just like that?

Hirohiko glanced at Chiba but said nothing more.

Indeed, if this attempt to exploit the time difference failed, we would not be gradually slowed down by the carefully designed traps of that Kumogakure ninja. Even if he could not set up a chain of traps, he could still set traps within a few minutes that would force us to take detours. As someone capable of carrying out covert missions and serving as a covert mission captain, he had at least that much skill.

The terrain here was either flat, open ground with nowhere to hide, or dense forest—ideal places for setting traps and concealing oneself. Judging from all of Chiba's reasons just now, that Kumogakure ninja was likely a meticulous, seasoned, troublesome opponent. He would always find opportunities to slow us down, and perhaps setting traps of all sizes along the way to continually delay us was precisely the escape strategy he had chosen. If we stubbornly refused to give up and pursued him, it might instead work against us. It would be better to give up cleanly and find another way.

Indeed, having the enemy learn our intelligence would cause many bad consequences, but Chiba should have a solution.

Chiba always had a Plan B.

It was just that compared to Plan A, Plan B was more dangerous and had a lower chance of success.

As he adjusted his footing and crossed the babbling stream, Hirohiko took a slight breath. In his Sharingan, footprints flattening the grass stretched forward one after another.

This stream...

At that moment, Chiba looked at the broad stream that required nearly a dozen Water Walking steps to cross, and his brow furrowed slightly.

No! That was not it. That waterway was still far from us. Based on the map's