Escort Mission Complete

As long as they made it safely through today, the mission would be successfully completed! That was everyone's shared thought at this moment.

After a night of rest, most of them had recovered a good deal of their strength.

The convoy continued onward toward Konoha Battlefield Camp.

Today, no one rested. The genin worked hard to drive the carriages forward, while the chunin split into groups of three and scouted ahead at intervals.

Meanwhile, Yūske and the other six jonin, along with Might Duy, rode in the carriages, ready at any moment to deal with unknown enemies that might appear.

Everyone had put on their Konoha forehead protectors without prior discussion.

"Who are you people?"

Patrol squads from the two camps suddenly appeared and stopped the chunin team at the front.

"We're the team escorting supplies!" The leading chunin pointed to his forehead protector. "We were attacked by Sunagakure yesterday, so Lady Shinku sent us ahead to scout the way."

After the explanation, the patrol squad quickly sent someone back to camp to notify them.

"Please wait here for a moment! Don't worry, this is already within the camp's perimeter."

Since neither side knew the other, the patrol squad still stopped them as a precaution.

"Please hurry. We have many wounded in our team who need treatment!"

Seeing that the chunin team members were all wrapped in bandages, the patrol squad nodded, but rules were rules and could not be broken lightly.

Gradually, the people behind caught up. Seeing the enormous convoy and several jonin walking at the front, the patrol squad finally relaxed.

"Lady Shinku, you've worked hard. Someone from the camp will be here to receive you shortly. Please rest for now."

"Mm, I understand." Kurenai Yūhi turned and said to the exhausted crowd, "Rest where you are."

"Whew." Seeing that they had reached the camp, everyone's tightly wound nerves finally eased considerably.

They had only rested for a short while when they saw quite a few ninja hurrying over from the distance.

"Shinku!" Upon seeing her old friend, Nara Shikamaru was the first to step forward.

"Luzhen!" Kurenai Yūhi walked over as well, now holding a mission scroll in her hand. After it was confirmed to be correct, the camp personnel took over the supplies, and everyone was brought into the camp for treatment.

"You were ambushed by Ebizo on the road?"

Inside the Commander Meeting tent, Nara Shikamaru listened to the account with a furrowed brow, deep in thought.

"It's good that you made it back safely. It's just a pity about those companions who died."

Hatake Sakumo also comforted Kurenai Yūhi before turning to Yūske. "Watanabe Yūske, I've heard Tsunade mention your name many times. Luckily, you were there on this journey. Otherwise, Sunagakure might have succeeded."

"Lord Sakumo, just call me Yūske. Captain Shinku has already thanked me, and besides, this was my mission to begin with. As a member of Konoha, it was what I should have done."

"Good!" Hatake Sakumo praised Yūske, patting him on the shoulder.

"You captured Shūji too?" At that moment, Yamanaka Yūji spoke up, then looked at Hatake Sakumo. "Leave it to me to pry open his mind."

"Good! But be careful. As one of the higher-ups in the Sunagakure Combat Unit, there must be many seals planted in his mind!"

"I understand." Yamanaka Yūji immediately walked out.

"Lord Sakumo, where are Tsunade and the others? I have a scroll here that Teacher asked me to deliver to her."

Seeing that everyone seemed to have something to discuss, Yūske found an excuse and withdrew first.

"Tsunade should be in the Medical Department. Once you're out, have someone take you there."

"Alright, I'll head over first."

At this point, only Hatake Sakumo, Nara Shikamaru, and Kurenai Yūhi remained in the tent.

"You suspect someone in the team leaked your whereabouts?" Nara Shikamaru spoke first.

"No, probably not. After all, even the enemy didn't know about our ninja. If not for Inuzuka Shiro, we might have suffered heavy casualties in the first wave of explosions."

Kurenai Yūhi quickly shook her head. She did not believe that any of the people she had brought along were enemy spies.

"Could it have been a feint?" Hatake Sakumo voiced his doubts.

"There should be quite a few people who could have guessed our movements. After all, dozens of carriages of supplies would be especially conspicuous at a time like this."

Kurenai Yūhi offered her own guess as well. Compared with someone in her team leaking their whereabouts, she was more willing to believe the enemy had deduced their route and launched the attack.

"You said it yourself. From the time you left the village until you assembled, neither Hyuga Reon nor Inuzuka Shiro found any suspicious figures near you.

And don't forget, we're at war right now. Without precise information on your whereabouts, would Sunagakure have sent such a powerful force?" Nara Shikamaru refuted Kurenai Yūhi's argument.

"What if it wasn't just Ebizo's team? Or perhaps they were simply trying their luck?" As she spoke, even Kurenai Yūhi began to lose confidence.

"What do you know about Watanabe Yūske?" Nara Shikamaru suddenly asked.

Kurenai Yūhi looked at Nara Shikamaru with unwavering eyes and said, "Yūske is the Third Hokage's disciple, and he's very strong. If he hadn't restrained Shūji and seriously injured Ebizo this time, Sunagakure might have succeeded."

Nara Shikamaru's words angered Kurenai Yūhi. She raised her voice. "Are you suspecting Yūske?"

"No, it's not suspicion. It's simply a possibility." Nara Shikamaru shook his head and explained that he was only raising a possibility. Seeing that his old friend was truly angry, he quickly laid out his reasoning.

"Didn't Yūske's method of controlling Shūji seem familiar to you?"

"The Puppet forces? Chiyo?" After thinking for a moment, Hatake Sakumo rose to his feet in shock.

"That's his Kekkei Genkai, String Style. It was precisely because the Third Hokage valued this powerful ability that he considered taking him as a disciple." This reasoning could not convince Kurenai Yūhi. Her trust in Yūske did not waver in the slightest.

"Don't forget, Shūji, Ebizo... Shūji is still in Yūji's hands. Even if we take a step back and say Yūske really is a Sunagakure spy, why would he capture Shūji and even nearly kill Ebizo?" Kurenai Yūhi firmly believed in Yūske. Even though Nara Shikamaru's analysis made sense, she could never suspect Yūske.

"Alright, alright, Shinku. You've just finished your mission, so go get some rest."

Seeing the tension between the two, Hatake Sakumo quickly sent Kurenai Yūhi away.

Kurenai Yūhi gave Nara Shikamaru a deep look before turning to leave. She firmly believed that Yūske could never be a spy.

"You shouldn't have suspected a hero who just saved the entire team."