Traitor and Ambush

At an inn somewhere.

A pale blonde girl of about sixteen or seventeen pushed open the door and entered the room. She smoothed her single ponytail behind her head, then touched her flat chest before raising her right hand and forming a simple hand seal.

Poof!

A puff of white smoke flashed past.

Her ponytail came loose, pale blonde hair cascading down her back. Her once-flat chest suddenly swelled, transforming her from a vibrant young girl into a mature beauty.

"Phew, I finally shook them off."

Tsunade tidied her hair and let out a breath.

Shizune followed her in from behind, staring at Tsunade's chest for a while with a strange look in her eyes.

She knew Tsunade had transformed into her younger self to evade debt collectors, but what she could not understand was how Tsunade, who had still been flat-chested in her teens, had developed into what she was now.

Tsunade walked over to the table and sat down. Glancing at Shizune, she said, "What are you looking at? Hurry up and close the door."

"Yes."

Shizune came to her senses and quickly replied, turning around to shut the door.

Tsunade picked up the teapot on the table, poured herself a cup of cold tea, and took a sip. Then, as if suddenly recalling something, she asked, "Who was that ninja from earlier today?"

"Um, he's a classmate of mine, Feng Ye Hatake."

Shizune murmured as she walked over and sat on her knees before Tsunade, answering at the same time.

Hearing Shizune's answer, Tsunade looked slightly surprised. "He's Feng Ye Hatake? Hmm... he does resemble Sakumo-senpai a little."

During the Second Great Ninja War, Hatake Sakumo, renowned throughout the Shinobi World, had been the commander-in-chief of the Land of Rain frontlines. Back then, the three Sannin had yet to make their names, and all three were a generation younger than Sakumo.

At that point.

A trace of melancholy flashed through Tsunade's eyes.

Sakumo had looked after her several times back then. She had never expected him to commit suicide over a mission. After hearing the news, she had even returned to Konoha specifically to pay respects at his grave.

She had heard some things about Feng Ye Hatake, Sakumo's son, but her stronger impression was of Sakumo's other son, Kakashi. Graduating at five and becoming a Chunin at six had surprised her at the time, making her sigh that Konoha's White Fang had a worthy successor.

"Feng Ye is very strong too."

Shizune sat before Tsunade with a pillow in her arms, a trace of admiration flashing through her eyes. "During the previous Chunin Exams, he eliminated every opponent by himself. Lord Orochimaru even took a liking to him and accepted him as his disciple."

"Oh?"

A gleam flashed through Tsunade's eyes as she said thoughtfully, "As I recall, his talent seemed fairly ordinary compared to Kakashi's."

"That's only because Feng Ye doesn't like showing off."

Shizune unconsciously smiled. "From what I learned, Kakashi has always been working hard to catch up to Feng Ye, but he has never beaten him."

Tsunade glanced at Shizune and suddenly asked, "You like him?"

"Huh? Huh?!"

Shizune's expression instantly became unnatural as she replied in a fluster, "W-why are you suddenly asking that...?"

"What's so hard to see about it?"

Tsunade placed both hands on the table, interlacing her fingers as she said boldly, "If you like him, then pursue him boldly. So what if he's Orochimaru's disciple? You're my disciple too."

"N-no, it's not like that..."

"What do you mean, it's not? Your face has already given you away. Are you still planning to lie in front of me? Though I am a little curious. What does that kid have that makes even you, Shizune, afraid to pursue him boldly? And why did Orochimaru take him as a disciple?"

The image of Feng Ye from that brief glimpse during the day flashed through Tsunade's mind. She rested her interlaced fingers beneath her chin, a thoughtful look appearing on her face.

Feng Ye had no idea that their brief glance during the day had already drawn Tsunade's attention. If he had known, he would have smiled, since it would make approaching her easier in the future.

After a night of Chakra training, the group set off again the next day.

After passing through several more towns, they finally arrived at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass. The clear boundary between the two nations was a river running across the land.

"Once we cross that river, we'll be in the Land of Grass."

Urabe Daisuke looked at the surging river ahead, now clearly visible, and his expression relaxed slightly. Reaching this point meant they were more than halfway to safety.

After standing still and watching the river for several seconds, Feng Ye turned to look at a stone bridge not far to the northeast. "We haven't reached the endpoint specified in the commission agreement yet. Keep moving."

"Alright."

Urabe Daisuke nodded and followed Feng Ye onward.

The group arrived before the stone bridge. Feng Ye walked at the front while Might Duy brought up the rear. The nine of them quickly crossed the bridge without encountering any trouble.

Yet after crossing the bridge, Feng Ye's gaze turned cold as he looked toward a nearby thicket and slowly said, "You're not even bothering to hide anymore?"

Feng Ye's words made Urabe Daisuke and the others' expressions abruptly change.

After a moment of slight surprise, Might Duy reacted and leaped down beside Feng Ye.

"Because there's no need to."

A calm voice came from the direction of the thicket.

Right after that.

Ten figures emerged from the bushes. Every one of them wore Iwagakure ninja forehead protectors and held weapons such as kunai and Shuriken.

"Iwagakure ninja... how could this be...?"

Urabe Daisuke's expression changed drastically at the sight. He suddenly turned his head, gritting his teeth as he looked at several people within the group, fury blazing in his eyes.

How could an Iwagakure ninja squad just happen to be lying in ambush at the Land of Grass border? And judging by their attitude, they seemed to have been waiting for quite some time.

There was a traitor in the group!

"Damn it, who is it?!"

Urabe Daisuke drew a dagger and glared furiously at the people in the group. Nearly everyone else looked equally angry, staring warily at one another.

Feng Ye paid no attention to the commotion behind him and calmly said, "There's no point looking for the traitor now. He won't step forward on his own... You seem to have concealed some important information. This situation can't be explained by a C-rank commission."

"..."

Urabe Daisuke's face looked exceedingly grim.

He glanced toward the ten Stone Shinobi closing in on them, his heart sinking lower and lower. A traitor had leaked the information, and the other side had hired an Iwagakure ninja squad to intercept and kill them. Meanwhile, they had only hired a Konoha ninja team with two members.

There was no way they could handle this!

Their only hope was that the enemy's mission was not to kill them, but to capture them alive and imprison them. Only then would they have a chance of surviving.

Urabe Daisuke gritted his teeth and looked at the Stone Shinobi. "What is your mission? Are you here to kill us? We can pay double the commission!"

"Our mission is... to capture him alive."

The Jonin leading the Stone Shinobi sneered and pointed at the young man behind Urabe Daisuke. "As for the rest of you, I can only ask you to go to Hell."

Changing a mission target for commission money was something only ninja from third-rate minor villages would do. As ninja of Iwagakure, one of the five great ninja villages of the Shinobi World, doing something that would damage their reputation was impossible.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The instant his words fell.

Three Stone Shinobi charged toward Feng Ye, while another three rushed at Might Duy. Their faces were icy, and they did not waste a single word.

"..."

Urabe Daisuke's face turned ashen.

Although the Young Master was not their target for slaughter, if they all died here and the Young Master was captured alive and taken back to be imprisoned, there would be almost no chance of turning things around. The position of Daimyo of Shimotsuki Town would inevitably be seized by that person.

He had never expected that one of the Daimyo's most trusted people during his lifetime would be a traitor. That was something no one could have foreseen. With this one wrong step, they were now truly beyond redemption.