Emergency Rescue

The brilliant blue sky was cloudless for miles, making the three trails of red smoke especially conspicuous.

Aozora immediately analyzed the situation. "Emergency rescue! Danger level: A-Rank!"

Konoha's rescue signals used red smoke, with the number of smoke trails indicating the level of danger.

Three trails of red smoke represented A-Rank danger, the highest-level rescue signal. It meant that a Konoha team had encountered an enemy ninja squad with at least one hostile Jonin.

Aburame Shibi nodded. His gaze swept back and forth among the three from behind his sunglasses before he finally said, "Aozora, come with me to provide rescue. Sai and Hayate will continue escorting the caravan to Lianyun City. Once the mission is complete, wait for news in the city."

Before Hayate and Sai could object, he continued, "If you hear nothing from us within two days, return to Konoha on your own!"

His voice, as always, carried not the slightest emotional fluctuation—firm and beyond dispute.

At those words, the three members of Team 3 turned grave and answered in unison, "Understood!"

With that, they adjusted their formation. Aozora got up and followed Aburame Shibi as they raced toward the rescue signal.

Aburame Shibi darted continuously through the forest. Each leap seemed to contain little force, yet carried him over five or six great trees.

Aozora was not left behind in the slightest, staying close at his back.

"Normally, Genin should not be involved in rescue missions like this. But the situation is urgent, and we don't know the enemy's strength. One more fighter means one more chance.

"Your Kunai throwing can threaten even Jonin, and your Fire Release is fairly accomplished. You can be useful in battle, so you were called in."

Without slowing down, Aburame Shibi explained calmly.

Aozora said, "I understand. When one side is in trouble, support comes from all sides."

Slightly moved by those words, Aburame Shibi said, "Of course, I'm not taking you there to die. Assess the situation when we arrive. If the enemy isn't too strong, throw ninja tools and use Fire Release for ranged support. If the enemy is powerful, we retreat immediately."

"Yes!"

As they spoke, Aozora continuously nurtured his Flying Dagger. He knew that against a Jonin, his Kunai might pose some threat, but they could never play a decisive role.

If he truly wanted to injure a Jonin, he could only rely on the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger.

On a mountainside of Mount Lianyun, the surroundings had been reduced to broken walls and ruins. The grass was scorched in patches, trees lay snapped, and shattered stones covered the ground, evidence of a fierce battle.

Within the shade of the forest stood a mountain stronghold. Its crudely built structures were now shrouded in Thick Mist, heavy water vapor hanging like a curtain and blocking everyone's vision.

Atop a large tree before the stronghold, three Cloud Shinobi looked down at the mist-covered camp.

The bare-chested strongman among them wiped down his greatsword and said, "What a troublesome bunch. To create such dense mist even in this environment... anyone who didn't know better would think she was a Kirigakure Jonin."

The somewhat refined male ninja beside him, wearing glasses, said, "Kaminari, have you forgotten Konoha's Second Hokage? Konoha has a powerful Water Release inheritance, so it isn't strange for them to produce formidable Water Release ninja. But this Thick Mist is blocking my perception. It looks like they won't be easy to deal with for a while."

Before the two stood a beautiful female ninja.

Her arms were folded across her chest, and the braid formed from her long beige hair swayed in the wind. "No rush. This stronghold backs against the mountain wall. As long as we guard the exits, they can't escape."

The sword-wielding Cloud Shinobi hesitated. "But they already fired a Signal Flare for help. If we drag this out too long, Konoha's strong fighters might arrive."

The bespectacled Cloud Shinobi gave a soft laugh. "Konoha has suffered through Orochimaru's defection and the Nine-Tails' Rampage. At present, its only truly powerful fighters are Jiraiya and the Third Hokage."

"Jiraiya is holding the Border, while the Third Hokage remains in Konoha. In the Land of Fire, who could possibly stop us?"

The leading female ninja said, "Ishida is right. Since I, Yugito, have gone to the trouble of coming in person, how could capturing just one Jonin be enough?"

Thinking of Yugito Nii's strength, the sword-wielding Cloud Shinobi also fell silent.

Inside the water mist were the four members of Team 1, who had accepted the bandit-suppression mission.

At this moment, none of them retained the high spirits they had displayed when leaving the mission hall.

Aizawa Konan's face was pale. After fighting the three Cloud Shinobi and then maintaining such a large-scale water mist, there was barely any Chakra left in her body.

Aizawa Konan asked, "Yō, have the three Cloud Shinobi made any unusual moves?"

At her words, Hyūga Yō instantly activated his Byakugan. A great deal of Chakra surged into his eyes, causing the veins around his temples to bulge and making him look especially ferocious.

Under the Byakugan's penetrating vision, the Thick Mist was like transparent glass.

He easily saw the three Cloud Shinobi guarding the only road leading down from the stronghold.

All three possessed considerable Chakra, especially their leader. The amount of Chakra she possessed surpassed anyone he had ever seen before.

Looking at that immense and sinister Chakra, Hyūga Yō suppressed the fear in his heart and said calmly, "They've stopped attacking. They're only guarding the road down the mountain!"

Kurama Saki and Yagyū Ichirō let out sighs of relief, but Aizawa Konan's expression did not improve. A bad suspicion had formed in her mind.

Hyūga Yō still could not forget the leading Cloud Shinobi's immense Chakra, so he asked, "Teacher Konan, who is that leading Cloud Shinobi? Why does she possess such immense and sinister Chakra?"

Aizawa Konan glanced at him and asked in a deep voice, "What did you say? How much Chakra does that person have?"

Hyūga Yō said, "A lot. More than ten times yours."

At that, Aizawa Konan's face darkened. She muttered to herself, "A Jinchūriki? Are they using us as bait?"

Hearing his teacher's murmur, Hyūga Yō asked, "What is a Jinchūriki?"

Aizawa Konan answered instinctively, "Jinchūriki are specialized weapons of war. Their strength is comparable to Kage-level."

"What!?"

Though Hyūga Yō and the other two did not understand what a Jinchūriki was, the assessment of strength comparable to Kage-level placed immense pressure on them.

Hyūga Yō asked, "If the enemy is comparable to Kage-level, then who could come to our aid and save us?"

No one could answer. They all knew that Konoha's powerful fighters had either rushed to the front lines or remained stationed in Konoha. Only a few Jonin were carrying out missions within the Land of Fire, and the odds that one capable of resisting Yugito happened to be nearby were no more than one in ten thousand.

For a time, everyone's spirits sank to rock bottom, and they even began to feel despair.

Aizawa Konan realized she had said the wrong thing and forced a smile. "Perhaps Lady Tsunade happens to be traveling through this area."

Rather than gaining even a shred of hope from that, the three members of Team 1 became even more despairing.

After racing toward the rescue signal for roughly twenty minutes, Aozora and Aburame Shibi finally arrived at the foot of Mount Lianyun.

As an all-around ninja, tracking was child's play for Aburame Shibi. He easily identified the traces left by the battle and found clues.

After following the battle traces uphill for some distance, Aburame Shibi suddenly stopped.

"Aozora, retreat. This battle is no longer something you can take part in!"

As he spoke, he spread his hands. Dense swarms of insects flew from the jar on his back and from both sleeves. At first, they were merely tiny black specks, but in the blink of an eye, they became a cloud of insects filling the sky.

Aozora did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately ran back. He had seen plenty of melodramatic stories where the weak failed to recognize their own limits, causing both sides to perish.

Aburame Shibi was experienced, and his judgment was trustworthy.

As he withdrew, he could not help glancing back. A beautiful figure had suddenly appeared atop a tree before Aburame Shibi.