Secrets and a Gag Order

In a cave somewhere in the Land of Birds.

The four members of Team Eleven sat around a campfire, eating and chatting.

It had been exactly three days since they were ambushed in the forest of the Land of Bears. Everyone on the team except Shisui was injured, so Kakashi decided to rest and recover in the Land of Birds for the time being.

As for the final battle in the forest, Shisui and Guy had arrived in time and worked with Hyuga Kagami to eliminate all the enemies.

After the battle, the four of them compared notes and discovered that, aside from the four-man squad from the Iwagakure Decapitation Unit, twenty-four wandering ninja from the Land of Bears had also participated in the ambush.

Iwamata, the captain of the Iwagakure Decapitation Unit, had sought out Hyuga Kagami himself. The remaining three Decapitation Unit members had each led eight wandering ninja from the Land of Bears and were tasked with intercepting the other three members of Team Eleven.

There was no doubt that Iwamata was an Elite Jonin. The other three Decapitation Unit members were also Jonin-level, and they were backed by twenty-four wandering ninja from the Land of Bears who were close to Chunin level.

Gathered together, they were already quite a formidable force.

Moreover, the battle had broken out under ambush conditions. For Team Eleven to wipe out the enemy without losing a single member was an exceptionally impressive achievement.

Of them all, Shisui had had the easiest time.

With the boost of the Mangekyō Sharingan, even the ordinary genjutsu he cast possessed tremendous power. Even Jonin could fall victim to it if they let their guard down for even a moment.

The Decapitation Unit member sent to deal with Shisui had fallen directly under his genjutsu. He had not even had time to use his own ninjutsu before dying in a daze.

And without their leading Jonin to command them, the remaining eight wandering ninja were dispatched by Shisui as easily as chopping vegetables. The ease of it left the other three members of Team Eleven deeply depressed.

Kakashi's performance had been slightly inferior to Shisui's.

Because his body had to bear a Sharingan that did not belong to him, Kakashi, despite his outstanding talent, did not have much more chakra than others his age. Coupled with the heavy consumption of the A-rank ninjutsu Chidori, it was only natural that he was somewhat exhausted after such a fierce battle.

Guy had performed about as expected.

After all, before he had fully developed, he could not reach true Jonin level without using the Eight Inner Gates. Being surrounded by one Jonin and eight wandering ninja close to Chunin level, it was already no small feat that he had managed to stay alive.

As for Hyuga Kagami, he felt his own performance had been neither good nor bad.

The main issue was the final clash. He had been completely deceived by Iwamata and abruptly placed himself in danger. Iwamata's final self-destruction in particular still left him shaken with lingering fear.

Kakashi shook his head and said bluntly, "There aren't many people in the entire village with a record like yours!"

Hyuga Kagami asked curiously, "What, was this Iwamata famous?"

"Of course!" Kakashi nodded and continued, "As far as I know, Iwagakure has only seven Decapitation Units in total. One of them was surrounded by more than a hundred ninja from our village in the Land of Grass, and in the end, both sides nearly wiped each other out!"

Guy looked astonished. "More than a hundred of us surrounded four of them, and we still almost wiped each other out!?"

Kakashi's expression turned grave. "Yeah, that battle was extremely brutal. Although they were eliminated, it seemed only six or seven of our side survived in the end."

Shisui said gloomily, "Several Elite Jonin from our Uchiha were killed by the Iwagakure Decapitation Unit."

Guy was a little dazed. "Then didn't we accomplish something incredible? Right, counting the unit we took out, doesn't that mean Iwagakure only has five Decapitation Units left?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No, only three remain. The Fourth Hokage wiped out two more!"

Hyuga Kagami muttered speechlessly, "No wonder Iwamata held such a grudge against the Fourth Hokage."

Iwamata had mentioned the Fourth Hokage several times during their fight, and only now did Hyuga Kagami understand where Iwamata's resentment toward him came from.

Of the three Decapitation Units they had lost, aside from the one surrounded in the Land of Grass, the other two had all died at the hands of the Fourth Hokage alone. Anyone would hate him to the bone after that.

Kakashi said worriedly, "I'm afraid Iwagakure will use this as a pretext to make trouble."

Having eaten and drunk his fill, Hyuga Kagami leaned back against the side of the cave. "What's there to worry about? We were acting in self-defense. We couldn't just surrender and let them slaughter us, could we?"

Guy scratched his head. "Right, why did they attack us in the first place?"

Kakashi and Shisui both looked toward Hyuga Kagami.

Hyuga Kagami shrugged. "Don't look at me. I'm not very sure either."

Perhaps Iwamata had some special ability and had vaguely sensed something, which was why he had been determined to eliminate Hyuga Kagami for Iwagakure and prevent him from becoming Konoha's second Yellow Flash.

But how could Hyuga Kagami possibly publicize something like that?

If word got out, it would not only easily attract Iwagakure's attention and hostility, but also invite baseless suspicion from the village higher-ups.

After all, Hyuga Kagami had only been promoted from a wartime Chunin to a Special Jonin a little over a month ago. The speed of his growth had already drawn plenty of attention. If it also got out that even the captain of an Iwagakure Decapitation Unit had been extremely wary of him and wanted him dead as soon as possible, then it would be difficult to conceal the secret of his Tenseigan.

Even now, after learning how significant the Decapitation Units were within Iwagakure, Hyuga Kagami was getting a headache.

He did not even know how to explain to the village that he had killed Iwamata. By all reason, a newly promoted Special Jonin could never defeat an Elite Jonin like the captain of a Decapitation Unit.

After everyone finished eating, Shisui took the initiative and said, "I'll take watch tonight."

Naturally, Hyuga Kagami had no objection. He was the most seriously injured member of the team.

Guy smiled. "You take the first half of the night, and I'll take the second half."

After resting for several more days in the Land of Birds, Team Eleven set out for home once again. This time, their journey went smoothly. They encountered no trouble along the way and returned safely to the village.

As Anbu directly under the Hokage, Team Eleven went straight to the Hokage's Office after returning to the village and reported the details of their mission in the Land of Demons to the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage was quite surprised to hear that the demon Moryo possessed strength comparable to a Tailed Beast. When he learned that Team Eleven had been ambushed in the Land of Bears by an Iwagakure Decapitation Unit, he fell silent outright.

After pondering for a long time, the Third Hokage classified Team Eleven's mission in the Land of Demons as confidential and sealed it in the secret Archive that only the Hokage could access.

At the same time, he issued a gag order to every member of Team Eleven.

Any information concerning the demon Moryo and the ambush in the Land of Bears was to remain strictly confidential and could not be disclosed to anyone...