The Invisible Enemy

The temporary frontline encampment in the northern Land of Fire.

After a brutal ambush, barely anyone remained in this unit. Lord Minato had arrived at the critical moment and led them out of the encirclement; otherwise, they would all have died at the enemy's hands.

Inside the command tent, Lord Minato sat with the three members of Ino-Shika-Cho.

"You mean there's a problem within our ranks?" Minato asked pensively.

"It's only a guess," Shikaku said.

"What evidence do you have?"

"Our marching route was carefully surveyed by the reconnaissance unit. It was top secret. If the enemy possessed scouting methods far superior to ours, they should have gained the upper hand in this war long ago."

Minato merely frowned in silence.

Shikaku continued, "I know it sounds rather far-fetched, which is why it's only a guess."

"What do you intend to do?" Minato asked.

"We need to verify my suspicion. If there truly is an enemy spy among us, it would undoubtedly be a devastating blow to our upcoming operations."

As Shikaku spoke, he took out three small scrolls, which he had just prepared.

"These are three different withdrawal routes. We'll send them separately to the camps of other units. I've already dispatched a reconnaissance ninja in advance along each of these routes."

"Kakashi!" Shikaku called toward the outside of the tent. A white-haired, masked youth soon walked in.

He handed one of the scrolls to Kakashi. "Take this to Lord Jiraiya's camp to the east. Go quickly and return quickly."

"Understood." Kakashi accepted the scroll, gave a brief reply, and left the command tent.

Shikaku handed the other two scrolls to Minato.

"Minato, I'll have to trouble you with these. Deliver them to Fugaku's camp in the west and the outpost camp to the northwest."

Minato nodded lightly, then asked, "Any other instructions?"

Shikaku glanced at the alarm clock on the table. "We'll depart at three in the afternoon."

"I'll make it back in time."

The camps were not close to one another. Before every operation, messengers would be sent to notify each other so that everyone could keep track of the others' movements.

Minato walked out of the command tent and saw the remnants of the unit gathered nearby.

There were only a few hundred people left. Their morale was low, and many were still wounded, leaning against tree trunks or lying on the ground to rest.

When they saw Minato emerge, some still rose to greet him. "Lord Minato."

Minato felt somewhat heavy-hearted. Looking at those familiar faces, he recalled that there had clearly been far more of them two days ago.

He said nothing more and directly used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.

Shikaku emerged from the camp at that moment as well.

"Everyone, get ready. We leave in an hour and withdraw through Qingyun Mountain."

The hour passed quickly, and Minato returned as promised.

After the unit had prepared itself, they set off once more.

Qingyun Mountain stretched across the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass. Its terrain was not particularly steep, and its scenery was graceful and beautiful.

Shikaku led the unit along the mountainside. Looking at the lush vegetation around them, he felt that if a bloody battle broke out here, the environment would likely suffer considerable damage.

I hope I'm just worrying over nothing.

"How long have we been walking?" Minato asked.

"Over forty minutes," Shikaku replied.

Minato said, "No news has come back after all this time. It should mean nothing happened."

Shikaku nodded. "Let's hope so."

Because there were wounded among them, they moved slowly. Minato walked at the front of the group, occasionally looking back at his remaining comrades. He resolved to bring every one of them home.

"Minato." Choza tossed him a waterskin.

Minato opened it and tilted his head back for a drink. In the distance, the sky was clear and blue like jade, with a few clusters of white clouds drifting through it. The view would likely have been even more beautiful from the mountaintop.

But just as Minato finished drinking, the reconnaissance ninja Shikaku had dispatched earlier returned.

His arrival caused Minato and the three members of Ino-Shika-Cho's hearts to sink.

"Well?" Shikaku asked with a frown.

"At my assigned location, I discovered a force of Stone Ninja—at least five or six hundred of them!"

The man took the waterskin Minato offered him, drank from it, and spoke while slightly out of breath.

"I see." Shikaku answered expressionlessly. The location this man had been sent to was the withdrawal route toward Lord Jiraiya's camp.

"Go get some rest," he told the man.

It seemed that Lord Jiraiya's camp had been infiltrated by the enemy.

"Shikaku, it seems your guess was right," Inoichi said.

"We need to warn Master Jiraiya," Minato said.

Shikaku nodded and was just about to say something when another reconnaissance ninja returned.

This man had been assigned to the withdrawal route leading to Fugaku's camp.

Everyone's hearts skipped a beat.

A moment later, the last reconnaissance ninja returned as well. The information they brought back was identical: Stone Ninja had been discovered at every location under their charge.

Shikaku felt his scalp go numb. He turned to look at Minato and saw a trace of shock beneath his grave expression.

Every camp had spies!

How were they supposed to fight a war like this?

Shikaku suddenly remembered something and abruptly shouted, "Stop moving!"

He looked around, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his body.

"Inoichi!" Shikaku's voice had already grown hoarse. The moment Shikaku shouted, Inoichi had begun using Sensory Ninjutsu.

The unit came to a halt and watched their surroundings warily. The once lush, dense forest now seemed fraught with danger.

After a moment, Inoichi said, "I haven't detected anything unusual... If they set up an ambush in advance, they may have methods to block sensory detection."

"They're after our unit," Shikaku said. "They're determined to wipe us out!"

Minato stepped forward then and said calmly, "Leave it to me."

Shikaku was uneasy. "You alone?"

He knew Minato was strong—so strong that he had surpassed the bounds of ordinary people, far beyond the likes of himself—but there were five or six hundred enemies!

"It may be a little troublesome. I'll need Inoichi's help," Minato said.

"Once the enemy reveals themselves, relay all of their positions to me."

"Alright!" Inoichi answered.

"We're coming too!" Voices suddenly rose from within the unit.

Several ninja voluntarily stepped forward, looking at Shikaku and Minato with determined expressions.

"Count me in!"

"Us too!"

Even more people surged forward. Even the wounded showed no fear on their faces.

"We can't always let Lord Minato protect us."

"We refuse to be burdens. We have no regrets if we die for the village."

"That's right! We're going too!"

Shikaku was deeply moved, yet he could not help giving a bitter smile. "Who knowingly walks straight into a trap?"

He looked at Minato again and sighed inwardly. This was Minato's personal charisma.

He immediately gave the order, "Change routes. Everyone descend the mountain. Minato and Inoichi will cover the rear and prevent the enemy from pursuing us once they realize what's happening."

The others exchanged looks, but they still chose to obey Shikaku's order.

The unit immediately headed down the mountain. After they had gone only a short distance, Shikaku could not help turning back to look at Minato and Inoichi again.

The Stone Ninja were not frightening. What was frightening were the unseen people within their own ranks.