Ambush

"How many enemies are there?" Hagane Zhen asked.

His earlier baiting tactics had not been entirely ineffective; in fact, they had drawn away a portion of the enemy. Now he could only hope that the number still pursuing them was not too overwhelming.

"The enemies still chasing us number about the same as us—roughly fifteen people," the same clan ninja who had spoken before replied.

Being chased by an enemy force of equal size was not unreasonable. On one hand, the enemy's average strength was higher, their stamina and energy were nearly at peak condition, and they could receive reinforcements faster. On the other hand... Hagane Zhen shook his head inwardly. His gaze swept over his own people, and he saw visible exhaustion and weakness on every face. In truth, they no longer had the strength for sustained combat; calling them lambs to the slaughter would not be an exaggeration.

They couldn't even continue fleeing, let alone fight.

"At least I managed to shake off some of the enemy on my end. Looking on the bright side, we won't face a pincer attack... In a few hours, the enemies we'll have to deal with will likely be just these fifteen."

Hagane Zhen thought it over and realized their options were pitifully few. He sighed and said, "To maximize everyone's chances of survival, we have no choice but to continue with the diversionary tactics—using a few individuals to lure the enemy away as much as possible."

Though he appeared very young, the clan ninjas still had great faith in him. For one, it was thanks to his advice that they had survived this long. For another, as the Clan Leader, he had already undertaken a dangerous bait mission for the entire clan, effectively dying once for them. His dedication to both public and private matters was beyond question.

He was capable and led by example. Even if he were leading them to their doom, no one would complain at this point... He had done everything he could. Who could blame them for being so weak as to end up in this situation?

"Clan Leader, I'm still in decent shape. Let me be the bait this time," the ninja who had just spoken immediately said.

"Count me in, Clan Leader." Another ninja stepped forward almost simultaneously.

Two ninjas stepped up one after another. Both were young men in their twenties—one named Hagane Kenshin, the other Hagane Ryunosuke.

"Good. Then the three of us will handle luring the enemy," Hagane Zhen said without room for hesitation. He agreed without delay, knowing these two were among the stronger ninjas in the clan.

"Clan Leader..."

"No need to argue. It's decided."

The task ahead, to put it nicely, was a bait mission; to put it bluntly, it was a suicide mission. Hagane Zhen had already taken on such a role once, and there was no reason for him to risk it again, yet he still cut off the clan members' attempts to dissuade him.

Now was not the time for sentimentality.

"Everyone, listen to my orders: For the next two hours, focus on recovering your Chakra. After two hours, we'll begin the operation... Don't worry too much. I'm fairly confident in the upcoming battle plan."

No one believed that last sentence. They took it as meaningless, baseless reassurance.

In any case, everyone found a spot to sit down and began desperately refining Chakra.

Hagane Zhen climbed to a high point in a large tree, standing on a thick horizontal branch. He gazed into the distance, observing the surroundings and keeping watch for the group.

For him now, facing fifteen enemies alone was certainly not a sure thing, but if it were just one against five, it was worth a try. He wouldn't overestimate his strength—after all, before today, he was just an ordinary ninja. The only jutsu he could use, aside from the Three Basic Techniques, were a mere two or three low-level Fire Release techniques. With that kind of power, taking on multiple enemies was nothing short of a pipe dream.

But now, things were a little different.

Hagane Zhen pondered how to fight next. He transformed his right arm and hand into a "White Zetsu Transformation," then gently swung his limb. A miraculous scene unfolded: his arm passed through the tree trunk beside him as if by magic.

This was, of course, no Space-Time Ninjutsu. It was the White Zetsu's "Mayfly Technique."

At this stage, most of the White Zetsu active in the ninja world were not combat units. They were reconnaissance and intelligence units, their abilities specialized for such tasks. Overall, individual White Zetsu were relatively weak, but that didn't mean they lacked lethality.

In fact, the White Zetsu's assassination capabilities were unparalleled—downright monstrous. Perfect stealth, flawless transformation, silent movement—it could be said that the White Zetsu's abilities were what every ninja dreamed of.

Hagane Zhen believed that the so-called "White Zetsu-Man" would not be a hollow reputation.

Two hours passed quickly. Hagane Zhen returned to the group and said, "Everyone, please shake my hand one by one... Kenshin and Ryunosuke, stay until the end... Then listen to me."

No one understood what Hagane Zhen intended to do, but they followed his instructions and came forward one by one.

As Hagane Zhen shook hands with each clan member, he said:

"Based on our encounters so far, compared to the beginning, I feel the enemy's combat attitude has become less rigorous. They seem to be treating us—these nearly defenseless remnants—like cats toying with mice during the pursuit.

Therefore, if we continue to split up and lure them, there's a high probability they'll split up to chase us, aiming to pick us off one by one and achieve total annihilation.

They have Reconnaissance Ninjas, and they know we don't. We can turn that against them..."

Hagane Zhen paused briefly, but at this moment, everyone's attention wasn't on his words. The ninjas who had shaken his hand all wore strange expressions on their faces.

Soon, it was the turn of Kenshin and Ryunosuke.

Hagane Zhen grasped one hand of each. The moment their palms touched, both immediately felt a surge of abundant Chakra flow into their bodies.

"This... what is this?"

This was the White Zetsu's Spore Technique. Using this jutsu, one could absorb others' Chakra, either for personal use or to transfer it to a third party. What Hagane Zhen was doing was absorbing Chakra from the other clan members and evenly distributing it to Kenshin and Ryunosuke, who would serve as bait.

But he had no time to explain this ability now.

"Listen carefully. Here's the plan: I, Kenshin, and Ryunosuke will not hide. We'll split into three directions to draw the pursuing enemies away. Facing us at the end of our rope, the enemy will likely choose to chase us separately—that gives us a chance to take them out one by one."

"Kenshin, head toward the three o'clock direction. Ryunosuke, toward six o'clock. I'll take nine o'clock... Release your Chakra fully. Provoke them, but don't get bogged down in fights. Run—run as far as you can. Understood?"

"Yes, Clan Leader." The two nodded without hesitation.

"Once I've dealt with the enemies in my direction, I'll come to support you immediately. So don't act rashly."

Concentrating the Chakra of over a dozen ninjas into two people would be enough to sustain them for a while. If Hagane Zhen moved fast enough and their luck held, they might survive.

"The rest of you, hide deeper in the forest. Don't show yourselves until the battle is over."

After Hagane Zhen said this, several people looked as if they wanted to speak but held back. In the end, they said nothing.

What could they say at this point? Could they ask, "How can the Clan Leader, with his strength, take out five enemies at full capacity?"

No one could bring themselves to say that.

This was already a gamble for survival—just do your best and leave the rest to fate... That was what most people here were thinking.

Only Hagane himself knew that his diversion operation was by no means a suicide mission.

Nor could they simply choose to die. After all, for the next phase of the plan, Hagane had extracted the vast majority of the clan's Chakra. Once they lost their Chakra, they would be utterly defenseless. If the enemy discovered them, a one-sided slaughter would inevitably follow—there was no doubt about it.

"Alright, any more questions?" Hagane asked one last time.

Everyone shook their heads in unison. Whatever the outcome, they had already steeled themselves mentally.

"Good, then..."

"Begin the operation."