Mist Ninja Pursuit and Sen's Tactics

"Sen!" Jiraiya lowered his voice and gave the order.

Sen immediately understood and, along with Jiraiya, aimed their fire ninjutsu at the sea surface beneath their feet!

"BOOM--!"

The moment the flames met the seawater, a violent sizzling sound erupted, instantly generating an incredibly thick fog that completely separated the two groups.

"Go!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the four simultaneously unleashed their chakra and, like four arrows loosed from a bow, raced towards the distance, treading on the waves.

However, they hadn't escaped far before Kushina glanced back, her pupils suddenly constricting—

She saw several figures moving like phantoms through the thick fog on both sides, treading on the water, their speed actually faster than theirs!

"Teacher Jiraiya, they've caught up, and they're faster than us!"

"Damn it!" Jiraiya looked back, his heart sinking.

At this speed, they would be surrounded again in at most two minutes!

Damn it, I didn't expect this reconnaissance mission to be so difficult! Next time, I'm definitely going to learn more reconnaissance ninjutsu from the toads!

He made a swift decision and quickly formed hand seals:

"Ninjutsu: Summoning Technique!"

Accompanied by a huge cloud of white smoke, a massive orange-red toad appeared with a thud on the sea surface!

It had a huge scar across its eye and a short sword at its waist—it was none other than the combat powerhouse of Mount Myōboku—Gamabunta!

"Hey, Jiraiya, what's going on? Why are we surrounded by a bunch of Mist Ninja as soon as I show up?" Gamabunta grumbled in a muffled voice as soon as he appeared.

"Stop the nonsense, Bunta, use the oil!" Jiraiya urged, while shouting to the three people beneath Gamabunta, "Get up here, I'll take you!"

Gamabunta knew the situation was urgent and quickly puffed out his cheeks.

The next second, a stream of black, viscous toad oil shot out like a high-pressure water cannon. Combined with Jiraiya's already completed fire jutsu, it transformed into a sea of raging flames!

Fire Style: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!

Facing the overwhelming flames, the pursuing Mist Ninja immediately formed hand seals.

Water Style: Water Wall!

With the endless sea as their backing, the Water Wall erected by several ninja together was like a giant blue city wall, forcefully blocking the onslaught of the Toad Oil Flame Bullet.

However, this also bought the Team Seven precious time to escape.

Seeing Minato and Kushina already climbing onto Gamabunta's head, and Sen about to follow, a long needle glinting with cold light sinisterly pierced through the wall of fire, aiming directly for the two on Gamabunta's head!

It was intended to pierce both Minato and Kushina!

"Careful!" Minato immediately drew a kunai, ready to block.

"Don't come down, get up!" Sen sharply stopped him.

The scarlet Three Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly in Sen's eyes. He accurately predicted the trajectory of the Nuibari, leaped forward, and with his short sword, deflected the fatal blow with a "ding" in mid-air!

"Sen! Hurry up and get on!" Gamabunta's oil was running out, and Jiraiya urged again.

The surrounding Mist Ninja had already begun to counterattack with various water jutsu; their escape time had reached its limit!

Sen glanced into the distance. A large portion of the flames had been devoured by Suikazan Fuguki with Samehada, and Jūzō Biwa was also swinging Kubikiribōchō, cleaving horizontally once more.

He knew he had lost the best opportunity to regroup.

The opponent's target, from beginning to end, had only been him.

"Jiraiya! Take them and go!"

Sen's eyes darted, and a scheme appeared in his mind.

He spat out several Great Fireball Jutsu in succession, forcing back the Mist Ninja on the flanks, then suddenly turned and charged in the opposite direction of Jiraiya!

After escaping a certain distance, he looked back at Kushina, who Jiraiya was desperately holding back and who was shouting his name at the top of her lungs, and with his last bit of tenderness, he whispered, "Kushina, don't be afraid. I'll be back for breakfast."

After speaking, seeing Gamabunta had already leaped far away, the chakra beneath his feet erupted again, and he charged into the endless darkness without looking back.

Jūzō Biwa watched the two groups fleeing in separate directions and immediately ordered, "Kushimaru Kuriarare, you take people to pursue Jiraiya! Suikazan Fuguki, you take two small squads of Chunin and bring me Uchiha Sen's head!"

"Yes!" Suikazan Fuguki's face showed a bloodthirsty smile; this was his chance to atone for his mistakes!

He immediately called out to six Chunin and pursued Sen's direction at full speed!

After escaping a certain distance, Sen looked back.

Behind him, seven figures clung to him like a persistent curse, relentlessly pursuing.

"One Jonin, six Chunin... they really think highly of me. This is good, at least they should be safe on their side."

With this thought, Sen formed hand seals and created a Shadow Clone, fleeing in another direction. The second part of his plan was now complete.

"Lord Fuguki, which one should we chase?" a Mist Ninja asked.

Suikazan Fuguki waved Samehada in his hand. The bandages on Samehada writhed a few times, pointing at Sen's true body.

"This way!" he let out an unpleasant laugh, deliberately raising his voice. "My Samehada can distinguish between the real body and Shadow Clones!"

Hearing this, Sen's heart sank. He reluctantly took out the last remaining Soldier Pills, swallowed them, and continued to sprint.

Meanwhile, the Shadow Clone, seeing no one pursuing it, stopped. It used the moonlight to confirm its direction and soon discovered an uninhabited, desolate island.

"There are still over two hours until dawn, which should be enough. Since Naruto can use Chakra Transfer, I naturally can too."

With that thought, he immediately dashed towards the island at full speed.

The chase continued.

Suikazan Fuguki's mood had shifted from the initial cat-and-mouse game to extreme frustration and anger.

His group of seven had expected to finish the battle with ease.

Who knew the opponent's Chakra seemed endless? Under relentless pursuit, he still had the energy to constantly harass and counterattack with Explosive Tags and shuriken, even losing one Jonin in the process!

This guy was utterly insidious to the core!

After an unknown amount of time, as the sky began to show the pale white of dawn, Suikazan Fuguki finally saw the figure ahead slow down.

"He's reached his limit! Surround him slowly! Watch out for his Sharingan!"

Sen's footsteps slowed, and he panted heavily.

He subconsciously patted his ninja tool pouch, finding it empty. His weapons and food had long been depleted.

At the same time, his lungs felt like they were tearing, and every cell in his body screamed a warning.

It seemed his tactic of exhausting their stamina was about to pay off!

Sen's sprinting pace abruptly stopped. He spun around, gripping his short sword, and launched a counterattack against the pursuing Mist Ninja.

This sudden turnabout caught the enemy completely off guard.

Less than a hundred meters separated them, and he closed the distance in an instant!

One Mist Ninja didn't even have time to react before Sen's short sword pierced his heart!

With the successful strike, Sen pushed off the fallen ninja's body, backflipped to dodge the others' attacks, and landed steadily on the water's surface.

Although the attack was successful, Sen was now surrounded by the remaining four.

"You've been chasing for so long, your Chakra must be almost depleted, right?" Sen asked coldly, looking at the furious Suikazan Fuguki. "With just you guys, are you sure you can win?"

Suikazan Fuguki didn't answer.

He grabbed Samehada and walked to his comrade, who was bleeding out and awaiting death. He then fed him into Samehada's gaping maw, swallowing him whole!

Feeling the Chakra flowing from Samehada, Suikazan Fuguki smiled with satisfaction.

"Didn't you notice one person was missing from the six? When necessary, they are all my 'Chakra supplements'!"

Sen spat. He himself could be ruthless to enemies, but he had never considered harming his own comrades.

"Disgusting," Sen felt his stomach churn. "To attack your own people, you live worse than an animal."