Famous Tourist Attractions

In any case, Akimichi Torifu was a ninja, and even one trained by the Second Hokage, yet he really didn't slaughter people indiscriminately... After the squad had dealt with the Kusagakure ninja without harming them, they simply let them go.

When a squad on a mission encountered a situation like this, most would choose the simple, brutal solution of killing the two ninja to eliminate any future trouble. They wouldn't care whether Kusagakure was a "neutral force" or not.

For Akimichi Torifu, killing was a professional necessity, not a personal hobby. He also cared more than most ninja about the larger picture of the Shinobi World War, and would help Konoha win support whenever he had the chance.

After the brief interruption, the squad continued onward.

The Land of Grass truly lived up to its name. Its terrain was mostly grassland, and the wild grass could grow taller than a person, making it a fairly suitable place to hide.

The Konoha squad had a deadline for this operation, so they didn't travel at full speed. That was to give certain people enough time to react.

They spent almost a whole day on the journey, and didn't reach their destination until noon the following day.

After crossing the grassland, the squad came upon a sparse wood. This was where they planned to set up an observation post.

The squad grew increasingly cautious.

"Keep an eye on the surroundings. Once we've confirmed there are no enemies, start building the observation post immediately."

They had to make the act convincing. Even after reaching their destination, Akimichi Torifu still instructed the squad to carry out the mission as planned.

"Yes, Captain."

Kairi Omori sent out her "scouting unit" to check the surrounding area, while Yuzuru and Hazuki Uchiha began surveying it with their eyes... What they didn't know was that the Iwagakure Ninja had already spotted them, and a net was closing around them.

As he scanned the area, Yuzuru suddenly spotted a bridge spanning a river. It looked oddly familiar. In an instant, he realized this might be a famous tourist attraction.

"Captain, this bridge is..."

"It should be Kannabi Bridge. It's a key transportation hub in the Land of Grass."

So it really was that bridge. That made sense, since Iwagakure's invasion route ran nearby.

But this was the Second Shinobi World War, not the Third Shinobi World War.

Yuzuru thought for a moment, then tried asking, "Captain, this bridge looks like a key point along a transportation route. If we blow it up, could we cut off Iwagakure's invasion or supply lines?"

Akimichi Torifu gave Yuzuru a surprised look. Then he patted him on the shoulder and said:

"Yuzuru, that's a pretty good idea. But have you considered Iwagakure's engineering capabilities? They have so many Earth Release ninja who are exceptionally skilled. Even if we destroy this bridge, they could easily build another one."

Yuzuru: "..."

That made sense, but the story I knew didn't go that way... Blowing up the bridge wouldn't just cut off Iwagakure's supplies and cripple their ability to attack; the person who blew it up would even become a hero.

But on second thought, Akimichi Torifu's explanation was more reasonable. Iwagakure's Earth Release ninja really were good at reshaping terrain.

If building a bridge with Earth Release was no big deal for them, then what had the Battle of Kannabi Bridge even been about?

"It's strange. There aren't any Iwagakure Ninja active in the area."

The squad's scouting had turned up nothing, which only made everyone more suspicious.

Yuzuru had some vague suspicions about this operation, so the only thing he cared about now was when Konoha's reinforcements would arrive.

Bang!

Suddenly, a cloud of smoke rose not far ahead. Two figures gradually emerged from it... They were Iwagakure Ninja.

The good news was that Konoha's fishing operation had worked. The bad news was that it had worked a little too well.

The two Iwagakure Ninja quickly fixed their gazes on the Konoha squad. Their appearance was the signal, and more Iwagakure Ninja emerged from the surrounding area, closing in on them together.

"Captain..."

"Don't panic. This was our real mission all along. Hold out for a while, and our reinforcements will arrive," Akimichi Torifu said.

With more than twenty Iwagakure Ninja bearing down on them, the Konoha squad had no choice but to reveal themselves.

When the enemy captain saw Akimichi Torifu, his expression changed noticeably... First came a look of "Just as I thought," followed by the excitement of someone who'd hit the jackpot.

"Akimichi Torifu, a Konoha jonin. So it really is you. I can't believe we caught such a big fish."

A ninja of Akimichi Torifu's caliber was invaluable to any village. If Iwagakure could take him out, the trip would be well worth it.

Yuzuru thought these Iwagakure Ninja seemed rather straightforward. Hadn't they considered that their high-level spy might be exposed?

"Looks like you came prepared... Was this aimed at me? But I'm just an ordinary Konoha jonin." Akimichi Torifu shook his head.

The Konoha scout following behind them had confirmed the situation here, hadn't he? In that case, they should be able to confirm the spy's identity.

"No, you're the Second—"

Before the Iwagakure ninja could finish speaking, Hazuki Uchiha suddenly darted forward. She had already completed her hand seals.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Why waste time talking? They were going to fight anyway. They might as well skip the preliminaries.

Uchiha ninja usually seemed cold, but once they hit the battlefield, they instantly turned into fiery big sisters.

There was no helping it. Yuzuru could only charge at the enemy too.

They were outnumbered. More importantly, as a newly formed squad that had only carried out one mission together, they lacked teamwork and could only fight separately.

"Focus on reducing their numbers first. You two, provide cover—"

"Captain, let me go first."

Yuzuru cut Akimichi Torifu off. Without saying anything more, he used the Body Flicker Technique to dart rapidly from place to place, weaving through the Iwagakure Ninja.

Before long, he had drawn some of the enemy's attention toward himself.

"We can't let this turn into a drawn-out fight. Now's not the time to worry about chakra..." Yuzuru decided to try out a new technique.

He checked the enemies' positions again, then reached into the Ninja Tool Pouch at his waist and pulled out three Smoke Bombs. He slammed them onto the ground.

Purple smoke billowed up, obscuring Yuzuru and blocking the enemies' line of sight.

Hidden in the smoke, Yuzuru began forming hand seals...

Wind Release: Shuriken.

He infused a spinning Shuriken with wind chakra. Empowered by the wind blades, the small Shuriken gained the killing range of a giant Shuriken, while remaining lighter and sharper.

Then Yuzuru hurled the Shuriken toward the enemies.

The high-pitched whirring sound faded into the distance. As soon as the Shuriken left his hand, Yuzuru formed another set of hand seals:

Ox—Dog—Dragon—Rat—Dog—Pig—Snake—Tiger

Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!

The spinning Wind Release: Shuriken burst out of the smoke, then multiplied into a hundred...