Good Evening

Yūno Ryōma looked around. His gaunt cheeks twitched, and his throat bobbed as he struggled to swallow.

The situation was already dire!

There had been twelve of them in all.

One had gone out during the day and never returned. He had most likely already met with disaster.

Four had been injured not long ago after triggering an Exploding Tag trap in the forest. Then they'd been trapped in the wildfire, and by now they were probably cooked through.

Two more had been separated from them during their earlier breakout attempt and were nowhere to be found. Yūno Ryōma didn't dare hope they were still alive.

And just seconds ago, Luo, another Jonin, had been cut down right before his eyes by the young Rain ninja before them!

Of the twelve members of the Root expedition squad, only four remained.

Every one of them was injured, their faces blackened with soot and their breathing painfully labored.

Before setting out, Yūno Ryōma had never imagined that even with him personally leading the squad, they would suffer such devastating losses in a small country like the Land of Rain!

He had thought he'd taken the reports seriously enough, but now he realized he'd still underestimated the Rain ninja boy they described.

Danzo-sama, you should be glad he isn't really a member of the Shimura clan. This boy is more ruthless than you—and more capable, too.

No matter how much he regretted it, Yūno Ryōma had to shoulder his responsibility as commander.

"I'll hold them off. Find a chance to break through and get down the mountain! Someone has to make it out alive and take the intelligence back to the village for Danzo-sama!"

Yūno Ryōma had meant to sacrifice himself alone, but as soon as he finished speaking, Wu yanked off his mask and tossed it aside before quickly forming Hand Seals.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

By casting aside his mask and openly breaking Root's code, Wu answered with actions: he didn't want to go back, either.

Root's ninja might have been blindly loyal, but they were never short on courage when it came to sacrifice. Their only mistake was following a leader who was ambitious but incompetent, and always scheming.

But it wasn't as if ordinary Root members had a choice.

For a moment, Yūno Ryōma's eyes grew misty behind his sunglasses.

He could only turn and roar at the Jonin codenamed Po, "Go!"

Po didn't dare hesitate. He grabbed the last Chunin and ran!

At the same time, Wu clashed fiercely with Karasuba once more, while Yūno Ryōma turned to face Shiba Seika.

"Wind Release: Great Vacuum Sphere!"

He knew he had to hold off the mysterious Rain ninja boy.

His opponent wasn't just strong and clever—he also had an exceptionally effective healing technique!

Shiba Seika jumped to dodge the giant wind bullet, forming Hand Seals as he returned fire with a jutsu of his own.

"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"

Normally, the technique only whipped up a whirlwind and didn't have much killing power.

But with burning branches scattered everywhere, Shiba Seika chose it to make the most of his surroundings. The whirlwind swept up countless burning ashes and plants, engulfing Yūno Ryōma.

"Damn it!"

Yūno Ryōma cursed under his breath. Forced to abandon his attack, he focused on defense.

"Earth Release: Earth Prison Dome!"

A dome of earth, shaped like an overturned bowl, burst from the ground and enclosed Yūno Ryōma, cutting him off from the raging fire tornado outside.

Having forced his opponent to use a defensive jutsu, Shiba Seika didn't let his guard down. Instead, he grew instantly wary.

The Earth Prison Dome blocked his view. He immediately anticipated that his opponent would take the opportunity to make a move!

He quickly formed Hand Seals and used the Body Flicker Technique to reach Ajisai, the least capable of defending herself on their team. He scooped her up and leaped away.

The next instant, Yūno Ryōma did indeed emerge from the earth, using "Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique" to appear beneath Ajisai. His outstretched arm was surrounded by a dense swarm of black insects.

If Shiba Seika hadn't reacted quickly, read his move accurately, and flickered over in time to help, Ajisai would have been caught completely off guard and eaten alive by the bugs.

Ajisai, still in the air, shuddered at the thought.

She hadn't expected elite Jonin from one of the great ninja villages to be capable of such a fierce counterattack in circumstances this dire.

Fortunately, Shiba Seika was there. He could match them blow for blow and even force them into a desperate corner!

But before she could savor that feeling for more than a few seconds, Shiba Seika hurriedly tossed out, "Watch yourself!"

Then he promptly flung her out of his arms.

He'd thrown her with such force that Ajisai landed on her butt, and the flames on the ground caught her pants.

That move embodied the principle that women only slowed down the speed at which a man could draw his blade.

Ajisai had no choice but to pout, make a fierce little face at Shiba Seika, and scramble away.

Seeing that his ambush had failed and his target had retreated, Yūno Ryōma could only pull back and continue sparring with Shiba Seika.

Shiba Seika wasn't in a hurry. He made full use of the surrounding terrain and fought with effortless ease.

The two exchanged fierce blows for several rounds. Then, without warning, Shiba Seika gave Yūno Ryōma a gentle smile.

"Do you think your companions have already managed to escape?"

The single question instantly stirred Yūno Ryōma's heart, which had only just settled. His heart, which had stopped twitching because he'd accepted that he was going to die, began pounding wildly again!

Had he figured it out? Had he known all along that they were deliberately stalling? Had he been playing them from the start?!

Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain, the Root ninja codenamed Po and another Chunin stumbled and ran down the slope, their bodies badly burned. At last, they escaped the flames.

Po didn't dare rest for even a moment. He immediately pulled out a scroll and hurriedly recorded what had happened and all the intelligence they'd gathered.

Then he used a jutsu to make three copies of the scroll. He kept one, gave one to his companion, and handed the last to a big yellow dog he summoned.

The creature he'd summoned wasn't a Ninja Dog, but it was a clever, highly intelligent hound.

After feeding it two Soldier Pills, Po tucked the scroll into the small pouch at the dog's side and pointed toward the border.

"Run that way! Go back to Konoha and give this to Danzo-sama!"

After watching the summoned dog dash off, Po finally let out a long breath and slumped onto the ground. He turned to his companion.

"Take turns keeping watch. Let's rest for a bit."

The Root Chunin beside him was even more seriously injured. At those words, he too breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground.

Though their clothes were in tatters and smoke still rose from their bodies, in that moment they couldn't help feeling relieved, thinking they'd finally escaped death.

But the next second, Po's expression changed!

He sensed that his Summoning Beast had died—just now, without warning!

He turned to look toward the border.

Then, in the moonlight, a cute little cat with pure white fur appeared at the end of a branch, strolling in with unhurried elegance. Her tail curled around a Kunai, and fresh blood stained her paws, tail, and weapon.

With her back to the moonlight, the Ninja Cat Tama greeted them playfully. "Good evening, meow~"