Tacit Understanding

"Please hold the three of them back. I'll deal with the people in the rear first." In Fujiwara Masatsune's eyes, the item being transported in the rear was clearly more important.

"You two, it's our turn." Ruri lazily drew his sword. Konoha's Ino-Shika-Cho made for decent opponents, but they still were not enough in his eyes. As for how long it would take to deal with them, that depended on how much strength Mitsunosuke was willing to show.

"This..." Shizuka hesitated. She felt that the current chaos was the perfect opportunity. She and Mitsunosuke could completely make a sudden move, snatch the item, and run.

"We're going, Young Lord!" Mitsunosuke called in a low voice. He could roughly guess what Shizuka was thinking, but now was not the time to act. Once they got the item, they would definitely become everyone's target. It would be better to use this chance to wear down both sides before looking for another opportunity.

"O-Okay..." Out of trust in Mitsunosuke, Shizuka also drew her sword, though she was still confused about why they were not taking the item and hurrying off to take revenge.

Akimichi Akiju nodded, signaling the two beside him to attack together. Relying on the tacit understanding among the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, Nara Hisayo and Yamanaka Heisaku immediately understood. The black-robed, masked warrior across from them had an extraordinary presence. The pressure was immense; they needed to end this quickly.

Unexpectedly, Mitsunosuke was the first among them to strike. He steadily closed the distance, trying to take down Akimichi Akiju, who appeared to be the leader, first.

However, he had chosen the wrong target. Among Ino-Shika-Cho, the most crucial member was neither the Akimichi Clan, who served as attackers and shields, nor the Nara Clan, who handled tactical command and battle analysis, but the Yamanaka Clan, who provided support and coordination from the side.

Although the trio's flawless cooperation was partly due to growing up together, communication through the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques was also essential. Therefore, to defeat Ino-Shika-Cho, one first had to defeat the key to their coordination—the Yamanaka Clan ninja. Moreover, the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques were not merely ninjutsu for improving teamwork. Focusing one's spirit on a single point and using one's will to control an enemy was also extremely deadly in battle!

Mitsunosuke slashed out, seeming to split the air itself. He went all out from the very first strike! The grass swept by his blade hissed sharply, and the longer blades were directly severed in two by the released sword energy!

"Partial Multi-Size Technique!" A pair of giant palms came crashing toward Mitsunosuke, forcing him to change direction. Fortunately, as a warrior, he was agile. Akimichi Akiju struck several times in succession, yet failed to land a single hit.

But Akiju had already achieved his goal. He had driven Mitsunosuke to Shizuka's side as she charged toward them!

"Shadow Possession Technique!" A black shadow extended from beneath Nara Hisayo's feet, passed beneath Shizuka, then used her shadow under the sunlight to spread several more meters and connect to Mitsunosuke!

The Shadow Possession Technique had succeeded!

"Mind Transfer Technique!" Yamanaka Heisaku's target was not Mitsunosuke, who had been caught by the Shadow Possession Technique, but Shizuka, who stood beside him in a daze and was easier to control!

Shizuka was controlled without any surprise. Born into a clan and being a daughter, she had suffered few setbacks in her daily life. Even after the tragedy of her clan's destruction, she had not grown enough. Her will was simply not firm enough!

Under Yamanaka Heisaku's control, Shizuka slashed at Mitsunosuke, who was immobilized by the Shadow Possession Technique. Mitsunosuke was frantic, veins bulging as his face flushed red, but there was still nothing he could do!

Had he chosen the wrong opponents? Mitsunosuke thought in despair. He had planned to use these three "Takigakure Ninja" to display his strength, make Ruri think highly of him, and seek an alliance. Yet now, he was about to be cut down by his own Young Lord!

Mitsunosuke closed his eyes. He had escaped from Seimei's hands, but in the end, he still could not escape the fate of death. Perhaps dying at his Young Lord's hands would be a kind of release...

It had to be said that the overwhelming power brought out by the Ino-Shika-Cho trio's coordination was far more than one plus one plus one equaling three. In a one-on-one fight, Mitsunosuke could easily deal with any one of them. Yet with the three joining forces, and with no understanding of their abilities, Mitsunosuke had no ability to fight back at all!

When would Takigakure ever have secret techniques like these? Ruri sighed inwardly as he moved. His left-hand katana swung out a wave of sword energy directly at Yamanaka Heisaku. Having read the original work, he knew the Ino-Shika-Cho's methods inside and out.

Akimichi Akiju had no time to help block it. Yamanaka Heisaku would not trade his own life for Mitsunosuke's, so he decisively released the Mind Transfer Technique and rolled aside to dodge the sword energy.

Mitsunosuke breathed a sigh of relief. The crisis had been resolved just like that. He looked at Ruri with mixed feelings. The other man had merely swung his sword casually, yet he had broken the ninjutsu that had driven him into a desperate situation. Even if he had not embarrassed himself just now and had displayed his true strength, could he really have gained an alliance?

Shizuka still did not know what had happened. Her mind was muddled, and her grip loosened, letting her sword fall to the ground. Seeing this, Mitsunosuke could not help feeling discouraged. With a Young Lord like this, seeking revenge would undoubtedly be an immensely difficult task. A warrior could never abandon her sword, much less a warrior burdened with a blood-deep grudge. She should not relax her guard for even a moment!

"Such powerful sword energy..." Yamanaka Heisaku had dodged Ruri's sword energy, but the boulder behind him suffered instead. The enormous rock, as tall as a person, was cut cleanly in two at the waist!

"There's such a powerful warrior too? What a pain." Nara Hisayo scratched the back of his head. The three of them were powerful when working together, but their opponents were not easy to deal with either. And as time passed, the other enemy would come to understand their fighting methods, putting them at an even greater disadvantage!

"Super Palm Thrust!" Nara Hisayo could not think of any good solution. Akimichi Akiju, the only one who could fight head-on, could only grit his teeth and charge forward. They could only delay for a little while and see whether the Chunin in the rear could succeed!

"You go help them. That thing is better off in the caravan, isn't it?" Ruri lightly dodged Akiju's attack, then slashed again from a strange angle, forcing Nara Hisayo to release the Shadow Possession Technique. Reaching Takumigakure safely was his goal.

"...Okay." Mitsunosuke knew he could not be of much help here, so he headed to the rear. That item would be easier to seize if it was in the caravan rather than in the hands of ninja.

"Mind Transfer Technique!" Yamanaka Heisaku easily took control of Shizuka, and Shizuka, standing beside Ruri, attacked him!

"The simplest solution would be to kill her outright, but this child is still somewhat useful. The Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques are truly troublesome..." Ruri blocked Shizuka's slash with some irritation. She was only at the level of an intermediate warrior. Even under a Jonin's control, she could not display combat strength that posed a threat to him.

"Hm?" Ruri had originally intended to knock Shizuka unconscious, but suddenly noticed something was wrong. He stopped his hand and caught Shizuka in his arms. Yamanaka Heisaku had released the Mind Transfer Technique at that very instant!

"Genjutsu—Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!" The moment Yamanaka Heisaku released the technique, he Body Flickered behind Ruri and robbed him of his vision!

Ruri's vision abruptly went pitch-black. "As expected of the Anbu's predecessor. This should be the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique developed by Tobirama, right?"

"But... even if my vision is blocked, it's useless..." Just as Ruri sensed the flow of chakra and was about to attack, a shadow spread toward him!

"Your movements are sealed too!" Nara Hisayo emerged from behind Akimichi Akiju. The shadow cast by such an enormous body was enough to let the Shadow Possession Technique extend a great distance.

"Super Palm Thrust!" Akimichi Akiju launched his final attack!

"Bang!" A burst of pure chakra erupted, and the powerful blast directly blew the three of them away, leaving them unable to maintain their ninjutsu! Seven-Tails chakra, fully unleashed!

"Didn't you want to learn the sword? I'll teach you." Ruri Body Flickered, picked up Shizuka, and tossed her onto a tree. An intermediate warrior with no combat experience would only get in the way here. If she got controlled by the Mind Transfer Technique one more time, he would truly feel like killing her.