Toy

Hanyu firmly believed in his judgment: on a battlefield like this, no ninja would ever operate alone.

Even someone as powerful as the Hokage would bring a guard squad when attempting to approach or traverse a battlefield... unless they were a ninja like the Fourth Hokage, who could come and go as they pleased using space-time ninjutsu and thus remained unconstrained by such rules.

So, the question arose: was the enemy flipped over by a single explosive tag the kind of ninja who could rival the Fourth?

Frankly, such a comparison was far too unfair to both parties. The trap Hanyu and his team had set was not complex; if the enemy could blunder into it so carelessly, it only meant that the enemy had no grasp of what a battlefield was truly like.

Looking from afar, one could roughly judge that the enemy was no older than sixteen. It was highly likely he was a battlefield novice, and his youth and lack of experience had now cost him a heavy price.

"Do not act rashly, do not finish him off, wait patiently." Hanyu once again issued instructions to his companions behind him using that same bird-call-like whistle.

The enemy struck by the explosive tag had not died instantly; he was groaning in agony on the ground, struggling to survive. However, judging by the volume of blood loss and the location of his injuries, it was impossible for him to live much longer, and his final struggles would not last for long.

Hanyu worried that someone in the squad might be unable to bear the scene and choose to finish the enemy off to end his suffering, but in reality, his order was somewhat redundant. Although this squad was still young, they were professional ninjas; they would not expose their position out of a shred of sympathy for the enemy. Such a foolish act of putting the cart before the horse was something no qualified ninja would ever do.

In fact, they lacked such sympathy entirely. If anyone were to feel unbearable pity at the current scene, it should be the enemy's companions, not the ninjas of Konoha. Therefore, if the enemy's own comrades chose to watch rather than end his suffering, there was even less reason for the Konoha side to do so.

It seemed cold, but it was entirely rational. On a battlefield like this, killing carried no burden, and therefore, the killing never ceased.

Positioned at a high point, Chichiwa already had her bow in hand. She carefully observed the anomalies around the enemy to ensure she could launch an attack immediately if other enemies appeared, but her arrows were never aimed at the clumsy enemy himself. She knew that letting him bleed to death was the best choice for both sides.

"Do not be overly cautious. At the very least, we have the numerical advantage. Once I give the signal, we must seize the timing, strike boldly, and aim to eliminate the remaining enemies at the first opportunity," Hanyu continued, speaking to Nara Nagisa beside him.

The enemy they had encountered should not be a large-scale force; otherwise, they would have already begun searching and hunting through this area. Thus, the probability of the enemy being a four-man or two-man squad was highest. But whether it was a two-man or four-man team, having lost one member first, they were effectively at a disadvantage.

This was the downside of being the attacking force on the battlefield; many traps could only be triggered by human lives.

Considering that the dying enemy had performed so poorly, it was highly likely that the enemy squad was a newly formed one with very little battlefield experience... even though Hanyu's side was in a similar situation, such a judgment could at least allow them to establish a psychological equilibrium, or even an advantage.

This was a point both sides understood; the enemy might even choose to retreat directly.

If they could seize the opportunity, they would strike decisively; if the enemy chose to withdraw cleanly, they would let them go... Hanyu would never rashly issue an order to pursue. Firstly, the risk was too high, and secondly, their mission was defense, not offense.

The sound of the explosion had long since traveled into the distance. Before long, the forest fell silent once more, and even that enemy stopped struggling, presumably having passed away. However, apart from this enemy, Hanyu had yet to discover a second one.

Their scout, Renjuro, had also failed to relay any effective intelligence.

The enemy's corpse grew cold, and subsequently, Hanyu began to grow hesitant... he started to doubt his previous judgment. Could it be that there really was only one enemy?

Just as Hanyu was thinking this, with extreme abruptness, an arrow shimmering with lightning struck the tree trunk at his feet with a thud, and the very spot he was standing on shattered instantly.

Hanyu and Nara Nagisa reacted reflexively, flashing out of the canopy and dropping straight to the ground... they had been exposed.

The person who launched the attack was Chichiwa. Hanyu had a deep impression of the arrowheads she used, crafted from a special metal capable of conducting chakra. However, it was impossible for Chichiwa to attack her own comrades.

"Oh, so the fourth one was hiding there?" A hoarse voice drifted eerily from the spot where Hanyu and the other had just been hiding.

If not for Chichiwa's warning just now, Hanyu and his companion would likely have been assassinated silently.

The enemy in the tree muttered only that one sentence before abandoning Hanyu and the other, charging directly toward Chichiwa with an unimaginably bizarre speed.

Hanyu and Nara had no time to dwell on the terror of the moment; they gave no word and immediately gave chase.

At the same time, Chichiwa began to retreat. Seeing the opponent's movement speed, she felt that with her taijutsu, there was no way she could duel this enemy; she had to create distance. However, the enemy was too fast, and in just a blink, the distance between them had closed significantly.

Fortunately, Hanyu was following closely behind the opponent, and his hands had already formed seals:

Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

Clusters of flame swarmed toward the enemy like a plague of locusts. The enemy, who had been charging at high speed in a straight line, was forced to change direction to avoid the attack, and his speed was consequently forced down.

Hanyu and his companion had finally caught up to him.

"It seems I have to deal with you lot first after all." The enemy stopped his pace and turned his face around. Only then did Hanyu clearly see the old face of the opponent.

And upon seeing that face, Nara did not say a word before firing a red signal flare into the sky, representing the most urgent situation... at least now, Nara knew why the Konoha squad that had been here before had vanished without a trace.

Hanyu was somewhat surprised by Nara's reaction; it felt a bit too extreme. He was still counting on their numerical advantage—there was only one enemy, and even if the opponent was a Jonin, it wasn't impossible for the four of them to put up a fight.

Nara took a deep breath and said in an exceptionally grave voice:

"It is Monzaemon of the Sand Village."

"Who?"

Hanyu was a bit bewildered; he had never heard this name before.

He wasn't a fan-fiction author, so how could he possibly know the name of every powerful ninja? Especially in this era.