The Trap

Orochimaru melted away like a candle being snuffed out, while Manda had already charged out of the camp, eagerly devouring his fill of human prey.

Earth Clone Technique!

A sense of foreboding struck her, and Chiyo ordered a retreat on instinct.

But there were still too many Sand Ninja pressing in.

The Konoha Ninja were no match for them. Despite their numbers, most were clones.

The rest were a bunch of useless cripples burdened with wounded comrades.

After a world-shattering boom, Chiyo finally understood—but it was too late.

The mountainside collapsed, and flames blazed through the forest. The Sand Ninja who had charged into the Konoha camp were reduced to ash in an instant.

A scene of utter devastation lay before them.

"Advisor Chiyo, this..."

Rasa came to Chiyo's side, wanting to say something, but then tactfully fell silent.

Anyone could see how terrible a price the Sand Ninja had paid.

The rise and fall of Chiyo's chest showed just how much fury had built up inside her.

But after only a few breaths, she forced it down.

"Rasa."

"Yes, Elder Chiyo?"

"Our Sand Ninja have won!"

"Ah." Rasa immediately caught on. "Right, we drove the Konoha Ninja out of the Land of Rivers."

Seeing the profound look in Elder Chiyo's eyes, he quickly added,

"I'll announce our victory and arrange the tally of military merits at once."

"Rasa."

Just as he was about to go make arrangements, Chiyo's leisurely voice came from behind him again.

"The coming battle against Konoha..."

The Sand Ninja had lost more than 3,000 people in this battle.

Rasa left to oversee the post-battle tally and spread the news of their victory throughout the Sand Ninja forces as quickly as possible.

Chiyo knew she had to return, carrying news of a great victory with her.

Sunagakure truly could not afford another defeat.

Nara Shikuta's Shadow Possession Technique restrained two Sand Ninja.

The enemy's faces were still frozen in shock as Byakumo Hayama and Tekuno's weapons prepared to sever their major arteries.

Ayako Hyuuga and Shinju Ishikawa followed close behind Mo Jingxian, blocking the path of two Sand Ninja coming to their comrades' rescue.

Mo Jingxian's fingertips were barely a centimeter from his enemy's throat. A gentle push was all it would take to claim his life.

The ambush had gone perfectly, catching the Sand Ninja in a blind spot in their thinking.

Mo Jingxian and the others moved too quickly, and the Sand Ninja were clearly a beat too slow to react.

"Pfft!"

His palm plunged cleanly into the enemy's throat, but the figure in front of him turned into a puff of white smoke.

The moment his attack struck, Mo Jingxian sensed that his target had used the Substitution Technique at the last instant.

Within his perception,

air currents stirred ten meters away.

Ever since he had gained Wind Element Mastery, both the range and the strength of his perception had increased.

In battle, he could clearly sense every fluctuation within ten meters of him.

Beyond that distance, he could still pick up on clues by following changes in the airflow.

His afterimage streaked behind him as he immediately locked onto the enemy's position.

That was the advantage of sensing through the elements: information traveled faster than Chakra.

While the enemy was still mentally frozen after using the Substitution Technique, Mo Jingxian struck again.

His opponent instinctively raised his arms to block, but Mo Jingxian immediately seized both of them.

Mo Jingxian attacked with lightning speed, and his opponent was completely caught in his rhythm.

The Sand Ninja, who had the strength of a High Ninja, had no chance to use any of his techniques. In the blink of an eye, he had fallen into a deadly trap.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The battle had barely begun when the situation suddenly changed.

Several wagons carrying supplies burst open from the inside.

More than twenty people hidden within them suddenly joined the fight.

In the blink of an eye,

the word "trap" flashed through Nara Shikuta's mind.

He didn't hesitate for even a second before shouting, "Retreat!"

The Water Dragon Technique coiled around Mo Jingxian's arm and restrained the enemy.

As soon as Ayako Hyuuga and Shinju Ishikawa heard the order to retreat, they moved toward Mo Jingxian.

"Move!"

Almost as soon as he shouted, the Wind Blade along the edge of his palm slit his enemy's throat.

This was the first High Ninja he had ever killed, and the man had died a thoroughly miserable death.

Mo Jingxian's fighting style had taken shape by now. He had abandoned all the flashy techniques.

By making use of his ability to cast techniques instantly, he could ensnare even a High Ninja,

leaving his opponent helpless to stop himself from falling into Mo Jingxian's rhythm and waiting to be killed.

Mo Jingxian's high speed was one advantage. In addition, he had plenty of support techniques and could adjust his strategy to suit the situation.

That was why he had been so successful.

He was still deepening his understanding of the elements, and his methods in future battles would only grow more varied.

From the start of the ambush to their retreat, the whole thing had taken just over ten seconds.

Before the enemy could close the net, Mo Jingxian led his teammates through the encirclement.

They also had Captain Lutai's quick decision to thank. Had they been even a second slower, the whole team would have been doomed.

Anyone who could set up an ambush was no amateur. Aside from the three High Ninja, almost everyone else had the strength of a Chunin.

"Whew... Ayako... see where the enemy is."

Mo Jingxian and the other two had become separated from Captain Lutai. The situation had been so chaotic that there had been no way to retreat in an orderly fashion.

"They're less than a thousand meters away. The Sand Ninja are coming."

Mo Jingxian got to his feet at once. "Move!"

None of the three were in good shape. Shinju Ishikawa had a cut on his arm from a shuriken, and the weapon had been coated in poison.

He had taken an antidote, but it had done little good.

Shinju Ishikawa's limbs were growing weak, and his face was pale and covered in cold sweat.

Mo Jingxian carried him as he sprinted, while the enemies behind them showed no intention of letting them escape.

"Put me down."

Shinju Ishikawa's head rested on Mo Jingxian's shoulder, and his voice was faint as a mosquito's buzz.

Abandon a friend?

Mo Jingxian had never considered it. Not in either of his two lives.

He didn't have many friends—in fact, he had very few.

But once he accepted someone as a friend, he would never betray them.

Someone had once called him foolish. He had never argued, but he had never changed either. He had always stayed true to himself.

The three of them had only fought together for less than three months, and Shinju Ishikawa was always hanging around Ayako.

But Mo Jingxian had already accepted him as a friend.

Shinju wasn't strong, and he was still some way from becoming a Chunin, but Mo Jingxian would trust him with his back.

That was enough.

The desert wind stung and numbed their faces, while the dust in the air was dry and parching.

The sun sank slowly in the west. The three of them fled aimlessly all day.

Night fell. Mo Jingxian didn't dare light a fire, so they found a shallow depression in the ground and rested there briefly.

"The Sand Ninja have stopped about three thousand meters behind us."

Ayako Hyuuga closed her Byakugan, crouched down, and checked Shinju Ishikawa's wound again.

The wound had begun to fester, and his arm had swollen to the size of a leg.

A foul stench drifted from it now and then, and he had developed a high fever.

She looked up at Mo Jingxian. "Shinju won't last much longer. Maybe..."

There was no need for her to explain. Shinju Ishikawa's condition was obvious.

If they didn't treat him soon, the boy wouldn't make it through the night.

Mo Jingxian gathered water element in his palm and pressed it to Shinju's wound, slowly channeling it into his body.

He regretted not learning a couple of Medical Ninjutsu techniques.

The water element's healing effect was very weak. All he could do was keep washing the wound, hoping to dilute the poison in Shinju's body.

Shinju Ishikawa's life hung by a thread, while the Sand Ninja prowled nearby like wild dogs in the desert.

"Do you think the Sand Ninja will sneak up on us in the middle of the night?"

Mo Jingxian continued channeling water element into Shinju, calmly thinking through their options.

"I think they will." Ayako Hyuuga nodded and looked at him. "Have you thought of a way out?"

"I wouldn't call it a solution, but it's worth a shot."

Mo Jingxian withdrew his hand. Shinju's condition was temporarily under control.

"Think about it... almost every Sand Ninja uses poison. Couldn't they accidentally poison one of their own?"

"Right. They definitely could."

"Antidote! I'm guessing they must have some with them."

Mo Jingxian's reasoning made sense, but figuring out how to get the antidote was a serious problem.

There were six Sand Ninja behind them, one of whom had the strength of a High Ninja.

And there were sure to be more Sand Ninja waiting beyond the range of Ayako Hyuuga's Byakugan.

He had already taken these problems into account. Picking up a stone, he began sketching in the dirt.

"Take a look."

Ayako Hyuuga stood and came closer.

"Here." He tapped a spot on the crude map with his finger. "This is where we are now."

The map was indeed crude, consisting of just a few rough lines and a pebble placed on top.

He pointed to the pebble. "This is Sunagakure, northeast of us."

"Didn't you notice that the Sand Ninja are deliberately driving us in that direction?

"If I'm not mistaken, the enemy up ahead has already laid a net, just waiting for us to walk right into it."

Ayako Hyuuga's expression grew heavy. Their situation was even worse than she had imagined.

"Then what should we do? Should we try to break through on either side?"

"No!"

Mo Jingxian immediately rejected her suggestion.

"I don't know what's gone wrong in Konoha, but the enemy's preparations are thorough. What does that tell us?"

Ayako Hyuuga turned sharply toward him. Their young faces were very close, and the girl blurted out,

"We've been betrayed?"

"It's hard to say."

Mo Jingxian waved a hand. "We'll leave that question for later."

"The important thing is that the enemy is ready for us. They won't leave any gaps for us to exploit. If I'm right, they've stationed ninja squads on both flanks too."

"Think about it. There were more than twenty Sand Ninja hidden in the supply wagons. Where did they go? They can't all be chasing Captain Lutai."

Ayako Hyuuga finally understood. She stared at him in shock. "The enemy is driving us onward, which means they'll keep tightening the encirclement until we're completely surrounded."

Mo Jingxian nodded helplessly.

"Exactly. The longer we wait, the worse things get for us. We can't wait any longer, and Shinju can't hold on much longer either. We have to take the initiative if we want any chance of escaping the trap."

"What's your plan? I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Here's what I'm thinking. Since a fight is inevitable, we should do the opposite of what they expect and take out the pursuers behind us first."

Mo Jingxian gestured for Ayako Hyuuga to look at the map again. His finger traced a path south, then turned sharply west.

"Once we break through, we head south, the way we came. That's the only direction where the enemy hasn't set up."

A gleam appeared in Ayako Hyuuga's eyes. Mo Jingxian was right.

"Then we head west, cross the heart of the Land of Wind's desert, and go north into the Land of Earth. From there, we'll pass through the Land of Rain and return to Konoha.

"The route is long—we'd be going around almost half the Land of Wind—but it gives us a good chance of getting away."

Ayako Hyuuga agreed to Mo Jingxian's plan.

"One last question: how are you going to break through the pursuers behind us?"