The Trap

Orochimaru melted away like a lit candle, while Manda had already charged out of the main camp, reaping blood and flesh to its heart's content.

Earth Clone Technique!

A sense of foreboding struck, and Chiyo issued an order to retreat based on pure instinct.

But the number of Sunagakure ninja flooding in was simply too great.

The Konoha ninja were fragile and easily broken; though they appeared numerous, most were merely clones.

The remainder were nothing but a group of cripples nursing their wounds.

After a heaven-shattering, earth-destroying roar, Chiyo realized the truth, but it was already too late.

The mountain collapsed, a massive fire ignited in the forest, and the Sunagakure ninja who had charged into the Konoha camp were instantly reduced to ash.

A scene of the apocalypse lay before their eyes.

"Advisor Chiyo, this..."

Rasa arrived at Chiyo's side, wanting to say something, but then wisely shut his mouth.

Anyone could see what a tragic price Sunagakure had paid.

The heaving of Chiyo's chest signaled the sheer amount of rage pent up within her.

Yet, after only a few breaths, she forcibly suppressed it.

"Rasa."

"Speak, Elder Chiyo."

"We, the Sunagakure ninja, have won!"

"Ah," Rasa reacted immediately, "Yes, we have driven the Konoha ninja out of the Land of Rivers."

Seeing the profound, dark look in Elder Chiyo's eyes, he quickly added another sentence.

"I will announce the victory at once and arrange for the tallying of military merits."

"Rasa."

Just as he prepared to leave to make arrangements, Chiyo's lingering voice came from behind him.

"As for the subsequent battles against Konoha..."

In this battle, Sunagakure had lost over 3,000 men.

Rasa left, rushing to handle the post-war statistics and spread the news of victory throughout the entire Sunagakure force as quickly as possible.

Chiyo knew she had to return, bringing back the news of a great victory.

Because Sunagakure truly could not afford another failure.

Nara Shikuta's Shadow Possession Technique pinned two Sunagakure ninja in place.

The look of shock still hung on the enemies' faces as Byakumo Hayama and Tekuno's weapons prepared to slice open their carotid arteries in the next instant.

Ayako Hyuuga and Shinju Ishikawa followed closely behind Mo Jingxian, blocking the path of two other Sunagakure ninja attempting a rescue.

Mo Jingxian's fingertips were a mere centimeter from the enemy's throat; a light push was all it would take to reap their lives.

The surprise attack was a success, striking perfectly at the blind spot in the Sunagakure ninja's thinking.

Mo Jingxian and his team moved too quickly, and the Sunagakure ninja's reactions were clearly a beat behind.

"Puff!"

His palm successfully pierced the throat, but the enemy before him turned into a puff of white smoke.

The moment he struck the target, Mo Jingxian realized the opponent had used a Substitution Technique at the critical moment.

Within his perception.

Ten meters away, air currents were swirling.

Ever since he had acquired Wind Element Mastery, his range and intensity of perception had increased by another notch.

In battle, he could clearly perceive every fluctuation of data within ten meters of his body.

Beyond this distance, he could still detect clues based on changes in the airflow.

Leaving trails of afterimages behind him, he immediately locked onto the enemy's position.

This was the advantage of utilizing elemental perception; the process of information exchange was much faster than chakra.

While the enemy was still in the mental rigidity following the Substitution Technique, Mo Jingxian struck again.

The enemy blocked instinctively, but did not expect him to immediately seize both of their arms.

Mo Jingxian's attacks were swift and sudden, and his opponent fell completely into his combat rhythm.

Despite having the strength of a Jonin, the Sunagakure ninja's ninjutsu was never brought to bear, and in the blink of an eye, they fell into a death trap.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

The battle had only just begun, yet strange changes were already erupting on the field.

The supply carriages suddenly burst open from the inside.

More than twenty people hidden within them suddenly charged into the fray.

In the blink of an eye.

The word "trap" flashed through the mind of Nara Shikuta.

Without a second of hesitation, he immediately shouted, "Retreat!"

The Water Dragon Technique surged along Mo Jingxian's arms, pinning the enemies in place.

Upon hearing the order to retreat, Ayako Hyuuga and Shinju Ishikawa immediately moved to close in on Mo Jingxian.

"Go!"

Almost as he shouted the word, the wind blade at the edge of his palm sliced through an enemy's throat.

This was the first Jonin to die by his hand, and he died in quite a stifling manner.

Mo Jingxian's combat style had now fully formed; he had discarded all flashy ninjutsu.

By utilizing his ability to cast ninjutsu instantly, even if a Jonin fell into his trap, they could only watch helplessly as they were pulled into his combat rhythm, waiting to be harvested.

Mo Jingxian's high-speed movement was one factor; furthermore, he possessed a vast array of auxiliary methods, allowing him to adjust his combat strategy at any moment based on the environment.

This was the reason he succeeded so frequently.

Currently, he was still deepening his elemental perception, and it was likely his future methods of engaging enemies would become even more diverse.

From the ambush to the retreat, the entire process took less than twenty seconds.

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

This was also thanks to Captain Shikuta's timely decision; otherwise, even a second's delay would have left the squad in an irredeemable situation.

Those capable of setting such an ambush were no amateurs; aside from the three Jonin, the rest almost all possessed the strength of Chunin.

"Hoo... Ayako... check where the enemies are."

Mo Jingxian and the others had been separated from Captain Shikuta; the situation had been too chaotic to allow for an effective, unified retreat.

"Less than 1,000 meters away, the Sand Ninja are closing in."

Mo Jingxian immediately stood up. "Let's go!"

The state of the three was not good; Shinju Ishikawa had a shuriken wound on his arm, and the hidden weapon had been coated in potent poison.

Although he had taken an anti-venom potion, the results were far from ideal.

Shinju Ishikawa's limbs began to go limp, his face turning pale and drenched in cold sweat.

Mo Jingxian carried him on his back, sprinting wildly, while the enemies behind them showed no intention of letting them go.

"Put me down."

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

Abandon a friend?

Mo Jingxian had never considered it, or rather, in two lifetimes, he had never thought that way.

He did not have many friends; one could even describe them as extremely rare.

But once he recognized someone as a friend, he would never commit an act of betrayal.

Someone had once told him he was a fool; he hadn't refuted it, but he hadn't changed either, always holding fast to his original heart.

In truth, the three had only been fighting together for less than three months, and Shinju Ishikawa was always trying to get close to Ayako.

But Mo Jingxian had decided that he was his friend.

Although his strength wasn't great and he was still some distance away from being a Chunin, Mo Jingxian dared to entrust his back to him.

That was enough.

The wind and sand of the Gobi Desert stung their faces, and the dust floating in the air was dry and parched.

As the sun gradually set in the west, the three of them had spent the day fleeing like headless flies.

When night fell, Mo Jingxian dared not light a fire, finding a shallow depression in the ground to rest for a moment.

"The Sand Ninja are following behind, they've stopped about 3,000 meters away."

Ayako Hyuuga deactivated her Byakugan and leaned down to check Shinju Ishikawa's wound once more.

The wound had already begun to fester, and his arm was swollen to the thickness of a calf.

From time to time, a foul stench could be smelled, and the boy had developed a high fever.

She looked up at Mo Jingxian. "Shinju can't hold on much longer, perhaps..."

In truth, there was no need for her to say it; Shinju Ishikawa's condition was clear at a glance.

If he were not treated immediately, the kid wouldn't survive the night.

Mo Jingxian gathered water elements in his palm, pressed it against the wound, and slowly channeled them into the boy's body.

At this moment, he felt a twinge of regret; why hadn't he learned a thing or two about medical ninjutsu?

The healing effect of his water element was extremely weak, so he could only keep washing the wound, hoping to dilute the toxins within Shinju Ishikawa's body.

Shinju Ishikawa's life hung by a thread, while the Sunagakure ninja circled them like wild dogs in the desert.

"Do you think the Sunagakure ninja will launch a sneak attack in the middle of the night?"

Mo Jingxian continued to channel water element into Shinju's body while calmly contemplating a solution.

"I think they will," Ayako Hyuuga nodded, looking at him. "Have you come up with a solution?"

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

Mo Jingxian withdrew his palm; Shinju's condition was temporarily stabilized.

"Think about it... almost every Sunagakure ninja uses poison. Is it possible for them to accidentally poison each other?"

"Yes, definitely."

"The antidote! I bet they are carrying the antidote."

Mo Jingxian's logic was sound, but how to actually obtain the antidote was a major problem.

One had to remember that there were six Sunagakure ninja behind them, one of whom had reached the strength of a jounin.

Furthermore, beyond the range of Ayako Hyuuga's Byakugan, there were surely more Sunagakure reinforcements.

He had already factored these issues into his calculations; he picked up a stone and began to draw on the ground.

"Come look at this."

Ayako Hyuuga stood up and leaned in.

"Here," his finger tapped a spot on the crude map. "This is our current position."

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

He pointed to the pebble again: "This is Sunagakure, located to our north-northeast."

"Haven't you noticed that those Sunagakure ninja are intentionally driving us in that direction? If I'm not mistaken, the enemies ahead have already woven a pocket, just waiting for us to dive right in."

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 from the sides?"

"No!"

Mo Jingxian immediately rejected her proposal.

"I don't know what went wrong with Konoha, but judging by the enemy's deployment, they are fully prepared. Do you know what that means?"

Ayako Hyuuga suddenly turned her head, their young faces very close, and the girl blurted out:

"We've been betrayed?"

"Hard to say."

Mo Jingxian waved his hand. "Let's leave that question for later."

"The point is, since the enemy is already prepared, they won't leave any loopholes for us to exploit. If my guess is correct, they should have also arranged enemy squads on both flanks."

"Think about it, there were over twenty Sunagakure ninja hidden in the supply wagons. Where are they now? They couldn't all have gone to chase Captain Lutai."

Ayako Hyuuga finally realized, saying in astonishment: "The enemy is driving us; that means they will gradually tighten the encirclement until they have us completely surrounded."

Mo Jingxian nodded helplessly.

"Exactly. The longer we drag this out, the more disadvantageous it becomes for us. We can't wait any longer, and Shinju can't afford to wait either. We must take the initiative to have any chance of breaking out of this trap."

"What do you want to do? I will cooperate fully."

"Here is what I'm thinking: since a fight is inevitable, we should do the opposite and take out the pursuers behind us first."

Mo Jingxian signaled for Ayako to look at the map again, his finger tracing a path south before abruptly turning west.

"After breaking through, we run south, the direction we came from. That is the only place where no enemies are deployed."

Ayako's eyes brightened; what Mo Jingxian said was a fact.

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

The journey was long, covering nearly half of the Land of Wind, but it was indeed their best chance to escape their current predicament.

Ayako Hyuuga agreed with Mo Jingxian's plan.

"One last question: how do you intend to break through the pursuers behind us?"