Yes, the Mission Failed

"Lord Hanzō, it's the same as usual today."

An Amegakure Anbu reported to Salamander Hanzō.

"They've lowered the frequency of their attacks, trying to make us think they're running short on supplies so we'll take the bait and attempt a breakout."

Salamander Hanzō snorted. "They're trying that trick again!"

The Konoha attacks that had recently been so ridiculously intense had eased up. Salamander Hanzō reckoned the enemy's weapons supplies must be running low.

Even the Land of Fire, wealthy as it was, couldn't keep burning through money like that forever.

At once, he led the Amegakure ninja forces in a full-scale breakout.

Then came a harsh wake-up call: they were blindsided and struck hard.

The Land of Fire really was that rich—richer than the penniless Salamander Hanzō could ever have imagined!

The Amegakure forces suffered heavy losses in that battle, and Hatake Sakumo even slashed Salamander Hanzō. Fortunately, the blow went wide; otherwise, he might have died on the spot.

Feeling the pain from his wound, Salamander Hanzō wanted to curse aloud.

He, Salamander Hanzō, would never fall for the same trap twice!

"Leave them be. Keep defending as usual."

The Amegakure Anbu nodded and left.

Salamander Hanzō's expression darkened. He slammed his fist down on the table before him, making a loud thud.

"They're so rich it makes your mouth water."

But wealthy nations had abundant resources and the strongest military forces to protect them.

Snatching food from a tiger's jaws really was difficult.

Salamander Hanzō turned his head toward the Land of Rain.

Staying here indefinitely wasn't an option. Should he withdraw to the Land of Rain?

The goal of provoking a war between Sunagakure and Konoha had been achieved, and they still had some of the resources they'd plundered from the Land of Fire.

There was no chance of grabbing a few more bites. Considering a withdrawal now was a viable option.

"The fighting between the two great nations matters more. The Land of Rain should be able to stay out of it..."

Wearing a gas mask, Salamander Hanzō exhaled purple smoke, his eyes glinting as he pondered.

"As you predicted, Kano, Salamander Hanzō fell for it."

Hearing his friend's words, Kano Nara shook his head with a smile. "Salamander Hanzō is cautious by nature. You can tell from the fact that he assigned himself guards on a twenty-four-hour rotation."

"Once he's taken a loss, he'll never make the same mistake again."

His friend teased him. "Unfortunately, our weapons supplies really are in trouble this time. Salamander Hanzō's suspicion and caution made him miss a good opportunity."

Kano Nara looked at his friend helplessly. "Whose side are you on? Why are you feeling sorry for the enemy?"

Kano Nara stroked his goatee, his eyes gleaming.

Salamander Hanzō's intelligence network wasn't very good. Their weapons and supplies really had run into trouble.

The problem came from the Sunagakure ninja roaming around and causing trouble. They'd attacked the supply routes and inflicted losses, leaving them without weapons for several days.

Because of Ibuse's poison, they couldn't fight at close quarters on a large scale, so they'd chosen a costly long-range strategy. They had to burn through huge amounts of weapons and supplies almost every day.

The supply interruption had lasted several days. They kept using up their weapons, but the replacements weren't coming in, leaving a shortfall.

Their attacks really had become less frequent, and there really was a problem with their weapons supplies.

Salamander Hanzō really was cautious and suspicious.

Kano Nara breathed a sigh of relief. "Salamander Hanzō has held steady. Now we just have to see how Sakumo does."

Given enough time, even Salamander Hanzō's suspicions would lead him to realize something was wrong.

Kano Nara walked out of the tent and looked south, hoping Sakumo would succeed in this mission.

"Lord Orochimaru, Sunagakure is attacking again!"

A Sensor Ninja relayed the message. Orochimaru didn't dare delay; he quickly assembled the ninja forces and headed out to fight Sunagakure.

The Konoha ninja in the tent wore calm expressions. Battles like this happened almost every day, so it wasn't unusual.

"Huh? Where's Lord Chonhua?"

Makoto Yamagami set out with the unit, looking around. Suddenly, something seemed off.

Where was the Uchiha Chonhua he admired? They'd been chatting happily just yesterday.

Another ninja who wanted to follow Uchiha Chonhua sighed. "Lord Chonhua isn't like us. We may both be Chunin, but our strength is on completely different levels."

"With Lord Chonhua's abilities, he's bound to be entrusted with important work. He must be carrying out some kind of secret mission."

You couldn't waste a great talent on trivial work. Someone like Lord Chonhua had to be handling something important behind the scenes!

The ninja glanced at Makoto Yamagami. "You'd better focus on yourself. I don't want to see your name on the Memorial Stone."

"Likewise," Makoto Yamagami replied, then continued, "I don't want to die here. I still have to follow Lord Chonhua and work for him!"

"Me too!"

They looked at each other, then smiled.

"For Lord Chonhua!"

Their gazes were resolute as they spoke in unison.

At that moment, Uchiha Chonhua was following Hatake Sakumo through the forest in secret.

They were all dressed as Anbu, animal masks covering their faces and hoods concealing their hair and figures as they moved through the shadows.

"The enemy has Sensor Ninjas too. Quande, keep a careful watch."

Hatake Sakumo reminded him, and Hyuga Quande nodded.

Beneath his mask, his Byakugan scanned their surroundings.

They were already in Sunagakure territory. They had to stay alert for the enemy at all times.

Hyuga Quande suddenly turned to look west.

"Captain, the battle has begun."

Hatake Sakumo nodded. The main forces of Sunagakure and Konoha were fighting, drawing everyone's attention and greatly reducing the chance they'd be discovered—but the risk hadn't disappeared entirely.

The Sunagakure patrols guarding the rear couldn't be ignored.

"Lord Sakumo, there's a Sunagakure squad to the northwest."

Just then, Uchiha Chonhua spoke up, drawing everyone's attention.

Hyuga Quande immediately looked northwest, but his Byakugan's field of vision revealed no sign of a Sunagakure squad.

He said irritably, "Uchiha Chonhua, there's no Sunagakure squad where you say there is. Don't suddenly speak up and cause a disturbance!"

Someone scoffed. "You startled me. Is the Uchiha that confident, making bold claims in front of someone from the Hyuga Clan?"

Uchiha Chonhua didn't care about the ridicule. He looked at Hatake Sakumo.

Hatake Sakumo seemed thoughtful. He'd interacted with Uchiha Chonhua many times, and Chonhua wasn't someone who made baseless claims. On the contrary, he was steady and confident.

Hatake Sakumo gave Uchiha Chonhua a long look.

"Keep moving."

At the captain's command, the brief interruption came to an end, and they continued forward.

"Hm!?"

After they'd gone a little farther, Hyuga Quande suddenly stopped. Beneath his mask, his face was full of disbelief.

He looked at Uchiha Chonhua, uncertain.

When Hyuga Quande stopped, the others looked at him in confusion.

Hatake Sakumo guessed what had happened and asked in a low voice, "Quande, what did you find?"

Hyuga Quande's throat bobbed as he swallowed. "There's a Sunagakure squad to the northwest..."

Chapter 66: Yes, the Mission Failed

The ninja who'd mocked Uchiha Chonhua earlier asked in surprise, "Quande, are you sure?!"

Hyuga Quande nodded and confirmed, "I'm sure. There really is a Sunagakure squad to the northwest."

"Uchiha Chonhua was right."

There really was a Sunagakure squad out there, but... Hyuga Quande couldn't understand it.

He hadn't seen them with his Byakugan. How had Uchiha Chonhua known they were there?

Hizashi had told him that Uchiha Chonhua had an excellent sensory ability, but could it really surpass the Byakugan? That was impossible, wasn't it?

Uchiha Chonhua could sense how surprised everyone was, but he didn't explain. He looked at Hatake Sakumo. "What do you think, senior Sakumo? Should we take them out?"

Suppressing his own surprise, Hatake Sakumo nodded. "Chonhua, Quande, keep an eye on the Sunagakure squad. We'll go around them."

Hatake Sakumo's voice was low. "Our mission requires stealth."

They set out again.

Uchiha Chonhua guided Hatake Sakumo and the others around the Sunagakure squad.

During this time, after each of Uchiha Chonhua's instructions, the others looked to Hyuga Quande.

They knew everyone wanted to check whether Uchiha Chonhua was right. They still doubted his sensory ability.

It couldn't be helped. Anyone would be skeptical if they heard someone had sensory abilities that surpassed the Byakugan.

But Hyuga Quande confirmed that Uchiha Chonhua was absolutely right, down to the last detail.

The others exchanged glances, speechless.

They looked at Uchiha Chonhua with newfound seriousness. This young man from the Uchiha Clan was no ordinary ninja.

They'd previously had reservations about Captain Sakumo bringing Uchiha Chonhua along on this secret mission.

Now, seeing his sensory ability surpass the Byakugan, they understood. Captain Sakumo really knew what he was doing.

They knew all too well what having an exceptional and powerful Sensor Ninja meant for a secret mission.

If Hatake Sakumo had known what they were thinking, he would have been speechless.

He'd invited Uchiha Chonhua solely because of his tremendous strength.

Hatake Sakumo was certain that, apart from him, no one in the team could defeat Uchiha Chonhua.

Still... Hatake Sakumo glanced at him, feeling surprised.

Such a powerful sensory ability was an unexpected bonus.

"Wait!"

Hyuga Quande stopped the group. The others turned to him, puzzled.

Hyuga Quande frowned and looked ahead. "Captain, there's an ambush up ahead."

He pointed toward it. "These threads are connected to kunai and shuriken, and there are some Explosive Tags buried nearby."

"And there, a puppet mechanism is hidden. There's some kind of liquid... It must be highly poisonous!"

At that, Hatake Sakumo gestured, and the group slowly moved forward, going around the ambush.

As they passed, Hyuga Quande's warning helped them spot the nearly invisible threads and the kunai and shuriken glinting in the shadows beneath the tree branches.

They didn't see the Explosive Tags or the puppet, but after finding all that, there was no need to say more.

They quietly avoided the area.

Once they reached a safe place, they looked at Uchiha Chonhua.