Deep in the forest.
Ever since the Rogue Ninja captain had left with his men, the black-robed man had waited here. He had taken off his hood. Anyone who knew him would have recognized him as Fei Ishihara, the man in charge of the Ishihara Clan's second branch.
As time passed, Fei Ishihara grew increasingly anxious. He paced back and forth, glancing toward the direction the ninja had gone, hoping to see the answer he wanted.
Then a distant rustling reached his ears. Fei Ishihara immediately pulled his hood back on and turned toward the sound.
The ninja came into view, but Fei Ishihara's expression changed sharply. Two fewer had returned, and the person he wanted was nowhere to be seen.
As soon as they stopped, Fei Ishihara hurried forward and asked, clinging to one last hope, "Aoyama, did you kill that little brat?"
"You've got some nerve asking!" Aoyama, the Rogue Ninja, snapped. "Fine intelligence you gave us. I lost a Chunin and a Genin. What are you going to do about that?"
"What exactly happened? Tell me clearly." Fei Ishihara was growing impatient. The ninja still hadn't gotten to the point.
"The Konoha Ninja had a Jonin leading them, and the other three weren't ordinary Genin either. They caught us off guard." Aoyama gave Fei Ishihara a rough account of what had happened. Fei Ishihara frowned as he listened, privately cursing the first branch's good luck.
"What do we do now? We can't just give up!" Fei Ishihara said. "You have a stake in this too. You don't want to let a sure payday slip away, do you?"
"There's nothing else we can do. We have to wait for Koji. With another Special Jonin on our side, we'll have a chance." Aoyama was just as unwilling to give up. The mission payment could have been his alone, and now he had to share it. How could he be happy about that?
Meanwhile, after clearing the battlefield, the group gathered the scattered wagons and people. Only after counting their losses did they realize that nearly half their number had been killed or wounded in the brief fight the previous evening.
Masao Ishihara stood there, painfully working his abacus, calculating whether this trip would still turn a profit after compensation was paid.
Taiichi shook his head as he watched. At a time like this, the man was still thinking about money. A merchant through and through.
"Mr. Ishihara, you should have the caravan set up camp and rest soon. Everyone's been exhausted today, and we'll need to pick up the pace tomorrow. We can't do that without our strength," Taiichi reminded him.
"Right, right. That fight rattled me so badly I even forgot about that." Masao Ishihara looked remorseful. Once he collected himself, he immediately went to arrange the caravan's overnight camp.
Watching Masao Ishihara leave, Taiichi went over to his teammates. Mrs. Ishihara and Little Ishihara happened to be there too. Then again, where could be safer for them now?
Yohei was regaling Saori with his glorious exploits: how he had cut through the enemy, and how he had awakened the Sharingan. He even claimed that if the attackers had stayed a little longer, he would have taken them all down.
Saori covered her mouth and laughed, while Little Ishihara waved his arms excitedly beside her.
Seeing Taiichi arrive, Captain Yamaguchi cut off Yohei, who was still talking nonstop. "That's enough, Yohei. Everyone's had a long day. Let's get some rest."
"Yohei, take the first half of the night watch. Taiichi, you take the second half. Saori, you're injured, so get some proper rest."
"Yes, Captain Yamaguchi!" the two boys answered.
Saori lowered her head and started counting on her fingers again, showing none of the bravery she had displayed fighting four opponents at once.
The night passed without incident. The next morning, the caravan rose earlier than usual. Before the sun had even appeared on the horizon, they had packed up and set out.
The previous battle had left its mark on everyone. They knew the fighting was far from over. The ninja who had escaped were trouble enough on their own, and they might have reinforcements.
So everyone traveled especially fast that day. At this pace, the caravan would reach Jinsong City by noon on the eighth day, bringing the escort mission to an end.
This was the sixth day. Allowing time for the attackers to send word and for reinforcements to arrive, Taiichi figured they would strike tomorrow.
Just as Taiichi expected, the entire sixth day passed smoothly, as though the previous day's attack had never happened.
But a peaceful day did nothing to ease anyone's mind. If anything, they grew more tense. As night fell, a fine, steady rain began, as though the heavens meant to cool the anxiety burning in their hearts.
On the seventh day, the drizzle showed no sign of stopping by morning. Such weather was uncommon in the Land of Rivers, whose climate was generally dry under the influence of the neighboring Land of Wind.
Taiichi didn't know whether the weather would help the attackers, but it made him want to laugh out loud. It was perfect for his Water Style.
The caravan set out through the drizzle, but their formation had changed. Captain Yamaguchi led Taiichi and the other two in guarding Mrs. Ishihara's carriage at the very front. They advanced as though waiting for something, determined not to turn back.
At noon, they met the enemy they had been watching for on the main road. The ninja stood brazenly in its center with a large band of brigands, waiting for the caravan to approach.
They were so confident they hadn't even bothered with an ambush. Pride came before the fall.
"Listen, Konoha Ninja!" Aoyama, the leader of the Rogue Ninja, called to Captain Yamaguchi. "Hand over the child in the caravan. He's all we're after. That doesn't conflict with your mission."
"Sorry, but I can't agree to that. Abandoning an innocent child isn't how we Konoha Ninja operate," Captain Yamaguchi replied bluntly, giving him no ground.
"Think carefully. We have one more Jonin than we did before. Do you really think you can stop us?" In truth, they didn't want to fight either. Konoha Ninja were dangerous opponents. That was why Masao Ishihara had hired them for protection in the first place.
"How will we know unless we try?"
The moment Taiichi saw the enemy, he began preparing. Using the carriage as cover, he created a Shadow Clone and had it form the Hand Seals for the Great Water Prison Technique.
As the talks broke down, Taiichi struck first. Water Style: Great Water Prison Technique! Empowered by the weather, a massive wall of water rose around the enemy, about to close in on them.
Seeing Taiichi attack, the enemy used Body Flicker to evade. But they reacted a step too late. Taiichi's Great Water Prison Technique caught a Chunin and a Genin, taking two opponents out of the fight and immediately making things easier.
Seeing two of his men trapped, Aoyama cursed. "Damn it!" He led the others in a charge against the Konoha Ninja.
The newly arrived bald ninja immediately formed Hand Seals. Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere! Several Wind Blades swept toward Taiichi, with the carriage also in their path, as he tried to interrupt the "Taiichi" maintaining the technique.
Taiichi had fought hard for the initiative and had no intention of letting him take it back. He stepped in front of "Taiichi" and swiftly formed Hand Seals. Water Style: Water Formation Wall! A wall of water surged up before him, blocking the incoming Wind Blades.
Captain Yamaguchi met Aoyama's charge. As in their previous fight, they traded blows with Taijutsu. Aoyama was a Rogue Ninja from the Sand Village, and his skills were formidable. For a time, he fought Captain Yamaguchi to a standstill.
But his expression gave him away. He was barely holding on and couldn't keep it up much longer.
Yohei, meanwhile, had the upper hand against the two Genin attacking him. He drove them back again and again, gradually drawing them away from the carriage.
Saori guarded the carriage and the "Taiichi" still maintaining the technique, while fending off Roro and the brigands whenever they rushed in.
Taiichi was having a harder time just keeping the bald ninja occupied. His opponent was clearly a Special Jonin skilled in Wind Style, wielding it with remarkable finesse. Taiichi felt that without the weather on his side, he might already have lost.
The fighting across the field fell into a tense deadlock. Everyone seemed to be waiting for one side to break through.
Then a cry of alarm rang out. While everyone was occupied with their own opponent, another Chunin burst from the nearby woods. He swiftly took down the guards in his way and snatched Little Ishihara from the carriage before anyone could react.
Only then did everyone realize that Koji, the Special Jonin, had not come alone. Another Chunin had been hiding nearby, waiting for his chance.
"Hahaha! Didn't see that coming, did you, Konoha Ninja? We were one step ahead after all!"
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