Ye Cang of Sunagakure

According to Konoha's wartime regulations, that order was indeed in there.

Yusuke had no grounds to argue. This guy was really good at putting him in a difficult position.

He instinctively glanced at Inuzuka Go. Go awkwardly rubbed his head, unsure what to say.

Go had recognized the man, and Miyazaki Kenta's attempted "power grab" had put him in an awkward position. In truth, though, it had nothing to do with him.

"Inuzuka Go, come with me. The two of you can form a team."

"Clean up the traces, then we'll set out." Miyazaki Kenta didn't give Yusuke time to respond and issued the order outright.

Yusuke's gaze turned cold as he looked at Miyazaki Kenta and weighed his options. There aren't many people here right now. Should I take this guy out?

Seeing the situation turn ugly, Hyuga Aya stepped forward and tugged at Yusuke, whispering, "Captain, let's clean up the traces."

Miyazaki Kenta watched Yusuke's cold expression and drew his Ninja Blade partway.

"What? Are you going to disobey your superior's orders?"

"Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"Or are you planning to kill a fellow Konoha jonin and become a rogue ninja?"

Hyuga Aya tugged at Yusuke's arm again. Without a word, he began clearing away the traces of their encampment.

Inuzuka Go felt even more awkward, not knowing whether to stay or go.

Miyazaki Kenta sheathed his Ninja Blade and nodded. "At least you know what's good for you."

Once Yusuke's team had cleared away the traces of their camp, Miyazaki called the three of them over.

He took out a map and pointed to a spot. "We're here. You two will take this route north."

"Inuzuka Go and I will take the northeastern route. We'll meet up at these Stone Mountains."

"Good thing you have an experienced jonin like me to guide you. Otherwise, you'd definitely be surrounded by the pursuers."

He didn't explain how the pursuers had found them.

"All right, move out." Miyazaki patted Inuzuka Go on the shoulder.

Go felt even more awkward. He really had drawn the short straw. He'd only met this guy a few times, and now he was being pulled in as his trusted aide.

He looked toward Yusuke and was about to say something, but Yusuke waved a hand. "Be careful on the way. Take this kunai."

Go knew the captain hadn't taken it to heart. He let out a sigh of relief. "All right."

"Let's go!" Yusuke quickly left with Hyuga Aya, following the assigned route.

Watching them disappear into the distance, Miyazaki Kenta's lips curled into a smile. "Go, you'll be grateful you got to work with me this time."

Inuzuka Go: Just listen to me say thank you, because you...

The two of them didn't linger either and immediately set off.

Two and a half hours later, a striking figure arrived with more than ten shinobi.

She looked twelve or thirteen and wore a Sand shinobi Forehead Protector.

Her dark green hair was tied up in a bun, with two brown locks hanging down over her forehead.

Her outfit was rather revealing, leaving much of her back bare.

One couldn't help but think: I'd love to put a cupping jar on that back.

"Lady Pakura, there are traces of three more people here. They must be enemy reinforcements."

"They split into two groups here and fled in different directions."

A shinobi interpreted the information relayed by the Ninja Bee before them.

It was hard to imagine that such a young girl was the captain of this group of Sand shinobi.

The girl called Pakura nodded. "Can you tell who has the information?"

The sensory ninja looked at the Ninja Bee again, then pointed north. "His scent is along this route."

Pakura nodded. Just as she was about to order the pursuit, more than ten people arrived from behind.

This group had a much more formidable presence.

A man with deep cherry-colored hair stepped forward. He also looked twelve or thirteen.

Both were among this generation's elite in Sunagakure, and both aspired to become the Third Kazekage's right-hand man. They had been rivals since their days at the Ninja Academy.

"Hey, Pakura, which way did the enemy go?" the man asked coldly.

Pakura frowned and pointed northeast. "The enemy has reinforcements. They split into two groups, and one went this way. I was about to pursue them."

"Rasa, take the northern route. The other group went that way."

Rasa folded his arms. "The squad you brought is weaker than mine, and you're not as valuable to the village as I am."

"I'll take this route." Rasa pointed northeast.

Pakura gritted her teeth. "I spotted them first."

Rasa looked at her with disdain. "Your squad is weaker than mine, and you're less valuable to the village. Let me handle this."

He didn't give Pakura a chance to argue and started forward.

After taking a few steps, he suddenly turned to look at Pakura. "Actually, I'll take the northern route."

Pakura's eyes lit up, though she said, "Hadn't you already chosen? Why the sudden change?"

Rasa sneered inwardly. So naive. And she thinks she can compete with me?

"Fine, then I'll go northeast," Rasa said.

He didn't spare another glance at Pakura's "disappointed" expression. Taking his squad with him, he headed northeast.

Once he was gone, Pakura couldn't help smiling. "Rasa, what can you do against me?"

"Let's go. We'll retrieve the information."

The sensory ninja couldn't help remarking, "Though it took a few twists and turns, Lady Pakura clearly came out on top."

Meanwhile, Yusuke and Hyuga Aya followed the planned northern route, heading quickly toward the Stone Mountains.

Yusuke remained silent along the way, but it was the usually taciturn Hyuga Aya who broke the silence.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

"For some reason, I feel like something's off," Yusuke said.

He took the intelligence scroll Miyazaki Kenta had given him from inside his clothes.

Since Miyazaki Kenta had been injured, there were a few drops of blood on it.

As Yusuke stared at the bloodstains, he gradually pieced things together.

"Something's wrong!"

"Someone like Miyazaki Kenta would commandeer others and make them his subordinates whenever danger arose, so they could protect him and help him complete his mission."

"People who cling to life are usually greedy for credit. Why would he hand over the intelligence scroll so easily?"

"Are you saying this scroll is fake? Why would he do that?" Hyuga Aya asked.

"Why... why..."

The sounds of their feet against the trees rang through the forest, mingling with the chirping of insects and birds.

The two recalled Miyazaki Kenta's behavior while he had been resting.

After a long while, they looked at each other.

"He sank his old clothes in the stream and used bathing to cover his scent."

"He borrowed Go's clean clothes to throw off his scent."

"He went with Go to separate their scents from ours."

"And this scroll is the only thing carrying his scent, so it's bait to lure the enemy."

They added to each other's thoughts, and both understood.

"Maybe he came up with the plan when we first met, when he stepped forward to hug me."

"That means the enemy has a sensory ninja who can track scents."

Yusuke looked around, trying to recall what had appeared repeatedly along their route.

"The Ninja Bees," Hyuga Aya said, spotting the clue first.

Her Byakugan fixed on a swarm of bees overhead.

"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

Hyuga Aya gathered chakra in her palm and thrust it toward the swarm overhead.

A cluster of Ninja Bees fluttered down, smashed to pieces.

"No need. They've already caught up."

Yusuke sensed thirteen shinobi.

Eleven had chakra signatures at the Chunin level, while two were at the jonin level.