Night Raid on Iwagakure, Only to Walk into an Ambush!

Three months later.

A rainy night.

The border of the Land of Grass.

Four figures raced through the rain.

No torches.

No sound.

At the front was Akimichi Choza.

Compared to three months ago, he had not changed much.

Behind him were Ebisu and Genma.

Their expressions were much steadier, though a hint of tension could still be seen.

Guy still brought up the rear.

Other than growing a little taller, he had not changed much either.

Three months.

Team 9 had spent a full three months at Kikyo Mountain.

During those three months, how many supply routes had they run?

Too many to count.

How many ambushes had they encountered?

Also too many to count.

Sometimes, it was a small group of enemies, three to five genin.

Sometimes, it was a ranged sneak attack, kunai and shuriken flying out from the woods.

Sometimes, it was a trap, explosive tags buried in the road that detonated the instant they were stepped on.

They had long since grown used to it.

But tonight.

They were not running a supply route.

They were taking the initiative!

It was their squad's first proactive operation in three months!

War was never one-sided. There had always been attacks and counterattacks.

Tonight, Team 9's mission was to raid an Iwagakure encampment.

"Stop."

Choza suddenly raised a hand.

All four stopped at once and crouched behind a large tree.

Choza pulled a map wrapped in oil paper from his clothes and glanced at it by the occasional flash of distant lightning.

"Three li ahead."

He lowered his voice.

"There's an Iwagakure supply outpost."

"According to intelligence, there are three chunin inside, leading a squad of genin."

He put away the map and looked at the other three.

"Our mission is to wipe it out."

"Plant explosive tags, destroy their supplies, then withdraw."

He paused.

"Can you do it?"

"Yes."

The three answered in unison.

Choza glanced at him and nodded.

"Move."

The four continued onward.

The rain grew heavier and heavier.

They ran the three li in half an hour.

When the outpost came into view, Guy froze for a moment.

It was not large.

It was simply a camp formed by several wooden huts, fenced in on all sides, with two sentries standing at the entrance.

Dim yellow firelight shone from the huts.

People occasionally went in and out.

Everything looked normal.

But...

It seemed a little too normal.

During wartime, a rainy night should have called for greater vigilance.

Yet the enemy looked as though they were on guard, but not especially tense.

Could this already be Iwagakure's standard state of alert?

It was Guy's first time seeing an Iwagakure outpost, so he could not read their methods.

He turned to glance at Choza.

Choza was also staring at the outpost, his brow furrowed.

But he said nothing, merely making a hand signal.

"Go."

Guy narrowed his eyes slightly and chose to follow the order.

The four crouched low and approached from the flank.

The rain concealed their footsteps.

The sentries huddled beneath the eaves to shelter from the rain and did not notice anyone approaching at all.

Guy reached the back of the first wooden hut, took two explosive tags from his clothes, and stuck them to the wall.

Ebisu planted the second set.

Genma planted the third.

Choza kept watch from a distance.

In less than five minutes, all twelve explosive tags had been placed.

Guy made a hand signal.

"Withdraw."

The four began to pull back.

But just as they had retreated thirty meters—

Boom!

A bolt of lightning split the sky, illuminating the entire night.

And illuminating what lay ahead.

Guy's pupils abruptly constricted.

Through the curtain of rain, more than a dozen figures emerged from the woods, cutting off their retreat.

They were not ordinary genin.

They stood in neat formation.

They wore excellent equipment.

They radiated—

Killing intent.

The man at the front slowly stepped forward.

He was in his thirties, with a scar slanting from the corner of his eye to his chin. His gaze was as cold as a venomous snake's.

He wore black combat clothes, with the Iwagakure emblem embroidered over his chest.

Rain streamed down his face, but he did not move.

He merely stared at Choza, a cold smile appearing on his face.

"Someone from the Akimichi Clan... I never expected to catch such a big fish."

The instant Choza saw that face, his expression changed.

"Iwami Shigezo."

His voice was very low, but Guy heard it.

There was shock in that voice.

Anger.

And a trace of wariness.

Iwami Shigezo, a veteran jonin of Iwagakure.

By all rights, he should have been stationed at Iwagakure's main base. Who would have thought he would appear here?

Iwami Shigezo smiled.

It was an ugly smile.

"You know me?"

He took a step forward.

"Then you should also know that none of you are leaving tonight."

Choza ignored him.

He turned to look at Guy and the other two.

"Retreat."

His voice was calm.

But Guy understood that look.

It was the look that said, "I'll hold them off. You run."

Guy opened his mouth to say something.

"Don't talk nonsense."

Choza cut him off.

He had already turned around, placing himself in front of the three of them.

"I said, retreat."

He paused.

"That's an order."

The rain continued to fall.

Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating that round face.

For the first time in three months, Guy saw Choza's expression clearly.

It was not his usual indifferent look of, "Not bad."

He was serious.

Serious in the way that said, "I won't let you die here."

Guy's heart sank.

He did not know whether what they faced today was something Guy had experienced in the first place.

Or a change caused by some of his own actions.

But Guy knew one thing.

He did not want to leave.

And he could not leave!

It had been a full three months.

Guy's strength had been improving.

But not by much.

The Precept-Breaking Blade had not broken through its bottleneck.

The Yijin Jing had not broken through its bottleneck.

Only the Golden Bell Shield had been steadily improving.

But that was not what Guy wanted!

At this rate of improvement, reaching the level where he could kick the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to death within three years—

Was simply impossible!

He needed training at the boundary between life and death!

Unfortunately, during the past three months, he had only faced minor foes who posed no threat to him at all.

He had not even taken off [Man's Burden].

And today's situation was exactly what he had been hoping for!

Guy's gaze swiftly swept over the enemy.

One jonin.

Three chunin.

Nine genin.

The jonin would be held back by Choza.

And all he had to face...

Were three chunin and nine genin!

"If he couldn't even defeat enemies of this level now, how would he face the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in the future?!"

Guy's gaze hardened with resolve.

Besides, he believed...

If it had been the original Guy, he definitely would not have chosen to abandon Choza and leave at a time like this.

He would have chosen to fight shoulder to shoulder with his companion!

Of course, the most important point was...

The other side had no intention of letting them leave at all!

In a brief moment, the thirteen men opposite them had formed a fan-shaped encirclement.

They had completely blocked the road back to Kikyo Mountain.

Retreat?

They could only advance deeper into Iwagakure territory, toward its base.

That was even more dangerous.

Guy silently drew his massive blade.

[Man's Burden] 500 jin on each leg, instantly reset to zero.

"Captain."

He spoke calmly, his voice reaching Choza's ears.

"Hold off that jonin later. The remaining enemies..."

"I'll take care of them!"

Choza's body suddenly shook!