Repairing the Plank Roads in the Open

The three squads followed the predetermined plan and infiltrated the heart of the Land of Water.

Whether it was intentional or not, Murata Masasuke chose routes that were rugged and difficult the entire way.

It was either "swamps," "poisonous miasma," or treacherous zones with "frequent Kirigakure patrols."

But this time, Uchiha Yatsuhashi did not fall behind.

After entering enemy territory, he maintained the highest level of vigilance at all times.

He no longer conserved his stamina.

Anko Mitarashi's condition remained poor.

However, she was, after all, a disciple personally trained by one of the Sannin, and her foundation was still there.

The two looked out for each other, and they managed to keep up with the team steadily.

This clearly made Murata Masasuke very dissatisfied.

"Cunning brats."

Murata Masasuke could not help but mutter in a low voice.

But he was not in a hurry; once they reached the destination, he would have plenty of ways to deal with the two of them.

His aura then turned even colder.

Many days later, the group finally gathered at a secret Konoha stronghold marked on the map.

The entrance to this stronghold was hidden in a cave behind a waterfall.

Calling it a secret stronghold was more like calling it a temporary shelter.

The space inside was not large, yet it was packed with people at the moment.

Although Uchiha Yatsuhashi and his group had suffered deliberate harassment from Murata Masasuke, their overall infiltration had gone relatively smoothly.

The other two squads had not been so lucky.

Along the way, they had either encountered Kirigakure ninjas or triggered various lethal traps.

By the time they finally gathered, of the twenty-some people who had originally set out, fewer than fifteen remained, and almost everyone was carrying some kind of injury.

But Uchiha Yatsuhashi noticed that the Root jonin, just like Murata Masasuke, were completely unharmed despite the traces of battle on their bodies.

Their breathing was steady, their eyes were calm, and they even possessed a composure that suggested the plan was proceeding smoothly.

The cave was deathly silent.

There was only the sound of the wounded gasping and the crackling of burning torches.

They had lost nearly a third of their force just from the infiltration.

Was this really the expected attrition for an "intelligence mission"?

When no one was paying attention, Murata Masasuke quietly disappeared from the cave.

By the time he reappeared, Murata Masasuke was already discussing something with the two remaining Root jonin.

"Quiet."

Murata Masasuke's voice rang out, and everyone looked up at the three Root jonin standing on the high ground.

"New orders have come from above."

Murata Masasuke unfurled a scroll.

"According to the latest intelligence, the most likely location for the resurrection of Three-Tails Isobu is this lake."

He pointed toward the vast, endless lake outside the waterfall.

"Starting tomorrow, everyone will search in a fan shape, using this stronghold as the center. Everyone must focus on checking for abnormal chakra fluctuations at the bottom of the lake..."

He paused, his cold gaze sweeping over every face.

"Report any abnormalities immediately, is that understood?"

"Everyone?"

Anko Mitarashi could not help but ask, "Including the wounded?"

"Including them." Murata Masasuke's reply came without any hesitation.

"Everyone goes out tomorrow; that is an order."

"But they..." Anko pointed to the corner.

There lay two severely wounded men; the bandages wrapped around one's abdomen were still seeping blood.

Another had lost a lower leg, his face as pale as paper.

"No 'buts'." Murata Masasuke interrupted her, his voice laced with unquestionable cruelty.

"This is a mission, not a game of house.

Everyone must contribute value to the village. Those without value are merely a waste of the village's resources."

He stepped forward, the firelight making his face appear even more hideous.

"If you don't find it, you aren't allowed to return. Unauthorized retreat, passive mission performance, or..."

His gaze swept over Uchiha Yatsuhashi, whether intentionally or not.

"Dragging down the team's progress due to personal reasons will be treated as 'desertion' and 'betrayal of the village'."

The temperature in the cave seemed to drop a few more degrees.

In the context of Konoha, the four words "betrayal of the village" were more terrifying than death.

It meant your name would be added to the village's list of traitors.

Your family would be branded as "kin of rogue ninja," subjected to endless political discrimination and surveillance by the Anbu.

Descendants would be barred from the Ninja Academy, parents would be unable to live normally in the village, and friends and relatives would avoid them like the plague.

It was a social death, an erasure more thorough than physical destruction.

"Think of your families back in Konoha."

Murata Masasuke's voice lowered, becoming even colder.

He watched with satisfaction as the reactions appeared on many faces and despair surfaced in their eyes.

"So, put away your useless sympathy and fear.

Tomorrow, either find the Three-Tails and return alive, or..."

He didn't finish, but everyone understood.

Either die here, where at least you won't implicate your family.

There was no third option.

Listening to his words, Uchiha Yatsuhashi's eyes also turned cold.

Daring to threaten his family, this Murata Masasuke had already paved his own path to death.

Although this was Uchiha Yatsuhashi's first mission outside the village.

He still keenly sensed the strangeness of this operation.

Infiltrating other nations to gather intelligence usually prioritized remaining undetected above all else.

Yet the other two teams had clearly signaled their presence to the enemy without objection.

And Murata Masasuke had no intention of letting everyone abandon the mission.

Even in the dark world of ninja, this was just too damn dark!

It was basically telling them to go die in broad daylight tomorrow.

But facing this hopeless situation with ten deaths and no life.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi glanced at Anko Mitarashi, who was sitting with her knees pulled to her chest beside him.

He whispered, "I have a way for tomorrow..."

Anko Mitarashi turned her head to look at him.

"What way?"

"We will definitely encounter Kirigakure ninja tomorrow..."

Hearing this, Anko Mitarashi's face turned pale.

But this was an unavoidable reality.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi traced a large lake on the cold ground with his finger.

"Assuming we are here, no matter where the Kirigakure ninja are, they will be drawn to us tomorrow."

Uchiha Yatsuhashi continued slowly.

"When we scout tomorrow, we'll find an opportunity to put some distance between us and the others."

He looked up at Anko Mitarashi.

"While the Kirigakure ninja are distracted by the others, we will take the lead and complete the mission..."

"Three jonin, plus over a dozen chunin, will surely buy us enough time."

Anko Mitarashi stared at him for a long time.

This genin, with his weak chakra and unremarkable presence at the Ninja Academy.

His gaze at this moment reminded her of how Orochimaru looked when pondering a difficult problem.

The next day, early morning.

A faint white mist enveloped the entire lake.

Under the command of Murata Masasuke, the group began to split into teams of three or five, spreading out in a fan shape toward different directions of the lake.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi and Anko Mitarashi were naturally in the same group.

"Maintain your spacing, and do not lose sight of one another."

Murata Masasuke and two other Root jonin stood behind them.

"Keep an eye out for any abnormal chakra concentrations..."

The ground beneath their feet was muddy, making every step uneven and treacherous.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi made a point to stay close to Anko Mitarashi.

He walked with extreme caution, trying his best not to make a single sound.

At this moment, both he and Anko Mitarashi were waiting tensely.

They were waiting for the Kirigakure ninjas to attack, intending to use the chaos to quickly push into the lake, locate the resurrection site of Three-Tails Isobu, and then retreat.

This was their only path to survival.

The closer they got to the lake, the quieter the surroundings became.

Furthermore, for some reason, the surrounding mist began to grow thicker and thicker.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi lowered his voice, "This mist isn't right."

No sooner had he spoken than a shout from Murata Masasuke came from behind; he had arrived nearby with the other two jonin at some point.

"Stop!"

"Anko Mitarashi!" Murata Masasuke pointed toward the direction where the thick mist was churning.

"Go forward and scout!"

Anko Mitarashi hesitated for a moment, then tightened her grip on the kunai in her hand.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi looked at the malicious glint in the eyes of Murata Masasuke and his two companions.

"Captain Murata, please wait!"

He stepped forward, blocking Anko Mitarashi's path.

Murata Masasuke's gaze turned icy, "Uchiha Yatsuhashi, what do you think you're doing? Are you defying orders?"

"No."

Uchiha Yatsuhashi met his gaze, "I just feel that the situation ahead is unclear. It is too dangerous for one person to scout alone. I request to go with Anko Mitarashi so we can look out for each other."

The other chunin looked at Uchiha Yatsuhashi in surprise, as if looking at a madman.

Murata Masasuke stared at Uchiha Yatsuhashi, his fingers tapping lightly against his ninja tool pouch—a habitual gesture he made when he intended to kill.

He had originally planned that if Uchiha Yatsuhashi dared to object, he could kill him on the spot under the pretext of "defying orders and disrupting the mission."

This would allow him to eliminate the target while establishing his authority in front of these chunin.

However, Uchiha Yatsuhashi had not only failed to object but had "volunteered" to scout the path.

This was completely unexpected.

But upon further thought, if he let them both go scout and they both died in a trap, wouldn't that be a double victory?

Thinking of this, Murata Masasuke couldn't help but laugh.

Yet, this smile made him look incredibly sinister.

"Granted."

Anko Mitarashi looked at Uchiha Yatsuhashi, a flicker of emotion in her eyes.

"Let's go."

Uchiha Yatsuhashi whispered, taking the lead into the thick mist.

Anko Mitarashi followed closely behind.

Their figures soon vanished into the rolling white mist, with only their vague outlines barely visible.

Murata Masasuke watched the direction where they had disappeared, a trace of mockery flashing in his eyes.

He turned to the remaining ninjas: "Everyone, stay alert and hold your positions. Wait for them to..."

However, before Murata Masasuke could finish his sentence, a sudden change occurred!

The mist ahead suddenly began to churn violently, as if it were boiling.

The area expanded rapidly, instantly engulfing Murata Masasuke and the remaining chunin.

"Not good!"

Murata Masasuke's expression changed drastically, and he retreated instinctively!

The very moment he left his original position.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"

Several kunai wrapped in explosive tags shot out from the mist at treacherous angles.

They were all aimed at the spot where Murata Masasuke had been standing just a moment ago.

Boom! Boom, boom, boom!

The shockwaves of the explosions overturned the muddy ground.

A few chunin who reacted too slowly were sent flying by the blast, screaming as they crashed into the mire.

"Enemy attack! Watch out for the Kirigakure Silent Killing Technique!"

Someone's roar rang out amidst the explosions.

In the thick fog, blurry figures flickered like ghosts.

Their movements were swift and silent, their kunai carving cold arcs through the mist.

This was no Kirigakure patrol.

It was a professional ambush unit.

"Form seals and counterattack!"

Murata Masasuke shouted sharply, his hands moving rapidly to weave seals, "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A gust of gale-force wind erupted from his mouth, temporarily dispersing the thick fog before him, but it also exposed their position.

More Kirigakure ninja, like sharks smelling blood, continued to surge out from the mist.

At this moment, at the very front of the thick fog, Uchiha Yatsuhashi and Anko Mitarashi looked pale, but fortunately, neither was injured.

Just a moment ago, when they stepped into the core area where the mist was churning, Uchiha Yatsuhashi had yanked Anko Mitarashi down, and the two crouched low, hiding behind a rock half a person's height.

Almost simultaneously, they felt several cold gazes sweep through the fog.

But the gazes did not linger; instead, they quickly locked onto the position behind them, where Murata Masasuke and the others were located.

"They... let us in on purpose?"

Anko Mitarashi lowered her voice, unable to believe it.

"Because we look the weakest, and we were the ones scouting at the very front of the team."

Uchiha Yatsuhashi's heart was pounding, but his mind was exceptionally clear.

"The people from Kirigakure want to wipe us out in one go, so they let us two 'bait' go deep, waiting for the rest of the main force to enter the encirclement before launching the attack.

Since we were walking in the front, we are actually safe for the time being."

Furthermore, he had intentionally shouted out Murata Masasuke's identity as captain in front of everyone just now.

His goal was to expose the high-value target among their group to the Kirigakure ninja.

It was just a pity that Murata Masasuke had escaped unscathed.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi looked behind him.

In the thick fog, the flashes of explosions and screams rose and fell one after another.

The battle had clearly reached a fever pitch.

And in the surrounding white mist, more Kirigakure ninja were constantly heading over to provide support.

"What should we do?"

Anko Mitarashi instinctively asked Uchiha Yatsuhashi beside her.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi looked ahead.

He could vaguely see the hazy outline of a lake in the thick fog.

"We can't go back," he said. "Going back is suicide. Murata Masasuke won't protect us, and the people from Kirigakure won't let us go."

"Then..."

"Move forward. Don't let Captain Murata and the others sacrifice themselves in vain."

"While they are locked in melee, we will bypass the battlefield and head toward the depths of the lake.

Three-Tails Isobu might really have been resurrected in this lake. If we can find even a single clue, it would count as completing the mission..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Anko Mitarashi understood.

Staying behind meant certain death; moving forward might offer a glimmer of hope.

The two exchanged a glance, then simultaneously crouched low, using the cover of the thick fog and the terrain, and crept silently toward the depths of the lake.

Behind them, the sounds of slaughter between the Konoha ninja and the Kirigakure ambush unit

were gradually swallowed by the thick fog and the distance.