Kurenai Yuhi was poisoned

"Someone get in here!"

Iwasaki Shige shouted excitedly toward the door.

"Get me another clean room!"

The tavern attendant did not dare delay.

Before long, a clean room was ready.

Iwasaki Shige tossed the compliant kunoichi in his arms onto the bed, then eagerly climbed on top of her.

Soon, the wooden bed began creaking under the strain.

As a ninja, his physique was stronger than an ordinary person's.

After an unknown amount of time, Iwasaki Shige let out a long breath.

Compared with ordinary women, a kunoichi's body could certainly withstand more.

Iwasaki Shige felt immensely relaxed, both physically and mentally.

But once was nowhere near enough to vent his long pent-up desire.

Just as Iwasaki Shige reached out to pull the kunoichi close for another round, she nimbly rolled off the bed, avoiding his arm.

Iwasaki Shige impatiently tried to grab her, but she evaded him every time.

"Don't go..."

"Let me have you one more time..."

The kunoichi covered her mouth and giggled.

"I could, but I'm curious. What mission were you carrying out in that dream of yours?"

Iwasaki Shige felt puzzled.

Why bring up those meaningless dreams out of nowhere?

But desire burned inside him, leaving him desperate to satisfy his urges as soon as possible.

With no other choice, he struggled to recall his dream.

As he thought about it, Iwasaki Shige was astonished to discover that the once-hazy dream was gradually becoming clear.

A faint unease stirred within him.

But then he reconsidered. It was only something from a dream, so it probably did not count as revealing village secrets.

And so, he began speaking haltingly.

"In the dream... it was an S-Rank mission personally assigned by Lord Ebizo... we were to secretly transport a shipment of war supplies to the Land of Fire's border... and plan the attack routes..."

He paused, then added:

"The operation... was scheduled for two months from now."

Once he finished, he saw the kunoichi nod in satisfaction.

Then his hand slid onto her smooth skin again, and this time she did not refuse him.

Overjoyed, Iwasaki Shige immediately went further.

Meanwhile, outside the illusion.

The bodies of Iwasaki Shige's two teammates lay on the ground.

Iwasaki Shige was hugging a withered tree trunk, kissing and stroking it.

A foolish grin spread across his face.

Satisfied grunts escaped his mouth from time to time.

Nearby, Gentō and Kurenai grew solemn after hearing Iwasaki Shige's account.

Sunagakure had been secretly plotting this for so long!

If Gentō had not brought it up, Konoha would still have been completely unaware of the danger!

Thinking of what would happen if Sunagakure launched a surprise attack on Konoha...

Kurenai's face paled.

Fortunately, there was still time.

Now that Iwasaki Shige had revealed everything he knew, he was no longer of any use.

Without hesitation, Gentō drove his kunai into the man's chest.

The illusion shattered, and Iwasaki Shige stared blankly at Gentō and Kurenai.

Shock and terror froze on his face as he breathed his last.

"The situation is more complicated than we expected. Fortunately, we still have two months to prepare."

Gentō rose from beside the corpse and considered things for a moment.

"You've exhausted yourself too. We have enough information. Let's withdraw."

Kurenai Yuhi nodded.

Maintaining such a precise genjutsu for so long had nearly drained both her chakra and her mental energy, leaving her pale.

The two were about to leave.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A fierce shout suddenly rang out.

Several powerful gusts immediately swept toward them.

Exhaustion slowed Kurenai's reaction by a fraction, and the wind was already upon her.

Seeing that she could not evade it, Gentō darted forward, wrapped an arm around her waist, and dodged at speed. They barely escaped the wind blades, which slashed several tears into the hem of his clothing.

Gentō steadied himself and cast a sharp gaze toward the source of the attack, his heart sinking.

Ten Sunagakure ninja approached in a semicircle.

Leading them was a bald ninja with a grim expression.

When he spotted the corpses on the ground, killing intent surged in his eyes.

"No wonder Iwasaki Shige's team still hadn't returned. So you Iwagakure bastards killed them!"

One Sunagakure ninja fixed his eyes on Kurenai Yuhi and flashed a malicious grin.

"Captain, that kunoichi is a real looker."

Another rubbed his hands together and chimed in.

"We haven't touched a woman in ages out here on the border. Now an Iwagakure kunoichi has delivered herself right to us. Let's make sure we have some fun!"

In an age of war, even life and death were commonplace, and morality flickered like a candle in the wind.

Women who fell into enemy ninja's hands often faced abuse more unbearable than death.

Kurenai naturally understood what they meant, and her gaze turned icy.

Gentō quickly assessed the situation.

All ten were elite fighters. A team capable of undertaking an S-Rank mission was certainly no ordinary group of ninja.

If he used his Sharingan and worked together with Kurenai, they would have a reasonable chance of winning.

But he could not be sure of wiping them all out.

If even one escaped, news of his Sharingan might alarm Sunagakure's leadership...

He made his decision in an instant.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several shuriken shot toward the group along tricky trajectories!

"Withdraw as planned!"

Gentō barked the order.

Without hesitation, Kurenai turned and dashed north.

"Aaargh!"

Thud!

The shuriken struck three enemies with precision, drawing screams.

"Bastard! Don't let them escape!"

The bald ninja roared.

Several Sunagakure ninja immediately charged after Kurenai with vicious grins, their intentions obvious.

Only two ninja moved in to surround Gentō.

Gentō inwardly cursed.

Kurenai was already exhausted. Facing several powerful opponents at once put her in grave danger.

With another flick of his wrist, he sent a fresh volley of shuriken toward the area around Kurenai, trying to impede her pursuers.

"Watch out for projectiles!"

The Sunagakure ninja were ready this time.

In the end, only one was hit and fell to the ground.

In just a few moments, Gentō had wounded four of them with his shuriken, instantly putting the bald ninja on guard.

"Attack together! Kill the man first, then we can take our time playing with the kunoichi!"

At the bald captain's command, three ninja instantly surrounded Gentō, forming hand seals and shouting in unison.

"Wind Release: Wind Cutter!"

Three invisible wind blades crisscrossed toward him, sealing off every avenue of escape.

But as the wind blades sliced through him, Gentō's figure vanished with a puff, leaving a substitution log behind.

"Damn it, a Substitution Technique!"

"Too late."

An icy voice sounded behind one of the ninja.

Gentō's true body appeared, a pale blue Chakra Scalpel forming at his fingertips as he swiftly swept them across the man's throat.

Blood sprayed.

The other ninja recoiled in fright.

"A medical ninja?"

A vicious look crossed the bald captain's face.

"Don't let him scare you! Get him together!"

Elsewhere, two Sunagakure ninja had cut Kurenai off.

Without wasting a word, one raised his hand and unleashed a cloud of senbon.

The hair-thin needles shot through the air.

Kurenai twisted and swung her kunai to block them. A continuous metallic clatter rang out as she knocked most of the senbon away.

But the barrage was too dense, and several needles still slipped through her guard.

"Ngh!"

Kurenai shuddered and staggered half a step with a muffled groan.

Three senbon had struck her chest.

"Oh! Got her!"

The ninja who had thrown the senbon let out a smug, lecherous laugh.

"I coated those senbon with Sand Lust Flower Poison. She won't last long!"

Seeing Kurenai injured in the distance, Gentō knew that the longer this dragged on, the worse their situation would become. They had to escape quickly.

His gaze swept over the four enemies charging at him again, and he swiftly hurled several kunai with explosive tags attached.

"Scatter! Explosive tags!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunderous explosions erupted one after another.

Thick smoke and dust instantly filled the woods.

The Sunagakure ninja hurriedly ducked or dodged.

By the time the smoke cleared a little, Gentō was already gone.

"Over there!"

Amid the chaos, Gentō had darted to Kurenai's side and scooped her into his arms. Without looking back, he raced north.

"After them! She's poisoned. They won't get far!"

The bald ninja gritted his teeth.

The five uninjured ninja immediately gave chase.