I Don't Think So

In the dense forest, four dark shadows flickered in rapid succession.

Approaching the location where the Sand Ninja had been spotted, Sarutobi Hakuba raised a hand, causing the four to stop instantly and form a defensive formation.

"Hihi."

At Sarutobi Hakuba's call, Hyuga Hihi immediately activated his Byakugan, scanning the entire one-kilometer radius around them.

"No enemies detected," Hyuga Hihi said, shaking his head.

"We cannot be careless. We must scan every eight hundred meters as we advance. For now, let's check the spot where the Sand Ninja were lingering; we might find other clues," Sarutobi Hakuba said in a low, stern voice.

The four had no objections, and before long, they arrived at a craggy, rock-strewn hill.

The hill sat in the middle of the forest, barren and rugged, making it an easy place to conceal a target.

"Hihi, check for traps," Sarutobi Hakuba said, eyeing the hill without making any rash moves.

Hyuga Hihi nodded, activated his Byakugan, and peered at the hill.

A second later, he pulled out several shuriken and said, "Fall back."

The other three did not hesitate, retreating alongside Hyuga Hihi.

Once they had put enough distance between themselves and the hill, Hyuga Hihi threw the shuriken in his hand, aiming them at various points on the rock formation.

Clang!

Sparks erupted from the hill, and a split second later, a series of explosions rang out, shattering the rocks into pieces.

That wasn't all; kunai and shuriken flew out in all directions, mixed with flying debris. Behind several of the kunai, thin, wire-like steel strings were attached.

As the kunai flew, the steel wires were yanked from the ground, weaving into a chaotic web that enveloped the hill and the surrounding dozens of meters. Attached to these wires were dozens of explosive tags.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A blast even more violent than the first erupted. When the explosions finally ceased, the four emerged from behind the trees.

The area before them had been completely leveled, with the trees all toppled uniformly outward.

"Tch, if we hadn't spotted and triggered that chain trap from the start, even a Jonin would have had a hard time escaping," Sen Chisato remarked.

"Hmm... anything else?" Sarutobi Hakuba asked, while the other two also looked toward Sen Chisato.

Completing the mission was mandatory, but beyond that, they hoped Sen Chisato would learn more during their operations.

"These Sand Ninja didn't expose themselves by accident; they were intentionally trying to lure Konoha ninja here," Sen Chisato said, having fully embraced his role as a Konoha ninja.

"What would be the point of that?" Sarutobi Hakuba had considered this, but what was the Sand Ninja's objective?

"I don't know," Sen Chisato replied. "But if we find that group of Sand Ninja, we might be able to figure it out. It's a pity none of us are skilled in interrogation; it would be better if someone were replaced by a ninja from the Yamanaka Clan."

Hearing this, Sarutobi Hakuba's face darkened.

He felt Sen Chisato was implying something about him, so he retorted irritably, "Let's find those Sand Ninja first. Hihi, have you picked up their trail?"

Hyuga Hihi scanned the surroundings with his Byakugan, then shook his head. "Nothing."

"What a nuisance," Sarutobi Hakuba cursed.

"Let me try," Sen Chisato said, crouching down.

Hyuga Hihi frowned. "My Byakugan can see everything within a kilometer."

He felt Sen Chisato didn't understand the Hyuga Clan; the Hyuga were, after all, Konoha's finest sensory ninja.

"Every type of sensory ninjutsu has its own specialty. For instance, the Hyuga's Byakugan can see through everything within a kilometer, making it best for active combat; the Inuzuka Clan excels at tracking; the Aburame Clan's insects are best at sensing the subtle fluctuations of chakra; and as for me..."

Sen Chisato closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to the ground. "My sensory range is wider than yours!"

He released his senses, and the chakra fluctuations within a five-kilometer radius flooded his mind. Carefully filtering out the chakra signatures from various Konoha outposts, Sen Chisato finally locked onto three locations.

These three spots emitted several distinct chakra signatures, and none of them were within the marked Konoha outposts on their map.

"Found them. There are three very strange locations."

Sen Chisato opened his eyes and pointed in one direction. "This one is the closest."

Everyone looked at him in surprise, yet no one questioned him.

"Then we head there first. Prepare for combat—move out!" Sarutobi Hakuba commanded decisively.

The four moved out once more.

Although the distance was short, the enemy might have set more traps, so they were extremely cautious this time, taking several minutes to approach the target area.

Separated by a few hundred meters, the four stopped again.

"This distance should be enough. There might be a sensory ninja among them; getting too close will alert the enemy."

Sarutobi Hakuba looked serious as he turned and whispered, "Hihi, pinpoint their exact location."

"Understood."

Hyuga Hihi activated his Byakugan, and everything within his line of sight turned transparent.

"Found them!"

The group's expressions tightened, and they instinctively looked toward Sen Chisato.

This brat is really something.

Then they looked toward Hyuga Hihi, especially Sarutobi Hakuba.

It seemed that Sen Chisato's previous words hadn't been directed at him after all...

Hyuga Hihi noticed this, and the veins bulging around his eye sockets after activating his Byakugan became even more ferocious.

Yet his expression remained calm, not dominated by emotion, as he pointed to the low hill in front of them and said, "Confirmed to be Sand Ninja, seven in number. Two of them have chakra levels reaching the Jonin rank. Everyone is at the base of the low hill, and there are no hidden sentries in the surrounding area."

"Two Jonin, that's a bit troublesome," Sarutobi Hakuba's face darkened.

Their side had higher combat power, as all four of them were at the Jonin level, but their numbers were too few.

If a real battle broke out, as long as the enemy managed to entangle them, there was a possibility that some might slip through the net.

After a moment of thought, Sarutobi Hakuba looked at Sen Chisato: "Brat, you go back to report the situation here and bring reinforcements. This group dared to infiltrate this far, so they must have a special mission. We cannot let a single one escape!"

Sen Chisato did not move immediately, instead asking, "What if they move suddenly after I leave?"

"What are you trying to say?" Sarutobi Hakuba asked.

He could tell that this brat had other ideas in mind.

"I think we can act directly and wipe them all out!" Sen Chisato said, eager to try.

Sarutobi Hakuba frowned and said in a deep voice, "No! Not to mention whether we can do it, we still need to extract intelligence from them."

"Dead men can talk too, anyway we have the Yamanaka Clan," Sen Chisato said, somewhat dismissively.

Sarutobi Hakuba's face sank: "Obey orders, brat. This isn't child's play!"

He felt that this brat was taking digs at him again, and that was one thing, but the main point was that he didn't want to take the risk.

"I really think we can give it a try," Sen Chisato said with a serious expression.

This group of Sand Ninja had chosen their hiding spot too well.

Although hiding at the base of the low hill reduced the chance of being discovered, it also increased the difficulty of escaping.

If they didn't bury them here, it would really be a disservice to the personal gift package they had delivered.

Just as Sarutobi Hakuba was about to say something else, Maruboshi Kosuke, who had been silent until now, said cheerfully, "Actually, Chisato-kun isn't wrong; the chance of success is quite high. Although I am more proficient in Water Release, I know a thing or two about Earth Release ninjutsu as well."

Sarutobi Hakuba closed his eyes and began to think carefully.

Sen Chisato knew Earth Release, and Maruboshi Kosuke and he did as well. If the three of them launched a surprise attack, catching them off guard, it was indeed possible to annihilate the entire group of Sand Ninja. Even if there were any omissions, Hyuga Hihi would be there to intercept them.

Taking a deep breath, he said in a low voice, "Maruboshi Kosuke stays here. The brat and I will circle around from both sides. We strike in one minute and sink the low hill directly! Hihi, stay hidden and be responsible for plugging any gaps."

"Now, move!"

As soon as the words fell, Sen Chisato and Sarutobi Hakuba immediately activated the Body Flicker Technique, disappearing as two blurred shadows.