Surrounded-A Trap?

After Shisui finished speaking, he immediately vanished from the spot.

Ryosuke and Miyuki leaped onto two neighboring trees, using the branches to conceal themselves.

Sanhe had been about to sneer at them, but seeing this, he had no choice but to climb a tree as well.

Three hours passed in a flash, and the sun was already high above the forest.

Even up in the trees, the heat was stifling.

Ryosuke was eating his bento in the tree when he suddenly sensed movement behind him.

"Ryosuke, it's me," Miyuki's voice called out.

"Aren't you supposed to be watching the west?"

Ryosuke asked in confusion.

"Don't you think this forest is far too quiet? There hasn't been a single bird call."

Miyuki whispered.

Ryosuke immediately understood what she meant.

Besides, Miyuki was a sensor-type ninja. Unless Ryosuke used "Pesquisa," his awareness of the surroundings was inferior to hers.

He immediately activated the skill.

Sure enough, a dozen or so vague figures were at the edge of the forest, slowly closing in on them in a net-like formation.

"Enemies."

Ryosuke stood up at once.

"What? There really are enemies? Why didn't I sense them?"

Miyuki was startled.

"Looks like these guys took precautions specifically against the Sharingan. If I didn't have other means, I wouldn't have noticed them either. Hurry and alert Sanhe."

Ryosuke spoke quickly.

Miyuki nodded. She knew Ryosuke wouldn't joke about something like this.

A low whistle sounded through the forest.

Sanhe soon appeared beside them.

"What's going on?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Sanhe, were you asleep?" Miyuki asked, exasperated.

"Ah, I just haven't slept well these past few days. Nothing was happening, so I took a little rest. Is something wrong?" Sanhe scratched his head and asked awkwardly.

"Ryosuke spotted enemies. They're closing in on us," Miyuki said.

"Enemies? No way. Could they be reinforcements?" Sanhe activated his Sharingan and scanned the area.

But he didn't see anything.

"Would reinforcements sneak up on us without a sound? Don't forget, we're still in the Land of Fire," Ryosuke said, glaring at him.

"But why can't I see anything?" Sanhe asked, completely baffled.

"They have a way to counter the Sharingan's ability to detect them. If I'm not mistaken, our movements have been exposed."

Ryosuke's expression was grave.

Now neither Sanhe nor Miyuki could remain calm.

If Ryosuke's earlier words had only been speculation, the situation now seemed to confirm his suspicion.

Had they really become sacrifices to the peace between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning?

Sanhe still found it hard to accept.

"No way. Why would Lord Hokage betray us? I don't believe it. You must have seen wrong. Those have to be Konoha reinforcements. Stop letting your imaginations run wild."

Sanhe shook his head.

"Then let's test it."

As Miyuki spoke, she began forming Hand Seals.

But Ryosuke stopped her.

"Ryosuke?"

Miyuki looked at him in confusion.

"You're thinking of using the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique, right? That would consume too much chakra. Let me handle it instead. Ninja Art: Thousand-Fold Illusion."

Ryosuke formed Hand Seals at lightning speed, and countless images of him appeared around them.

Without the Sharingan, neither Miyuki nor Sanhe could tell these images apart from Shadow Clones.

The images shot off in every direction.

The three of them activated their Sharingan and tracked the images' movements.

But apart from Ryosuke, neither of them could pinpoint the enemies.

"See? I told you Ryosuke was mistaken. There aren't any enemies."

When none of the images came under attack, Sanhe immediately laughed.

But soon, an explosion sounded in the distance, followed by several bursts of lightning.

That was the unmistakable effect of the Cloud Ninja's Lightning Release Ninjutsu.

Sanhe's smile froze on his face.

"They spotted us! Those were illusions. They're still in the forest. Hurry and find them!"

An exasperated voice came from the distance.

Ryosuke dispelled the jutsu.

Sanhe's face turned pale.

"Someone really did betray us? Are we just sacrifices for the village?"

"Sanhe, right now our only concern is getting out of here alive. Don't think about anything else," Miyuki reminded him.

"Right. We should hold our ground here. As long as Teacher Shisui gets back in time, we'll be saved."

Sanhe thought of something and spoke at once.

But Ryosuke shook his head.

"The enemy only made their move several hours after Teacher Shisui left. That means they were prepared well in advance. The worst-case scenario is that the Cloud Ninja are holding Teacher Shisui up, so we'll have to rely on ourselves this time."

"There are twelve enemies, and they all appear to be Chunin-level. They're probably Cloud Ninja Anbu. Get ready to break through."

After speaking, Ryosuke took out his ninja tool pouch and handed several scrolls to Sanhe.

"What are these?"

"Shuriken and Kunai. Aren't you good at using Shadow Shuriken? You can suppress the enemy," Ryosuke said calmly.

"Th-thanks." Sanhe sounded a little awkward.

Then Ryosuke handed a pack of Military Ration Pills to Miyuki.

"Miyuki, your jutsu consume a lot of chakra. Take these. If you're in danger, come to me. I'll protect you."

Ryosuke spoke to Miyuki.

"Thank you, Ryosuke. If you hadn't been here, the Cloud Ninja would probably have captured us by now."

Miyuki accepted the pack with a smile.

"You don't have to thank me. I don't want to die here and become someone else's sacrifice either."

"Then let's fight. It's time to show the enemy the power of the Uchiha."

The three of them stood together.

Shisui raced toward his destination using the Body Flicker Technique.

The journey should have taken half a day, but he managed it in just three hours.

The price was that he had used up more than half his chakra.

"I can't shake this unease. They should be all right, shouldn't they? I worry too much. Even if something happened, Ryosuke is there, so they should be fine."

After reassuring himself, Shisui activated his Sharingan and surveyed the interior layout of the Safe House ahead.

To his surprise, ten Cloud Ninja were gathered inside.

They were even resting in a combat formation.

As if they knew someone would come here.

"Was it really a trap?"

At the thought, Shisui was already inclined to retreat.

He was confident he could deal with the enemies here, but it would take quite a while.

That would do nothing to help with the targets that came afterward, so he decided to return to Team One first and investigate all the target locations.

But as soon as he turned around, he saw ten ninjas standing behind him.

"Since you're here, why not stay a little longer?"