Anbu Mission

Today, Li Yu wore his mask as usual and gathered with his teammates at the Anbu headquarters, preparing for their daily patrol mission in Konoha.

Captain Yan Xing suddenly broke from his routine. "We've received orders today to patrol a twenty-kilometer radius outside the village."

Without further ado, they followed him, swiftly passing through the barrier and exiting the village.

After covering a significant distance outside the village, the high-intensity running consumed a great deal of chakra and stamina. Up ahead, Yan Xing deliberately slowed his pace to observe the condition of his team members.

He was surprised to find that while the other two members were struggling, Li Yu showed no signs of fatigue and kept up with ease.

Relying on his Sage Body, Li Yu's chakra and stamina recovered at an astonishing rate, and his physical prowess as a member of the Senju Clan was nothing to scoff at.

Given that they were nearing the edge of Konoha's safe zone, Captain Yan Xing decided to maintain peak condition.

"Stop and rest for ten minutes before we continue."

The team halted in the forest to regroup.

Li Yu leaned against a tree with one hand, preparing to sit down, when he suddenly felt a jolt. Through the contact between his hand and the tree, he instantly sensed the state of the surrounding forest.

Li Yu closed his eyes, using his Wood Release chakra to carefully scan the vast area in the direction the squad was headed. Finding no traces of other ninja, he felt a sense of relief.

As this was his first mission since arriving in the Naruto World, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous and uneasy.

Li Yu prepared to pull his hand away, but on a whim, he casually checked the path they had just taken to leave the village.

His heart, which had just settled, immediately leaped into his throat. One, two, three, four—goosebumps broke out all over his body.

"Two squads, eight people."

He probed more carefully through the tree and discovered that there were indeed so many people on both sides of the path they had just traveled. The distance was too great to sense the exact number clearly, and he realized he hadn't practiced this tree-sensing skill enough.

They had passed by so quickly that they hadn't noticed them at all. They were well-hidden, and they must have spotted their squad passing by, yet they chose not to attack or reveal themselves.

Li Yu immediately stood up and went to the captain, who was standing guard, to report the situation to him and the rest of the squad.

Everyone gasped upon hearing the news.

After careful consideration, Yan Xing decided, "The rest period is over."

"We're turning back to follow them. Be ready for combat at any time. Zi Yu, you are in charge of sensing; keep us updated on the situation."

The team quickly reversed direction and hurried back.

After traveling for a while with his teammates, they stopped abruptly.

Li Yu pressed his hand against the nearest tree and sensed again, speaking as he did so.

"Two kilometers away, two people are moving at high speed toward those eight."

"Behind those two, there are one, two, three, four... eight ninja moving rapidly."

Captain Yan Xing made a prompt decision: everyone prepare for battle.

"Konoha ninja are in pursuit. The two being chased and the two squads must be from other villages, waiting to rendezvous. No wonder they let us pass without attacking."

Taking advantage of the fact that his teammates weren't looking, Li Yu used the large tree to shield his body, formed a single-handed seal, and extended a wooden tentacle from his body to create a Wood Clone. He infused it with fifty percent of his chakra and had it hide within the trees.

By Li Yu's calculations, he would need to rush over to provide support later, and thanks to the chakra recovery rate of his Sage Body, he would be able to regain twenty to thirty percent of his chakra.

At the captain's command, they continued forward to provide support.

This time, they increased their speed.

Li Yu's Wood Clone used the dozen explosive tags on its person to set up a trap.

The eight Anbu ninja, split into two squads, were in full pursuit. The four suspected Iwagakure ninja had killed two of their opponents along the way.

There remained one Jonin and one elite Chunin who were skilled in speed and running very fast.

One of the Anbu Jonin leading the front team urged them to press the pursuit.

"Important intelligence has been stolen; under no circumstances can we let them take it away."

He threw a few kunai, which the ninja ahead dodged easily, continuing to close the distance.

The pursuit was so intense that the Konoha Anbu ninja didn't fully realize that two squads of enemy ninja were lying in ambush ahead.

They charged headlong into the enemy's trap, and a barrage of kunai shot out from both sides.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

They drew their blades to defend, but it was too late. They scrambled to pull out kunai, trying their best to dodge with their bodies.

Some of the kunai were rigged with explosive tags.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"Bad move! Get out of the way!"

Of the two Anbu Jonin, one used a Body Replacement Technique to dodge the kunai and explosive tags, landing and forming seals.

Earth Release: Earth Style Wall

Two earth walls rose from the ground, shielding his teammates from another wave of kunai.

In an instant, the eight Anbu ninja were ambushed; three elite Anbu were killed instantly, one fell to the ground severely wounded, and the others suffered varying degrees of injury.

The four remaining Anbu formed a Myriad Child Formation to protect the severely wounded ninja in the center.

After the initial contact, only two Jonin, one Special Jonin, and one elite Chunin remained.

They had thought they held the advantage, but they hadn't expected so many ninja to be lying in ambush within Konoha territory, leaving them surrounded by ten enemy ninja.

It was at this moment that their squad, having rushed back, finally arrived.