Today, Li Yu once again wore his mask and joined his teammates at the Anbu headquarters, ready for their routine mission: patrolling Konoha.
Their captain, Yan Xing, suddenly broke with his usual routine. "We've received a mission today. We're patrolling an area twenty kilometers outside the village."
Without further discussion, they followed him, quickly crossing the barrier and leaving the village.
After traveling a long way beyond the village, they pushed on at a demanding pace that rapidly drained their chakra and stamina. At the front, Yan Xing deliberately slowed down to check on his teammates.
To his surprise, the other two were struggling, but Li Yu was perfectly fine and still keeping up.
Thanks to his Sage Body, Li Yu's chakra and stamina recovered remarkably quickly. And the Senju Clan's Taijutsu was no joke.
Since they were about to leave Konoha's safe zone, Captain Yan Xing wanted everyone in the best possible condition.
"Stop and rest for ten minutes, then we'll keep going."
The team stopped to rest in the woods.
Li Yu braced one hand against a tree and was about to lean against it when a sudden shock ran through him. Through his contact with the tree, he could instantly sense what was happening across a vast stretch of forest.
Li Yu closed his eyes and focused on sensing with his Wood Release chakra. He found no sign of any ninja across the large area in the direction their team was headed, and felt reassured.
This was his first mission since arriving in the Naruto World, so he couldn't help feeling a little nervous and uneasy.
Li Yu was about to pull his hand away when a sudden thought struck him. He casually looked along the route they had taken out of the village.
His heart, which had just settled, leapt straight into his throat. One, two, three, four—goose bumps rose all over him.
"Two teams. Eight people."
He carefully probed the trees again and discovered that there were actually so many people on both sides of the road they had just traveled. They were too far away for him to sense anything clearly beyond their numbers. He suddenly realized he had never properly trained his ability to sense through trees.
They had passed by at full speed without noticing anyone. The others had hidden themselves well. They must have noticed the team passing, yet they hadn't attacked or come out to greet them.
Li Yu immediately got up and went to the captain, who was keeping watch. He informed him and the rest of the team.
Everyone drew in a sharp breath when they heard.
After weighing it carefully, Yan Xing decided, "We've rested enough."
"We'll turn back and follow them. Be ready to fight at any moment. Zi Yu, you're in charge of sensing. Keep checking for changes."
The team quickly turned around and hurried back.
After traveling some distance with his teammates, Li Yu stopped at once.
He pressed a hand against the nearest tree and began sensing again, speaking as he did.
"Two kilometers ahead, two people are moving at high speed toward those eight."
"Behind them, there are one, two, three, four—eight ninjas moving quickly."
Captain Yan Xing made his decision without hesitation. "Everyone, prepare for battle."
"Konoha Ninja are in pursuit. Those two teams should be ninjas from another village, waiting to provide support. No wonder they let us pass without attacking."
While the others weren't looking, Li Yu kept half his body concealed behind a tree and formed Hand Seals with one hand. A wooden tendril emerged from his body and formed a Wood Clone. He gave it half his chakra and sent it into the tree.
By Li Yu's estimate, they would still have to hurry over and provide support later. Thanks to his Sage Body's chakra recovery, he could regain two or three tenths of his chakra by then.
At the captain's command, they continued forward to provide support.
This time, they hurried along at an increased pace.
Li Yu's Wood Clone used the dozen or so Explosive Tags it carried to set up traps.
Eight Anbu Ninja, divided into two teams, were in full pursuit of their targets. The four suspected Iwagakure ninja had killed two of their pursuers, both Chunin.
One of the remaining targets was an enemy Jōnin, and the other an elite Chunin. Both were skilled at moving fast and were fleeing at full speed.
A Jōnin at the front of the pursuing Anbu urged them on. "Important intelligence has been stolen. We can't let them take it away, no matter what!"
He threw out several Kunai as he ran. The ninja ahead dodged them easily, and the pursuit continued to close the gap.
With the chase growing so intense, the Konoha Anbu Ninja failed to fully notice the two teams lying in ambush up ahead.
They charged straight into the enemy's trap. A large number of Kunai shot out from both sides.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
They drew the swords on their backs to block, but it was too late. They hurriedly pulled out Kunai, doing their best to dodge the attacks.
Some of the Kunai had Explosive Tags attached.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
"Not good! Get out of the way!"
One of the two Anbu Jōnin used the Substitution Technique to evade the Kunai and Explosive Tags. After landing, he formed Hand Seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
Two earthen walls rose from the ground, shielding his teammates from another volley of Kunai.
The eight Anbu Ninja had been ambushed in an instant. Three Anbu elites were killed outright, one was gravely wounded and fell to the ground, and the others suffered varying degrees of injury.
Four Anbu formed the Myriad Child Formation, protecting the gravely wounded ninja in the middle.
After the initial clash, only two Jōnin, one Special Jōnin, and one elite Chunin remained.
They had thought they held the advantage, but never imagined so many people could infiltrate Konoha's territory and lie in wait here. They were now surrounded by ten ninja.
Just then, our team, which had turned back, finally arrived.