Swift March Through the Dense Forest and the ANBU Captain's Scheme to Borrow a Knife to Kill

Deep in the gloomy redwood forest, the light was shattered into fragments by the overlapping canopies.

The Root operative codenamed Wildcat moved through the thick trunks at high speed, like a weightless ghost. Having completely deviated from the Venom Fang squad's route, he was sprinting toward a coordinate point on the other side of the Land of Fire border.

The wind whistled in his ears, but the eyes beneath Wildcat's mask were like stagnant water, devoid of any emotional fluctuation. The secret order from Lord Danzo had been etched into his mind before departure: "Venom Fang and that cannon fodder named Owl are merely bait to draw the attention of Iwagakure. Your true mission is to cut off the Namikaze Minato squad's path of retreat while they are bogged down by the main Iwagakure force."

This was the true "borrowed knife" tactic of the Konoha high command.

Using a low-level ANBU operative to lure out Iwagakure's elite, then utilizing Iwagakure's military strength to exhaust—or even eliminate—the Yellow Flash who had shaken the ninja world. On the chessboard of power, there was never a shortage of sacrifices to be discarded at will. Wildcat's chakra erupted beneath his feet, his figure morphing into a black line as he vanished completely into the depths of the dense forest.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the canyon.

Behind a dark red boulder over a hundred meters high, Venom Fang crouched in the cold, damp shadows, looking down at the canyon floor from a vantage point.

Gray miasma churned below. Venom Fang's gaze pierced through the thin mist, locking firmly onto Baishi, who was surrounded by three Iwagakure ninjas. A cruel arc tugged at the corner of his mouth.

That fool had actually walked into the death trap at coordinate C-4 without any precautions.

Go to hell, you trash. I'll be sure to collect your death benefits for you, Venom Fang sneered inwardly. To ensure this "borrowed knife" would run Baishi through, he intended to leave no room for variables.

Venom Fang performed hand seals with agonizing slowness.

Earth Release: Rock Stealing Staff!

At the bottom of the canyon, several sharp stone pillars protruded silently from the rock wall ten meters behind Baishi, stealthily blocking his blind spot for retreat. With his path sealed, the calculation of the "borrowed knife" tactic was perfectly closed.

In the center of the canyon, the atmosphere was stifling to the extreme.

A cold, damp wind carried the stench of rotting leaves and the earthy smell of miasma. Baishi stood his ground, the hem of his black trench coat snapping in the wind.

The three elite ninjas wearing Iwagakure headbands stood in a triangular formation, the heavy pressure of their earth-attribute chakra making the surrounding air feel suffocatingly dense.

"Has Konoha's ANBU fallen so far that they're sending a wet-behind-the-ears brat to die?" The lead Iwagakure jonin twisted his thick neck, his bones popping like firecrackers. Veins bulged on his massive arms, and he looked at Baishi as if he were already a corpse.

Baishi didn't waste words.

He didn't even turn his head to look at the retreat path blocked by the stone pillars. His right hand, hidden beneath his wide sleeve, lashed out.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three kunai tore through the miasma, emitting sharp whistling sounds as they flew toward the faces of the three Iwagakure ninjas. This wasn't an attempt to kill, but the most basic tactical probe in a ninja confrontation.

"You're courting death!" A flicker of contempt crossed the Iwagakure jonin's eyes. He didn't dodge, instead slamming his thick right leg into the ground.

One-handed seal!

The pupils beneath Baishi's mask contracted sharply. His Lightning Release sensory perception instantly captured the trajectory of the opponent's chakra gathering at his throat—Snake-Boar-Dog!

"Earth Release: Earth Wall!"

With a thunderous boom, a thick stone wall rose from the ground, precisely blocking the three of them. With a few metallic clangs, the kunai struck the wall and were deflected.

But the moment the kunai bounced off, a cold smirk tugged at the corner of Baishi's mouth.

Hidden on the tail ring of one of the kunai was a folded Explosive Tag. By now, the cinnabar markings were glowing to their limit.

BOOM!

Violent flames instantly swallowed the edge of the stone wall, and a scorching shockwave mixed with stone fragments swept outward, the pungent smell of nitric acid instantly overpowering the earthy stench of the miasma.

"Cheap tricks!"

Before the dust had even settled, the Iwagakure jonin's massive frame smashed through the ruined wall like a heavy tank. Using the cover of the explosion, he crossed the dozen meters in an instant, appearing directly above Baishi.

His broad short sword, coated in heavy earth-attribute chakra, slashed down toward the top of Baishi's head. The blade sliced through the air with a piercing shriek.

Baishi didn't look up. Max-level Lightning Release chakra surged wildly through his meridians, pushing his neural reaction speed to the limit. He could clearly track every inch of the blade's descent.

Just as the edge was about to shatter his mask, Baishi's body shifted half a step to the left with eerie fluidity.

Squelch!

The short sword slammed into the ground, carving a half-meter-deep fissure into the hard bedrock. Flying stone fragments tore the hem of Baishi's trench coat.

Missing his mark, a flash of shock crossed the Iwagakure jonin's eyes. How could this brat be this fast?

Before he could react further, Baishi's left hand caught his wrist with surgical precision. At his fingertips, a faint but violent flash of lightning flickered and vanished.

Lightning Release: Micro-current Stimulation!

Zzzzt!

The Iwagakure jonin felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his wrist, and his entire right arm went numb for half a second.

That half-second of paralysis was all it took.

Baishi held his kunai in a reverse grip, slicing ruthlessly toward the opponent's throat along the inside of his arm. The movement was clean, efficient, and without a hint of hesitation.

"Earth Release: Hardening Technique!"

At the brink of life and death, the Iwagakure jonin displayed formidable combat instincts. Fighting through the numbness, the skin on his neck instantly turned a dull, grayish-black, as impenetrable as solid rock.

Skreeee!

The sharp kunai scraped across the rock-hard skin, throwing off a spray of blinding sparks and leaving only a shallow white mark.

"Die!" The Iwagakure jonin roared, his left fist, imbued with immense force, smashing toward Baishi's chest.

BANG!

Baishi's body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, slamming heavily into the rock wall behind him with a dull, thunderous thud.

"Finish him!" Seeing this, the other two Iwagakure chunin immediately flanked him from both sides. Two kunai, one left and one right, stabbed viciously toward Baishi's heart and throat.

Atop the giant boulder, Venom Fang watched this scene, the mockery in his eyes intensifying. It was over. Even if he hadn't been killed by the Iwagakure shinobi's brute strength, he would have lost the ability to move. This blade was truly a pleasure to use.

However, just as the two chunin's kunai were about to pierce Baishi's body:

Poof!

A puff of white smoke exploded at the base of the rock wall. The "Baishi" that had been struck transformed into a cracked wooden substitution log. Neatly plastered across the surface of the log were three Explosive Tags, their fuses already burnt out.

The pupils of the two Iwagakure chunin instantly shrank to the size of pinpricks.

"Retreat!"

BOOM!!!

A deafening explosion echoed through the bottom of the canyon, the violent flames tearing through the gray miasma. The scorching shockwave knocked the two chunin, who were unable to dodge in time, to the ground, blood instantly staining the earth red.

Atop the giant boulder, Venom Fang's smile froze on his face. A Substitution Technique? When did he weave the hand signs?!

Amidst the smoke and dust of the explosion, Baishi's figure appeared like a ghost in the blind spot ten meters to the right. He knelt on one knee, his left hand pressed to the ground, his right hand still holding an unfinished hand sign.

The eyes beneath his mask were filled with a chilling, heart-stopping calm.

The earlier kunai probing, the close-quarters combat, and the intentional opening he left to be sent flying—it had all been to position himself for this moment. He had gauged the defensive limits of the Iwagakure jonin and successfully drawn the two troublesome chunin into the blast radius of the Explosive Tags.

Elemental suppression. The Hardening Technique of Earth Release absolutely cannot block the concentrated piercing power of Lightning Release, Baishi calculated rapidly in his mind.

He stood up, his thumb slowly wiping a speck of dust from the edge of his mask. The chakra within his body began to converge frantically toward his right arm; azure lightning flickered in his palm, emitting a harsh, piercing sound like the chirping of a thousand birds.

Just as he prepared to launch his fatal strike and finish the battle, the soil beneath Baishi's feet suddenly emitted a bizarre, gurgling sound. The once-solid rock layer instantly turned into a viscous swamp, like an invisible giant hand, dragging his legs down and spreading upward at an alarming speed.

"Earth Release: Underworld Swamp!"

From within the smoke, the Iwagakure jonin's rough voice rang out, heavy with killing intent. Not only had he survived, but he had used the shockwave from the explosion to stealthily complete this large-scale control ninjutsu.

The mud swamp instantly swallowed Baishi's knees, causing a fatal stagnation in the flow of his Lightning Release chakra.

Directly in front of Baishi, the Iwagakure jonin's massive frame broke through the smoke once more. His hands gripped a giant stone spear condensed from high-density rock, aimed straight at Baishi's heart, and he hurled it with the force of a landslide.

"Die, rat!"

The stone spear magnified rapidly in his pupils; his retreat was cut off, and his legs were imprisoned by the swamp. The violent Earth-attribute chakra locked onto Baishi's presence with lethal precision.