Three-Person Squad Enters Death Zone, Hidden Like Snakes, Concealing Killing Intent

At the entrance of the limestone cave, red light erupted.

The power of the Explosive Tag was magnified exponentially within the narrow rock passage, sending shrapnel and dust sweeping outward like bullets. At the critical moment, the lead Anbu ninja managed to halt his momentum, rolling backward in a bizarre posture to evade the center of the blast. However, the two subordinates behind him were not so fortunate.

The chain reaction triggered by the Ice Thread Tripwire caused pre-set Ice Shards to shoot out from all directions. Their screams were drowned out by the thunderous roar; caught off guard, the two Anbu ninjas were pierced through their armor by the dense ice spikes and collapsed into the murky mud.

"Enemy attack!" The leader steadied himself, instantly holding his Kunai across his chest. His gaze, sharp as lightning, scanned the cave now filled with smoke and water vapor.

He did not panic, instead retreating rapidly while signaling with tactical hand gestures. Of the two fallen ninjas, one struggled to stand, while the other, though incapacitated, immediately pulled a Signal Smoke Bomb from his ninja tool pouch, preparing to call for reinforcements.

Above the cave, hidden in the shadows of the stalactites, Mizuki Han clung to the ceiling like a gecko.

He forced his heart rate down to under thirty beats per minute, and through precise chakra control, lowered his body temperature until it was indistinguishable from the surrounding rock. He held his breath, not even blinking. He was a rock, an inanimate object, or perhaps a wandering ghost.

His gaze looked down upon everything below.

This squad's tactical proficiency far exceeded that of the two Chunin from before. The leader's first reaction after the ambush was not to pursue, but to establish a defensive formation. He watched every blind spot in the cave with vigilance, his Kunai held in a constant state of readiness to parry.

Three of them, Mizuki Han calculated silently.

The heavily injured ninja was attempting to signal, while the combat-capable one was covering the leader's advance. This was an extremely seasoned clearing pattern. They had already anticipated the existence of traps and were using this steady, methodical approach to force the enemy out of hiding.

Mizuki Han's fingers dug slightly into the rock crevices. A faint burning sensation radiated from the meridians in his left hand—a lingering injury from his previous forced overuse of Ice Release. Yet, he showed no sign of it; such pain was merely background noise to him.

"A sensory ninja..."

His gaze fell upon the ninja wearing a cat mask beside the leader. That man was not attacking, but instead had his hand pressed against the ground, a subtle ripple of chakra spreading outward from him like water waves.

It was Sensory Ninjutsu.

Mizuki Han's eyes grew colder. This was the most troublesome obstacle. Once caught by that ripple, his position would be exposed instantly. Facing three experienced Anbu, even with all his traps, a comeback would be nearly impossible.

I cannot let them find me.

He slowly adjusted his posture, doing his best to blend his body's silhouette with the contours of the stalactites. His muscles were taut, like a fully drawn bowstring, ready to launch a thunderous strike the moment he was exposed, or... to find the next hiding spot.

The search below continued.

"Captain, the standing water here shows signs of artificial alteration; the ice trap from earlier was deliberately set." The sensory ninja stood up, his tone steady and devoid of emotion. "The target's chakra signature is very faint and difficult to lock onto, but I can feel an unnatural low temperature in the surrounding air."

"A brat skilled in Ice Release," the leader snorted, his gaze sweeping across the top of the cave.

His eyes lingered for a moment beneath the stalactite where Mizuki Han was hiding. In that instant, Mizuki Han felt a chill run down his spine. It was a keen intuition for killing intent, an instinct honed through countless life-or-death battles.

The leader frowned, seemingly sensing something amiss, but he did not look up directly, instead signaling the sensory ninja to continue the search.

"Continue the advance," the leader ordered in a low voice. "The target is injured and won't get far. The moment he moves, he will reveal a flaw."

"Understood."

The three-man squad began moving deeper into the cave. They did not slow down because of their injured teammate; instead, they used this "bait" strategy to try and lure Mizuki Han into acting.

Mizuki Han watched them approach the area directly beneath him.

His brain raced. If he struck now, he was confident he could take out the sensory ninja first, but the cost would be exposing his position, leaving him unable to face the counterattack from the elite leader. If he didn't act, they would soon search this area, leaving him with nowhere to hide.

I must create chaos.

Mizuki Han's gaze shifted to the rock wall on the other side of the cave. There was a loose layer of rock there, with hundreds of tons of stalactites piled above it. If he could shatter it and trigger a collapse, he could instantly split the squad and create a chaotic tactical environment.

But his current chakra reserves were insufficient to support a large-scale destruction jutsu.

Unless...

His gaze returned to the injured Anbu ninja. To maintain his guard, the man had deliberately kept a three-meter distance from the other two. Directly beneath his feet was the load-bearing fulcrum of that loose rock layer.

A faint, subtle curve touched the corner of Mizuki Han's mouth.

He stopped suppressing his presence and slowly gathered his remaining chakra at his fingertips. A needle-thin sliver of ice formed silently. He did not aim at the injured Anbu directly, but instead targeted a protruding pebble within a rock crevice beneath the man's feet.

If the ice needle struck the pebble and caused it to shift, it would trigger a chain collapse.

The sensory ninja seemed to detect a discordant fluctuation of energy. He whipped his head around, his eyes hidden behind the mask staring fixedly at the spot above where Mizuki Han was hiding.

"He's above!"

The sensory ninja let out a roar, throwing his Kunai instantly.

At the same time, Mizuki Han did not hesitate; the ice needle at his fingertip shot out!

Clang!

The Kunai grazed Mizuki Han's ear, taking a lock of hair with it. Meanwhile, the ice needle plunged precisely into the rock crevice below.

BOOM!

The entire cave began to tremble violently at that moment. The loose rock layer, triggered by the ice needle, collapsed instantly! Countless massive stalactites fell like a torrential downpour, burying the injured Anbu ninja under the rubble and forcibly separating the leader from the sensory ninja!

Dust filled the air, obstructing vision.

Mizuki Han leaped down from the stalactite, his body moving like a snake, weaving through the gaps in the falling rocks. He ignored the buried Anbu and charged straight at the sensory ninja!

Because he knew that in this hunt, the eyes that could perceive his location had to die first.

The sensory ninja turned back sharply in the dust, only to see an ice-blue afterimage rushing toward him at an incredible speed!

Before he could even raise his Kunai, Mizuki Han's cold hand had already clamped tightly around his throat.

"Caught you."

Mizuki Han's voice was exceptionally clear amidst the chaotic roar.

The sensory ninja's pupils contracted. He tried to weave hand signs, but the sensation of suffocation from his throat made it impossible to gather chakra. Through the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the leader bursting out from the dust, his hand glowing with dazzling chakra as he lunged straight for Mizuki Han's back!

This strike was unavoidable.