A Misunderstanding Over the Mark

"Yo, yo, yo!"

At the Hidden Cloud Village's main camp, Killer B was happily letting loose. Just as he was immersed in his musical dream, a fist suddenly slammed into him.

Bang!

"What?!"

Coming back to his senses, he saw the furious A before him. It seemed his singing had challenged his brother's nerves again. He had been about to argue when a commotion came from outside.

"Lord Killer B! We found signs of Konoha Ninja fighting in the canyon!"

"We suspect they were elite ninja!"

The two men rushed over in a panic and immediately recounted what had happened.

"Konoha Ninja? I didn't expect so many of them to have slipped in."

Killer B pondered for a moment. Compared to his brother, he was much calmer in his dealings. This time, Konoha's commander was the renowned White Fang of Konoha, a figure famous throughout the Shinobi World.

He had not expected the enemy to be so cautious even in battle. The scouts they had sent out some time ago had likely already mapped the nearby terrain. Therefore, as they advanced toward the battlefield, they had to watch out for ninja hiding in the Stone Forest.

As a result, their marching speed slowed, and they eventually stopped in the flat valley to resupply and rest.

"Don't let a single Konoha Ninja leave alive!"

Because of Muzan, the search through the Stone Forest was intensified once more.

Of course, after discovering the route of the main force, Muzan had not returned to report it to his father. By his estimate, the Hidden Cloud Village's main force would reach the front lines in only a few days, so the information would not be of much help to Konoha.

Under Sakumo's command, Konoha had already begun setting up defensive lines. Even if the Hidden Cloud Village's ninja arrived, nothing would go wrong.

The A-B Combo might have been powerful, but the White Fang of Konoha's reputation was no empty boast. With the supporting forces as well, there would be no problems with the battle.

"Hm? Someone's approaching..."

Muzan lowered his body. Just moments ago, he had caught a scent drifting through the air. Several figures were nearby, swiftly passing through the Stone Forest beside him. Fortunately, they did not notice Muzan concealed within it.

"How can there be so many of them?"

The scents in the air alone numbered thirty or forty. It seemed the Cloud Ninja had begun a large-scale search for Konoha's ninja.

"No, I need to reunite with them as soon as possible."

This place was no longer safe to stay in.

Anko and Mari had run into trouble as well. Following Muzan's orders, they had found a place to hide, but the area was no longer safe. Several groups of ninja had passed right by them.

Fortunately, not every team had a sensory ninja, so they had not been discovered yet.

"This can't go on. Should we wait for Muzan?"

Mari was caught in a dilemma. If they kept waiting, the risk of the two of them being exposed was too great. If they were captured by the enemy, the consequences were obvious.

But if they left their hiding place, Muzan might not be able to find them when he returned...

She could not help looking at Anko, hoping she would offer a suggestion.

"We'll leave a mark. Hopefully Muzan will see it."

They did not plan to go far. Once that group of ninja had left, the two immediately fled in the opposite direction.

As for the mark they left behind, it was difficult to put into words. Anko was afraid the enemy ninja would spot it, so she tossed a Konoha wrist guard onto the ground and arranged it into an arrow, hoping Muzan would follow it to find them.

But after they left, the marker came loose from the Stone Forest. When it fell to the ground, it became an X!

In Konoha Code, an X meant they had been captured—do not come save us!

When Muzan returned and failed to find the two, doubt rose in his heart. Then he spotted what they had left in a corner, and his vision immediately went dark.

"Not good! Those two idiots."

The thing he feared most had happened.

The two had been captured. There was no way those Konoha Code signals could be wrong, especially with Anko's wrist guard there as well.

"Damn it, this is a huge problem."

Ninja did not treat prisoners according to humanitarian principles. If the enemy left them an intact corpse, that would already count as mercy.

After estimating the time, Muzan realized he had not been gone long. That meant the two could not have been captured for very long either. The best-case scenario was intercepting them on the way. As for the worst-case scenario...

He looked up into the distance, toward where the Cloud Ninja's main camp was stationed. If the two had been taken into the Cloud Ninja camp, it would be no small challenge for Muzan.

He immediately set off, turning into a dark shadow as he darted through the Stone Forest. Before long, he had passed through it.

But he found no trace of the enemy along the way. Muzan's expression turned cold. The thing he feared most had happened—they had been taken into the Cloud Ninja's main camp.

"This is troublesome. I definitely can't just charge in blindly."

Most of Muzan's strength needed the night to be fully displayed. The setting sun was already close to disappearing, so he would wait until darkness fell before beginning the rescue.

And Muzan had another ability—he could alter the size of his body and control the muscles in his face to take on someone else's appearance.

When night arrived, Muzan leaned against the rear and waited for a patrol of ninja to approach. Because Konoha had sent ninja in during this period, the Cloud Ninja had to remain vigilant at all times, and many of them had begun complaining.

"These Konoha bastards are like rats, sneaking in everywhere. The key is, we can't catch them all."

"We caught several groups today. There were even a few students who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy. Looks like Konoha really has declined."

"It really has declined. Sending a bunch of children to the battlefield—does Konoha really have no one left?"

They were supposedly on patrol, but Cloud Ninja were everywhere around them. They were not worried that Konoha Ninja could sneak in, so they chatted casually and relaxedly. They did not know that a pair of eyes was watching them from the darkness.

"Looks like Anko was captured."

Muzan crouched low and examined the ninja before him. He noticed a Genin at the very back, someone he could deal with without making a sound.

He pressed both hands to the ground. Thorny vines extended through the soil like roots. When the man had just turned around, he fell a few steps behind the others. Those few steps were enough to cost him his life.

He suddenly felt something beneath his feet. The moment he lowered his head, the vine snapped his neck and dragged his body underground.

Muzan looked at the dead Genin. He was no saint, but he still reached out and closed the man's eyes.

Then the bones and muscles in his body rapidly grew. Together with the muscles in his face, he became the man in the blink of an eye. After putting on the man's jacket, there was no visible way to tell the difference.

The only change was the amount of chakra. The Hidden Cloud Village had no Byakugan ninja, so no one could see the issue with the chakra within his body.

Muzan melted into the darkness and jogged into the patrol team.