Taking action

After an unknown amount of time, Rock Snake finally returned from scouting.

"Orochimaru, there are ten people inside altogether. Four of them are wearing Kumogakure Forehead Protectors."

"There's a female Kumogakure ninja in the middle of the camp maintaining a Sensory Barrier."

"Only one person is inside the tent. Everyone else is outside."

Orochimaru nodded at that.

"Is that all?" he asked carefully. "Were there any traps or anything? What about everyone's positions?"

Rock Snake shook his head. "When I got there, the two groups seemed to be arguing. That's how I managed to scout things out in the confusion."

Arguing?

Could some kind of dispute have broken out between the two groups?

He mulled it over.

"Orochimaru, if there's nothing else you need my help with, I'll head back!" Rock Snake said.

Orochimaru nodded.

"Yes. Thanks for your help..."

"Orochimaru, how did it go? Did you get any useful information?"

Tsunade and Jiraiya approached from a distance.

Orochimaru told them everything he had learned about the camp, leaving out no detail.

"It sounds like they were arguing over conflicting interests..." Jiraiya said. "In that case, can we make our move?"

He looked toward Orochimaru.

Orochimaru considered it for a moment.

"Jiraiya, I'll use Earth Release to sneak in first. I'll take advantage of the confusion to assassinate the ninja maintaining the barrier."

"Then you two follow me in."

"But..." Jiraiya wasn't entirely on board with Orochimaru's proposal.

"Wouldn't that put you in serious danger?"

"How about I use Earth Release to sneak in with you?"

"No..." Orochimaru shook his head, rejecting Jiraiya's suggestion outright.

"The more people we send in, the lower our chances of pulling off the assassination."

Unable to persuade Orochimaru, Jiraiya could only nod helplessly.

"All right, then. Make sure you stay safe in there on your own."

Inside the camp...

"So you Kumogakure ninja aren't going to keep your word?"

Two groups stood facing off in front of the camp's tent entrance.

The larger group wore Konoha ninja Forehead Protectors, but each protector had a slash across it.

That marked them as rogue ninja from Konoha.

The ninja facing them wore white vests and Kumogakure Forehead Protectors.

"We've already given Kumogakure the information. You promised to take us in!" someone in the group of Konoha Rogue Ninja shouted angrily.

A Kumogakure ninja sneered.

"Tch... Lord Raikage wouldn't give the likes of you a second glance."

"As for Konoha's classified information, Lord Raikage will gladly accept it." The ninja leading the group waved the scroll in his hand.

"Damn it," the leader of the rogue ninja muttered.

He formed Hand Seals, and an enormous torrent of water instantly surged toward the Kumogakure ninja.

"You lying bastards..."

"Just die already!"

The Kumogakure ninja scattered to dodge the incoming attack.

"Whoa..."

The Kumogakure ninja was startled, but he made no move to strike back.

As much as he wanted to retaliate, fighting was hardly their priority right now.

"Hey, hey, let me remind you about those two Summoning Beasts from earlier. We dealt with both of them, but that doesn't mean you're safe."

"Konoha's ANBU will be here any minute..."

"Good luck..."

With that, the leading Kumogakure ninja beckoned to the people behind him and headed toward the front of the tent.

"Shameless bastards..." the Konoha Rogue Ninja spat through gritted teeth.

But they also knew that neither side would have an advantage if a fight broke out now.

They had more people, but only three were Jonin-level ninja, while all four of their opponents were elite Jonin from Kumogakure.

"Haah..." The ninja leading the group sighed softly.

"Come on. We'll flee to the Land of Iron. The ANBU probably won't chase us that far."

Though reluctant, everyone nodded.

Before leaving, they shot the Kumogakure ninja hateful looks.

Kumogakure... They would remember this. One day, they would have their revenge.

"Boss, don't you think those Konoha ninja are idiots?" one of the Kumogakure ninja said with a laugh.

"They actually thought they could join our village."

"Lord Raikage would never take in fools like them."

"Hahahaha..." Their leader burst out laughing at that.

The mood among them grew cheerful as well.

But they soon realized something was wrong.

"Where's Tatsuya?" The captain looked around and discovered that one of them was missing.

The people behind him were puzzled too. "Isn't Tatsuya inside the tent?"

"She should be maintaining the Sensory Barrier!"

The captain shook his head. "No. Tatsuya isn't in the tent."

"I can't sense her presence inside."

Their hearts sank at the captain's words.

"Captain, I'll go inside and take a look," one of the ninja said.

"All right... But be careful," the captain replied. "I suspect Konoha's ANBU have already infiltrated the camp."

The ninja's expression tightened. He took a Kunai from his Ninja Tool pouch, gripped it in his hand, and walked forward.

"Is anyone in there...?" he called loudly, trying to draw the attention of whoever was inside.

But there was no sound from within. Instead, it was utterly silent.

He approached the tent entrance with a sense of unease.

Holding the Kunai in his left hand, he assumed a fighting stance and slowly pulled back the flap with his right.

Whoosh-

Before he could see what was inside the tent, something shot toward him, rapidly growing larger in his vision.

An attack...

The Kunai in his hand shifted as he prepared to strike the unidentified object flying toward him.

But when he saw what it was, he abruptly stopped.

"Tatsuya?" he cried in disbelief.

He reached out with his right hand to catch her, but the instant he did, he sensed danger.

He stopped and hurled himself backward.

"What happened...?" the captain asked as he watched the ninja retreat in a panic.

"Tatsuya, she..."

Before he could finish, a series of deafening blasts erupted ahead of them.

Boom, boom, boom...

Flames shot skyward from inside the tent, instantly drawing everyone's attention, including the Konoha Rogue Ninja who were preparing to flee.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-

Before they could react, several Kunai flew out of the flames.

"An attack with Kunai...?"

"They really are underestimating us..."

Seeing the Kunai hurtling toward them, the Kumogakure ninja instinctively moved to block them.

Then their eyes caught the paper tags attached to the Kunai.

"Watch out! Explosive Tags!"

Everyone quickly dodged.

"Damn it... Who is it...?" A Kumogakure ninja staggered to his feet, glaring viciously toward the explosion.

"You dared to kill Tatsuya..."

Under the three ninja's gazes, a ninja wearing a Konoha Forehead Protector emerged from the billowing smoke.

"Is that... Konoha's ANBU...?"