"If we wait any longer, we'll lose him."
Uchiha Akito stared at the end of the ridge, urgency straining his voice.
The chakra signature in the Byakugan's field of vision was growing weaker and weaker.
In another fifteen minutes at most, the fugitive would reach the far side of the mountains.
Caves riddled that area, along with abandoned underground passages left over from the war.
Once he was out of sight, even a large search party would struggle to find him.
Kakashi did not order a pursuit.
He first had the Hyuga jonin mark the target's direction, then ordered the Anbu to release two ninja dogs.
The ninja dogs were only to track the scent, not cross the disputed line.
Meanwhile, Shisui led a group to secure the high ground above the creek valley, guarding against a sudden counterattack if the fugitive doubled back.
"It's not that we aren't pursuing him," Kakashi said. "We're confirming how far we're allowed to go."
While they waited for permission, he did not let the team stand idle.
The Anbu recorded the target's last known position, the Hyuga jonin kept reporting his direction of movement, and Shisui marked three possible routes for doubling back on the map.
Even if they ultimately could not cross the line, those records could be handed to the Land of Grass guards or used as evidence of the pursuit in negotiations with the Land of Earth.
Pausing the pursuit did not mean pausing every operation.
Akito glanced at the border line that had no physical presence on the ground.
"The enemy is exploiting the authorization process."
"That's right."
"And we're still going to stop just as he planned?"
Kakashi turned toward him.
"The enemy exploiting the rules doesn't mean the rules are wrong. Our job is to shorten the