"Someone, get in here!"
Iwasaki Shigeru shouted excitedly toward the door.
"Get me another clean room!"
The tavern attendant dared not delay in the slightest.
Soon, a clean room was ready.
Before long, the wooden bed in the room began creaking under the strain.
After an unknown amount of time, Iwasaki Shigeru let out a long breath.
Both his body and mind had relaxed immensely.
Just as Iwasaki Shigeru reached out to embrace the kunoichi for another round, she lightly rolled off the bed, evading his arm.
Iwasaki Shigeru impatiently reached to grab her, but she dodged every attempt.
"Don't go..."
The kunoichi covered her mouth and giggled.
"You can have me, but I'm curious. What mission were you carrying out in your dream just now?"
Iwasaki Shigeru felt somewhat puzzled.
Why bring up those meaningless dreams out of nowhere?
But the lust burning inside him left him desperate to satisfy his desires as soon as possible.
With no other choice, he began trying hard to recall his dream.
As he thought, Iwasaki Shigeru was surprised to discover that the dream, originally shrouded in fog, gradually grew clear.
He vaguely felt a trace of unease.
But on second thought, it was only something from a dream. It probably did not count as divulging the village's secrets.
And so, he began speaking haltingly:
"In the dream... it was an S-rank mission assigned personally by Lord Ebizo... we were to secretly transport a shipment of war supplies to the Land of Fire's border... and plan attack routes..."
He paused, then added:
"The operation... was set for two months from now."
When he finished, he saw the kunoichi nod in satisfaction.
Then his hand crept back onto her smooth skin, and she did not refuse him.
Iwasaki Shigeru was overjoyed.
Meanwhile, outside the illusion.
The bodies of Iwasaki Shigeru's two teammates lay on the ground.
Iwasaki Shigeru was hugging a dried-out tree trunk, kissing and groping it.
A foolish grin spread across his face.
Every so often, satisfied grunts escaped his mouth.
Nearby, Xuandou and Kurenai both looked grave after hearing Iwasaki Shigeru's account.
Sunagakure had been secretly planning this for so long!
Had Xuandou not brought it up, Konoha would still have been completely unaware of this crisis!
Thinking of what would happen if Sunagakure launched a surprise attack on Konoha...
Kurenai's face grew somewhat pale.
Fortunately, there was still time.
By now, Iwasaki Shigeru had divulged everything he knew and was no longer of any use.
Without hesitation, Xuandou drove a kunai straight into his chest.
The illusion shattered, and Iwasaki Shigeru stared at Xuandou and Kurenai's faces in utter bewilderment.
Shock and terror froze on his face as he finally breathed his last.
"The situation is more troublesome than expected. Fortunately, we still have two months to prepare."
Xuandou rose from beside the corpse and pondered for a moment.
"You've used up a lot of energy too. We have enough intelligence. Get ready to withdraw."
Kurenai Yuhi nodded.
Maintaining such a precise illusion for so long had nearly exhausted both her chakra and her mental energy, leaving her face pale.
The two were just about to leave.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A fierce shout suddenly rang out.
Immediately afterward, several sharp gusts swept toward them.
Exhaustion slowed Kurenai's reaction by half a beat, and the fierce wind was already upon her.
Seeing that she could not dodge, Xuandou moved in a flash, wrapping an arm around her waist and swiftly dodging away. They barely escaped the wind blades, which sliced several tears into the hem of his clothes.
Xuandou steadied himself and swept a sharp gaze toward the source of the attack, his heart sinking.
Ten Sunagakure ninja approached in a semicircle.
Their leader was a bald ninja with a gloomy expression.
When he glimpsed the corpses on the ground, murderous intent surged in his eyes.
"No wonder Iwasaki Shigeru's squad still hadn't returned. You Iwagakure bastards killed them!"
One Sunagakure ninja's gaze clung to Kurenai Yuhi as he bared his teeth in a malicious grin.
"Captain, this kunoichi is quite a looker."
Another rubbed his hands together and chimed in:
"We haven't touched a woman in ages out here on the border. Now an Iwagakure kunoichi has delivered herself right to us. We have to have some fun with her!"
In an age of war, even life and death were commonplace, and morality was all the more like a candle flickering in the wind.
Women who fell into the hands of enemy ninja often faced degradation more unbearable than death.
Kurenai naturally understood their meaning, and her eyes turned cold.
Xuandou quickly assessed the situation.
All ten opponents were elites. A team capable of carrying out an S-rank mission was certainly no ordinary group of ninja.
If he used his Sharingan and worked together with Kurenai, they should have some chance of winning.
But he was not confident they could wipe them all out.
If even one escaped, his Sharingan might provoke Sunagakure's higher-ups...
In a flash, he made his decision.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Several shuriken shot out, flying toward the group along tricky trajectories!
"Withdraw as planned!"
Xuandou barked.
Without the slightest hesitation, Kurenai turned and swiftly retreated north.
"Argh!"
"Thud!"
The shuriken struck three men with precision, drawing screams.
"Bastards! Don't let them escape!"
The bald ninja roared.
Several Sunagakure ninja immediately chased after Kurenai to cut her off, grinning viciously, their intentions obvious.
Only two ninja closed in on Xuandou.
Xuandou inwardly cursed.
Kurenai was already in poor condition. Facing several powerful enemies at once put her in grave danger.
He flicked his wrist again, sending another wave of shuriken around Kurenai in an attempt to impede her pursuers.
"Watch out for projectiles!"
The Sunagakure ninja were already on guard.
In the end, only one was struck and fell.
In just moments, Xuandou had already wounded four opponents with his shuriken, immediately putting the bald ninja on alert:
"All together! Kill the man first, then we can have our fun with that kunoichi!"
At the bald captain's command, three ninja instantly surrounded Xuandou, forming hand seals and shouting in unison:
"Wind Release: Wind Cutter!"
Three invisible wind blades crisscrossed toward him, sealing off every escape angle.
But as the wind blades passed through, Xuandou's figure turned into a substitution log with a poof.
"Not good! It's the Substitution Technique!"
"Too late."
An icy voice sounded behind one of the ninja.
Xuandou's real body appeared, a pale blue chakra scalpel forming at his fingertips as he swiftly slashed across the man's neck.
Blood sprayed.
The other ninja recoiled in fright.
"A medical ninja?"
A vicious look crossed the bald captain's face.
"Don't let him scare you! Attack together!"
Meanwhile, two Sunagakure ninja had intercepted Kurenai.
Without wasting a word, one raised his hand and unleashed a skyful of senbon.
The senbon flew, fine as ox hair.
Kurenai twisted and swung her kunai to block. A continuous series of clinks rang out as she knocked down most of the senbon.
But the senbon were too densely packed, and several still slipped through her defenses.
"Ngh!"
Kurenai shuddered, staggering half a step with a muffled groan.
Three senbon had struck her chest.
"Oh! Got her!"
The ninja who had fired the senbon let out a smug, lecherous laugh.
"I coated those senbon with Sand Desire Flower Poison. She won't last long!"
From a distance, Xuandou caught sight of Kurenai's injury. Knowing that the longer this dragged on, the worse things would be for them, he had to get them out as soon as possible.
His gaze swept over the four enemies charging at him again, and he swiftly threw several kunai with explosive tags attached.
"Scatter! Explosive tags!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Thunderous explosions erupted one after another.
Thick smoke and dust instantly filled the woods.
The Sunagakure ninja hastily ducked or dodged away.
By the time the smoke and dust had cleared a little, Xuandou was already gone.
"Over there!"
Xuandou had used the confusion to race to Kurenai's side, scooping her into his arms and sprinting north without looking back.
"After them! That woman's poisoned. They won't get far!"
The bald ninja ground his teeth.
The five figures who remained uninjured immediately gave chase.