"Misdirection of Light" Deep Along the Path

When Shuo ran back to the convoy, Minato was just about to send Kakashi to meet him.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him return, but the sight of his listless face put them on edge again.

"There's a fork up ahead. An ambush on the right-hand path, within two hundred meters."

Shuo spoke unhurriedly, casually describing the footprints, wheel tracks, and outlines of "light and heat" he had sensed. Finally, he pointed toward the shuriken marker. "There, I left a little mark over that way."

Minato and Kakashi exchanged a glance, their expressions darkening.

Two successive attacks were one thing, but now the enemy had actually set an ambush ahead of them to exploit the terrain. It seemed they were serious.

"You weren't spotted?" Kakashi asked.

"Probably not. I just stood at the edge of the woods and took a look. Couldn't be bothered to go in."

Shuo scratched his head, looking thoroughly put out by the hassle.

Furukawa's legs went weak, and he cried out, his voice wavering, "Let's take a detour, Jonin Minato! Don't fight them head-on!"

"A detour would take another day and a half, and there might be more ambushes."

Minato frowned at the map. "They know our route inside out. A detour won't help."

"Then what do we do?!" Furukawa was close to tears.

"Shuo, can you determine their numbers and strength?" Minato looked at him.

"At least five. A bit stronger than the two this morning, weaker than the three after that. They're all huddled up waiting, like they're squatting over a toilet," Shuo described offhandedly.

"A concentrated ambush..." Minato considered it. "The path's narrow. A frontal assault could easily cause casualties."

"It could be a feint. The main road might be where the killing blow comes," Kakashi said coldly.

With the situation urgent, Minato immediately assigned roles. "Kakashi, take Obito and make some noise near the path. Test what's really there. Rin, take Mr. Furukawa back and find cover. Shuo, guard the main road with me. Watch both sides."

Everyone moved at once. Kakashi and Obito slipped quietly into the woods, while Rin led the terrified Furukawa behind a rock.

Shuo followed Minato up a large tree, leaned against a branch with a yawn, and leisurely spread out his Light Perception.

"They're still in the same place. Haven't moved," Shuo reported with his eyes closed, looking as though he were dozing.

A few minutes later, a birdcall signal came from the direction of the path, followed by the sound of tumbling stones.

"Two moved. Heading toward the exit." Shuo did not even lift his eyelids.

"Make some more noise," Minato instructed.

The snap of branches and Obito's imitation of a beast's low growl sounded one after another.

Three more outlines of "light and heat" moved along the path, bringing all five together near the exit.

But Shuo raised an eyebrow-something was wrong.

The light and heat responses of these outlines were far too uniform, like inanimate objects, without the slightest fluctuation. And... two extremely faint points of light seemed to have appeared deeper along the path, vanishing in a flash.

"Minato-sensei, something's a little weird~" He had only just begun to speak.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Several kunai wrapped in Wind Release shot from the dense woods behind them to one side, straight at the tree where they were hiding! Three dark figures lunged toward Rin and Furukawa's cargo wagon-a diversion!

"How scary~" Shuo slowly leaned backward and fell from the tree, twisting at the waist in midair to land as the kunai skimmed past him and embedded themselves in the trunk.

Minato flashed into golden light and appeared before the wagon, his kunai dancing into a curtain of light that blocked the attacks. Kakashi and Obito immediately rushed back to help.

The three dark figures wore metal masks and dark brown combat uniforms, and their coordination was slick.

One engaged Minato with a long blade, his sticky chakra actually interfering with the Body Flicker Technique; another swung a chain sickle to hold off Kakashi and Obito; the last moved elusively, circling behind with a short spike and going after Furukawa again!

Rin stood in front of the wagon, driven back again and again as blows struck her kunai, danger closing in at every turn. A chain caught Obito's ankle, while Kakashi's Lightning Release was also deflected by the enemy's chain, leaving him unable to break free for the moment.

Shuo looked at the masked man charging toward the covered wagon and clicked his tongue. "What a hassle."

The shuriken was too far away, and the angle was poor for a Light-Speed Kick. His gaze swept over the battlefield-the wood fragments beside the covered wagon, the trampled weeds, a few shafts of sunlight filtering down...

A faint light flashed at his fingertip.

He casually flicked his right index finger, sending a thread of golden light too fine to see toward the resin on a wood fragment. With his left hand, he threw a shuriken, aiming not at a person but specifically at a scar on a tree trunk.

Clink!

At the crisp sound and sparks, the masked man instinctively glanced over.

Now!

The golden light struck the resin, instantly vaporizing and expanding it, propelling the wood fragment into a spin toward the covered wagon.

Just as the fragment passed the window and caught the sunlight-

"Yata Mirror Hypothesis~" Shuo narrowed his eyes.

Sunlight refracted off the spinning wood, suddenly bursting into a dazzling golden reflection, like shattered mirrors spinning at high speed!

Already distracted, the masked man was abruptly blinded by the brightness before his eyes, and his movements faltered.

Rin seized the opportunity, lunging forward to lock the short spike firmly in place! Obito broke free of the chain and spewed a Great Fireball at the chain-sickle wielder, while Kakashi took the opening to throw shuriken crackling with lightning, driving them toward the masked man.

With his assassination attempt thwarted, the masked man could only retreat, staring at Shuo with shock and fear.

Meeting his gaze, Shuo blinked innocently and pointed at the sky. "The sunlight's just too bright. So sorry about that~"

The masked man: "..."

The battle stabilized in an instant. Minato found an opening, and a flash of golden light slashed the long-blade wielder's arm, forcing him back. The three masked men exchanged a glance, then darted into the dense woods and fled.

"Don't chase. Watch for an ambush," Minato called, stopping Kakashi and Obito from pursuing.

Furukawa had long since fainted from fright, and Rin was tending to him nearby. Minato walked over to Shuo and said with a smile, "Thank you, Shuo."

"What for?" Shuo waved a hand, looking displeased. "Their fighting was so noisy I couldn't rest. So annoying."

Kakashi stared silently at the wood fragments on the ground. Obito came over, his eyes shining. "Shuo-senpai! How did you make the wood glow? That was amazing!"

Shuo tilted his head and thought for a moment. "Maybe the wood wanted its own moment in the spotlight. Lying on the ground all the time must get pretty boring~"

Obito: "..." This again!

Minato chuckled, then walked to the entrance of the path and looked inside, saying gravely, "The enemy is harder to handle than we imagined. They even use disguised decoys. Mr. Furukawa's scroll may involve something quite significant."

Shuo leaned against a tree, gazing into the deep, shadowy woods, and scratched his head.

It was only the second day of the escort mission, and trouble was already piling up.

And the way that masked man had looked at him just now...

Looks like I've been marked.

"What a hassle," he muttered, yawning. Yet there was little fear in his eyes, only pure aversion to the trouble.