The atmosphere in the Hokage Office was somewhat tense.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his broad desk, his brow furrowed as he sank deep into thought.
"So, not only were you ambushed by two elite Kumogakure squads in the Land of Lightning, but you also encountered Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist in the Land of Fire?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was low, betraying neither pleasure nor anger.
"Yes."
Lin Ze answered calmly, slowly delivering the account he had prepared in advance:
"Kumogakure obtained information about this mission from an unknown source and used a tracker based on a secret technique of the Uzumaki Clan to lock onto a sample of blood I previously left on the battlefield."
He concealed the specific details of Orochimaru's plot against him, as well as the crucial fact that the Third Raikage had personally taken action.
Lin Ze continued:
"As for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, I joined forces with Chunin Might Duy and Jōnin Uchiha Onibi. After a bitter battle, we killed four of them, while three escaped."
He divided the credit for killing the swordsmen among the three of them, emphasizing Might Duy's explosive power after opening the Seventh Gate and Uchiha Onibi's support at critical moments, while casting himself in a supporting role, assisting and finishing off enemies.
As for the swordsmen's bodies and ninja blades, Lin Ze naturally had no intention of handing them over to Hiruzen Sarutobi. He brushed the matter off with casual excuses: "The battlefield was too chaotic to collect the bodies in time," and "The ninja blades were summoned away."
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not press the matter either. He simply listened quietly, then silently took a puff of his pipe.
Lin Ze's escape from Kumogakure's encirclement had already surprised him greatly. Those had been at