Although Arai was surprised that Konoha had found them and caught up so quickly,
he had clearly anticipated and remained alert to this possibility.
After all, as a Jonin of Sunagakure and a longtime opponent of Konoha, he knew something about the enemy.
Arai judged that the enemy was still some distance behind them... catching up would take time. It would not be that easy.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Across a flat stretch of grassland in the wilderness, the three-man team led by Arai raced ahead, their feet kicking up grass clippings as they skimmed over the ground.
One side fled and the other pursued, beginning a tense chase.
As time passed, Arai realized that the feeling of being detected and locked onto had never faded.
That meant Konoha's people... had not been shaken off. If anything, they seemed to be closing the distance.
The feeling of being watched... was growing increasingly distinct.
Anyone who could keep up with their three-man team for so long and begin closing the gap... clearly, the people Konoha had sent this time were no ordinary opponents.
"If there's only one of them... they must be extremely strong. Otherwise, they wouldn't have the confidence to pursue us like this."
"If there are several, this is the Land of Grass. For Konoha and us alike, there are hidden dangers, and we could encounter enemies or attacks at any moment. So even at a full sprint, they have to maintain a formation. There are only three of us... if there are more than three of them, and they can still catch up while maintaining a larger formation, each of them must be formidable..."
Arai was not the only one thinking. Yubi was, too.
Whether there were many pursuers or few, they were no ordinary enemies.
By comparison, Yubi felt it would be better if Konoha had sent several people.
If there was only one, that meant the pursuer had absolute confidence in killing all three of them...
Because... before this, Konoha had known nothing about them.
Sending just one person meant absolute certainty!
Yubi glanced behind him out of the corner of his eye, silently counting the combat supplies left in his waist pouch.
This had clearly become a battle of endurance, pitting the two sides' stamina and physical strength against each other.
Several hours later, the sky had darkened... yet the dangerous situation facing Yubi's group had not eased at all.
"We can't shake them..."
Yubi spoke.
Fine beads of sweat had already formed on his forehead.
Beside him, Sasori was even more exhausted. His breathing had grown noticeably heavy, and his steps had slowed somewhat.
Arai, who led the way, said nothing.
They were still some distance from the border of the Land of Rain.
But by his estimate, they would have no choice but to fight Konoha's pursuers before entering the Land of Rain.
If he had been alone, he could have easily shaken off the people behind him, but he had Yubi and Sasori with him. As a puppeteer, Sasori... had less stamina than Yubi, though his physical capabilities were already exceptional among puppeteers. Faced with this situation, however, the pressure and prolonged chase were proving a little too much for him.
"Sasori is already slowing down... Yubi probably won't last much longer either. I have to think of something." Arai narrowed his eyes.
He had an accurate assessment of the two boys' physical condition.
Even if he died here, he absolutely could not let anything happen to Yubi and Sasori.
The importance of these two children to Sunagakure went without saying.
"This way."
A short while later, Arai suddenly turned, shifting his steps as he led them charging in another direction.
Yubi understood instantly when he saw this.
Sasori understood as well.
Arai was taking them straight toward the Land of Earth's border... right now, that border was closer.
But this also meant... greater danger.
Because Iwagakure was not only Konoha's enemy, but Sunagakure's opponent as well.
The closer they came to the Land of Earth's border, the closer they would naturally be to the battlefield. Large numbers of Iwagakure ninja were bound to be active there... now they would see whether Konoha's people dared follow!
There was no choice... Arai had to take a gamble!
His instincts told him that their chances of winning a fight against Konoha's people were very slim. Most importantly, he might not be able to protect Sasori and Yubi.
They might even be wiped out.
So this is a veteran ninja's experience and ability to adapt...
Yubi glanced at Arai's profile. If someone else had been leading them, even another Jonin, without this wealth of practical experience, he and Sasori would probably both have been in trouble!
At this moment, Arai, a Kage guard and an Elite Jōnin, displayed the full extent of his abilities. His strength... lay in more than just Ninjutsu and fighting prowess.
He also demonstrated a ninja's ability to survive on the battlefield.
He was undoubtedly setting an example for Yubi and Sasori as well.
I never expected my first mission involving Konoha to be this difficult...
Yubi sighed inwardly.
He did not know whether to call it good luck or bad.
Meanwhile, behind Yubi's group, a party of five was also running at full speed, their expressions serious.
What stood out was that one of them held his hands in Hand Seals, his eyes tightly shut, seemingly performing some kind of Ninjutsu.
A teammate carried him on his back as he ran.
A little later, he opened his eyes and said, "They've changed direction... from the looks of it, they seem to be heading toward the Land of Earth."
The boy wore his blond hair in a ponytail. Judging by his appearance, he was around fourteen or fifteen.
Two others on the team were the same age.
The person carrying the blond boy had red hair and a heavy build... but he was not flabby, looking rather sturdy instead.
"The enemy wants to use Iwagakure to hold us back and force us to abandon the pursuit."
The blond boy had barely finished speaking when a boy with tied-back black hair and a mesh outfit immediately followed up.
He seemed to have seen through the enemy's intentions in an instant.
He was remarkably clever.
Had Yubi been there, he would certainly have recognized the three of them.
They were none other than Ino-Shika-Cho, representatives of Konoha's current golden generation.
The one forming Hand Seals was Inoichi Yamanaka.
The one carrying him was Choza Akimichi.
The sharp-minded boy who had instantly seen through the enemy's thinking was Shikaku Nara.
At fifteen, a ninja was no longer inexperienced... and indeed, this generation's Ino-Shika-Cho had not disappointed the village that had nurtured them. Benefiting especially from the environment and growth offered by this Shinobi World War, all three had already shown the qualities needed to become their clans' next successors.
They had experienced and carried out... no small number of missions.
They had also been active on the very front lines of the Shinobi World War... but the stage of this war was destined not to belong to them. Konoha's older generation still supplied its main fighting strength.
Especially when the Shinobi World War first broke out, they had all been quite young. Back then... they could only grow beneath the village's protective wings, unable to shoulder responsibilities alone.
Now, they could be considered to have grown... but the war was also drawing to a close. There was no time left for their "performance."
Furthermore, the village valued them and deliberately protected them... so it would not risk deploying them to the most difficult battlefields.
The village's focus for them was "growth," rather than usable fighting strength.
Thus, the missions the three accepted were all related to support or intelligence behind the front lines... or else they were each allowed to lead a small team on minor, secondary or tertiary battlefields, cultivating their battlefield "instincts" and "perception."
For someone like Shikaku in particular, who possessed the talent of a "strategist," his abilities in commanding personnel and arranging battlefield deployments would improve accordingly.
In short, although the village's current golden generation had not managed to shine brilliantly in this Shinobi World War,
they had already begun to make their mark... and had attracted the attention of some ninja villages.
These younger generations... were Konoha's most precious treasure.
They were also the reason Konoha's fire burned on without end.
"We absolutely cannot let them enter Iwagakure's battlefield territory. Otherwise... although it would be extremely dangerous for them, without us keeping them occupied, their chances of escaping through Iwagakure's territory would effectively increase!" Shikaku said gravely.
With that, he looked toward the two Jonin running at the front.
"Ryosuke, Mr. Otani... at our pace, the three of us probably won't be able to catch them. Please go ahead! They only have one Jonin. The other two probably aren't very strong, but their identities must be rather important to that Jonin. Those two boys are very likely key figures in Sunagakure. With them holding him back, that Jonin will slow down too... all you need to do is keep the three of them occupied and buy us time to arrive."
Shikaku immediately made arrangements.
Although the five-man team included two Jonin, who should logically have served as its leaders,
neither Jonin hesitated at Shikaku's instructions. They immediately accepted his orders.
From the looks of it, Shikaku was instead the core of this team.
Then the two Jonin instantly accelerated... leaving Ino-Shika-Cho behind as they pursued in the direction Inoichi Yamanaka had pinpointed.