"Stop!"
At that moment, Shikaku and his two companions were still hurrying toward the battlefield, their faces full of anxiety.
According to Inoichi's Sensory Ninjutsu observations, Ryosuke and Mr. Otani were already locked in fierce combat with the Sunagakure trio.
Ryosuke's opponent was Sunagakure's Kage guard.
Otani was attacking the two younger Sunagakure ninja.
Suddenly, Inoichi Yamanaka, who was riding on Choza Akimichi's back, opened his eyes and spoke in a low voice.
His expression shifted, and a trace of grief... appeared between his brows.
"What happened?"
Shikaku and Choza immediately stopped. Based on the distance Inoichi had just given them, they would be able to see the battlefield once they crossed this stretch of grassland.
The three were already very close to their targets.
Seeing his friend's expression, Shikaku immediately felt that something was wrong.
"Senior Otani... is dead."
Yamanaka spoke.
"What?!"
Shikaku's and Choza's pupils contracted.
Then Yamanaka closed his eyes again, concentrated, and used his Sensory Ninjutsu.
Within the "pitch-black" space of his mind, he could clearly sense several figures giving off chakra... but among them, Senior Otani's chakra energy... had disappeared.
Yamanaka had "observed" the entire battle between the enemy and the two Konoha jonin, but limited to the mental images relayed by his Sensory Ninjutsu, he could not capture many details... much less understand exactly what had happened. He could only speculate based on certain patterns of chakra movement.
"And Senior Ryosuke..."
A moment later, Yamanaka released his ninjutsu and spoke in a trembling voice.
He had "seen" that Sunagakure elite jōnin personally cut Ryosuke down.
He had "witnessed" Senior Ryosuke's chakra fluctuations go out.
"Go!"
Shikaku was shaken. Almost without hesitation, he instantly turned and fled.
Choza followed at once, carrying Inoichi on his back.
If the Sunagakure trio began chasing them now to kill them in turn... the three of them would be in trouble!
After all, the enemy had an elite jōnin, and... even Mr. Otani had been unable to eliminate those two brats. That meant their strength was anything but ordinary, too.
"I misjudged..."
A chill shot up the back of Shikaku's head.
He had thought that, with Ryosuke's and Mr. Otani's strength, even if they were no match for the enemy, they could at least hold them off and buy enough time for the three of them to arrive.
Of the enemy trio, only that Sunagakure Kage guard should have posed a real problem... no matter how he looked at it, the other two youngsters were merely under his protection.
The village's supply squad had most likely been wiped out because of that elite jōnin, as had the personnel later dispatched from the front lines to investigate.
But now... the truth was probably otherwise.
Those two young Sunagakure ninja... were not so simple.
Judging by the situation Yamanaka had sensed and relayed in real time, Mr. Otani, a jonin, had had relatively ample time to deal with the two boys, yet he had failed.
Shikaku knew full well the oppressive force and power of Senior Otani's formidable taijutsu. His weapon was also a type of "Chakra Blade." Once infused with chakra, that kunai was not merely sharp; paired with his superb close-range attacks, it was especially terrifying.
The person in their village who possessed a weapon made with the same "craftsmanship and technology" was Hatake Sakumo, the "White Fang," whose might had shaken the entire Shinobi World during this war.
A true god of slaughter... his name alone could send chills through the enemy.
Thus, in Shikaku's judgment, even if some unforeseen factors arose, Mr. Otani's strength should have been more than enough to kill those two brats with ease.
The overwhelming power of a jonin was unimaginable to ordinary chunin and genin.
With Mr. Otani's abilities, he could even kill several chunin within a minute... that was no joke. Mr. Otani was one of the village's more seasoned jonin, had fought in many battles, and was deeply respected by younger ninja like them.
"By my reasoning, that Sunagakure Kage guard would most likely protect the two youngsters and force a prolonged fight with Ryosuke and Mr. Otani... only then would those two Sunagakure brats have a chance to survive or find an opening to escape. Still, I also considered the possibility that he would abandon his protection of them and fight Mr. Ryosuke first... I just never expected Mr. Otani to fail." The three raced onward. Now the situation had reversed, and they were the ones in mortal danger.
"Senior Otani... seems to have been killed by one of the Sunagakure boys."
Inoichi Yamanaka recalled the "images" in his mind from moments earlier and spoke uncertainly.
"Really?!"
At those words, Shikaku's scalp prickled.
He did not believe it... because it was impossible.
A young Sunagakure ninja only around ten years old had actually killed Senior Otani, a jonin?!
That was horrifying.
But Shikaku also knew the caliber of his friend's clan's secret techniques. If Yamanaka said that... it could not be false.
"That Sunagakure jonin seriously wounded Senior Otani, then... created an opening for the boy. It's just... I didn't sense exactly what method he used." Inoichi's brows knitted tightly.
"Whatever method he used, no matter how bad Mr. Otani's condition was, an ordinary chunin or genin couldn't possibly land a surprise attack... that easily, much less a killing blow..." Shikaku swallowed.
Throughout Konoha's war with Sunagakure, they had never heard of any outstanding young ninja in Sunagakure... all they knew was that Chiyo had a grandson who apparently had a decent talent for puppetry.
Shikaku had a fairly good understanding of the village's intelligence capabilities.
Was it Chiyo's grandson?
What... was going on?
He began brainstorming.
The mission had failed... but that didn't matter.
The important thing was... to warn the village that someone extraordinary had emerged in Sunagakure...
"They aren't following us, are they?"
Shikaku steadied himself and looked at Inoichi.
"No."
Yamanaka used his Sensory Ninjutsu to confirm it, then shook his head.
"They don't know how strong our reinforcements are, how many of us there are... or whether there are any more jonin among us, so they don't dare take the risk. As far as they're concerned, their mission is already complete, so there's no need to do anything else..."
Shikaku let out a long breath.
He had worked out what the Sunagakure trio was thinking.
That very thought of theirs had instead spared the three of them.
Otherwise, if that Sunagakure Kage guard alone came after them, they might not be able to escape.
This is the Land of Grass... foreign territory, where every circumstance is unknown. The Sunagakure trio is playing it safe, too. But that also indirectly shows that those two young Sunagakure ninja... are extremely important to their village.
Shikaku thought.
"Hurry!"
Then he urged them on.
Elsewhere, on a devastated stretch of grassland.
Arai pushed over the corpse of Ryosuke, whom he had killed in his attack.
He gazed toward the distant horizon.
"That feeling is gone... did they retreat?"
Arai narrowed his eyes.
Clearly, the Konoha ninja already knew what had happened here.
"It seems... the reinforcements behind them aren't very strong..."
A flash of killing intent passed through Arai's eyes.
If they could be scared off... perhaps he could wipe out all the enemies if he chased them now.
But after thinking it over, Arai abandoned the idea.
He would take Yubi and Sasori out of the Land of Grass first.
They would find a relatively safe spot before anything else.