After successfully overcoming the enemy's obstruction, Kōki and the others seized the opportunity to leave the Land of Rivers and return to the Land of Land of Fire. Only then could they truly breathe a sigh of relief.
" Kōki, I didn't expect you to have such a powerful Water Release technique. It's completely different from the one you used to defeat the Sunagakure at the base. You deserve a lot of credit for our successful escape from the Sunagakure's pursuit this time." Nara Yūsuke, who was now out of danger, had changed from a serious expression to a beaming smile.
He knew that without Kōki, they wouldn't have been able to escape the Sunagakure's pursuit so easily.
His and Yamanaka Kenji's contributions were not Kōki's alone. After Akimichi Tsuyoshi was injured, Kōki.
"That's right, Kōki, you've done a great job this time. The Lord Hokage will definitely reward you handsomely when we get back to the village," Akimichi Tsuyoshi, supported by Nara Yūsuke, praised Kōki.
Kōki contributed the most to this mission, working Kōki on both the initial base capture and the final escape.
To put it bluntly, even without the Ino-Shika-Cho's cooperation, Kōki could lead any ordinary Jonin on this mission and still complete it Kōki.
Yamanaka Kenji to the side, nodded in agreement. He was impressed by Kōki's abilities, and his eyes were filled with trust as he looked at Kōki.
Kōki felt a little embarrassed looking at the three members of the Ino-Shika-Cho who were praising him.
Having been an ordinary person in his previous life, he rarely received praise or recognition from others. This sudden compliment from Ino-Shika-Cho made him lose control of his expression, and he Ino-Shika-Cho as he looked at the three of them.
Strangely enough, ever since Aizen was separated from him, his emotions have been more active, as if he lacks something to suppress his emotional changes.
He quickly waved his hand at Ino-Shika-Cho, saying, "It's not entirely my achievement; my seniors also provided a lot of help. I learned many useful things and qualities from them."
Seeing Kōki's humble demeanor, the three members of the Ino-Shika-Cho burst into laughter. They discovered that besides his mature skills, Kōki was surprisingly shy in other aspects.
This made them even more Kōki.
The group chatted as they walked towards Konoha. Unbeknownst to them, their actions had caused quite a stir within Sunagakure.
" Elder Chiyo, news has come from Izumi, the captain of the pursuit team. Their plan to pursue the Konoha Anbu has failed. The four Konoha Anbu have already escaped back into the Land of Fire," a communications ninja holding intelligence reports to the old woman sitting at the head of the table.
Chiyo, sitting at the head of the table, had a hint of doubt in her eyes after hearing her subordinate's report.
The message from the supply escort team, which came when the supply was destroyed by Konoha's Anbu, stated that the attacking Konoha Anbu consisted of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio plus an ordinary young ninja.
Logically speaking, someone of Konoha's Anbu strength should have no chance of escaping the Sunagakure troops she had ambushed on the border.
That's right. When Kōki were about to escape from the Land of Rivers, the Sunagakure troops they encountered at the border were ambushed there by Chiyo herself.
After receiving news that their supplies had been destroyed, Chiyo began to speculate about which direction Kōki and the others would flee in. After analyzing the map, she decided to set up a force at the border to ambush them.
Her plan had failed. This puzzled her, and she waved to the communications officer in front of her. "Give me the information Izumi reported."
After Chiyo received the intelligence from the communications officer, she examined it herself. She couldn't believe that Konoha's Anbu, with such limited strength, could break through the interception of the Sunagakure forces, who were also elite and outnumbered by more than three times.
Chiyo stared intently at the intelligence report in her hand, her face serious. She paused when she saw a young ninja other than the Ino-Shika-Cho use a powerful Water Release.
He frowned, thinking to himself, "When did Konoha produce such a young ninja skilled in Water Release?"
Then he suddenly remembered that a few hours earlier, Rasa had sent him a piece of intelligence from the front lines about the invasion of Kirigakure.
The intelligence suggests that ninjas from Kirigakure have secretly infiltrated the Land of Rivers to sabotage Sunagakure's plans, aiming to instigate a war between Sunagakure and Konoha. Furthermore, it is possible that one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist of the Mist is among the invading Kirigakure.
Upon receiving this intelligence, she immediately instructed her intelligence personnel to analyze the clues provided by Rasa. She then ordered her ninja forces to begin a large-scale search. They did not find the Kirigakure Village, but they did discover the Konoha Anbu. Although they arrived a bit late, at least they suffered no casualties except for the supplies.
Thinking about it this way, Chiyo felt like she had discovered an important clue, and murmured, "Could it be that there were no Kirigakure ninjas at all, and it was just Konoha's Anbu from the very beginning?"
With that in mind, she immediately opened the attack deployment map of Sunagakure and Konoha.
Sure enough, she saw on the map that their Sunagakure's lost outpost was not far from the supply route. She immediately ordered someone to bring the Intelligence Division over.
A short while later, a ninja with strange oil paints and a white turban entered the office.
Upon seeing the Intelligence Division arrive, Chiyo immediately asked, "How's it going with those corpses you were asked to analyze? Have you figured anything out?"
Upon hearing Chiyo's question, the Intelligence Division immediately straightened his back and replied, " Lady Chiyo, from the corpses, we determined that six of the eight people died from Water Release, and two died from Taijutsu. Among the corpses that died from Taijutsu, we found marks on their hands indicating heavy blows; these wounds do indeed resemble those caused by Blunt Sword Kabutowari."
Hearing the intelligence officer's analysis, Chiyo couldn't help but wonder if she had really guessed wrong.
Then she heard the Intelligence Division continue, "However, what's puzzling is that when we crossed the corpse's arms, we discovered a tiny fist mark on one of them. Upon dissecting the body, we found that the internal organs and bones had also been severely damaged; such injuries don't seem like they were caused by Blunt Sword Kabutowari."
Upon hearing this, Chiyo's expression shifted, and he narrowed his eyes, saying in a low voice, "I roughly understand what's going on."
The powerful Water Release, the Superhuman Strength similar to Tsunade's, and the Kirigakure Ninja that had remained undiscovered—these clues combined to make her realize that there were no Kirigakure Ninja at all, and that they were Konoha's Anbu from the very beginning.
Moreover, it was done by that young Anbu besides the Ino-Shika-Cho.
Although it was a false alarm, she did not blame the frontline for sending false information, after all, no doubt could be overlooked in war.
Moreover, this news wasn't entirely without value; at least it helped them discover a newly emerging genius in Konoha.
She turned to the communications officer beside her and said, "Go and reply to Rasa, tell him that the people who attacked our base and sabotaged our supplies were from Konoha's Anbu. No Kirigakure Ninja infiltrated."
"At the same time, send information about that young Anbu to Rasa, instructing him to kill him if he encounters him on the battlefield. This Anbu is definitely a newly emerging genius in Konoha; we must not allow him to grow unchecked."
"Yes!" Upon hearing Chiyo's order, the communications officer immediately left the office.
Chiyo gazed out the window towards the Land of Fire, her eyes filled with complex emotions. " Konoha..."