Chapter 87: Hidden Agenda and Ambush

After waiting for about half an hour, when everyone had arrived, a Konoha Jonin stepped forward. Seimei recognized this person. It was Tanigawa Maki, the proctor of their second Chunin Exam a month ago. He was the captain of their current mission, leading them back to the battlefield in the Land of Rain. Clap, clap, clap~ Tanigawa Maki clapped his hands. After attracting everyone's attention, he said, "Some of you have come down from the battlefield in the Land of Rain, and some are going there for the first time, but..." At this point, his gaze swept across the crowd, and his voice suddenly became extremely serious, "But, whether it's the former or the latter, I hope you will absolutely obey my orders in the next few days." "Do you understand?" Everyone looked at each other and then responded in unison, "Yes!" On this trip, apart from Tanigawa Maki, a true Jonin, the only other high-level combat power in the team were three Tokubetsu Jonin. The rest were either Chunin or Genin. Naturally, no one would object to his request to follow his orders. Moreover, he was the captain appointed by the village, and they were supposed to obey. However, Seimei felt something was amiss. It seemed that something he didn't know had happened behind the scenes, causing Konoha to be somewhat vigilant. Otherwise, Tanigawa Maki wouldn't be so serious. In fact, this was indeed the case. In the past half month, several teams departing from Konohagakure to various battlefields had been ambushed and attacked. Under normal circumstances, when such incidents occurred, the village should either increase the number of personnel or temporarily suspend support until the hidden dangers were eliminated before proceeding. However, the war had dragged on to this point, and Konoha was also somewhat short-handed. Yet, the front lines couldn't lack people, so they could only brace themselves and continue. Precisely because of this, Tanigawa Maki was so serious. Seeing that no one had any objections, Tanigawa Maki nodded and then said, "Alright, let's go!" With that, he took the lead and ran out of the village. Seeing this, the others quickly followed. Soon, the group left the village. ... At the same time. Root's headquarters. In Danzo's office. A knock on the door suddenly sounded. "Knock, knock, knock!" Hearing the sound, Danzo said without raising his head, "Come in!" Creak~ The door was pushed open, and a Root ninja walked in, kneeling on one knee, "Sir, Uchiha Seimei and Uchiha Shisui have set off." "Oh~" Upon hearing this, Danzo finally put down the documents in his hand, raised his head, and asked, "Are there any Uchiha Jonin accompanying them?" "No, sir!" The Root ninja below replied affirmatively. "Is that so..." Danzo murmured, tapping his index finger on the desk. A moment later, he decisively ordered, "Immediately notify the 'Crying Rain' squad to take action. Everything must be carried out strictly according to the plan. No mistakes are allowed." "Yes, Danzo-sama!" After responding, the Root ninja disappeared. Looking at the disappearing figure, Danzo snorted coldly and muttered to himself, "Uchiha, hmph..." ... Realizing that the journey might not be peaceful, Seimei reduced his training time along the way, always maintaining high energy to be ready to respond to any emergencies. Facts proved that his caution was justified. After leaving the village, everything was normal for the first few days while they were still within the Land of Fire. But as soon as they stepped into the Land of Rain and hadn't gone far, they were attacked. The attackers were none other than a group of Iwa-nin. Although the whole encounter seemed like a coincidence, Seimei keenly noticed a smug look of "There really are people here" in the eyes of the leading Iwa Jonin. Looking at their organized advance and retreat, it was clear they were well-prepared and knew someone would pass through here. So the question was, they were taking a different and very secluded route this time, how did the enemy know? 'There's a traitor!' A thought suddenly popped up, and Seimei immediately had a bad feeling. If there really was a traitor, then the traitor was either among them or had obtained the corresponding information from the village's higher-ups. But either way, it meant that the enemy knew far more about them than they knew about the enemy. And this asymmetry of information would inevitably put them at a significant disadvantage. In fact, this was indeed the case. After just a few minutes of fighting, their side was already at a disadvantage, with several people injured and some Genin even killed. Of course, this wasn't solely due to the information asymmetry but also because the enemy had set up an ambush beforehand. In terms of actual strength, this group of Iwa-nin wasn't necessarily much stronger than them. After all, although this place wasn't within Konoha's core defense zone, it was still within their territory, and the number of Iwa-nin that could be mobilized was limited. Therefore, the current situation was mainly due to them being caught off guard; otherwise, they wouldn't be so passive. Amidst the chaos, Tanigawa Maki shouted at Seimei and Uchiha Shisui, "Seimei, you defend the left flank. Shisui, you watch the right side." After saying that, without waiting for their response, he shouted loudly, "Everyone, follow me and break through!" Seimei originally wanted to conserve his energy and observe the situation before acting. Unexpectedly, he was directly assigned such a difficult task by Tanigawa Maki. After a brief hesitation, Seimei ultimately chose to obey his orders. Anyway, he had already observed that although the Iwa-nin present were all quite capable, they were still a notch below him. This level of opponent didn't pose much of a threat to him. Therefore, it was fine to contribute a bit. The only thing to be wary of was the potential traitor, so when he took action later, he would focus on defense and cover. With this in mind, Seimei instantly disengaged from his current opponent and used the Body Flicker Technique to reach the left flank of the team. Then, he rapidly formed hand seals and executed the ninjutsu - Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique. A large burst of flames was exhaled from his mouth, quickly dividing and condensing into countless fireballs. He controlled these fireballs, scattering and smashing them towards the Iwa-nin. At the forefront, an Iwa-nin turned his head to dodge the fireball attack. Feeling the intense heat emanating from it, he immediately shouted, "Everyone, be careful!" Hearing this, the others were startled and quickly dodged the incoming fireballs. The fireballs, resembling balsam seeds, flew all over the sky, instantly disrupting the Iwa-nin's offensive rhythm. Seimei's side was like this, and Uchiha Shisui's side was no less impressive. He wielded a short sword, continuously using the Body Flicker Technique, moving like a ghost, dashing and weaving through the Iwa-nin ranks, throwing their formation into disarray. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Tanigawa Maki, while fending off the attacks of the enemy Jonin, led the team in breaking through the encirclement. About half an hour later, Seimei's group finally escaped the Iwa-nin's siege. Although they hadn't completely shaken off the pursuit, they were no longer as passive as before. After a brief rest, Tanigawa Maki assessed the casualties and, determining that they couldn't defeat the enemy, rearranged the entire team. He had a Tokubetsu Jonin lead the team to continue forward, while he and the other two Tokubetsu Jonin, along with eight Chunin, stayed behind to block the enemy. Unsurprisingly, Seimei and Uchiha Shisui were among those eight. Having personally witnessed Seimei and Uchiha Shisui's final battle in the Chunin Exams, Tanigawa Maki had a clear understanding of their strength, knowing their combat abilities far surpassed those of ordinary Chunin. Naturally, he had to keep them behind. Seimei and Uchiha Shisui had no objections to this. Seimei also wanted to figure out how the enemy had obtained their route. For some reason, Seimei had a vague feeling that this matter wasn't as simple as he had initially thought. If he didn't get to the bottom of this, he wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully. (End of Chapter)