With the Rat Squadron blocking the path ahead in the Land of Grass and Battalion Commander Yellow Dog's battalion in pursuit behind, the encirclement was tightening.
The Hyūga ninja had already discovered traces of Senju Kashiwa, but the cunning Senju Kashiwa managed to escape.
Yōkō waited patiently for an opportunity. He needed to do something to buy time, to delay until next month.
As Senju Kashiwa fled into the distance, the Fox Squad was also dispatched.
The Fox Squad moved far away from the other ninja in the battalion. Yōkō constantly estimated the distance to the battalion's sensor ninja.
Purple Cat felt their squad had gone too far, but she didn't say anything, deferring entirely to Fox.
After moving beyond the several-kilometer detection range of the battalion's Hyūga ninja, Yōkō sent his three subordinates out to search a small hill.
The three subordinates ascended the hill from three different directions.
Once Yōkō ensured he was absolutely safe, he formed hand seals and summoned his summoning creature.
A Spear Egret, about the size of a forearm, stood on Yōkō's shoulder.
Yōkō's heartbeat was very fast.
If his distance estimation was wrong and the battalion's Hyūga ninja saw he had a Spear Egret, he would have no choice but to defect.
After tying the battalion's intelligence to the Spear Egret's leg, Yōkō hurriedly had it fly away, skimming close to the ground.
Yōkō used the Spear Egret as his exclusive communication summon.
Somewhere in the forests on the border of the Land of Grass, Senju Kashiwa hid inside the abdominal cavity of a recently deceased giant bear, feeling the bear's corpse slowly grow cold.
This was an anti-tracking method he had figured out. Ordinary reconnaissance jutsu found it difficult to detect a ninja hidden in this way.
To hide for even longer, he would use medical ninjutsu to treat the gutted beast, allowing it to survive longer.
He had been fleeing from Konoha's pursuers for over ten days now.
Such a record was enough to feel proud of.
Senju Kashiwa suddenly thought of his teacher, Kamochi.
He wondered if his teacher would be proud of him.
To draw attention for his sake, Teacher Kamochi had directly charged the Senju compound.
He had wanted to contact more Senju clansmen, but in the early morning after the attack, he discovered many more Anbu around the Senju compound.
Almost every Senju clansman was under Anbu surveillance.
He and Teacher Kamochi found no opportunity. Finally, Teacher Kamochi said they could try the reverse approach: instead of focusing on the Senju compound, they should take the information to the Senju clansmen at the front lines.
Especially Young Master Senju Nawaki. Once he knew the truth about the Uzumaki extermination, he would certainly not let it rest.
Teacher Kamochi... was probably dead.
Before leaving the village, he had also written the secret on a scroll and left it by the lake he often visited with his cousins.
He didn't know if his cousins would find the intelligence.
The Anbu's control over the village was too strong.
Senju Kashiwa's mood was very low.
On his first night back in the village, he should have confessed everything he saw directly to his father.
Ever since his father retired, he had avoided worrying him, rarely speaking about his mission experiences.
The father who seemed like a towering tree in his childhood had, after retirement, increasingly come to resemble an ordinary middle-aged villager.
The father he once deeply admired had become an annoying old man.
Senju Kashiwa knew he would definitely die.
Facing death, he missed that annoying old man so much.
His teacher was dead, his father was old, and his mother's relatives had been wiped out.
Just as Senju Kashiwa was in despair, he suddenly saw a white bird through a gap in the bear's belly.
Senju Kashiwa's eyes lit up. Could it be that even heaven couldn't stand the extermination of the Uzumaki clan and was giving him hope?
He crawled out of the bear's belly, covered in blood and gore, intestines still hanging from his shoulder.
The Spear Egret saw Senju Kashiwa and recognized him.
When Senju Kashiwa was in the Land of Grass, he had seen the Spear Egret beside Uzumaki Yuka, and the Spear Egret flock knew him.
On the Spear Egret's leg, he saw a note.
The note contained all the information about the pursuing Anbu battalion. Battalion Commander Yellow Dog, proficient in Fire Release. Two Anbu from the Hyūga clan, one from the Inuzuka clan, two from the Aburame clan.
So many sensor ninjas in the pursuing battalion.
Furthermore, there was another Anbu squadron around Young Master Nawaki, waiting for Senju Kashiwa to walk right into the trap.
Looking at the intelligence, a fierce fighting spirit ignited once more in Senju Kashiwa's heart.
Who was giving him this intelligence?
With this information, Senju Kashiwa could formulate tactics more calmly.
He had to meet the Young Master!
Yōkō led his squad back to Battalion Commander Yellow Dog's side.
He first glanced at the battalion's Hyūga ninja, then looked at Battalion Commander Yellow Dog. No killing intent.
It seemed he hadn't been exposed.
He nonchalantly approached the Battalion Commander and reported that his squad had failed to locate the target.
Days passed. The moon waxed from half to a waning crescent, then from the waning crescent back to half.
Yōkō thought to himself, Senju Kashiwa's skills were decent, leading Battalion Commander Yellow Dog's forces on a wander from the Land of Grass to the Land of Hot Water, and back to the Land of Grass.
However, he still wasn't clever enough.
Finding another precious opportunity, Yōkō released the Spear Egret.
Senju Kashiwa was hiding by a lakeside when he saw the Spear Egret again.
Two notes were tied to the Spear Egret's leg.
Senju Kashiwa opened them one by one.
The first note contained a suggestion.
The guards around the Senju Young Master were tight; Senju Kashiwa couldn't meet him.
However, Senju Kashiwa could use his own life to create an opportunity.
Not only was Senju Kashiwa trying to contact Senju Nawaki, the Uzumaki remnants, like Uzumaki Yuka, were also making efforts.
The second note was blank.
Senju Kashiwa suddenly understood the meaning of this note.
He would attract the Anbu's attention, and the Spear Egret would deliver his action plan to Uzumaki Yuka.
Uzumaki Yuka would use the opportunity he created to contact Senju Nawaki.
Senju Kashiwa quickly devised an action plan, bit his finger, and wrote his plan on the blank note with his blood.
The Spear Egret released the Summoning Technique, transforming into a puff of white smoke and disappearing.
Senju Kashiwa crouched down, placed his finger on the ground, and began sensing the enemies around him.
"There's one squadron plus one squad near me, totaling four squads, including an Elite Jōnin proficient in Fire Release.
My plan is..."
Half an hour later, Battalion Commander Yellow Dog's forces arrived at the lakeside where Senju Kashiwa had been hiding, finding the corpse of a crocodile he had used for concealment.
Following the trail of crocodile blood on the ground, they could see the direction of Senju Kashiwa's escape.
Battalion Commander Yellow Dog said:
"Senju Kashiwa is proficient in the Senju perception secret technique and seems to be well-acquainted with our intelligence.
Judging by his current escape direction, he's heading straight for the front-line headquarters in the Land of Grass.
After being pursued by us for twenty days, perhaps he's at the end of his rope, preparing for a final, desperate struggle.
After him, pursue!"
The battalion continued the chase.
—
The full moon was like a silver platter, its light resembling white frost.
Finally, the next full moon had arrived. Yōkō breathed a sigh of relief.
He had survived the month. His luck was good.
They were getting closer and closer to the front-line headquarters. Senju Kashiwa's last stand as a cornered beast was approaching, and Yōkō's opportunity was also coming.
...
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(End of Chapter)