The team moved in a staggered, tactical retreat formation, covering ground rapidly now that the objective was secured. Minato led the point, his senses scanning every vibration in the ground, while Makima took the rear, her eyes narrowed, tracing their backtrack path for any signs of pursuit.
"They're here. Three kilometers, high speed," Makima stated flatly, instantly confirming what Minato was beginning to suspect. "They bypassed the disinformation team. They're tracking a primary source of chakra—Kushina-san's volatile signature."
Kushina visibly paled. "They're coming for the Jinchūriki?"
"They are coming for the person who foolishly compromised the secret," Makima corrected without turning around. "Jiraiya-sensei, prepare to disengage. Minato-kun, advance full speed."
A high-pitched, metallic shriek echoed down the narrow canyon. A volley of highly explosive paper bombs, fused with chakra to increase their payload, rained down from the ridge above them, targeting Minato's lead position.
"Minato!" Jiraiya yelled, leaping to intercept the closest bomb.
Makima didn't raise her voice. She simply executed the required counter-measure with chilling efficiency. She clasped her hands together, pulling moisture from the damp canyon air and the traces of sweat and blood left on the path.
SUITON: SUIJINHEKI (Water Release: Water Encampment Wall).
A massive, churning semi-dome of water erupted from the canyon floor, forming a thick, rotating shield that absorbed the brunt of the explosion. The force was enough to make the air ring, but the water held, turning the blast impact into harmless steam and spray.
"The window is thirty seconds before they maneuver around the vapor," Makima commanded. "Go."
Minato needed no second instruction. He vanished in a blur of motion, carrying Kushina under one arm as Jiraiya bounded ahead, preparing the next stage of the mission's evasion plan. Makima held the wall for ten crucial seconds before letting the water dissipate into a thick, obscuring fog, following her teammates into the mist.
........
They reached the designated rendezvous—a pre-sealed underground bunker—just as the first official Suna reconnaissance groups were sighted heading toward the canyon. They had beaten the clock by mere minutes.
Inside the bunker, Jiraiya was tending to his chakra depletion. Makima, however, was already setting up for the final phase: extracting the highest value intelligence from the single Suna Lieutenant they had brought back, leaving the rest for the Konoha cleanup crew.
The Lieutenant, a mid-level Jōnin who had been stunned by Jiraiya's initial feint, was tied to a chair. He was defiant, refusing to speak.
Makima, however, did not resort to violence. She sat across from him, her golden eyes mesmerizing and utterly still.
"Lieutenant," Makima began, her voice soft but unnerving. "Your main force has been neutralized. Your Commander is dead. Your scouts are sending back false information about a massive Konoha army already attacking your capital."
"Lies!" the Lieutenant spat. "You are Genin! You are a distraction!"
"Distraction?" Makima scoffed, tilting her head. "Look at your hands. They are tied with simple rope. Why do you feel such crushing, absolute oppression?"
She was using a subtle, low-level Genjutsu—not to deceive him, but to amplify his existing feelings of hopelessness and fear, making the physical sensation of the rope feel like dense, crushing stone.
"Tell me your deployment route, or I will not let you leave this room until the weight of your own fear crushes your mind into paste," Makima whispered, her voice tightening the psychological knot in his brain.
Jiraiya watched, profoundly disturbed. This was not interrogation; this was psychological dismantling.
"Wait, Makima," Jiraiya intervened, placing a hand on her shoulder. "He's broken. We don't need to do this."
Makima shrugged off his hand with a flash of irritation. "His breakdown is merely a tool, Sensei. We need his certainty. I will know when he is giving us the truth, and when he is only giving us what he thinks we want."
She turned back to the Lieutenant, her voice dropping back into its hypnotic rhythm. "Tell me the second objective. Tell me what the diversion was for. Or the weight of the canyon will fall upon your skull."
Under the oppressive psychological pressure, the Lieutenant cracked, tears streaming down his face as he confessed the secondary, concealed objective: a small, specialized infiltration unit meant to sabotage the main Konoha supply depot. The information was vital. Makima took the scroll, her task complete, and signaled for the prisoner to be rendered unconscious.
"I told you, Sensei," Makima said, showing Jiraiya the scroll. "Efficiency always demands control."