Aokawa's movements paused for a moment.
He looked into Anko Mitarashi's clear and curious eyes and realized that she was simply being inquisitive.
He had overthought it.
He nodded with a calm expression.
"Yeah, I know some other Iwagakure Ninjutsu too."
"It should be enough."
He looked around and asked.
"You all know the Transformation Jutsu, right?"
"Of course we do!"
Anko Mitarashi immediately puffed out her chest, her face full of pride.
"My Transformation Jutsu once scored a ninety-eight!"
After saying that, she looked Aokawa up and down with a searching gaze.
"But as for you... are you going to be okay?"
After all, the guy in front of her had set a shocking record of failing the 'Three Basic Jutsu' assessment for three consecutive years.
Aokawa's face darkened.
He raised his hand, making a gesture as if to flick this loose-tongued little sweet potato on the forehead again.
Anko Mitarashi let out a 'ya' and jumped back with extremely fast reactions, keeping her distance and making a face at him.
Aokawa didn't bother arguing with her.
He pointed at the several still-warm corpses on the ground.
"Remember their features, height, build, and clothing."
"Start practicing now; transform into their appearances."
The others didn't dare to be negligent and immediately began attempting the hand signs.
Asuma Sarutobi and Shiranui Genma had solid foundations and looked the part after only two tries.
Although Anko Mitarashi had a sharp tongue, her talent was indeed good, and she soon mastered the essentials.
After confirming that everyone was proficient, Aokawa began arranging the specific tasks.
"From now on, I will lead the team. I will use the Byakugan for reconnaissance the whole time, and you will follow behind to conserve your strength."
"After we blow up the Kumogakure warehouse, the enemy will inevitably pursue us."
"Once I give the order, you must immediately transform into the Iwagakure ninjas you just memorized."
Everyone's expression turned solemn as they all nodded.
Aokawa's gaze swept over Asuma and Anko.
"The most important point."
"When engaging the pursuers, you are only allowed to use basic Konoha-style Taijutsu and the most common basic Ninjutsu."
"Asuma, you cannot use your 'Flying Swallow'."
"Anko, the same goes for your 'Hidden Shadow Snake Hands'; all snake-related Ninjutsu are strictly forbidden."
"We need the Kumogakure people to believe they are chasing a group of 'Iwagakure ninjas disguised as Konoha Ninjas'."
Asuma Sarutobi and Anko Mitarashi looked at each other, both seeing gravity in the other's eyes.
"Understood."
Aokawa said no more. He walked over to the corpses, and a green light glowed in his palms.
He used Medical Ninjutsu for simple treatment, activating the cells to slow down the rate at which the bodies stiffened.
After finishing this, he took out a huge blank scroll and carefully sealed these 'key props' inside.
"Let's go."
...The team set out again.
This time, the atmosphere was completely different from when they arrived.
With Aokawa leading the way, the entire march was incredibly fast.
Following behind, Asuma Sarutobi felt nothing but endless emotion.
On the way here, the four of them had stopped at every step. Every step felt like dancing on a knife's edge, their nerves highly strung.
But now, it was practically like taking a stroll in their own backyard.
The traps set in the jungle, whether they were sophisticated Chakra Threads or Explosive Tags disguised as rocks...
The Kumogakure sentries lurking in the shadows, even those using Secret Techniques to blend their aura with the environment...
None of it was useful.
Before Aokawa's pure white eyes, all disguises were useless.
Often, when they were still several kilometers away from a trap, Aokawa would already have led them effortlessly around it via another path.
Several times, Asuma Sarutobi saw a Kumogakure patrol passing through an area they had just bypassed.
That feeling of brushing past danger made his back go cold, and it also made him feel a nearly blind trust in the figure walking at the very front.
Is this the role of the Byakugan on the Battlefield?
No wonder it's called Konoha's strongest reconnaissance Bloodline Limit.
No, perhaps it wasn't just because of the Byakugan.
It was also because of the person using those eyes.
Asuma Sarutobi thought of his previous 'brilliant decisions,' and his face burned with embarrassment.
The so-called 'natural-born commander' was nothing but a joke.
The dangers he had seen were only what the other person wanted him to see.
The traps he had avoided were all thanks to the other person's prior guidance.
From beginning to end, he had been like a marionette, his every move perfectly arranged.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing that sense of frustration and replacing it with a more pure sense of awe.
Just then, Aokawa's figure ahead suddenly stopped.
He raised a hand, signaling everyone to hide.
The four of them immediately lowered their bodies, hiding behind a dense thicket of bushes and holding their breath.
"The target is just ahead."
Aokawa's voice was very soft, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.
"The border valley of the Land of Frost, Kumogakure's newly built supply transit station."
His eyes were closed, the veins at his temples bulging slightly; the Byakugan's vision had already penetrated through layers of obstacles.
"The warehouse is divided into three areas: Area A contains ration pills and medical supplies, Area B contains weapons and equipment, and Area C stores a large number of Explosive Tags."
"There are three watchtowers on the perimeter and three patrol teams, each with four people."
"Thirty-two sentries in the open and eight in the dark, distributed at various key positions."
"The defensive strength is stronger than we anticipated."
Hearing the string of frighteningly precise data reported by Aokawa, Asuma and the others didn't even dare to breathe heavily.
This wasn't just reconnaissance anymore.
This was practically laying out the entire base's architectural blueprints and personnel list right in front of them.
Asuma Sarutobi and the others felt as if their breathing was about to stop.
Aokawa's voice was very flat.
But the picture painted by that flat voice made everyone's scalp tingle.
Aokawa didn't give them much time to digest their shock.
He took several stacks of Explosive Tags out of his ninja tool pouch.
They were the spoils of war scavenged from those dead Iwagakure ninjas.
He distributed the Explosive Tags to everyone.
"I've added some 'extra ingredients' to these."
"They're more powerful; you can think of them as Great Explosive Tags."
"Their stability is just a bit poor."
Asuma Sarutobi and Shiranui Genma's hands paused slightly as they took the Explosive Tags.
Ebisu even subconsciously took half a step back.
Only Anko Mitarashi's eyes instantly lit up when she heard the words 'more powerful'.
She excitedly reached out and snatched her share.
"Big is good, I like them big!"
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