Mercury's voice was calm and composed.
She was merely stating a simple fact.
Not only Shimizu, but all the team leaders felt a strange sense of absurdity rise in their hearts.
This teenage girl from the Hyūga Clan was actually a jōnin?!
ANBU attire was fairly uniform—typically a black sleeveless vest under a black hooded cloak. Team leaders wore a white cloak over it.
But rank did not always equate to absolute strength.
ANBU squads led by special jōnin were the most common configuration. Squads led by full jōnin were far fewer.
As for an ANBU squad containing two jōnin—that was rarer still. Even in powerful Konoha, only a handful of such teams existed.
Shimizu himself had once had the fortune of leading such an elite ANBU squad—a dual-jōnin team.
Unfortunately…
What he really wanted to ask was her age.
There were younger members in the ANBU, yes—but someone this young becoming a jōnin and then joining ANBU was exceedingly rare. In his memory…
It seemed there hadn't been any.
Another genius? Why had he never heard of her?
Or was she a product of favoritism?
Like Obito's case, some kind of backroom manipulation?
Well… one could understand that at the chūnin level. But jōnin too? Surely the Third Hokage wouldn't stoop that low.
Just the malicious speculation of a modern soul.
The Third Hokage was such an upright man—at most an "innocent" politician who wandered around Konoha peeking into things with his crystal ball. How could that be?
"I've only overexerted my chakra. I already took a Military Rations Pill."
Military Rations Pill were battlefield rations used to replenish stamina and chakra. They contained a large amount of stimulants.
It was said that for girls still in their developmental years, excessive consumption was particularly harmful.
Some claimed it caused premature development; others said it stunted growth.
In any case, not friendly to the body.
Her courage was commendable.
But if she truly was a jōnin, then bringing her north shouldn't pose a problem.
"Teams 1, 3, 4, and 5 will remain with Captain Tenkō to search and rescue surviving Konoha personnel. Team 9 will detour through the Land of Rivers and escort Captain Ōzoku back to Rakuyō City. Team 6—and Mercury—will follow me to the northern passage to assess the Ninth Division's situation. Once objectives are completed, withdraw immediately."
That was the final arrangement.
"Everyone, a large number of Sunagakure ninja have already infiltrated behind our defensive lines. This operation may expose us to unknown dangers…" Shimizu said gravely. "What I want to say is this—if you encounter an overwhelming enemy force, withdraw."
The others stared at him in surprise. Words like that did not seem fitting for an ANBU captain. How could a Konoha ninja show hesitation before battle?
After all, a ninja's foremost rule was: mission above all.
"The higher-ups assigned us to scout Sunagakure's movements in the direction of the Land of Rivers. But the reality is that our rear has already been compromised…"
"The mission, in truth, has already failed. What we can do now is bring back as much intelligence to Konoha as possible."
"Besides, this war won't end overnight. You are all Konoha's elite forces. There's no need to waste your lives here."
For most of them, Shimizu's words were difficult to understand.
In the minds of nearly all Konoha ninja, facing the might of Konoha, Sunagakure's defeat was inevitable.
The only question was how long they could last—three months? Half a year?
Perhaps on the main battlefield at this very moment, two of the Sannin—Orochimaru and Tsunade—were already slaughtering Sunagakure forces in droves…
This should have been a one-sided war.
Konoha's ninja indeed had reason for pride—the village was stronger than ever before.
But in Shimizu's memories from his previous life, he remembered that in Kakashi Gaiden, twelve-year-old Kakashi was still fighting Iwagakure ninja on the battlefield…
And Kakashi was only ten years old now…
That meant the war should logically continue for at least two more years.
And at present, the only enemy was Sunagakure. Who knew when Iwagakure, Kumogakure, or Kirigakure would also join this war?
Preserving their strength as much as possible was the wisest course. As long as the green hills remained, there would be no shortage of firewood.
"When forced to choose between the mission and your life, you choose your life! That is my order."
"Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" everyone replied in unison.
"We'll meet again in Rakuyō City!"
…
......
............
Night fell.
Shimizu's six-man team headed north. Mercury took point and confirmed their direction, while Shimizu covered the rear.
The Byakugan truly deserved its place as one of the three great dōjutsu of the ninja world. With its powerful reconnaissance ability, they avoided Sunagakure patrols multiple times along the way.
On one occasion, they narrowly bypassed a large Sunagakure force—at least fifty shinobi strong.
If Shimizu had been leading alone, his 144-meter sensory range would have been far from enough…
That encounter alone might have resulted in total annihilation.
As they progressed, Shimizu realized that Sunagakure's presence in the canyon had become brazen. Such a density of squads usually only appeared during the cleanup phase after a major battle.
If that's the case, then the 9th Division to the north...
Suddenly, Mercury raised her hand to signal movement.
The team halted instantly, shifting into alert formation. Shimizu stepped forward at once.
Mercury spoke concisely, "Straight ahead, 1,523 meters—one four-man Sunagakure squad. Two are nearby, clearing the battlefield. Further back, one appears severely injured, and the other is providing medical treatment. Do we engage?"
A visual range exceeding 1,500 meters—Mercury's Byakugan was developed to a remarkable degree.
Shimizu thought briefly. If they detoured, the original two-hour journey would stretch into three.
The loop would be wide, and there were no alternative routes nearby.
Time was critical. One extra hour might mean a completely different fate for the Ninth Division.
"Team 6, move first. Engage the two closer targets and prevent them from alerting other Sunagakure forces. Mercury, maintain perimeter watch—if reinforcements approach, report immediately. I'll handle the pair further back."
Under normal circumstances, a full elite squad like Team 6 would be more than capable of dealing with a weakened Sunagakure team.
The challenge now was preventing them from sending out a distress signal.
Aim for instant kills.
No—this had to be instant kills.
Generally speaking, sensory-type ninja were rare in any village and wouldn't typically be assigned to small squads. If one was present, it usually meant there was a jōnin among them.
And almost no sensory ninja could match the Byakugan's kilometer-plus range of perception.
In the forest, Team 6 had already engaged the two nearby Sunagakure ninja.
Meanwhile, Shimizu lay in wait near the two farther away. He was waiting for the moment.
One of the injured Sunagakure ninja suddenly asked, "Is that noise coming from Kui's side?"
"Stay still... there, the bandage is set. Don't move, or the wound will reopen. I'll go check the situation."
"Alright."
But several minutes passed, and the faint noises that had once drifted from the forest had completely vanished.
A brief stillness…
Suddenly, rustling came from behind the dense bushes.
The Sunagakure ninja leaning against the tree tensed instantly. His right hand gripped a signal flare tightly as he called out cautiously,
"Rasen?"
"It's me. Captain Daro."