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"A change at the front? We need to head back immediately?"
Qianyu frowned at Nawaki's words. A knot of resistance tightened in his gut. Honestly, he could already see the fat rewards waving at him. Leaving now was the last thing he wanted.
"Reliable source?" Old Man Kousuke stepped closer.
"Of course. The message just came via a Messenger Ape," Nawaki confirmed, nodding.
Messenger Apes were a special class of summon within the Flower Fruit Mountain, dedicated solely to long-distance communication. Only those from major clans could contract them. And the fact the message could be transmitted via technique all the way to the Mountain meant it was undoubtedly from someone in Konoha.
"Qianyu, Kousuke-senpai, let's hurry! If they went through the trouble of contacting a Messenger Ape, the situation must be critical!"
Nawaki was already itching to go. After lazing around here for over half a month, he was bored out of his skull. He wanted to fight! Tatakae!
"Something feels off."
Qianyu's brow remained furrowed. "Our squad's status at the branch office should be 'currently executing an A-rank mission.' Even if something happened at the front, why summon the three of us back specifically?"
"Ah, you're overthinking it, Qianyu. This summons probably isn't just for us. It's for all Konoha squads deployed outside."
Nawaki threw an arm around Qianyu's shoulders, grinning. "Besides, it's a message from our own communications team. What could possibly be wrong?"
"Hm. You have a point. Maybe I am being paranoid."
Qianyu pondered for a moment, then nodded. Danzo isn't here. There shouldn't be anyone in Konoha who'd move against their own now, right?
Weighing it again, a sliver of unease remained. He looked at Nawaki, his expression serious. "Nawaki, why don't you relay this to Lady Tsunade and the others remotely first? Let's hear their opinion."
"Alright!"
Nawaki scratched his head and complied. The three of them waited. And waited.
No reply came from Tsunade's group.
They had no choice. Unless there were extraordinary circumstances, disobeying a summons order was tantamount to desertion. They had to head for the front.
"Qianyu-nii, Nawaki-nii, Kousuke-jii, please be careful!"
When the three little ones heard they were returning to the battlefield, their faces were a mix of reluctance and worry.
"Don't worry. We'll be back soon."
After saying their goodbyes, the trio packed their meager belongings and set off.
Meanwhile, some time earlierâŠ
Southern Land of Rain, a small-scale battlefield between Iwa and Konoha.
Hundreds of Konoha ninja gripped their weapons, tense and alert, their gazes fixed forward. The atmosphere was thick enough to choke on.
From the neatly arrayed Iwa army ahead, a single figure stepped out, advancing toward them slowly.
More precisely, it was a little old man, barely a meter and thirty centimeters tall, with white hair and beard.
Before the hulking, broad-shouldered Konoha shinobi, he looked like a ridiculous toy soldier.
Yet this child-sized old man, merely walking forward with calm composure, made hundreds of Konoha ninja hold their breath.
Because he was the current Tsuchikage of IwagakureâĆnoki of the Two Scales. The only living shinobi who wielded the power of a Kekkei TĆta.
Against a powerhouse like him, with flight and large-scale annihilation techniques, numbers meant nothing.
"My patience is limited. I'll say this one last time."
Ćnoki raised his hand, conjuring a small, transparent cubic prism. He spoke almost casually. "Hand over the ones responsible for killing my nephew. I might let the rest of you live."
He had the power. So he could openly tear up the rules, demanding blood for blood without reason or negotiation.
HmmmmâŠ
Ćnoki gave the transparent cube a little shake. Threads of absolute erasure leaked from it.
Several sensor-nin who dared to probe it felt their legs tremble from the sheer, incomprehensible terror contained within.
No one doubted his words. One sensor stammered out, "H-He's telling the truth! That technique⊠it's beyond anything I can sense. If it hits us⊠we'll be erased. Completely. In an instant."
"Hmph." Ćnoki sneered at the petrified Konoha forces. He dismissed the Dust Release, signaled for his Iwa troops to hold position, then sat down cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes to meditate.
Walls had ears. Pinpointing the killers of KĆ«go wasn't hard for him. Now, he just had to wait for Konoha to hand them over for execution.
If they refusedâŠ
Then he'd simply fly behind this Konoha force, lead with Dust Release and GĆreishi no Jutsu, and let his Iwa troops here clean up the rest.
Konoha's main forces were tied up on the primary front. There wasn't a soul here who could challenge him. Surely no one would delay a critical battle just to come back for three insignificant pawns?
Simultaneously, inside the Konoha command and communications center for this sector, chaos reigned.
"As high command, we must consider the bigger picture! This isn't capitulation to the enemy! It's trading three lives to keep the Tsuchikage from acting. A necessary sacrifice!"
"Bullshit! Capitulation is capitulation! Since when does Konoha survive on an enemy's mercy?!"
Two high-ranking officers in the comms division were shouting in each other's faces. Their ideological split mirrored the division among most present.
"People die in war! That squad of eighteen assigned as bait all died, but they allowed us to take out dozens of Iwa-nin! That sacrifice was worth it!"
The first officer argued fervently. "Who's to say those three wouldn't willingly sacrifice themselves for Konoha's benefit if they were here? Isn't that the very essence of our Will of Fire?"
It had to be said, Hiruzen Sarutobi's later decision to hand over Hizashi Hyƫga to Kumo to avoid war was also a⊠manifestation of this Will of Fire.
"Will of Fire, my ass! What you gain by selling out your own isn't 'benefit'! It's disgrace!"
The second officer was a white-haired, white-bearded elder. His temper flared. He rolled up his sleeves and punched the first officer square in the jaw.
"You're just scared of dying yourself! That's why you'd rather believe Ćnoki's lies!"
"Damn you! This is strategy! Strategy!"
The two officers started brawling. Leaderless, the rest of the personnel broke into arguments.
"We shouldn't hand them over! We should request aid from Lord Sakumo! He's the closest!"
"Would it help? Unless the Hokage himself comes, who can stop Ćnoki? And that's not counting the whole Iwa army waiting behind him!"
In the crowd, a Konoha ninja with a thin mustache glanced at the profiles of the three. He grumbled, "The lives of clan kids are precious. Ours aren't? They caused this mess. Why should we pay the price?"
His words instantly found agreement.
Another ninja snapped, "Even if we wanted to hand them over, they're not even here right now!"
The crowd was successfully swayed. A flicker of satisfaction crossed the mustached ninja's eyes. This mission was easier than expected.
"Who has the authority to contact that 'Young Master'? We just need to⊠lure them here," he suggested.
"Don't call it 'luring.' Sounds so underhanded."
Another ninja chimed in. "We're just summoning them to ask their opinion. Maybe they'll choose to sacrifice themselvesâŠ"
"You have a point."
"So⊠we do it?"
Back to the present.
Qianyu, Nawaki, and Kousuke pushed their speed to the limit, finally arriving at the sector battlefield where their branch was stationed.
"Brothers! Reinforcements are here! Where are the enemies?!"
Nawaki hadn't even reached the main force when he saw the dark mass of allied troops ahead and shouted excitedly.
They'd run all this way, and the battle hadn't even started? Were they waiting for the great Nawaki-sama to unleash his might?
"Nawaki, slow down. Something's wrong."
Qianyu's pace slowed. His voice dropped to a murmur. Kousuke's face had also turned grim.
From their vantage point, there were no enemies in sight.
Yet hundreds of Konoha shinobi stood in neat, silent formation, weapons in hand, rooted to the spot like they were under a spell. This wasn't right.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
At the sound of Nawaki's voice, hundreds of heads turned in unison. Eyes held shock. Pity. Cold indifference. Every single gaze looked at the three of them like they were watching corpses.
"O-Okay⊠that is a bit weird!"
This time, even the usually oblivious Nawaki sensed it. He took an unconscious step back, goosebumps rising under the weight of those eerie stares.
"You've finally arrived. I've been waiting."
A raspy voice cut through from the center of the field. The rigid Konoha ranks parted like curtains drawn by an invisible hand, revealing the small, cross-legged figure seated on the ground.
Boom.
The moment Qianyu saw that face, it felt like a thunderbolt struck him. NonĆ's warning echoed in his mind once more.
«His name is KĆ«go. He's the current Tsuchikage's nephew. Given that old man's vindictive nature, if he finds out you killed KĆ«goâŠÂ»
Ice shot down Qianyu's spine.
"It's a trap," he said, his voice bitter. "A setup. We've been sold out. By our own people. We walked right into a slaughterhouse set just for us."
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