In the entire ninja world, there may be many who surpass Hyuga Kagami, but those who are fast enough to eliminate his shadow clone without any reaction are exceedingly rare.
Especially in the case of the Hidden Cloud Village, the list narrows down even more.
"Could it be the Fourth Raikage?" Kagami guessed to himself while sheathing his Kusanagi Sword.
Based on the current response from Hidden Cloud, it was clear that Squad Eleven's plan had succeeded.
If Kagami's hunch was right and even the Fourth Raikage had been lured out, it proved just how effective their disruption efforts had been in delaying Hidden Cloud's offensive.
Considering the possibility that the Fourth Raikage was now personally involved in hunting him, Hyuga Kagami decided to suspend his raids on Hidden Cloud's supply lines.
The Fourth Raikage was no ordinary shinobi. His speed was considered among the greatest in the entire ninja world.
Even the Fourth Hokage, famous as the 'Yellow Flash,' might have been a step slower than the Raikage in pure movement speed without using his Flying Thunder God technique.
Going up against such a powerful opponent carelessly would be a death sentence.
Squad Eleven's mission was to disrupt the rear supply lines of Hidden Cloud's advance units, not to engage recklessly with someone potentially as strong as the Fourth Raikage.
As long as Hyuga Kagami stayed alive and intact, they were already winning.
Before long, Kagami returned to the small mountain cave where Squad Eleven was hiding.
Shisui, who had also just returned, asked, "Senpai, how did it go on your end?"
Kagami smiled. "Took down three small transport teams. What about you?"
Shisui replied, "As expected of you, Senpai. I've only managed to intercept one team after several days."
Due to lacking Kagami's long-range scouting ability, Shisui's efficiency in locating Hidden Cloud's transport squads was much lower. Plus, with his recent overuse of eye techniques, he was extra cautious in choosing his targets.
Gai, who had been recovering inside the cave, muttered quietly, "Next time, let me go with you."
Since both Gai and Kakashi were still recovering from injuries, they hadn't participated in the raids. They had stayed behind in the cave to heal.
But Gai's naturally energetic spirit made him restless. Hearing Kagami and Shisui talk about their successful missions made him itch to get back into action.
"You better stay put for now," Kagami shook his head, then brought up the matter of his shadow clone being instantly taken out. "I suspect the Fourth Raikage might be in the Land of Hot Water."
Shisui gasped, "Senpai, you didn't do anything to him, did you?"
He was genuinely worried that Kagami had provoked or even fought the Raikage. Given Kagami's strength, Shisui knew he had the power to take on the Raikage in a straight-up battle.
If anything happened to the Raikage, the conflict between Konoha and Hidden Cloud could escalate into a full-blown war.
Kakashi and Gai looked completely bewildered.
After a while, Kakashi hesitantly asked, "Uh, shouldn't we be more worried *for* Kagami if he meets the Raikage?"
Gai immediately nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the Raikage isn't someone we can handle easily!"
Kagami wore an expression of helplessness and glanced at Shisui, grumbling inwardly, "Shisui... do you have some kind of misunderstanding about how strong I am?"
Unlike his future self, who would become brash and almost reckless, the current Fourth Raikage—having recently been overshadowed in the Third Great Ninja War by the Fourth Hokage—was far more cautious.
And when such a high-speed shinobi acts with caution, they're practically untouchable.
If Kagami had the support of the giant Tenseigan on the moon, he wouldn't fear the Raikage. But without it, relying solely on his own chakra, his only real option was to run.
Not to mention, the Fourth Raikage was surely accompanied by a number of elite Hidden Cloud shinobi. Picking a fight now would be utter foolishness.
After weighing the current situation, Kagami addressed his team: "We've already exceeded our mission goals. Staying in the Land of Hot Water any longer is far too risky. I propose we head back to Konoha immediately."
Shisui nodded. "I agree."
Kakashi thought for a moment, then also nodded.
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
Standing on a high cliff, Yugito Nii's expression was grim.
A Hidden Cloud jonin emerged from a crevice in the cliff and said, "This must be where the Konoha shinobi who raided our transport squads was hiding."
Yugito quickly asked, "Any clues inside?"
The jonin replied, "No solid clues, but he left behind a scent. That's all we need."
He walked to the edge of the cliff and whistled sharply into the distance.
Soon, a silver-feathered skylark flew down, circled in the air, and landed on the jonin's shoulder.
After letting the bird sniff the lingering scent in the crevice, he tossed it high into the air. The bird soared upward, circled briefly, then took off in a specific direction.
"Found him. That way," the jonin said.
Yugito growled one word: "Pursue!"
Immediately, over a dozen Hidden Cloud shinobi vanished into motion, chasing after the skylark's direction.
After a long pursuit, they stopped in front of a rocky cave.
One of the sensor jonin pressed two fingers to the ground and closed his eyes to concentrate. "Inside the cave... one, two, three—three people. All have chakra levels of jonin. Most likely, it's Konoha's Squad Eleven."
Yugito glared at the cave entrance. "Any traps outside?"
The sensor ninja paused, focused again, then shook his head. "No traps outside, but inside there are faint chakra signals. Could be jutsu or explosive tags."
An older Hidden Cloud jonin frowned. "Could this be a trap?"
Yugito hissed, "They've toyed with us long enough. Even if it's a trap, I'm smashing through it!"
Just the thought that their meticulously prepared surprise attack had been thrown into disarray by a single Konoha ANBU squad made her seethe with rage.
Under Yugito's command, the Hidden Cloud shinobi stormed the cave.
There, inside, they found Squad Eleven packing up to leave.
Yugito sneered, "Hmph, finally caught you little rats!"
As the Jinchuriki of the Two-Tails, Yugito preferred confined spaces like caves. In such environments, she could use the nimble traits of Matatabi, the Two-Tails, to her advantage and ensure the enemy had nowhere to run...