Five kilometers outside the village.
After barely escaping battle against Pakura and her Sunagakure ninja, six Mist ninja, led by Fuguki Suikazan, returned to the site of their original ambush.
"Captain, there's no sign of struggle at the scene. All victims were killed in one strike. Judging from the neck wounds, it was likely the work of a master of Wind Release chakra nature."
A Mist ninja specialized in crime scene analysis reported his findings to Fuguki Suikazan.
"In which direction did the enemy leave?"
"The traces from our earlier battle were too chaotic... I can't tell."
"No other clues?"
"...No sir."
A wave of icy killing intent slowly engulfed the reporting ninja, making him break into a cold sweat.
Seeing his subordinate cowering, Fuguki let out an audible disapproving snort through his nose.
He then spun around and drew out the Summoning Scroll for Samehada from within his cloak. Brushing his fingertip across the still-bleeding wound on his forearm, he formed the hand seals and slammed his palm onto the summoning contract at the scroll's center.
Thick chakra smoke rose.
However, instead of appearing as expected at the scroll's center, Samehada failed to respond to the summoning contract.
Fuguki felt a chill run down his spine, replaced immediately with disbelief that drove him to attempt the Summoning Technique once more.
Yet again, the scroll beneath his feet remained completely unresponsive.
Bang!
Fuguki grabbed the head of a nearby subordinate and smashed it violently against the ground.
The rage boiling inside him almost drove him to cave the man's skull in with one punch.
Already having suffered consecutive setbacks fighting Pakura, the village leadership had been growing increasingly dissatisfied toward him.
If Samehada—one of the village's symbolic weapons—got lost,
he would certainly face severe scrutiny from the village leadership.
"This is your final chance: find that thief who stole Samehada, or I will personally crush each bone in your body—inch by inch!"
"Y-yes sir! Right away!"
Nose broken and face drenched in blood, the Mist ninja had already lost all courage, stammering desperately in agreement.
The remaining Mist ninja quickly sprang into action, carefully searching every inch of the battlefield for any trace left behind.
While keeping distance from the furious Fuguki, they silently prayed they'd find some trace of the enemy.
Otherwise, that wrath might eventually fall upon them all.
——————
Within the town, inside an inconspicuous civilian home.
A small oil lamp flickered atop a wooden table, casting dim yellowish light.
Disguised as a civilian, a Sunagakure ninja expertly concealed his chakra while preparing dinner like an ordinary person.
In the basement beneath the house.
With medical ninja assistance, Pakura and her six subordinates tended to their wounds after escaping the Mist ninja's pursuit.
Although Pakura charging alone into the encirclement successfully ruined the Mist plan and drew most attacks, allowing her comrades to launch a counter-encirclement on the enemy,
this brutal battle had still cost them five lives.
Everyone bore injuries, making a long-distance retreat impossible.
In situations like this, compared to the open wilderness, a village with its more diverse population would certainly offer better cover for them.
Thump thump~ Boom boom boom~
A rhythmic knock echoed from the basement door.
Hearing the correct code, the Sunagakure ninja guarding the basement door eased his guard slightly and opened it.
"Pakura-sama, something's off."
The Sunagakure ninja who entered the basement quickly reported his findings.
After they and the Mist shinobi had ceased their fight,
he, having sustained the lightest injuries, followed Pakura's orders to return to the site where the Mist shinobi had first ambushed them.
But not only could he find no trace of his comrades,
the four headless corpses of Mist shinobi left him feeling extremely uneasy!
There were no signs of powerful jutsu at the scene, nor any chaotic footprints or damage caused by direct combat.
Each of them had been taken down in a single strike!
He understood clearly.
Even at his peak, Akasaburou—who had stayed behind due to his injuries—didn't have that level of skill.
"A third party?"
Pakura's eyes narrowed.
Her razor-sharp instincts, forged through years of surviving on the edge of death, screamed a warning in her mind.
Without hesitation, she sat upright from the ground and spoke out to everyone.
"This place isn't safe anymore. Retreat!"
"Yes!"
All responded in unison.
They hastily gathered their weapons and gear, using the Transformation Jutsu to blend in as common villagers before slipping out of the basement.
Just as they were about to merge into the street,
a strange yet oddly familiar sound of rushing water reached their ears.
Pakura lifted her gaze toward the direction the sound came from.
A swarm of small sharks, encased in torrents of water, surged straight toward them!
Damn it!
Who didn't clean their scent?!
Pakura silently cursed herself, knowing it was pointless to blame her subordinates now.
She raised her hand and signaled those behind her to be on guard.
Though she couldn't figure out why the Mist shinobi were already after them again so soon after their afternoon clash,
from all their past encounters, there had always been an unspoken rule to avoid fighting within the village.
After all, once large-scale destruction occurred inside a town,
even the meek Tea Country Daimyo would be compelled to lodge a formal complaint against the Water Daimyo and Wind Daimyo.
Considering the complicated familial relationships between various Daimyos,
this would inevitably result in reprimands from each Hidden Village's respective Daimyo.
According to common sense,
now that the Mist shinobi had been discovered, they'd already missed the chance to eliminate them with poison gas, mist techniques, or genjutsu.
At most, they'd throw some threats before reluctantly retreating.
However,
the current leader of the Mist side, Fuguki Suikazan, was clearly no longer predictable by conventional logic.
The moment he spotted the Sand ninja group,
his rage exploded in full force!
[Water Release: Water Fang Bullet]
Swirling torrents coalesced before him, condensing into high-pressure water spears that pierced toward Pakura's group.
Although the other Mist shinobi still harbored hesitations,
having been raised in the Blood Mist, they knew all too well—if they didn't help Fuguki Suikazan reclaim Samehada,
They weren't even going to wait for the village to act.
As the leader and strongest among them, Fuguki Suikazan would wipe them all out himself!
That man didn't hesitate or show mercy—not even against his own comrades.
Kunai and shuriken flew one after another with deadly precision toward the Sand shinobi standing at the mouth of the alley.
Right behind came a series of Water Release techniques launched by the Mist shinobi!
Pakura's eyes narrowed sharply.
They had misjudged the Hidden Mist's intentions. While hastily dodging attacks, they quickly activated defensive ninjutsu.
Todoroki! Todoroki—Todoroki—
The collision of jutsu erupted into deafening explosions across the town.
Screams and cries shattered the peaceful evening that had just settled over the streets.
Yamanaka Kei and Minato Namikaze, who had just finished eating, watched the chaos erupt hundreds of meters away. Both frowned simultaneously.
In an instant, they understood—they had seriously underestimated how vital Samehada was.
Had it not suddenly disappeared,
the two sides, who had fought for some time while maintaining a certain level of restraint, wouldn't have dared to fight so recklessly in the middle of town.
"Should we give the sword back?"
"Or should we just kill them instead?"
Minato and Kei spoke at the same time.
After saying that, Kei looked resigned while Minato looked disgusted.
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