"What's going on?" Genji and Fuguki rushed out of the tent together. Seeing the constant explosions at the edge of the camp, they immediately asked.
Before the two could reach the scene, a ninja suddenly appeared in front of them and reported, "Genji-sama, just now the ninjas from Uzushio launched a surprise attack on the camp. But they didn't come close. They threw kunai with explosive tags from a distance, and retreated right after throwing them."
"Do they think we're idiots?" Fuguki asked. "This is clearly an attempt to lure us out."
Genji, however, fell into deep thought again. Would the ninjas of the Land of Whirlpools really use such a simple bait tactic?
Or… was this a deliberate bluff to make them think it was a lure, while in reality it was just a delaying tactic?
"Immediately send people to scout ahead and check for traps or ambushes!" Cautious by nature, he didn't dare take a gamble. He had to confirm the intelligence before making his next move.
An hour later, he was starting to get anxious, none of the scouts who had gone out returned. It was now apparent that those sent to investigate had most likely been eliminated.
Sending more people would likely end the same way.
---
At that moment, in a small stream along the retreat path of the people of the Land of Whirlpools, a slight bulge appeared on the water's surface.
It looked as if the flow of water had been pushed up slightly by a submerged stone, so natural that no one suspected anything. But in the middle of that bump was an eye, peering unblinking through the water plants at the people passing by not far away.
Under the water, a ninja was in hiding. This ninja was from the Hōzuki clan, known for their ability to liquefy their bodies and conceal their presence, making them completely undetectable in such an environment.
However, just twenty meters away from where this Hōzuki ninja was hiding, a spiritual form was also in hiding, doing the exact same thing. But he wasn't watching the retreating civilians of the Land of Whirlpools. He was watching the Hōzuki ninja.
After searching for so long, the spirit had finally found a suitable target.
Once the group of retreating civilians had completely passed, and another half hour had gone by, the stream suddenly rippled. The water began to gather and form a human shape, soon solidifying into a man of about thirty years old.
"That was close!" the man wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and muttered with lingering fear.
Everyone who had come with him on this mission had already been wiped out, he was the only one still alive.
"Why do I have to carry out such a dangerous mission?"
As he cautiously surveyed his surroundings, Suiten kept grumbling.
Suddenly, he sensed something. He sharply turned his head, only to see a spirit lunging at him at incredible speed. He leapt backward and drew his sword, slashing at the spirit, but in the instant the blade hit, he realized it had passed through the spirit's body like slicing air.
The spirit ignored the attack completely and dove into his head, freezing him in place like he'd been hit by a paralyzing jutsu.
Three minutes later, Suiten suddenly snapped out of it, but his expression had completely changed.
"Not bad!" he said, clenching his fists and looking at his hands.
"I've gathered enough intel, it's time to report back I guess."
With that, he immediately headed at full speed toward the Kiri camp. But the soul of the middle-aged man had already been replaced, by none other than Shin.
As for his real body, it was currently in a secret underground chamber a hundred miles away from Uzushio, protected by a spiritual wooden clone. And sitting in the underground command center of Uzushio was also one of his spiritual wooden clones.
The Spiritual Wood Clone Jutsu was a new clone technique he developed after successful self-experimentation. Using White Zetsu cells as the medium and Wood Clone techniques as the foundation, he created this advanced duplication method.
It had to be said, White Zetsu cells were truly useful.
They were also the best material for performing Edo Tensei, allowing the reanimated person to display 100% of their original power. However, the clones themselves were relatively weak, at most at genin level strength, far from being able to use full power.
But they could inherit a portion of the caster's abilities.
For example, the clone currently in the command room had inherited 30% of Shin's sensory abilities. However, with the sensory amplifier and sensory receiver, along with the chakra provided by the Uzushio's ninjas, it was already enough to monitor the entire Land of Whirlpools.
What's more, spiritual wood clones differed from shadow clones. Since they required specially treated White Zetsu cells as a medium, they had physical form and could exist for extended periods of time. The only drawback was that the technique was newly developed, and still had many areas that needed improvement.
---
In the command room in Uzushio, a high-ranking jonin of angrily complained, "Nonsense! With such a weak bait tactic, unless the Kiri ninjas are complete fools, there's no way they'd fall for it."
"Heishi, why the hell are you glaring at me?" Ryo retorted, the one responsible for the bait mission, who had just returned safely. "I was just following orders."
"Who gave such a foolish order?" Heishi scanned the room and demanded.
"I gave such a foolish order. Do you have a problem with that?" At the head of the room, Tsunade leaned on her fist, her expression icy.
"L-Lady Tsunade, please don't misunderstand!" Heishi said quickly, but his tone lacked even the slightest sign of genuine remorse. "I didn't know it was your order. If I had, I wouldn't have found it strange at all."
As soon as he finished, an awkward silence instantly fell over the entire command room.
Did he not know the order came from Tsunade? Of course he knew. After all, who else could command Ryo?
He had clearly been criticizing her indirectly, blaming her for poor leadership. And this wasn't the first time something like this had happened in recent days. Many of the Uzumaki clan's ninjas didn't accept her as a leader, especially since she had been parachuted in as the overall commander.
Not just for the eastern war zone, but the entire military effort of the Land of Whirlpools. Ashina had even given explicit instructions: Everyone must unconditionally obey any order from Tsunade.
If Ashina himself had taken command, no one would dare question him. But Tsunade? She was an outsider.
Though she'd demonstrated exceptional medical ninjutsu, that had nothing to do with leading a battlefield. As far as they knew, Tsunade had never fought in a war or completed many combat missions.
She was known almost entirely for her medical skills. To entrust one's life to an inexperienced outsider was unacceptable to most people. And for the proud Uzumaki clan, it was especially hard to swallow. They weren't afraid to die, but they refused to die pointlessly.
Tsunade was furious with the attitudes of many Uzumaki ninjas, but she didn't explode in anger. Because she had expected this.
If the situation were reversed, if a total stranger who'd never been on the battlefield suddenly came to lead the Konoha forces, Tsunade herself wouldn't accept it.
Wouldn't that be madness? Wouldn't that be treating their lives like they were meaningless? So what she needed now wasn't arguments, but results.
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200 = +1 bonus chapter
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70+ Advance chapters!
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