Orochimaru flinched when Hoshiyomi suddenly vanished. He was about to ask what happened when Sakumo cut him off.
Glancing at Orochimaru, Sakumo said in a low voice, "That's Hoshiyomi's kekkei genkai. I'll explain later—focus on the two enemies ahead."
Meanwhile, Hoshiyomi had already circled around to take cover behind a large tree. His voice came quietly through the communicator:
"These two are Iwagakure shinobi. If they stay together, I'll never get a clean shot at either of them. You need to split them up.
"Once we engage, Sakumo will hold one off. You two use the chance to run, but don't go too far—just lead them in circles until we come back to back you up. Whatever happens, don't do anything reckless."
After finishing, Hoshiyomi fell silent. He focused entirely on suppressing his chakra signature, minimizing his presence as much as possible.
As Anrui and Aki pushed through the shrubs ahead, they found Sakumo and the others nervously standing their ground. The Iwa shinobi relaxed slightly at the sight—relieved and a little amused.
Fortunately, they weren't facing proper Konoha shinobi. If they were, they'd have to worry about reinforcements arriving. But against three brats? Nothing to fear.
One was a chūnin, the other a genin. Taking out a few kids without causing too much noise? Easy.
If they couldn't even handle that, they might as well smash their heads into a rock and be done with it.
Seeing the relaxed expressions on the two Iwa-nin, Hoshiyomi let out a mental sigh of relief. Good—they didn't seem to be sensory types. He'd gambled right.
In his opinion, if either of them had sensory abilities, they wouldn't be assigned to such a risky mission.
Although the First Great Ninja War was nearing its end, it wasn't over yet. Sensory-nin were worth their weight in gold during this period.
Most of them were stationed on the front lines, treated like treasure. No one would risk them on a spy mission.
That was the foundation of his plan—and step one had just succeeded. Now, it was up to Sakumo and the others to play their part.
Sakumo didn't hesitate. He shoved Jiraiya and Orochimaru forward and shouted, "Run! Get the Konoha Police Force! I'll hold them off!"
Jiraiya and Orochimaru snapped to attention like they'd just woken from a dream. They scrambled away in a panic, tripping over themselves as they fled.
Anrui laughed. "Hey Aki, did you hear that? The little brat actually thinks he can hold us off by himself. Must've hit his head."
Aki shot him a glance but didn't respond. Still, there was clear contempt in his expression as he patted Anrui on the back of the head.
"Don't waste time. If those two kids really do run into reinforcements, we're screwed. I'll handle this one—go take care of the other two.
Make it quick. And don't forget to bring the bodies back so we can stage the scene. We'll talk about the intel after these brats are dealt with."
Anrui didn't dare argue. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and reluctantly followed after the retreating pair.
Sakumo tried to intercept, but Aki formed a seal and shouted, "Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
A barrier of stone rose behind Sakumo, blocking his path and cutting off pursuit. He had no choice but to abandon the chase.
Hoshiyomi grinned silently. For someone who always acted cold and aloof, Sakumo really knew how to sell it—he'd almost fooled Hoshiyomi too.
Jokes aside, Hoshiyomi drew his kunai and began creeping closer to Aki.
Aki, recently promoted to chūnin, was a solid fighter despite his new rank. After cutting off Sakumo's path, he drew a kunai and lunged forward.
His speed and strength far exceeded Sakumo's expectations. With the wall at his back, Sakumo had nowhere to run and could only meet the attack with his White Fang blade.
The weapons clashed with a sharp clang. Aki looked completely at ease, while Sakumo's arm trembled from the force.
He instantly realized:
I can't beat him head-on. I'll have to rely on Hoshiyomi's ambush.
Resolving himself, Sakumo dodged sideways, putting distance between them, then flung two shuriken.
Aki knocked them aside effortlessly, eyeing the tiny nick on his kunai with interest.
"Nice blade. Didn't expect to walk away with a souvenir today."
He charged again, unaware that Hoshiyomi had already closed the gap behind him. The second stage of his secret technique—Shinobi Art: Ambush—was ready.
From Sakumo's angle, he could see a faint shimmer moving through the sunset—the barely visible outline of Hoshiyomi closing in.
The sight filled Sakumo with renewed determination. He shouted, gathering chakra in his legs, and slammed into the ground, launching himself into the air.
Aki sneered.
Idiot. Jumping during a fight? You'll regret that.
In the air, there was no footing. One solid counter, and it'd be over.
Aki raised his head and his kunai, aiming to end it—
—but before he could even lift his arm fully, a sharp wind roared behind him.
Impossible—someone's behind me?!
Panic gripped him as he tried to turn and block, but it was already too late.
A gleaming blade pierced through his back, exiting cleanly through his chest. His eyes widened in shock.
So fast...
He tried to turn and glimpse the attacker's face—
—but Sakumo was already falling from the air. His White Fang blade sliced cleanly across Aki's throat, silencing him forever.
Even in death, Aki never saw his killer's face.
Hoshiyomi and Sakumo locked eyes, stunned.
A chūnin—dead, just like that.
They both flinched at the dull thud of the body hitting the ground. Their hearts were racing, breath short and ragged—the adrenaline still surging through their veins.
Sakumo regained his composure first. Gripping his blade tightly, he said, "There's still one more. We need to help Jiraiya and Orochimaru."
Hoshiyomi snapped back to focus. "You're right—and we don't know what's happened to them yet."
Without sparing a glance at the corpse, the two of them sprinted off at full speed toward the direction the others had fled.