Escape from Konoha.

Ayane thought of a possibility.

"Could it be..."

"Just as you think, our plans have been exposed. So from now on, when the three of us are on a mission, I won't need to deliberately hide my strength; I'll fight with all my might."

Shiraishi continued scratching his head, feeling that things were getting increasingly complicated.

Because he couldn't guess any useful information about Liuli's attitude towards this matter.

But this is good too. In the future, when the three of them act together, he won't need to hide his strength or anything.

This might allow us to complete the task more effectively.

After that, he just needs to attribute all the credit to Ruri and Ayane, and continue to be an inconspicuous nobody.

After all, safety comes first.

"I see."

Ayane lowered her head slightly, making it impossible to see her expression.

I didn't ask why it was exposed, because such a question had become meaningless.

So all you need to do now is relax and get along well.

But thinking about it this way, I feel a little unwilling.

"Shouldn't I be the one who first learned Shiraishi-kun's true secret?" Ayane thought with some distress.

"Um, are you alright?"

Seeing Ayane lower her head, Shiraishi was a little worried that she would overthink things.

"No, it's nothing. Actually, I also think it would have been better if Shiraishi-kun had been honest with Ruri sooner."

Ayane looked up and smiled, having already composed herself and not showing it on her face. As for what she was really thinking, only she knew.

It was impossible to read anything from Ayane's smiling face; she had indeed grown a lot compared to before.

Therefore, it's best to end this topic as soon as possible.

I have a feeling that if we continue this kind of conversation, talking about another woman in front of one woman, things will become incredibly scary.

Afterwards, Shiraishi gave Ayane the method of cultivating natural energy, as well as the auxiliary medicines.

May she also be able to use natural energy freely as soon as possible.

Honestly, among the three of them, Ayane is probably the one who receives the most care from natural energy.

Because the main fighting style of the Hyuga clan is taijutsu, which is the Gentle Fist style used in conjunction with the Byakugan.

Shiraishi couldn't fathom how much power Ayane could amplify with Gentle Fist after mastering natural energy, but the benefits she received from receiving natural energy were definitely greater than those from him and Ruri.

Shiraishi was eager to see how far Ayane's strength would rise when she used natural energy in conjunction with Gentle Fist.

After receiving the item, Ayane did not immediately begin her training there. Instead, she and Shiraishi began patrolling the surrounding area.

No problems were found during the first half of the night patrol. However, since Jiraiya's team also joined the patrol, the patrol time was divided into three segments at night.

So Shiraishi and Ayane finished their patrol two hours earlier than usual and returned to camp to rest.

The night passed, and nothing happened.

The group of six set off again in the early hours of the next day.

They traveled all day and finally arrived at the border region where the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers meet, just before evening.

The main base for Konoha's counterattack against the Sunagakure forces was stationed here.

There are more than two thousand Konoha ninja here, and the commander is Orochimaru, who is one of the Legendary Sannin along with Jiraiya. Tsunade serves as the vice commander, assisting Orochimaru in his work.

Even so, the situation on the front lines remains far from optimistic.

After a rigorous screening, the Konoha ninja guarding the large camp finally allowed them to pass.

Upon entering the camp, Shiraishi felt a completely different, oppressive atmosphere compared to Konoha Village.

Medical workers carrying the wounded into the camp on stretchers.

The ninjas, gathered in twos and threes beside the tents, held simple hot meals in their hands, their gaunt faces blank as they ate their food listlessly.

Then, whether it was because they couldn't eat or because the food was too unpalatable, many ninjas started vomiting and began pounding their chests while gulping down water.

As you pass through the medical area, you can still hear the agonizing screams of demons coming from the tents.

Everyone's nerves were stretched to the limit, just one trigger was needed to ignite their long-suppressed negative emotions and cause them to collapse on the spot.

This is war.

Sakumo and Jiraiya need to meet with Commander Orochimaru, while Shiraishi, the other two, and Minato will have to wait outside the camp.

The wait wasn't long. A few minutes later, Shuo Mao came out of the tent with a scroll in his hand, which recorded the tasks that Shuo Mao's team needed to complete.

"let's go."

"Yes."

Time was of the essence, so Sakumo planned to explain the mission to Shiraishi and the other two along the way as they traveled.

"Well then, see you next time, Minato."

"Okay, goodbye. Please be careful."

Minato smiled slightly at Shiraishi's kind farewell and watched the four members of Sakumo's team leave the camp.

◎

"Next, we will split into two groups. Our mission is to cut off the Sand Village's supply lines."

Without wasting any time, after leaving the Konoha camp for a few kilometers, Sakumo stopped in a river valley and succinctly explained the mission.

"Is it just our small team?"

The three of them, including Shiraishi, were slightly taken aback.

"We will have covert support along the way. Also, this mission is of utmost importance; we cannot reveal our location. Therefore, if we encounter anyone who is not one of our own... kill them all!"

Sakumo's face was cold, and Shiraishi and the other two were filled with dread.

The supply lines of Sunagakure cannot be located within the Land of Fire; they can only cut off Sunagakure's supply lines by entering the Land of Rivers.

In other words... even if they encounter ordinary citizens of the Land of Rivers, they must be eliminated without exception to prevent their whereabouts from being revealed.

"Starting from this direction, about fifteen kilometers away, there will be a team of secret agents to meet you."

Shuo Mao pointed in the southwest direction.

Following the direction Sakumo pointed, the three of them looked ahead and saw that the land of rivers was outside the territory of the land of fire.

"If you understand, then let's get started."

After finishing his sentence, Shuo Mao disappeared in another direction.

The three of them exchanged glances, and they could all see the seriousness in each other's eyes.

Not only was a cruel order to eliminate all witnesses given, but the mission's objective was also to cut off the Sand Village's supply lines. By all accounts, this was an extremely difficult S-rank mission.

Even with the assistance of the secret service, this mission is fraught with danger.

Bai Shi sighed and said, "There's no need to worry too much. Since the higher-ups have given me this mission, it means that there's a possibility of completing it. The most important thing now is to rendezvous with the Dark Guard."

Indeed, although Sakumo gave the three of them a mission, he did not provide the specific steps involved.

It's understandable that Sakumo has his own mission, and that's all he knows.

The three members of the White Stone Group need to meet up with the Dark Guard members to find out how to proceed with the next mission and cooperate with them.

Ruri and Ayane had no objections, so they immediately got to work.

The distance of 15 kilometers to the southwest was covered in just over ten minutes.

Just as Sakumo had said, there were four members of Konoha's ANBU lying in wait there.

However, one thing is rather strange: the masks worn by these ANBU members are slightly different from the masks worn by ANBU ninjas that Shiraishi had seen before.

The patterns on the masks worn by these ninjas give off a sense of oppression and coldness.

Especially their eyes behind the masks, cold and emotionless, without any fluctuation of emotion, just like a group of machines.

"You are..."

"We are ninjas from the 'Root' ANBU. This mission to cut off Sunagakure's supplies will be carried out in cooperation with you."

The leader stepped forward and spoke indifferently to Bai Shi and the other two.

"root?"

The leading ninja offered no explanation for the three's confusion, continuing in a detached tone, "The three of you will be responsible for the feint attack to draw the enemy's attention, while we will be responsible for sabotage."

As he spoke, the lead ninja lifted his shirt, revealing his body covered with countless pieces of paper bearing the character 'explosion'.

The three ninjas behind him were the same; they lifted their shirts, revealing skin covered with explosive tags.

"..."

"So, once the feint attack succeeds, you need to find a way to leave the battlefield as soon as possible and escape. Because we're all covered in special explosive tags, which are extremely powerful. Don't blame us if you accidentally die."

"..."

It seems that in this mission, we should be more wary of our own people than the Sand Village ninjas.

Who in their right mind would cover themselves with explosive tags that could detonate at any moment?

"A bunch of lunatics!" Shiraishi and his two companions felt a headache coming on.

The three of them suddenly had an urge to run away from these lunatics immediately, fearing that if they made a mistake, they might improvise an explosion and send them all flying into the sky.

Chapter 55 False Intelligence and Mission

The meeting with the 'Root' ninjas lasted less than ten minutes.

After that, these people went into hiding again, and it is estimated that they will only come back to meet up again when the actual operation is about to take place, to check on the preparations of both sides.

Arriving at a secluded patch of grass, the three of them sat down in a circle.

"Speaking of which, what kind of organization is the Anbu 'Root'? Is there such an organization among the Anbu directly under the Hokage?"