Escape from Konoha.

Ayane also stared fiercely at the last Root ninja.

"You go."

Bai Shi suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, not only Ayane but also the Root ninja glanced at Shiraishi in surprise.

"Let me...go?"

The other party seemed somewhat skeptical that Shiraishi would say that.

"I'm injured now and not confident I can take you down. And you don't want to die here, do you? So, how about we call a truce? After all, you still need to report to your superiors, don't you?"

Bai Shi patiently guided him.

Ayane paused for a moment, then seemed to understand something and tacitly agreed to Shiraishi's idea.

The Root ninja was even more unbelievable. If he was really that weak, Shiraishi should have adopted a more aggressive stance.

As a result, Shiraishi frankly admitted that his injuries were very serious, causing the Root ninja to hesitate.

To be honest, although he wanted to avenge his fallen comrades, the pressure from Shiraishi was just too much.

Indeed, stopping now would be highly beneficial for both sides.

He wanted to confirm one more time: "Are you really willing to let me go?"

"Ah, I've already said that I'm seriously injured now. At most, we'll both be severely injured and die together. I still have decades of life to enjoy, and I don't want to die so young. So, the best outcome is for both of us to stop fighting and make peace."

The Root ninja calmed down and took a deep breath.

He began to back away, seeing that Shiraishi did not react and Ayane stood obediently to the side without making any move.

After retreating more than ten meters, Shiraishi and Ayane still did not react, so the other party believed Shiraishi's words and used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.

About three to five seconds after he left, Shiraishi suddenly collapsed, gasping for breath, his face contorted in pain, his skin deathly pale.

The captain's ninja swordsmanship had inflicted extremely serious injuries on him.

If he didn't have natural energy, he would probably be a corpse by now.

"Are you OK?"

Ayane rushed over to support Shiraishi, asking with a worried expression.

"It's alright. It will take some time for my chakra to recover, and I can't use medical ninjutsu during this period."

Shiraishi, panting, managed a weak smile.

Ayane nodded and was about to help Shiraishi back.

Footsteps sounded behind me.

It was that Root ninja who had gone away and returned.

Seeing Shiraishi's extremely weak state, everything became clear immediately.

"So that's how it is. Was that a trick too? You little devil, you're really cunning. I almost fell for it. If I hadn't come back, you might have actually escaped this predicament."

Ayane's body stiffened.

Cold sweat appeared on Shiraishi's pale face.

"Haha, you're really not afraid of me anymore? I killed your captain, you know."

What is Shiraishi trying to do to salvage this situation?

"You little brat, you probably never told the truth when you were born. Sorry, but because of your character, I don't trust a single word you say anymore."

The Root ninja stared at Shiraishi with eyes that seemed to see right through him.

"Hey, isn't that a bit too ironic? I—"

Shiraishi was still trying to use rhetoric to guide the Root ninja, leading his thinking into a dead end to resolve the current crisis.

However, the other party was very confident in their guess and was full of distrust towards every word Shiraishi said.

"Mushidama!"

The black swarm of insects rushed in at an extremely fast speed.

Shiraishi roughly shoved Ayane aside, but when it was his turn, he could only barely dodge and rolled on the ground.

He ignored the insects and rushed toward the Root ninja.

The Root ninjas were not going to let Shiraishi have his way, so they released a large number of black insects from their sleeves, which formed a thick barrier in front of them.

The Root ninjas had already envisioned Shiraishi being surrounded by insects and then devoured clean.

His heart was filled with dark emotions that yearned for brutal revenge.

The sound of footsteps came from behind.

After the Root ninja turned his head, the ninja sword swiftly slashed across his neck.

With blood splattering everywhere, the ninja sword, already on the verge of breaking, finally succumbed to the pressure and snapped in two.

The blood-stained broken blade fell, embedding itself straight in the ground.

The sound of a broken blade hitting the ground rang out, and at the same moment, the Root ninja's body collapsed to the ground.

He stared intently at Shiraishi with resentful and unwilling eyes. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say, "You're lying again."

As Shiraishi panted, he crouched down, gently closed the Root ninja's unseeing eyes, and sighed softly.

"I'm sorry, but I am that kind of despicable person. You're right, every word I said to you was deceptive. But isn't the reason you fell into the trap precisely because you believed you were making the most correct judgment?"

Ayane, who was watching this scene from the side, had an expression that said something but she didn't know what to say.

Is it fair to call Shiraishi despicable, or terrifying?

His injuries were indeed severe, but not so severe that he was unable to fight.

Unsure of their ability to kill their opponent with 100% certainty, they set up a trap, letting the enemy judge and verify for themselves before arriving at what they believe to be the correct conclusion.

If you don't trust the enemy, then trust your own verified judgment.

It was only at the last moment that he realized it was still a trap carefully designed by Shiraishi.

This was the first time Ayane had ever seen a battle between ninjas conducted in this way.

If Ruri's battles were simple and brutal, then Shiraishi's battles were a battle of deception.

It was neither glamorous nor beautiful, but full of wickedness and despicableness.

I actually believed in someone like that without a second thought; I guess I'm beyond saving. Ayane felt sorry for herself.

Shiraishi lay on the ground without any regard for his appearance; he truly had no strength left.

"What a terrible day. Roots, I'll remember you..."

After murmuring these words, Shiraishi wearily closed his eyes, wanting to rest for a while.

Chapter Sixty-Two: The Temptation of Returning to the Village

About a day later.

In the forest at the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire, a group of three people were heading back towards the Land of Fire.

Compared to the tense atmosphere when heading to the Land of Rivers, the atmosphere now is much more relaxed and carefree.

This small team that rushed back to the Land of Fire consisted of Shiraishi, Ruri, and Ayane.

Since wiping out that Root squad, they haven't encountered any enemies and have spent the day peacefully.

Shiraishi and Ayane's chakra had also recovered. Half a day ago, Ruri also woke up from her slumber. Although the injuries caused by Sage Mode had not fully healed and her face still looked very pale, she had regained some of her strength and was able to protect herself.

Considering the many mysteries surrounding this mission, and the possibility that it involves power struggles among Konoha's higher-ups, plus the fact that the Sand Ninja don't know if there are any follow-up pursuit forces, the three of them discussed it after Ruri woke up half a day ago and decided to rush back to the Land of Fire with all their might to find out what exactly happened in this mission.

It was around 3 a.m., and the sky was still very dark.

Ayane carried Ruri, who was temporarily unable to move, and hurried on her way, with Shiraishi following closely behind.

"Speaking of which, is it really okay to go back like this?"

Ayane seemed a little worried and suddenly spoke up.

"what do you mean?"

Shiraishi glanced at her.

"The Root ninjas were members of the Anbu, right? Although they belonged to different factions, they still died at our hands."

Ayane didn't think that going back like this would mean nothing would have happened.

Although the Root ninjas framed them first, what could they do even if they knew that the mastermind behind this was a high-ranking official in Konoha?

They might even use the fact that they killed a Root ninja as a pretext to convict the three of them.

"It's alright, weren't those corpses already disposed of beforehand? When we get back, we can just say we fell into a Sand Village trap. If they ask, we can just insist we didn't see any Root members."

Ruri, who was lying on Ayane's back, breathed softly and spoke slowly.

"Is this all you need?"

"Of course not. But as long as we vehemently deny seeing it, they can't do anything to us without evidence. In the end, I will use the power of the Uchiha clan to put pressure on the village's higher-ups by accusing them of having an incorrect source of information. If they want to get to the bottom of this, then we'll make this matter public knowledge. Let's see how they handle it."

Liuli said in a calm tone.

Ayane nodded in agreement.

She couldn't use the power of the Hyuga clan to put pressure on the Konoha leadership, but Ruri was different.

She is one of the candidates for the next head of the Uchiha clan. Within the Uchiha clan, she has sufficient prestige and even a group of very loyal fans.

This is the power of a powerful family; even the higher-ups in Konoha have to think twice about it.

"Sometimes I really envy you, Ruri."

Ayane lowered her head and smiled slightly as she spoke.

"Envious? Speaking of which, we haven't settled accounts for the two of you hooking up behind my back."

Liuli raised an eyebrow, clearly dissatisfied.

Shiraishi and Ayane gave awkward smiles and turned their faces away, not directly answering Ruri's question.