Konoha: The road to the gods starting from Kannabi Bridge

Chapter 43 The Iwa Ninjas Followed
The abandoned village where the Huzhi clan had been stationed welcomed new guests. They came from the country in the north that was surrounded by rocky mountains. They wore bamboo hats and raincoats, and were as invisible as ghosts. Sneaking into the village silently.

Under the guidance of the Sensing Ninja,
They came to a stone house in an abandoned village.

"Lord Akaashi."

in the house,

It was an Iwa-nin ANBU wearing the standard combat uniform of an Iwa-nin and a mask on his face. When he saw a group of people walking in the door, he hurriedly bowed his head and said hello to the person walking in the front.

"Slate?"

Akaashi looked at the masked ANBU in front of him.

"Lord Akaashi, it's me."

Slate responded.

Facing the man in front of him who had been the Minister of ANBU, he did not dare to be disrespectful in the slightest.

"Why are you the only one? Where are your subordinates? Were they released to gather information?"

"...I'm the only one left."

Slate whispered.

"Ok?"

Akaashi's eyes widened.

"Before I received the order to wait for you, Lord Akaashi, I had already tried to deal with the traitors of the Kozhi clan..."

"And you were the only one killed?"

"Yes!"

Slate lowered his head, ashamed.

"Tell me carefully, how did you lose? Who among the Jonin of the Kozhi clan took action? Is there anything surprising about their methods?" Akaashi did not blame Slate for his failure, and it was his turn to hold him responsible. Without him, the former ANBU Minister who had resigned long ago, that was something that the Tsuchikage-sama and the current ANBU Minister should worry about.

Now,

What he cares about is the intelligence Slate gathered during his failure.

The soldiers and horses are not moved, and the intelligence comes first.

This is the principle of fighting for small-scale ninjas. Because the number of people is small, the demand for logistical supplies is quite low, and supplies can be easily completed. They do not rely on logistics like large armies, and they are different from fighting with large armies. Most of the ninjas who are qualified to participate in this small-scale fight are masters!
at this time,
Compared with materials and equipment, intelligence is more important.

If you can know the enemy's methods in advance, you can make corresponding preparations before the war begins. For example, if the enemy is good at using poison, you can prepare gas masks and antidote potions in advance. If the enemy is good at using fire escape and thunder escape, then your side can You can mobilize ninjas who use water escape and wind escape to fight.

For example, in order to protect against the auditory illusion "Magic Flute Technique" passed down by the Kozhi clan, both Slate and the others, as well as Akaishi and others, all carried earmuffs, earplugs and other items.

In terms of care,

The Kozhi clan has no secrets in front of Akaishi and Slate. The Kozhi clan is one of the many families that supported the first Tsuchikage to establish Iwagakure Village. No matter what the background is, in the past few decades in Iwagakure Village Chuuya has almost leaked everything.

only,
There is nothing wrong with being cautious.

There are no secrets in the Kozhi clan, but what kind of methods do the jonins of the Kobashi clan have... The relevant records in the village are not detailed, and they are not necessarily accurate, just like the Tsuchikage The young man named Huzhi Yuzhang whom the Lord emphasized has mastered the secret art of camouflage concealment and the high-level earth escape and hardening art of earth spear.

so,

The failure of Operation Slate does not mean that you return empty-handed. As long as you can bring back information, it will be considered a gain!

"This...only one person took action." Slate's voice was small, like a little rooster with its neck stuck.

"one person?"

Akaishi's eyes widened, "You defeated the team led by you, Slate, all by yourself? You led a fully formed combat team, right?"

"The one who took action was Huzhi Yuzhang."

The sound of the slate is becoming more and more subtle, but it is still within the range of being heard clearly.

"His Earth Spear Technique has been refined to an extremely advanced level. Our attacks could not break through his defense at all. After he withstood the attack and killed the sentient ninja of our team, he used the Camouflage Hidden Technique... ...His camouflage concealment technique is also very sophisticated. Without the guidance of the Sensing Ninja, we couldn't see his whereabouts at all. I ordered a retreat at that time, but unfortunately... I was the only one who escaped."

The voice fell,

The stone house became quiet, and only the noisy rain outside could be heard.

Akaashi didn't know what to say for a while. According to Slate... apart from confirming once again that Kozhi Yuzhang is indeed a target that needs extra attention, what else is useful and new? No information could be found out.

"Nothing else was discovered?"

After a moment of silence, Akaishi asked.

"...No, at that time we were preparing to lurk and attack Huzhi Yuzhang, but...before we even got close, he used the 'earthquake core' move to pull us out of the ground. After being forced out, I suspect... he may have mastered the sensory ninjutsu, or there are other sensory ninjas around him that we don't know about."

Slate whispered his speculation.

"Sensory ninja... Among all the registered ninjas in the Kozhi clan, there is no sentient ninja!"

Akaashi frowned.

There is no doubt about the importance of sensing ninjas. Reconnaissance, tracking and other tasks require sensing ninjas. If there is a sensing ninja in a team, the team's survival rate will increase significantly when performing tasks.

In Iwagakure Village,

Every sentient ninja needs to be recorded on the corresponding roster.

And the Huzhi clan,
There are no sentient ninjas.

If what Ban Yan said is correct, then there are three situations. One is that Huzhi Yuzhang concealed the fact that he is a sentient ninja a long time ago; the other is that he became a sentient ninja not long ago, and not all sentient ninjas are Like the Hinata and Sanzhong families of Konoha, people are born with them. Most of them rely on acquired efforts or luck to become sentient ninjas. This is very common.

If it were these two situations, it would be easy to say.

The problem is not big.

It is still only the Huzhi clan that needs to be dealt with.

But I am afraid of the third situation, that is, the Huzhi clan has gained the support of a large force that is not afraid of being enemies of their Iwa ninja.

"Slate, did you see any ninjas from other villages or organizations around that Huzhi Yuzhang?"

Akaashi stared at Slate.

"I didn't see this."

Slate shook his head and said: "At that time, there were only two chuunin from the Kozhi clan around Kozhi Yuzhang, namely Kozhi Mayi and Kozhi Tatsuya."

"...Slate, you lead the way, and we will weigh the Huzhi clan together."

Akaishi thought for a few seconds and decided to go and test it himself to see if the Huzhi clan is really that powerful. If the Huzhi clan is really difficult to deal with, then find another way. If the Huzhi clan If a clan cannot withstand the temptation, then just take advantage of the situation and complete the task!
Anyway,

Try it first!
(End of this chapter)