"Sensei Shibi, did Lord Orochimaru specify exactly what to do?" Yamanaka Kagetsu asked.
Upon hearing this, Shibi Aburame pulled out a sealing scroll and replied, "There are 1,000 explosive tags in here. Lord Orochimaru instructed us to stick them all over one side of the mountain. Once detonated, the force of the explosion should collapse part of the mountain.
The falling debris will completely block the supply route.
Given the number of Mist ninja stationed in the rear, it'll take them at least a week to clear the path. Without logistical support, they won't last that long—they'll have no choice but to retreat."
After hearing this, Uchiha Yuan furrowed his brow. "Sensei Shibi, the Mist's supply lines can't consist of only this one, right? Even if we succeed here, if other teams fail, won't it all be meaningless? They wouldn't retreat just because of one setback."
"The Mist does indeed have more than one supply line, but this one is the shortest and most important. It's responsible for over 60% of their supplies. If this route is compromised, their logistics will fall apart. Retreat would be their only option."
"I see."
"Alright, now that everyone understands the plan, let's take a short break. In half an hour, we'll head for the canyon. Once we complete the mission, we evacuate immediately."
The three responded in unison with a nod.
Shibi then distributed the explosive tags from the scroll. Since Kagetsu didn't have a scroll, Shibi simply gave him one.
Meanwhile, Hyuga Asana quickly helped Kagetsu treat his injuries.
Half an hour later, the group set out again, headed for the canyon marked on the map.
The canyon was some distance away from the water source—roughly midway between the Konoha camp and the Bear Country camp.
Even at full speed, it would take more than three hours to reach.
Along the way, the group once again relied on their powerful sensory abilities to avoid battle and conserve stamina.
After three hours, they arrived near the canyon.
Shibi tapped the jar on his back, and a large number of kikaichū insects flew toward the canyon.
A moment later, the insects returned. Shibi told the team, "My insects report that there are quite a few Mist ninja in the canyon, with guards at the entrance. We'll have to take a detour and approach the mountain from another direction to plant the explosive tags."
"Sensei Shibi, how do we detour?" asked Kagetsu.
Shibi studied the map for a moment and pointed to the path they had taken through the battlefield. "We follow this path, which leads to the opposite side of the mountain. From there, we climb up."
"If we can think of that, the Mist probably can too. They've likely stationed guards at the junction," Yuan said.
"There are indeed people stationed there. When we came, my insects already detected a Mist squad. I led you past them."
"And this time...?"
"There's no way around them if we want to climb the mountain," Shibi replied.
"Sigh! Looks like there's no avoiding the fight," Kagetsu said with a sigh.
"Then let's prepare for battle!" Hyuga Asana said with a serious tone.
Once their objective was confirmed, Shibi decisively led them in the new direction.
After about thirty minutes, they encountered the Mist squad.
It was a standard three-man team—but unlike ordinary ninja teams, all three wore the distinctive uniforms of Mist ANBU.
In the original story, ANBU often seemed unimpressive—bad at everything except showing off.
But in reality, ANBU were no pushovers. Only those with special abilities or exceptional strength among Chūnin ranks could join. In Konoha, most ANBU were on the level of Tokubetsu Jōnin.
These three, at least two of them, had extremely strong chakra—each on par with a typical Jōnin.
"Same division as before. If you can't win, stall until I'm free," Shibi said, then charged the central ANBU operative.
Yuan chose the taller one on the left. Asana and Kagetsu naturally went for the one on the right.
Yuan teleported directly in front of the ANBU, planning to surprise him with a Sharingan genjutsu.
But the ANBU's combat experience was clearly vast—he immediately dropped a smoke bomb as soon as Yuan vanished.
The smoke cut off visibility, rendering Yuan's genjutsu useless.
Thankfully, his Mind's Eye could still track the ANBU's position. Yuan gripped his horizontal blade and slashed toward the sensed location.
Meanwhile, the ANBU used the movement of the mist to pinpoint Yuan's location. He retreated and formed hand seals: "Water Release: Water Shockwave!"
Water gushed toward Yuan out of nowhere.
The ANBU then formed more hand seals, and a burst of lightning erupted from his hands.
Water Release + Lightning Release—if hit by this combo, Yuan's body would be paralyzed. That would be very bad.
Yuan quickly used teleportation to dodge the water attack, then locked onto the ANBU's position with his Mind's Eye and threw a dozen shuriken.
A wall of water rose inside the smoke—it was Water Release: Water Formation Wall, blocking the shuriken.
Yuan immediately teleported behind the Mist ninja.
The enemy had just cast Water Formation Wall—no time to form new seals.
Without hesitation, Yuan slashed at his neck.
Splat! The blade connected, but the body turned into a puddle of water.
"A Water Clone?!" Yuan was shocked and instantly teleported away.
Sure enough, a second later, his Mind's Eye picked up the ANBU's real position. He was now cloaked in lightning and had just burst forward toward Yuan's last location at blinding speed.
That clone had clearly been bait. If Yuan had hesitated for even a second, he would have been hit.
These two probing exchanges confirmed it—this Mist ANBU was definitely a Jōnin, and one skilled in both Lightning and Water Release.
And generally, Lightning Release users were good at taijutsu as well, since Lightning chakra stimulated the body and greatly increased speed.
(To Be Continued...)