Naruto: The Teaching System - 267

Chapter 267: Vanished

"Over the next three days, eliminate all hidden Iwagakure forces along the supply routes. If you feel your chakra running low..." Sawada pulled out several bottles of specially formulated soldier pills and said, "Don't hesitate. Take them."

Yusuke and Koto accepted them and nodded. Neji, however, accepted his with a strange expression on his face. That's right. These are the same soldier pills Sensei gave us during training to restore stamina. Did Naruto and I really squander them so carelessly back then? Using life-saving supplies just for practice?

"Next, we'll prioritize clearing this route. Everyone must accelerate and move at full speed." Sawada pointed out their destination on a scroll. It was positioned between two transport routes. Clearing it directly would save considerable time if possible.

"Yes!" Neji and the others responded in unison. Sawada nodded, rolled up the scroll, and several figures vanished swiftly from their positions.

"Captain, how much longer do we have to hide out here?" An Iwagakure shinobi concealed among the treetops asked the captain beside him.

"Based on Konoha's usual patterns, a team should arrive within the next two days." The jōnin captain fell silent for a moment when asked, then said, "After we take down this wave, we should be able to head back."

"That's good. Staying here always feels unsafe." The questioning Iwagakure chūnin sighed. After all, they weren't on their own turf. Hiding like this forever wasn't a solution.

"Iwao, I think you're just a coward." Another Iwagakure shinobi, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly spoke up, his face full of contempt.

"Bastard! You want to fight?!" Iwao, treated this way, looked furious and roared at the Iwagakure shinobi leaning against the treetop.

"Shut up! Don't forget where we are!" The Iwagakure jōnin captain looked at the two with cold fury. They had already trespassed on enemy territory. Yet they were still acting so recklessly.

"Hmph." The Iwagakure shinobi leaning on the treetop pouted slightly when he heard this, then stood up.

The jōnin captain, seeing this, asked with mild annoyance, "What are you doing?"

"Just taking a leak. I've been here so long, can't I at least relax?" The questioned Iwagakure shinobi answered dismissively. Then he jumped directly down from the treetop.

"Captain, that guy is way too arrogant!" Iwao said indignantly.

"Forget it. What else can we do? He's the son of a village official. Being assigned to a mission like this, it's natural he's unhappy." The Iwagakure jōnin captain sighed and waved his hand.

Hearing this, Iwao also looked helpless. Having such a troublemaker on the team was truly nauseating, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"When he comes back, don't say anything more," the Iwagakure jōnin captain added, still somewhat uneasy.

"Understood." Iwao nodded helplessly.

"Damn it, I should've been earning distinguished merit on the battlefield, but now I'm stuck here." The Iwagakure chūnin who'd jumped down from the treetop muttered in dissatisfaction under his breath.

"It must be that useless Iwao dragging down our team's capability. Otherwise, how would we get assigned such a task?" The Iwagakure chūnin whispered to himself, not noticing the subtle ripple that passed through the grass beside him.

Just as he was about to unfasten his belt, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. His pupils dilated, his face filled with disbelief, and then his entire body went blank.

The few people in the tree hadn't seen the chūnin who'd just left return. The jōnin captain couldn't help but frown.

"I'll go check. You two stay here." He was about to leave when a figure emerged from the bushes.

Iwao immediately spotted him and said with extreme displeasure, "Are you serious?! We're on a covert mission, and you're going to get us all killed acting like that!"

The person called out didn't respond, still walking toward them unhurriedly.

"Something's wrong!" The jōnin captain immediately noticed the anomaly and was preparing to take action when the figure suddenly accelerated, charging at them with smoke swirling around.

"Get back!" The Iwagakure jōnin captain shouted, then rapidly formed hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Wall!"

A massive earth wall rose before them, blocking the charging figure. The next moment, a tremendous sound rang out. Even those who had already dodged felt the shockwave from the explosion.

As rubble flew, everyone's expressions grew grave. They'd been discovered!

"Quick, go!" The jōnin captain immediately issued orders without hesitation.

As soon as he turned, he saw a figure wearing a haori standing calmly behind him.

"You—!" Before the jōnin captain could finish speaking, his head dropped limply.

Seeing the captain fall, Iwao charged forward without thinking. "Let go of the captain!"

"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!" A figure appeared directly in front of Iwao and launched a Gentle Fist attack.

Iwao's entire body was thrown back by the Gentle Fist Air Palm's chakra shockwave, slamming into the tree behind him. He was embedded in the trunk.

"Gah!" Stuck in the tree trunk, Iwao opened his mouth and spat out a large mouthful of blood. He looked at the figure who'd just struck him with utter disbelief. Impossible! He's just a kid. Why is he so strong?!

A long sword pierced straight through his throat. Yusuke's eyes were cold and merciless. Seeing the Iwagakure shinobi before her showed no signs of life, Yusuke pulled out her blade and slowly walked toward where Sawada stood.

The other chūnin had already been taken down by Neji. He slumped against the treetop, his neck bent at an unnatural angle.

"Ahh..." The Iwagakure jōnin controlled by Sawada now had white eyes, his mouth unconsciously open with drool dripping down.

Sawada slowly withdrew the black threads from his hand, his brow furrowed. Still no news. There was almost no connection between these seven shinobi.

He flicked his wrist, and a kunai slashed across the neck. The Iwagakure jōnin's corpse then fell limply from the treetop.

"Sawada-sama, no news?" Yusuke asked. This was already the third wave of Iwagakure shinobi they'd found since appearing.

"No, same as before." Sawada shook his head. According to the intelligence Jiraiya provided, approximately seven squads had infiltrated. But two days had passed now, and they'd run several routes almost non-stop. Yet they'd only encountered these few squads.

The others seemed to have vanished. If this continued, they might not complete the mission.

"Sensei, do you think they might have already taken the transport route we used?" Neji, standing nearby, thought for a moment and then asked.

Hearing this, Sawada also fell silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "No choice. This is the only route left that we haven't checked. We can only try our luck."