Anya sped swiftly toward the gates of Konoha but came to a sudden halt upon spotting an unexpected figure—Tsunade.
It seemed Tsunade had already anticipated Anya's thoughts and waited for him here. Upon seeing him, she immediately stepped forward and asked, "Are you really going?"
Anya affirmed firmly, "Yes, I must go."
"Then let me go with you."
Anya felt both surprise and a touch of emotion, but he quickly shook his head in refusal. He clearly understood that to minimize the impact of this mission, only two people in the village were qualified to continue where White Fang left off—his own master's disciple, himself, and Kakashi, the son of his teacher.
If Tsunade went along, even if the mission succeeded, rumors would never fade away.
He figured Tsunade already got it.
Finally, Tsunade sighed and removed the necklace around her neck, placing it around Anya's. Her tone was uncharacteristically gentle as she said, "Come back alive."
In his previous life, Anya had never seen any short videos about this necklace and didn't yet grasp its special significance. Still, he was shocked by Tsunade's attitude. Is this really her? She felt like a completely different person today. However, preoccupied with his own thoughts, he didn't dwell too much on it. Instead, he boldly declared, "Don't worry. The one who can kill me hasn't even taken a breath yet!"
With those words, Anya summoned the Eagle Puppet from his Scroll and waved goodbye to Tsunade before soaring into the sky.
Midair, Anya rapidly flipped through some documents—a report obtained from Kumo. According to the captured prisoner, once this intelligence was exposed, it could be enough to shift the balance of power across the Ninja World. So the Hokage took it seriously and sent White Fang out with another Jonin right away. However, the name of that other Jonin had deliberately been erased from this document.
During the operation, White Fang finally retrieved the intel, but unfortunately, they were discovered by Kumogakure's Anbu while withdrawing. A fierce battle broke out during their retreat, and in the chaos, the other Jonin was captured. Forced to make a choice, White Fang ultimately abandoned the intel in favor of saving his comrade's life.
The final battlefield lay in the Hot Springs Country, bordering both Konoha and Kumo. Thirty Anbu members had been dispatched by Kumo, and whether additional reinforcements followed remained unknown.
A full day had passed since the mission began. Based on Anbu speeds, they should now be very close to Kumogakure. It seemed retrieving the intel would require a visit to the Cloud Village after all.
Could it be time to re-enter under the alias Yunbai again?
Anya kept contemplating countermeasures in his mind, only to discard each one. With Kumogakure certainly on high alert following the clash with White Fang, slipping inside casually like last time would be impossible.
Well then, first track down the Anbu's trail and plan from there. Anya decided to take it one step at a time. Inwardly, however, he was anxious and restless. Worse, this wasn't something he could simply rush. Having gathered intel on Kumogakure before, he knew their might well—two Tailed Beast Jinchuriki alone were more than he could handle.
After flying for a while, Anya spotted signs of battle above an open field. This was clearly the site where both sides had clashed. Brushing aside the remnants of combat, he activated his Sharingan to its fullest and searched for the trail left by the Anbu heading toward Kumogakure.
Under the intense perception of the Sharingan, the movements of the Kumogakure Anbu held no secrets. Following their path, Anya began flying at a lower altitude, gradually slowing his pace.
During this relentless pursuit, Anya silently gathered momentum, drawing all his killing intent inward and channeling it into his blade. He took the stance of the Sword Art: Draw Technique. Even the tanto still in its sheath trembled slightly, letting out a faint hum. If this group of Anbu hadn't returned directly to the village and dared to rest or stop outside, he was confident he could unleash a single, earth-shaking blow—enough to wipe out half of them in an instant.
As he continued flying, Anya suddenly sensed something off—was it a barrier?
At that moment, excitement surged within him. This was exactly the best-case scenario he'd imagined earlier: instead of heading straight back to the village, the Anbu had stopped to rest. Perfect.
That significantly reduced the pressure on him. Anya recalled his hawk and carefully approached the edge of the barrier. Having studied sealing techniques before and even mastered setting them himself, he knew precisely how to dismantle one. Still, he avoided making too much noise, gently pressing his hand onto the seal of the barrier and slowly working to break through.
Soon enough, a small gap appeared in the barrier. Anya leapt through swiftly. The moment he entered, the stench of blood hit him, and his expression changed instantly.
Something unexpected was happening. No longer bothering to hide, Anya rushed straight toward the source of the bloodstained scent. What met his eyes were scattered corpses lying across the ground—bodies strewn about haphazardly, some still wearing broken masks frozen in expressions of terror from their final moments.
Anya quickly counted the bodies and found they matched the records exactly. It was clear now—all the Anbu from Kumogakure had died here.
Still unwilling to accept what he saw, Anya thoroughly searched every corpse but found nothing useful. So the other party was also after intelligence. Judging by the battlefield scene alone, those thirty Anbu had been utterly crushed.
It remained unclear whether this was the result of direct confrontation or if the thirty Anbu had been ambushed.
But this wasn't difficult to determine—their bodies would tell the story. Anya gathered all thirty corpses together, even piecing together severed limbs.
Activating his Three-Comma Sharingan, he observed every injury across the corpses under the piercing gaze of his eye.
Clear, unmistakable cuts—blade wounds without question. All thirty had perished due to blades, though each wound differed. Some bore marks similar to being pierced by sharp points; others had been decapitated entirely, while some showed evidence of charring—each injury unique.
For every new type of blade wound discovered, Anya noted it carefully in his mind. By the time he finished examining all thirty bodies, he had reached his conclusion. Taking a deep breath and exhaling heavily, he murmured to himself, "Seven distinct types of blade wounds from a direct confrontation... There's only one group capable of such overwhelming domination—the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."
Upon hearing this news, Anya felt even more desperate. While he still had a slight chance of infiltrating Kumogakure and perhaps even obtaining some information under Yunbai's identity, Kiri was entirely a land of mist. In fact, the last time intelligence was gathered, this village had been deliberately skipped precisely because his presence as an outsider would be extremely conspicuous.
But now that the intel's location has been pinned down, whether it's a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, blades cutting through mountains or fire swallowing seas — Anya had no choice but to make his way in. Kiri… here I go.
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