Chapter 49: The "Truth" within the Truth
"Hahaha! Surprised, Leaf shinobi? Seems our strategy was a step ahead of yours after all!"
The rogue ninja Aoyama forced Captain Yamaguchi back with a heavy strike. His arms trembled from prolonged exertion, but his smug, triumphant grin remained unrestrained.
Before Taichi and the others could respond, a sharp puff echoed—the clone maintaining the Great Water Prison dispersed into smoke. The massive sphere of swirling water collapsed, and the two trapped shinobi dropped lifelessly to the ground.
It only took a glance to see: both had already perished. The fight had dragged on nearly ten minutes, and they were nothing more than wandering ninja. Trapped in that crushing torrent, survival for so long was impossible.
Their deaths struck Aoyama like two stinging slaps across the face, wiping away the arrogance he had shown just moments ago.
"Damn you!" Aoyama snarled, glaring at Taichi with murderous fury. "It's all this brat's fault! Even last time, it was him who ruined everything!"
Unlike disposable bandits, shinobi weren't so easily recruited. He had spent great effort gathering this force, and now he'd lost several—two of them chunin. The loss made his heart bleed.
Forcing his emotions down, Aoyama steadied himself and addressed Captain Yamaguchi:
"We already have our target. There's no need to keep fighting. Let's end this here—if you comply, maybe the boy will be spared."
His eyes hardened, voice dripping with menace. "Otherwise… a corpse works just as well."
He had no desire to drag this out further. More fighting only meant more losses, and they were mercenaries, not village defenders.
"Is this the kind of cowardice Sand shinobi are known for?" Yamaguchi shot back with scorn.
"Hmph. I told you already—I'm no Sand shinobi. I'm a ro—"
Another puff cut Aoyama off mid-sentence.
Saori, who had been guarding the carriage, suddenly turned into Taichi before dispersing in smoke. An exhausted Shadow Clone.
"Shadow Clone… and a Transformation." Aoyama ground his teeth in frustration.
The truth struck him. The "Saori" beside the wagon had been Taichi's disguised clone all along. During the battle she had only fended off bandits, never drawing suspicion. And now—gone.
If the girl was a clone, then where was the real one? The sudden revelation scrambled his thoughts.
"No! Kotai! Check the child!" Koji, quick-witted, barked at the chunin holding the boy.
But it was already too late. The "young Ishihara" in Kotai's grip also burst into smoke with a sharp puff. Taichi had dismissed the clone himself.
The enemy froze, dumbstruck. Then came a flood of rage. They had been played—outwitted from the very start. Their prize had vanished before their eyes.
---
The story rewinds to the fifth night—back to the very evening of the first ambush.
"Lady Ishihara," Captain Yamaguchi explained, "if Saori carries young Ishihara and takes a detour straight to Kanematsu City, they'll move much faster than the main caravan. If all goes well, they'll arrive by the seventh day."
The plan had come from Taichi. Much like Ishihara Masao's earlier idea, it relied on misdirection.
"Right now, the enemy has just been forced to retreat. They'd never expect us to send someone away so soon. Meanwhile, we'll use Transformation to disguise ourselves as Saori and the boy, keeping their focus on us."
"When they rally reinforcements and strike again, even if they uncover the ruse, it'll already be too late."
Lady Ishihara hesitated, weighing the risks, then nodded in agreement. She too understood: if the enemy returned, holding out would not be easy.
Relief washed over the Konoha shinobi. They had accepted the escort mission, but none of them sought to throw their lives away in a reckless stand. With this plan, they only needed to stall, not fight to the death.
"Then, my lady, please prepare. Once we're set, we'll take Ishihara to Saori." Yamaguchi gave his final orders before leaving with the others.
As they exited, Taichi suddenly paused. He turned back to Lady Ishihara, his tone grave.
"My lady, don't tell anyone about this. Not even Ishihara Masao. Understood?"
"You mean… in the caravan?" she asked, uneasy.
"Better safe than sorry." Taichi offered no further explanation and left with the team.
Not long after, under the cover of night, a lone figure slipped away from camp, looping around before making for Kanematsu City at full speed.
The Story Returns to the Present:
"Where is he? Where are you hiding him?" rogue ninja Aoyama roared in fury.
"Hahaha! By now, he should be almost at Kanematsu City!" Yōhei boasted proudly, as if the plan had been his own brilliant idea. He could barely contain his excitement.
Seeing the rage on Aoyama and his men's faces, Captain Yamaguchi chose not to provoke them further. At this point, continuing the fight held no meaning.
"It's over," Yamaguchi said calmly. "As you yourself admitted, your mission has failed. We have no reason to keep fighting—pressing on will only cause more needless deaths."
As he spoke, Taichi and Yōhei closed in on either side of their captain, adopting a stance that showed they were ready to fight to the death if necessary.
But Aoyama was unwilling. He had fought so hard, lost four subordinates, and in the end, it was all for nothing. How could he possibly swallow that humiliation?
"Boss, we should withdraw," said Kōji, the clearest-headed among them, stepping forward to advise. "If we push any further, they'll drag us down with them. Better to cut our losses now."
"Damn it… fine. Retreat!" After a long silence, Aoyama finally ground out the order.
With their leader's command, both sides began to disengage, withdrawing warily while keeping a close eye on each other.
Watching their enemies' retreating figures, Yamaguchi, Taichi, and Yōhei all let out a sigh of relief. Their opponents had indeed been formidable—especially with the unexpected arrival of a Chūnin among them. Had the fight continued, casualties on their side would have been inevitable.
Thankfully, everything had gone according to plan. With their target gone, the enemy had no choice but to retreat.
The merchant caravan quickly realized they had survived the worst. The most dangerous moment had passed, and now it was just a matter of reaching their destination safely. Relief washed over the group, and soon, joyous cheers broke out.
Sure enough, the rest of the journey was smooth. Not even a bandit appeared along the road. The skies seemed to share their joy as well, the drizzling rain giving way to a warm, radiant sun.
On the afternoon of the eighth day, the caravan finally sighted Kanematsu City in the distance. Many among them wept tears of joy—the journey had taken too many lives. People they had laughed with just yesterday were now nothing more than a handful of ashes.
Upon arrival, Taichi spotted the welcoming party, his eyes immediately recognizing Furukawa Saori and young Ishihara standing beside her. Only then did he feel the full weight lift from his chest. At last, the mission had been truly completed.
The Ishihara family head warmly hosted Taichi and his comrades, once again apologizing for the deception at the start of the mission. He also promised to report the true difficulty of the task to Konoha, ensuring the mission rank and their reward would be properly raised.
Naturally, it fell to Captain Yamaguchi to handle the negotiations. As for Taichi and the others, since they still had time left before the mission deadline, they spent a day enjoying themselves in Kanematsu City.
Only on the very last day before the mission's expiration did they bid farewell to the Ishihara family and set out on the road back to Konoha.