After the Sand ninja was taken down,Hatake Shoshige appeared right beside Uchiha Jinzō.
"You're that fast?"
Jinzō raised a brow, genuinely surprised. Not just at how effortlessly Shoshige had sliced through the enemy — like chopping vegetables — but also at his speed. That wasn't just raw agility; that was Shunshin. Even at just the beginner's level, Shoshige's body flicker was so fast Jinzō couldn't track it.
Maybe if he opened his Sharingan, he could barely keep up.
But instead of bragging, Shoshige gave him a serious look and said flatly:
"Men shouldn't talk so fast."
"…Seriously? That's your comeback? You dirty old jōnin, can you not make it sound so shady?"
Jinzō stared at him, half offended, half amused. He never imagined that Hatake Shoshige, the famous White Fang, could be that mischievous.
Beside them, Aburame Mushihime shifted uncomfortably, her cheeks faintly red, bugs crawling over her shoulders as if sharing her embarrassment.
Great. Jinzō sighed inwardly. I'm supposed to be the straight man here, but these two are impossible.
"Let's move," Shoshige said, sheathing his blade as he darted forward again.
The three leapt from branch to branch, the wind cutting against their faces. Shoshige seemed to be in the lead, but Jinzō knew it was actually Mushihime's kikaichū bugs silently scouting the routes ahead.
That left Jinzō as… dead weight. A spare part in his own squad.
The constant hum of bugs brushed past his ear. His pupils shrank — warning signs. His usual lazy smirk disappeared into sharp focus, though he forced it back quickly before Mushihime could notice.
They halted instantly, melting into the foliage.
Enemy presence.
Still, Jinzō couldn't help but wonder: When did she slip a bug in my ear? And if she could do that… could she kill me just as easily? He pushed the thought down. Teammate or not, it gnawed at him.
Through the leaves, Shoshige's gaze sharpened.
Three Sand ninja advanced below them. But Mushihime's insects vibrated another message:
"Decoys. Five more squads hidden behind them."
That threw Jinzō. Didn't Shoshige already wipe out the enemy's sentries? So why… bait? A test? He couldn't ask.
The decoy squad disappeared into the woods. The three of them waited.
Nearly an hour later, those same Sand shinobi returned. And behind them — fifteen more. They signed rapidly with their hands, the silent communication of Suna's forces.
"Pretty cautious," Shoshige muttered. "Shame it won't save them."
The White Fang's blade whispered out of its sheath.
In the blink of an eye, he was among them.
"Who—?!""Konoha shinobi?!""Were you the one at the sentry post—?!"
They didn't finish. His sword gleamed, a white crescent sweeping through their ranks.
A heartbeat later, five heads rolled. Blood sprayed the dirt, their bodies collapsing in unison.
Shoshige flicked his blade clean and slid it back into its sheath. All done in one move. No wasted motion. No mercy.
Only then did Jinzō and Mushihime step out of hiding, the "ornamental pendants" of the squad.
"Sand's communication is crazy fast," Jinzō muttered.
"Don't underestimate the Great Villages," Shoshige replied coolly. "Konoha has ways of knowing the second we lose a sentinel. Suna's the same."
Jinzō scratched his nose, a little embarrassed. He honestly hadn't known that.
The three pressed deeper into enemy territory.
The further they went, the more frequent the encounters. Lone squads were erased by Shoshige in seconds. Larger patrols forced them to hide.
At last, they huddled inside a rocky cave, cloaked in camouflage.
"Are we really going deeper?" Jinzō whispered. Everywhere he looked, Suna squads swarmed. Any further, and they'd practically stumble into the Sand's main army from Kawa no Kuni.
Shoshige leaned against the cave wall, closing his eyes. "We rest here tonight. Tomorrow gets harder."
He didn't elaborate. He didn't have to. His silence was the answer. He was heading straight toward Suna's main force.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the front—
Tsunade stirred awake, her body heavy, face still stained in the mirror with purple-black markings. Venom scars.
She sat cross-legged and channeled chakra, weaving the hand seals again. With practiced control, the spreading poison sigils on her skin shrank, absorbed back within her. Soon, her youthful face returned, flawless again.
"…What an unbelievable technique," she muttered. She knew this was Uchiha Jinzō's gift. Something so valuable it could have founded its own bloodline during the Warring States. This wasn't the kind of debt you repaid by glancing at a scroll.
Still, no time for gratitude. She summoned her tools in a puff of smoke and began working. She needed a stronger antidote.
Once her research stabilized, she went to report to Shoshige — only to hear something that froze her.
"Hatake Shoshige took Uchiha Jinzō and Aburame Mushihime deeper into Kawa no Kuni."
Tsunade's golden eyes narrowed. "And who gave that order?"
"Hatake-sama himself. He left command to me." The bespectacled kunoichi answered tonelessly.
Tsunade's brow twitched. This… didn't sit right.
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
Her hand shot out, seizing the kunoichi by the throat, lifting her with terrifying strength. The woman struggled uselessly as Tsunade's poisonous chakra began to eat away at her flesh.
A strangled cry escaped. Tsunade dropped her, coughing, onto the ground.
She'd seen it: the cursed mark of Root hidden on the woman's tongue.
"Go back to Danzō," Tsunade said coldly. "Tell him to keep his filth off the battlefield."
The kunoichi staggered to her knees, choking but alive. "Y-yes…"
"And one more thing." Tsunade's voice dropped to a deadly whisper as she strapped her armor back on.
"Tell the camp to get ready." Her chakra surged, shaking the air.
"We're fighting back. Now."