'Why the fuck are they following us?' Shota thought with irritation.
He could see that his team was being slowed down by the heavy samurai armor they were still wearing. The disguises had helped them get inside, but now they were hindering quick movements to escape the Iwa shinobi pursuing them.
"Disguises off everyone," Shota ordered.
With a quick motion, the Suna Anbu threw away the samurai armor. They appeared in their proper black Anbu uniforms underneath. Shota also changed back to his regular appearance, removing the last pieces of the transformation jutsu. But even after that, he could see the Iwa shinobi still gaining on them.
He turned to Otto and gave a clear order. "Carry me on your shoulder."
Otto looked confused for a second but followed his captain's order without question. He lifted Shota onto his shoulder and kept running at full speed.
Shota, now higher up, looked directly at the pursuing Iwa shinobi. At the same moment, all the Iwa shinobi felt their chakra disappear completely. They suddenly became unable to use any jutsu or enhance their speed.
Meanwhile, the Suna shinobi used body flicker to move much faster. Without chakra, the Iwa team could not keep up and started falling behind.
----
When Kitsuchi saw the explosions in the auction hall, he immediately decided to leave. He knew a big fight might break out with the Root shinobi, and he did not want his team to get caught in the middle without good reason.
While escaping, he had seen the noble boy along with his samurai guards leaving the building quickly. Kitsuchi decided to pursue them to ensure their safety. He had thought that the noble boy was the son of one of their most important clients from the Land of Earth. Saving him would earn some valuable goodwill for Iwagakure.
But to his disbelief, those guards and the boy turned out to be Suna Anbu operatives in disguise. Kitsuchi still continued pursuing them for a short distance.
Then the shorter one of the Anbu climbed onto the shoulder of another operative and turned his eyes toward them. Immediately, Kitsuchi felt his chakra disappear. It seemed he was not the only one. The rest of his team also lost their chakra at the same time.
He realized right away who it was. "Shota Aizawa, Eraserhead of Suna."
One of his subordinates asked, "Sir, do we keep pursuing?"
Kitsuchi remembered the serious warning his father, the Tsuchikage, had given him about this boy. He had said clearly, "Don't engage that brat in a straight away battle. The brat himself is not that good but his ability to negate chakra makes us more weak than he is. The Third Raikage for all his lightning cloak and the number of principles that he had incorporated in his jutsu, it was useless in front of those eyes. Even I would be nothing but just an old man in front of him."
The Tsuchikage had said with clear instructions. "So I command you to run on sight of him if you encounter him alone. If you have another Elite jonin with you, you are free to engage him as his ability only works on one person at a time."
Kitsuchi thought about the situation carefully. He looked at his team, who were now struggling without chakra, and made his decision. "No, we don't. We don't have any quarrel with Suna. And it is the Root they are fighting against. Let them deal with each other. Let's go find the kid that they were impersonating and see if he is safe or not."
He took a deep breath before adding, "And we need to update the file on his abilities. He can erase chakra of more than one person."
Kitsuchi signaled his team to stop the chase and turn back. The encounter with the Eraserhead of Suna had been a sharp reminder of how dangerous the young Suna operative could be.
---
The Suna Anbu team did not face any more problems during their journey back to Sunagakure. By the time they reached the village gates, the sun was just starting to rise over the sandy horizon. Everyone felt tired but satisfied with the success of the mission.
When they arrived safely inside the village, Shota immediately gathered the team in a quiet corner near the Anbu headquarters. He looked at each member and spoke with genuine appreciation. "Good job team."
Otto stepped forward and bowed slightly. His voice was full of respect. "It was a pleasure working with you, Captain Raven. I did not think that there would be a day when enemy shinobi, especially an Elite jonin and the son of the Tsuchikage, would just abandon chasing us. I hope I will be paired with you again for missions."
Shota smiled underneath his mask, though no one could see it. He nodded at Otto in acknowledgment. The older operative had shown good skill and loyalty during the entire operation. It felt good to hear such positive words from someone with so much experience.
"I will report to the Kazekage. You all can file a report to Commander Spider. Dismissed," Shota said.
The Anbu members nodded once and then body flickered away to complete their own duties. Shota watched them leave for a moment before turning toward the Kazekage building.
--------Author Notes---------
Thankyou Philip Davis for supporting me!
I have decided to increase the number of extra chapters on patreon from 15 to 20. Thankyou.
Y'all can now read the next 20 chapters of the fanfic on my pat*reon.
https://pat*reon.com/Charizard6
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