Because his comrade was unconscious and he himself was also injured, Kakashi Hatake did not recklessly choose to continue pursuing Shisui Uchiha after he left.
Instead, he sent out a signal to summon the other two Anbu members nearby.
Looking at Kakashi Hatake's red, blistering skin, and the way every breath he took seemed especially heavy and painful, the medical-nin in the squad hurried forward and began emergency treatment.
The Anbu squad captain walked to the unconscious Anbu's side, crouched down, and examined his condition.
"How is Tō doing, Captain?"
After feeling that the burning pain in his throat had become less severe, Kakashi Hatake spoke in a hoarse voice and asked his squad captain.
"He only has some surface wounds. His internal organs may have suffered some shock as well, but his injuries aren't serious. He should wake up after a little rest…"
The Anbu captain made a reassuring gesture, indicating that the two receiving treatment did not need to worry too much.
Then he asked,
"However, Hei, what happened to your injuries? They don't look like they were caused by the same enemy who injured Tō…"
"I don't know who Tō encountered, but when I arrived, I saw someone with black wings and a third arm standing beside Tō. He was holding a kunai and seemed ready to strike. So I ambushed him from behind, then clashed once with his Fire Release using Water Release. After that, he fled."
Kakashi Hatake calmly and objectively described what he had seen, doing his best not to let his personal emotions affect the captain's judgment.
"Judging by his forehead protector, he should be a shinobi from Kirigakure. But the clothing he wore was a type I've never seen before."
When the Anbu captain heard the word Kirigakure, his brows very visibly furrowed.
"Can you confirm he was a Kirigakure shinobi, Hei?"
"I can. I used the Sharingan to observe his forehead protector carefully. I'm certain the symbol on it belonged to Kirigakure… He also had a summoned white snake with him. If the village's intelligence isn't wrong, we can basically confirm he is a trusted subordinate of the Fourth Mizukage, Rei Kaguya. Because in Kirigakure, only that man possesses the ability to form a summoning contract with snakes."
Kakashi's answer made the Anbu captain's frown deepen.
He turned his head, looked at the comrade using the Mystical Palm Technique to treat the burns on Kakashi Hatake's skin, and sighed.
"Sha, come wake Tō up first. He should be the first one who made contact with the enemy. The intelligence Hei provided is somewhat troublesome. I need more information before I can make further judgment."
"Understood."
The medical Anbu codenamed Sha stopped releasing the Mystical Palm Technique and placed a roll of bandages and a bottle of medicine in Kakashi Hatake's hand.
Then, with a Body Flicker, he appeared beside the unconscious Tō.
Using his chakra, he woke the other party from his deep unconsciousness.
"Tō? Tō? Open your eyes. It's Hei…"
"Where… is this?"
Tō slowly opened his eyes and asked the Anbu who was calling his codename with a face full of confusion.
"This is a forest across the border between the Land of Demons and the Land of Swamps. It's the place where we split up to search for information."
Sha patiently communicated with Tō, whose mind had not fully woken up.
"You seem to have encountered an enemy attack just now. Do you remember what the enemy looked like, Tō?"
"Enemy… attack?"
Tō's eyes slowly widened.
The things he had seen before losing consciousness also began to surface in his mind.
"I… I think I remember…"
"What do you remember?" the captain codenamed Rin asked urgently.
"I remember… I remember the person who attacked me seemed to be a wandering ninja who could transform into a monster."
Tō raised a hand and knocked his own forehead, his face full of frustration.
"I saw that he was dressed like an ordinary civilian and fleeing in a panic like a homeless dog, so I thought I might be able to ask him something. I didn't expect that the moment he saw me approach, he directly transformed into a monster with many arms and attacked without saying a word. I was careless for a moment and got ambushed. My memory seems to have cut off around then."
"Grew many arms?"
Rin's expression beneath the mask became even more doubtful.
He turned his head and looked toward Kakashi Hatake, who was equally surprised, then asked Tō in a deep voice,
"Not a Kirigakure shinobi with wings on his back and a third arm, wearing a black robe with red clouds?"
"No. I don't remember seeing anyone who could transform into the kind of person you described, Captain. And the guy who attacked me wasn't even wearing a forehead protector. Otherwise, if I knew he was from Kirigakure, how could I possibly have approached him so rashly?"
Tō shook his head and answered with complete certainty.
"…That Kirigakure shinobi said, after I succeeded in ambushing him, that they did not kidnap the priestesses of the Land of Demons. He said I was slandering them, the people who had subjugated Mōryō and saved the priestesses."
Seeing that Tō was so certain he had not been attacked by a Kirigakure shinobi, Kakashi Hatake did not hide the conversation that had happened between him and Shisui Uchiha.
Instead, he spoke frankly.
"At the time, I saw him standing beside Tō with a kunai in hand. I instinctively assumed that someone with such a strange appearance was the culprit who attacked Tō, so I didn't believe what he said… That was my mistake. If the village needs me to apologize to that injured Kirigakure shinobi in order to avoid diplomatic trouble, I will seriously prepare the relevant apology."
"That cannot really be blamed on you. After all, according to Hei's description, that person did look very suspicious. Even if it were me, I cannot guarantee I wouldn't have mistaken him for someone about to kill Tō at first glance."
Rin shook his head, rejecting Kakashi Hatake's attempt to take all responsibility onto himself.
Then he looked at Tō, who had lost his mask and was now visibly annoyed, and sighed.
"It seems we arrived a little late… The wandering ninja who attacked Tō may have been one of Mōryō's followers who escaped in panic after that Kirigakure shinobi defeated Mōryō…"
"Then what do we do next, Rin?"
Sha, who was responsible for medical duties in the squad, folded his arms and asked somewhat speechlessly.
"If the commission to subjugate Mōryō has already been completed, didn't we just make this trip for nothing?"
"Judging from the current situation, that is very possible."
Rin's tone also carried some helplessness.
"After all, the distress letter from the Land of Demons was handed over by a genin who accidentally found a dead messenger pigeon. Who knows how much time was wasted in between? On top of that, Lord Fourth had to select people who were absolutely reliable and free to carry out the mission. If someone else got there first, there is nothing we can do about it…"
"But the ones who stole our mission and reward are Kirigakure. Kirigakure shinobi!"
Sha's tone immediately became excited.
"If Sunagakure or Iwagakure got ahead of us and completed the mission first, I would have nothing to say. After all, they are also relatively close to the Land of Demons and were among the countries that received the distress letter…"
"But Kirigakure? Kirigakure, which wasn't even one of the targets of the distress letter? Kirigakure, which is even farther from the Land of Demons than Konoha is? On what basis did they send shinobi capable of completing the mission earlier than us? Even if they were trying to steal commissions, that is not how you steal them, right? Can that Fourth Mizukage predict the future or something!?"
The four Konoha members present all fell silent at that question.
That was right.
How did Kirigakure, far away in the overseas Land of Water, learn that something like this had happened in the Land of Demons?
And how could they complete the mission to protect the priestesses and subjugate Mōryō before Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha even sent out shinobi?
Surely they could not say the Fourth Mizukage, Rei Kaguya, had personally taken action, right?
That would be far too beneath his status.
Besides, could he really abandon Kirigakure's daily affairs?
The four of them thought about it for a long time without reaching any conclusion.
In the end, it was the captain, Rin, who made the judgment.
They would immediately return to the capital of the Land of Demons and see whether Kirigakure's people had safely escorted the two priestesses of the Land of Demons back.
If they had, then they would acknowledge that their skills were inferior and admit defeat.
Before leaving, they would also go threaten those priestess guards who had stirred up trouble for no reason and nearly caused them to fight Kirigakure shinobi, teaching them the principle that rice could be eaten freely, but words could not be spoken carelessly.
But if the two priestesses of the Land of Demons had not returned safely, or if their behavior after returning showed obvious abnormalities…
Then they would have to properly test that Kirigakure shinobi.
As for how Kirigakure learned of this matter, and whether they had intentionally tried to compete with Konoha for business…
They would leave that headache to the Fourth Hokage.
After discussing the plan of action, Sha examined Kakashi Hatake and Tō again.
After confirming that both of their injuries had been controlled to the degree that they could recover on their own, the group set off and rushed back in the direction they had come from.
And after they left, a tiny white snake slowly poked its head out from a thick patch of grass not far from them.
It stared in the direction the three had gone for a long while.
Then, with a puff, it turned into white smoke and disappeared, transmitting everything it had just seen and heard back to its main body.
…
"Shisui, I have good news and bad news here. Which do you want to hear first?"
Shisui Uchiha had already regrouped with Kisame Hoshigaki and was rapidly escorting the exhausted Miroku and Shion back toward the capital of the Land of Demons.
The white snake on him, which had been quiet for quite some time, regained its vitality and raised its head to ask Shisui beside it.
"The good news, please."
Shisui Uchiha answered with a bitter smile.
"The good news is that they did not discover the genjutsu you used… As expected of the Uchiha clan's strongest genjutsu genius. Even without awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, you can still easily make people sink into your illusion without realizing it."
Rei's words made Shisui unable to stop himself from letting out a breath of relief.
Although he knew there was still bad news waiting for him, at least this piece of good news was enough to stop him from being so terrified and on edge.
"Then… what's the bad news?"
"The bad news is that they still plan to go to the capital of the Land of Demons and see whether you properly escorted the priestesses back. Based on the result, they will decide whether to go trouble those priestess guards who were spouting nonsense."
"In other words, you still have to coordinate with Priestess-sama and make sure she doesn't say anything unnecessary about you. Then you need to get ahead of those Konoha Anbu and deal with the memories of those guards who once saw you reveal your Sharingan…"
"But for you, this should not be anything difficult, right?"
Rei's tone lifted slightly, carrying a hint of gloating.
But just as he said, as long as Shisui Uchiha was fast enough and his genjutsu stable enough, this bad news was not truly difficult for him.
And the fields Shisui Uchiha specialized in most were the Body Flicker Technique and genjutsu.
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