svetikya Chapter 145 Intelligence Leak
Chapter 145 Intelligence Leak
Chapter 145 Intelligence Leak
The next day, the morning dew was still rolling on the grass of the seventh training field, and the rising sun gilded the trees at the edge of the field.
Taiichi, Yohei, Saori, and Sei appeared on time as agreed.
"Same as always, let's warm up first." Tai said while doing simple warm-up exercises, "Today's focus is still on teamwork, especially for Suzu. You need to understand and integrate into our rhythm more quickly, and become familiar with everyone's fighting habits and commonly used ninjutsu."
He Fengxu nodded earnestly: "Understood, Captain!" He knew that this exercise was actually set up specifically for him. Taiyi and the other two were comrades-in-arms for many years and knew each other very well. Only he was a newcomer.
After warming up, the teams paired up for battles. First, Taiichi and Xu were paired up, then Yangping and Xu were paired up, and finally Saori and Xu were paired up.
In short, the goal is to make sure Xu understands everyone's fighting style.
The training ground was ablaze with wind blades, fireballs, and lightning, creating a lively and exciting scene. The crackling noises attracted many nearby ninjas to come and watch.
"Those must be Taiyi and Yangping. Did they add new members to their team?"
"I heard Captain Yamaguchi was transferred to a solo mission, which opens up a position for him!"
"This must be training a new recruit. Taichi is truly a kind-hearted medical ninja!"
The discussions outside the arena did not affect the battle inside. As time went by, He Fengxu gradually integrated into the team's fighting style.
When Taiichi announced the training was suspended, the four of them stood in the center of the slightly messy training field, catching their breath.
"How are you feeling, Xu?" Taiyi wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He Fengxu, panting, wore an excited smile: "Captain, I think I'm...getting a feel for it! I can now roughly grasp some of everyone's attack habits."
Yang Ping chuckled and patted him on the shoulder: "Ha! That's more like it! Next time, you won't just stand there watching helplessly!"
Saori smiled and handed him the water bottle: "We cooperated very well, Koto-kun."
Tai nodded, his eyes showing approval: "Very good. Remember this feeling, and review the details when you get back. Tomorrow we'll take on another mission to test it in real combat."
Everyone responded enthusiastically, showing great interest in tomorrow's task.
Just as everyone was enjoying the team's progress, a figure approached at an extremely fast speed, and when it got close, it instantly appeared in front of Taiyi.
If it weren't for Taiyi's sharp eyes, which allowed him to spot Taiyi's ANBU disguise early on, Taiyi would have drawn his sword and stabbed him right then and there, given how rashly Taiyi approached him.
"Matsushita Taichi, Uchiha Yohei, Furukawa Saori, and Wafuu Sei, emergency mission. You only have half an hour to prepare."
Without saying a word, the ANBU ninja took out a mission scroll and handed it to Taiichi.
Taiyi took the mission scroll with suspicion. It wasn't the first time he had accepted a mission, but this was the first time he had encountered one so urgent that it needed to be delivered directly by the Dark Guard.
Taiyi didn't dare to be negligent. He immediately opened the mission scroll, checked all the coded information, and only after confirming the authenticity of the mission scroll did he start to look at the mission content.
The defense map of Konoha facing the Land of Lightning was stolen by a spy from Kumogakure this morning. Now, the Taiichi Squad, in cooperation with Minato Namikaze and Hizashi Hyuga, is ordered to immediately pursue and retrieve the defense map.
Taiichi looked at the mission scroll in his hand, then at the Anbu members before him, his eyes filled with disbelief. This kind of thing actually happened in Konoha! If it were a robbery while transporting defense maps, Taiichi could understand. But to lose it right in the village? Taiichi was utterly speechless.
The ANBU ninja, probably noticing Taiichi's shock, explained, "The defense map has been sealed, and it can't be opened by ordinary means. Only spies who return to Kumogakure can break the seal. This is our chance to reclaim the defense map."
Taiyi understood that this was a plea for them to act quickly. Without further ado, he swiftly relayed the mission information to the team members and then immediately gave the order, "Disperse now and go back to prepare supplies. Reconvene at the village entrance in half an hour!"
The four members of the team scattered like arrows, rushing towards their respective homes. The urgency of the mission overwhelmed everything; only calm and a chilling aura remained in their eyes.
Taiyi returned home as quickly as possible, not even bothering to open the door. He leaped over the wall and rushed into the supplies storage room, rummaging through everything.
Plenty of soldier rations, special medicines, kunai, shuriken, medical kit, sealing scrolls, explosive tags, spare short swords, and change of clothes.
The supplies that needed to be sealed were sealed into scrolls, and those that needed to be stored were stored in ninja tool pouches. At the same time, the possible geographical environment and enemies encountered during the mission flashed through his mind, and he considered whether there were any supplies missing.
After completing the inspection, Taiyi suddenly remembered that his Ice Release fusion training, which had just begun to show promise, would now be delayed again. However, it was not too bad, as his main methods were swordsmanship and Fire Release, and his other abilities were only supplementary, so there was no rush.
Finally, after closing the door, Taiyi leaped onto the roof and sped towards the village entrance.
At the entrance to Konoha Village, four figures arrived almost simultaneously. They exchanged glances, confirming each other's readiness without needing many words.
Taiyi glanced at the time; only a few minutes remained until the mission's deadline. Just as Taiyi turned around—
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Two figures suddenly landed in front of Taiyi's team.
The man on the left has dazzling blond hair, and his face, which should be warm, is serious at the moment. He is none other than Minato Namikaze, who has recently gained considerable fame in the ninja world.
The person on the right, however, had long, straight black hair, and the gaze of his pure white eyes sent chills down one's spine; it was none other than the long-absent Hyuga Hizashi.
"Is everything ready?" Minato's voice was gentle yet solemn as he glanced at each member of the team, especially nodding to Taichi and Hizashi.
"Yes, Captain!" everyone answered in unison, which was also everyone's recognition of Minato.
"Alright! The situation is urgent. The defense map is of utmost importance to us. We must not let the enemy crack it." Minato spoke very quickly, but every word was clear and distinct.
"The objective of this pursuit mission is to catch up with the target and retrieve the deployment map as quickly as possible, before they can rendezvous with any possible reinforcements."
"Any more questions?"
Everyone shook their heads, indicating that they understood everything.
Minato stopped wasting words, waved his hand, and led the way out of Konoha. "According to the intelligence that the Anbu sent us, the spy is heading towards the Land of Lightning in the shortest distance. We will follow in that direction. Hizashi, use your Byakugan to observe the situation in the distance. Taichi, use your sensory abilities to collect traces in the vicinity to make sure we are not going in the wrong direction."
As soon as the words were spoken, the six figures of the team, like six streams of light of different colors, advanced towards the Land of Thunder in the north at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary people.
"No trace of the enemy within 8 kilometers." Hizashi scanned the large area ahead with his Byakugan, confirming that the squad was still far away from the enemy.
This is a comprehensive test of skill, endurance, and patience. The spy has been on the run for so long, and even with intelligence from the underworld, catching up with him will not be easy.
"There are indeed signs of ninjas running fast in this direction, and the tracks were all left today, so the direction should be correct." Taiichi also activated his chakra perception to the fullest, scanning everything around him and making full use of the technique of tracking tracks.
The two worked together, one at a distance and the other at close range, controlling everything around them and saving the team a lot of time for reconnaissance.
After running for about two hours, the group's speed noticeably decreased. Minato raised an eyebrow but remained silent. Taiichi looked at his teammate, Kazeko, with a puzzled expression.
Exhausted so quickly is not the level expected of a Chunin. Even if this Chunin was promoted in a hurry, it's still too weak.
"I—I trained too hard this morning, and I'm a bit exhausted now." He Fengxu looked troubled. After all, the four members of the team had trained together all morning, and they had expended just as much energy as him, if not more!
Taiichi was speechless; he hadn't expected things to go wrong at this crucial moment. He silently took out a small bottle from his ninja tool pouch, poured out a few pills, and handed them to everyone.
"These are specially made soldier rations that can quickly restore stamina and chakra, with no side effects. However, they are not easy to make and are difficult to store, so everyone should eat them sparingly." Taiichi joked, easing the tense atmosphere. Finally, he directly handed the bottle to Kazefuzu.
"Eat one quickly to replenish your energy!" Taiyi instructed, "Note: do not chew, just swallow it directly."
Upon hearing Taiyi's instructions, all the members except Hefengxu wore expressions of unbearable sorrow, leaving Hefengxu with a head full of questions.
But thinking that Taiyi would never harm him, he still poured out a specially made soldier's ration pill the size of a longan.
Looking at the dark pill, which was several times larger than a regular soldier's ration, He Fengxu swallowed it in one gulp, completely unaware of the amused looks on everyone's faces.
Sure enough, just as He Fengxu was about to vomit up the medicine, Yang Ping sped up from behind and slapped him on the back. With a "gulp," the pill was forced down his throat.
"Hahaha." A burst of good-natured laughter rang out from around them.
"Taiichi, your medicine is still so special." Minato Namikaze looked at him with a smile.
Taiyi remained silent, but took out a water pouch and handed it to Hefengxu.
"Haha, Xu, you'll have to get used to it. Taiyi's medicine is incredibly effective, but the taste is just awful. How are you feeling? Do you feel your strength returning?" Yangping laughed as well, but he didn't forget to explain the reason to Hefeng Xu.
He Fengxu, who was rinsing her mouth, hadn't noticed anything amiss until Yangping reminded her, at which point she immediately felt the difference. In just that short time, her strength had recovered somewhat, and her abdomen felt like a small furnace, continuously providing energy to her body.
"Alright, everyone's taken their medicine. Let's hurry and get going." Taiyi finally spoke up with a serious expression, reminding everyone that they were still on a mission.
The squad's speed noticeably increased, and thanks to Taiichi's special rations, they maintained this high speed until nightfall. Minato then called a halt to allow everyone to rest and recover.
"Judging from the traces left around us, we've shortened the distance between us from 3 hours to just 1 hour." As he spoke, Taiyi pointed to a broken tree branch next to him. This branch must have been broken by the spy when he passed by an hour ago.
Yangping, the restless fellow, immediately ran over and retrieved the branch that Taiyi had pointed to, showing it to everyone.
Minato and Hizashi were both experienced ninjas, and they could tell from the broken branches that Taiichi's analysis was correct.
Combining the time it took for the spies to steal the defense map with the time they set off, it's not hard to conclude that Taiyi was right.
"This is all thanks to Taiichi's special soldier rations, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to catch up so quickly," Minato praised, though his expression was anything but cheerful.
"Hey, what's with all those expressions? Is that how you praise someone?" Taiyi wasn't going to let them get away with it. They all looked like they'd eaten rat droppings, which made Taiyi's fists harden.
"Hahaha!" Everyone laughed. It was a rare sight to see Taiyi looking so embarrassed.
After a few laughs and jokes, Minato decisively stopped them. During the mission, a little lightheartedness is fine, but everyone should prioritize the mission and take a break.
Just after midnight, the team resumed their pursuit. Taking turns on night watch, each person could rest for 3 hours, which was much more comfortable than that of the spy.
In the pitch-black, cold night, even ordinary ninjas would find it impossible to conduct reconnaissance and tracking, but Taiichi and Hizashi did not rely on their naked eyes to check for traces, so they were naturally unaffected.
The only thing the team needs to be careful about is the poor visibility at night, so they don't accidentally fall from the tree.
Sure enough, with a "thud," some unlucky fellow lost his footing and fell from the tree, followed by a series of "crash" sounds that startled a flock of sleeping birds.
Everyone turned their attention to the source of the sound and found that He Fengxu was getting up from the bushes, looking embarrassed.
Taiichi could clearly feel the faint smiles in Minato and Hizashi's eyes, as if to say: These are your teammates!
He himself was also very embarrassed, but luckily it was nighttime and no one could see his red face.
At this moment, Yangping jumped down and pulled Hefengxu out of the bushes, complaining, "I've never seen you this clumsy before, what's wrong with you?"
He Fengxu apologized repeatedly, but there was no time to waste for him. With a call from Minato, the team members quickly set off again.
The chase lasted until seven or eight in the morning, when the group stopped at a certain spot marked by Taiyi's signal.
"Taiichi, what's wrong? Did you make any other discoveries?" Minato asked.
"The other party must have used clones to attract attention." Taiyi pointed in three directions ahead. "There are traces of people passing by in all three directions."
"Then what should we do? How about we split up?" Kazeko suddenly offered her opinion.
Taiyi glanced at him curiously. What kind of strange suggestion was this? Divide the troops now? What if the enemy comes again later? Will you still have people to divide them up?
Minato remained silent, simply looking at Taiichi, awaiting his opinion.
Taiyi did not disappoint. He took two steps forward, made a gesture of forming a mudra in front of his chest, and then his eyes seemed to turn into two balls of fire, which then collapsed into rubies and were set in his eyes.
"Holy crap, Taiichi, what kind of ninjutsu is that? I've never seen you use it before." Yangping looked astonished, as if he had seen a ghost.
Minato and Hizashi also looked over curiously, but they didn't ask any questions. Ninjutsu was a secret of every ninja, and it wasn't something to be asked about casually.
Taiyi didn't say anything. These were his eyes when he was fully transformed into flames, but now they were being used separately.
These eyes can perform thermal vision; after all, the clone isn't the original body, so it can't maintain the same body temperature. Besides, these marks were left only half an hour ago, so they're clearly visible through thermal vision.
"This way." Taiyi pointed in a direction where the traces left by the other party's actions were still clearly visible on the branches.
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