Chapter 27: The Seventh Squad Reorganized, Ishikawa Tree Captured Again

Uchiha Jin frowned slightly.

Facing such a perilous situation, even he felt his scalp prickle, so he had no interest in hiding his strength.

Four thousand ninjas!

Survival comes first.

His mind raced, and after a moment, he spoke directly.

"Since Itachi trust me, I will not waste words."

"Fire the signal flare!"

After speaking, he looked at Kudo Shin.

Kudo Shin froze.

Cold sweat covered his forehead, but he managed to explain.

"The Hidden Mist has four thousand ninjas. Firing a signal flare now would expose our position!"

Nara Kazama hesitated briefly.

But he stood with Uchiha Jin: "Since we chose to trust Lord Jin, we must execute his orders, not question them."

"In battle, this is a matter of life and death."

Kudo Shin understood this explanation naturally.

Yet...

Firing a signal flare in such a situation still made him hesitate.

After all, facing four thousand ninjas, if our position were exposed... at that thought, cold sweat poured down him.

He cowered.

Just as he chose silence and Nara Kazama attempted to persuade him, Uchiha Jin stopped him directly.

He then looked at Kudo Shin and began to explain.

"Let me state the reason."

"First, the enemy numbers are too great. With four thousand ninjas, we cannot let the Hidden Mist prepare, or our situation will worsen."

"Firing the signal flare directly will alert the front-line camp to prepare; they can hold back more Hidden Mist forces."

"Only if the front-line camp holds back more Hidden Mist forces do our chances of survival increase. Otherwise, if the front-line camp collapses immediately without inflicting heavy damage on the Hidden Mist, we will face those four thousand Hidden Mist ninjas directly."

"And after launching the signal flare, we leave at top speed and hide in a secluded spot."

"Then, wage guerrilla warfare."

"Keep moving throughout the Land of Whirlpools, never staying in one place for too long."

"Hide when encountering a large force; kill any Mist squads we meet."

"Only this way can we delay them longer."

"I trust the village's intelligence network; they will soon realize something is wrong here."

"We can only hold out until the village reacts and sends a large force; only then will our current crisis end."

"This is the best plan I can think of!"

Nara Kazama reacted the fastest.

Hearing only half of it, he knew Uchiha Jin's plan was their best option at this stage.

Kudo Shin was no fool either.

He immediately accepted and quickly spoke up: "I agree!"

"Good, it seems we are in agreement." Uchiha Jin nodded, then said again: "As Kazama said, when real combat begins, I won't have time to explain."

"So through this, I hope the captain understands this point."

"Since Itachi have chosen to trust me, I hope the captain trusts me completely."

"Otherwise, doubting during battle, even hesitating for an instant, will get all three of us killed!"

Kudo Shin nodded solemnly.

At this moment, he had truly listened.

He immediately made various promises and apologized for his earlier doubts.

Seeing this, Nara Kazama couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Good.

Although this was just a cannon-fodder squad with no bonds between them.

Fortunately, Uchiha Jin was a competent commander.

In just a short moment, he had forged trust among them.

Looking at it this way, their chances of survival increased.

Thinking of this, he glanced at Uchiha again and couldn't help but mutter internally once more.

Is this really an Uchiha?

No, he's more like a Nara!

And so.

The reorganized Seventh Squad, under the guidance of Captain Uchiha Jin, immediately detonated the signal flare in their hands.

Whoosh!

The signal flare shot into the sky, bursting into brilliant light.

Following the pre-arranged plan, the three silently and quickly moved left.

As for Ishikawa Ki?

Who is that?

Sorry!

The squad, in perfect unison, had 'accidentally' forgotten him entirely.

About ten minutes later.

Over fifty Mist ninja, led by one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the wielder of the Cleaving Blade, Amaguri, directly surrounded this small grove.

"Jonin-sama."

"After confirmation by sensory ninja, the signal flare was launched right here."

"We found Mist Squad Twenty-Seven here; all are confirmed dead. Two were stabbed to death with kunai, and the third showed signs of torture."

"It is now basically confirmed that the Leaf has discovered our Mist plan."

"We found a Leaf outpost five hundred meters to the left."

Amaguri's eyes were fierce and cruel.

After hearing his subordinate's report, he gave the order without hesitation.

"Go to that Leaf outpost and see if there are any clues!"

The Mist ninja roared in agreement.

Immediately.

The group moved at incredible speed and quickly arrived at Outpost Number Twenty-Seven.

Amaguri waved his hand casually; a Mist squad rushed inside, then dragged out Ishikawa Ki, who was sleeping soundly, and threw him onto the ground.

Who am I?

Where am I?

What am I supposed to do?

Ishikawa Ki, looking utterly bewildered, opened his eyes very displeased.

Then.

Seeing the fifty-plus Mist ninja before him, he nearly wet his pants from sheer terror.

"Itachi... I..."

Ishikawa Ki trembled, his voice stuttering, unable to form a complete sentence for a long time.

Yes.

Though he acted as if the heavens were his elder and he was second only to them before Uchiha Jin and the others, that was precisely because he knew deep down that even if the Uchiha were displeased, they would not dare truly kill him.

But now, it is different!

These Mist Village ninja before him are truly willing to kill him.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Akimichi Torune glanced at Ishikawa Ki, feeling a wave of disgust.

As a ninja, he held the utmost contempt for a useless waste like Ishikawa Ki.

No wasted words.

He walked up to Ishikawa Ki and slapped him hard across the face.

Blood sprayed from his mouth, and two teeth flew out.

"If Itachi know what's good for Itachi, confess!"

"Who were your teammates, and where are they now?"

"Tell me everything Itachi know!"

Ishikawa Ki: "..."

He was truly stunned.

Seeing the ferocious Akimichi Torune and the Mist ninja around him with eyes gleaming with malice,

all the heroic ambitions he had in Konoha were instantly extinguished. He immediately and obediently confessed everything he knew.

It was only that the Mist had no interest.

Otherwise, he would have unhesitatingly confessed even about wetting the bed at three and peeping at widows bathing at five.

After listening, Akimichi Torune casually waved his hand.

One of the ninja stepped forward and drew a kunai.

Ishikawa Ki was terrified out of his wits.

He immediately spoke up, unable to hold back.

"I've confessed everything. Why do Itachi still want to kill me?"

"Spare my life!"

"..."