Chapter 74: Trap

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Trap

Inside the cave, the three members of Team 11 showed no particular panic. Each of them drew their weapons and went on guard.

Yugito’s gaze swept across Hyuga Kagami’s face. Her brows immediately furrowed slightly, as though she had remembered something.

"So it’s you. You’re from the Hyuga Clan?"

Clearly, Yugito had remembered encountering Kagami during the mission to recover the forbidden technique scroll.

That had been the first mission she had ever failed, so Kagami had left a particularly deep impression on her.

And since Kagami wasn’t wearing his dark goggles this time, she immediately recognized his identity as a member of the Hyuga Clan.

"One Byakugan, one Sharingan... No wonder you’ve been so difficult to deal with. So two of you are dojutsu kekkei genkai shinobi."

After sizing up Kagami and Shisui, Yugito snorted coldly.

"Perfect. We’ll settle both our old score and the new one today!"

Kagami ignored Yugito entirely and calmly said to Shisui beside him, "The one who came is a Jinchuriki. What a shame."

Shisui asked, "Senpai, should we activate it?"

Kagami nodded.

Hearing the exchange between Kagami and Shisui, Yugito immediately sensed that something was wrong.

"Everyone, get out! Now!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Before Yugito could even finish speaking, a chain of explosions erupted throughout the cave, the deafening blasts carrying for miles!

As the smoke and dust gradually dispersed, the enormous form of the Two-Tails, Matatabi, emerged from the ruins of the cave.

The dozen or so Kumogakure Jonin who had charged into the cave alongside Yugito were all huddled beneath the Two-Tails, barely managing to survive both the explosions and the cave-in.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

At that moment, figure after figure landed outside the ruins of the cave.

The one leading them was none other than the Fourth Raikage.

The Fourth Raikage glanced at the battered Yugito and the others before asking in his deep, booming voice, "Where’s the enemy?"

Having already withdrawn from her Tailed Beast form, Yugito coughed violently as she replied, "Cough, cough... It was a trap. They probably escaped a long time ago!"

The Fourth Raikage turned his gaze toward the distance and sighed. "It seems Konoha isn’t as weak as we originally thought. Perhaps it’s time to bring this conflict to an end."

Yugito hurriedly said, "Lord Raikage, please give me a little more time! I’ll definitely kill them!"

The Raikage shook his head.

"We just received word from the front lines. The Third Hokage personally led a force in a surprise attack against Killer B and his men yesterday. Killer B couldn’t hold them off and has already begun retreating. On top of that, Iwagakure’s movements are unclear. There’s a good chance they’re preparing to make a move against us."

Iwagakure had been sitting on the sidelines, watching the two tigers fight.

But their eyes had never been fixed solely on Konoha.

If Kumogakure exposed even the slightest weakness, Iwagakure would be just as quick to pounce and tear off a piece for themselves.

Yugito froze at those words and murmured, "Does that mean... all our efforts up until now were for nothing?"

The Raikage patted Yugito on the shoulder. "Don’t be discouraged. There’ll be another chance."

Yugito’s face darkened as she gritted her teeth.

"Damn it... Team 11 of Konoha..."

Eastern coastline of the Land of Hot Water.

The four members of Team 11 were currently speeding along the coastline in the direction of Konoha.

Suddenly, Hyuga Kagami, who was leading the group, came to a stop.

The other three members of Team 11 immediately stopped as well.

Shisui and Kakashi exchanged glances, expressions of disappointment appearing on both their faces.

Shisui sighed. "Sigh... I didn’t expect it to turn out like this. What a shame."

Looking somewhat listless, Kakashi asked in confusion, "Isn’t Kumogakure overreacting a little? Just to deal with the four of us, they actually sent a Jinchuriki after us? And wasn’t the Two-Tails Jinchuriki supposed to be with their assault force on the front lines? Why would she suddenly appear in the Land of Hot Water? This is way too strange."

Kakashi had no idea that Kagami, while in Tenseigan Chakra Mode, had single-handedly wiped an entire valley off the map and slaughtered hundreds of Kumogakure shinobi.

So naturally, Kumogakure’s extreme reaction left him rather baffled.

Shisui cautiously glanced at Kagami and thought to himself,

"Against someone as powerful as Kagami-senpai, Kumogakure wouldn’t stand a chance unless they sent a Jinchuriki!"

Kagami, meanwhile, wore a dark expression and said nothing.

Just thinking about how all those explosive tags had gone to waste put him in an absolutely terrible mood.

After deciding to withdraw from the Land of Hot Water, Team 11 had immediately set up a large-scale trap, intending to give Kumogakure one last nasty surprise before leaving.

The three members of Team 11 inside the trap had actually been nothing more than shadow clones of Kagami, Shisui, and Kakashi.

As for Guy, he still hadn’t mastered the Shadow Clone Technique, so there had been no shadow clone of him inside the cave.

Originally, they had hoped to lure in a Jonin squad. Failing that, they had at least expected to catch a reconnaissance team led by a Jonin.

Never in their wildest dreams had they expected to lure in Yugito, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki herself.

Once a Jinchuriki transformed into their Tailed Beast form, the protection provided by the Tailed Beast’s chakra made ordinary explosions and even the collapse of an entire cave extremely unlikely to inflict fatal injuries.

Moreover, Yugito was a perfect Jinchuriki capable of coordinating with the Two-Tails, Matatabi.

Against someone like her, the hastily prepared trap simply didn’t pack enough power.

After receiving the information transmitted back by their distant shadow clones, the four members of Team 11 resumed their journey, speeding toward Konoha.

With Kumogakure committing more and more forces to the Land of Hot Water, the country was becoming increasingly dangerous. So despite their disappointment, Team 11 had no choice but to withdraw immediately.

Perhaps afraid of being caught up in the conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure, the wandering shinobi throughout the Land of Hot Water had already fled without a trace.

As a result, Team 11 traveled along the coastline for several days without encountering a single shinobi.

Aside from a few fishermen, they saw no one at all.

A week later, after taking a massive detour, the four members of Team 11 finally made it safely back into the Land of Fire.

Once inside their own country, Team 11 soon encountered a Konoha shinobi squad conducting reconnaissance and patrol duties. It was through them that they finally learned about the latest developments.

Just as Kagami remembered from his previous life, Kumogakure’s surprise attack on Konoha had only been a probe.

And what had prompted that probe was the unexpected deaths of the Fourth Hokage and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

It could be said that this conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure was entirely an aftereffect of Konoha’s Nine-Tails incident—a chain reaction set off by Orochimaru’s defection and the deaths of the Fourth Hokage and his wife.

Neither Kumogakure nor Konoha, the side that had been attacked, had any intention of starting an all-out war.

So after their offensive failed to achieve its objectives, Kumogakure signaled its willingness to enter peace negotiations with Konoha.

The Third Hokage readily accepted Kumogakure’s request for peace talks.

At present, the Third Hokage had no idea just how much chaos Team 11 had caused behind Kumogakure’s lines.

But even if he had known, he still would have chosen to negotiate peace with Kumogakure.

Konoha simply could not afford another Great Ninja War.

And with representatives from both sides entering negotiations, Konoha and Kumogakure had effectively ceased hostilities. Kumogakure’s surprise-attack forces had also completely withdrawn from the Land of Fire several days earlier...