Chapter 61: The Iwagakure ANBU Commander!
<span style="font-weight:400">For the next three days, Iwagakure’s ANBU teams stationed in the Land of Mist lived in constant fear, dreading that they might be targeted by that elite Konoha ANBU squad.
<span style="font-weight:400">In just three days, another four of Iwagakure ANBU squads were hunted down.
<span style="font-weight:400">Adding the previous two squads, a total of six ANBU teams had fallen to that Konoha squad, amounting to 24 shinobi in total—the equivalent of an entire ANBU division from Iwagakure.
<span style="font-weight:400">Despite attempts to band together andunch counterattacks, their efforts were futile. First, they couldn’t track the enemy’s movements.
<span style="font-weight:400">Second, even when their sensory ninjas detected the enemy’s presence, the Konoha squad would vanish before they could form a proper encirclement.
<span style="font-weight:400">This revealed that Konoha’s elite squad had at least one sensory ninja, and this individual’s sensory abilities were far superior to most of Iwagakure’s own sensory shinobi.
<span style="font-weight:400">Thus, the Iwagakure ANBU squads had no choice but to retreat, gather in groups, and avoid being caught alone.
<span style="font-weight:400">This situation greatly frustrated the Iwagakure ANBU Commander, Kamizuru Ishigawa who had recently entered the battlefield in the Land of Fog. He was determined to eliminate the Konoha squad entirely.
<span style="font-weight:400">Inside a cave that served as the Iwagakure ANBU headquarters, a group of ANBU members gathered for a meeting in a hastily set-up conference room.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Commander, here’s the information we''ve gathered on the Konoha ANBU squad," said one ANBU operative, holding a notebook as he addressed Ishigawa, the Iwagakure ANBU Commander.
<span style="font-weight:400">Around them sat several Iwagakure ANBU division and squad leaders, each listening intently.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Based on the data we’ve collected, the Konoha squad consists of four members. In terms of strength, the team includes one elite jonin, two jonin, and one elite chunin.
<span style="font-weight:400">“At least one of the members is a sensory ninja with a range of approximately three kilometers.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Regarding their abilities: the elite jonin is a small figure, likely under 50 kilograms, and appears to specialize in Wind Release and Fire Release ninjutsu, along with expert swordsmanship.
<span style="font-weight:400">“One of the jonin uses Lightning Release and Fire Release techniques and is likely a full-grown adult weighing around 65 kilograms, based on footprint analysis.
<span style="font-weight:400">“The second jonin is also proficient in swordsmanship, with a weight estimated to be around 67 kilograms—also an adult.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Lastly, the elite chunin doesn’t seem to specialize in anything specific, likely the weakest member, weighing around 60 kilograms. However, our fallen ANBU, both elite chunin and chunin, were defeated by this individual.
<span style="font-weight:400">“We believe this elite chunin is the sensory ninja of the team. Without a sensory ninja, there would be no need to bring someone who appears to be a ‘weak link’ in an otherwise elite squad.
<span style="font-weight:400">“That’s all we’ve been able to determine about their abilities so far, though there could be more we are unaware of.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Their area of activity is broad but primarily focuses on the region of the Land of Fog near the Land of Earth. Thest sighting was near the Nanchuan River."
<span style="font-weight:400">The ANBU finished and sat down, waiting for Ishigawa’s response.
<span style="font-weight:400">Kamizuru Ishigawa, a middle-aged man appearing to be in his forties, was a member of the Kamizuru n, which produced both the First Tsuchikage and the future Third Tsuchikage.
<span style="font-weight:400">Drumming his fingers on the table, his brow furrowed in thought. After several seconds, he finally spoke in a cold and displeased tone.
<span style="font-weight:400">"So, we’ve lost 24 excellent ANBU members and still haven’t gathered any concrete information on the enemy?"
<span style="font-weight:400">Several division leaders stood up immediately, bowing their heads in apology. "It’s our failure!"
<span style="font-weight:400">"Hmph! Konoha’s elite ANBU, huh? They’ve sent an elite jonin and two jonin, along with an elite chunin, to form an assassination squad. Very well then. Let’s make Konoha feel the pain of losing their finest shinobi!"
<span style="font-weight:400">Kamizuru Ishigawa spoke icily, a dangerous glint in his eyes. He was confident that he could track and destroy this Konoha squad because he was a direct disciple of the Second Tsuchikage, just like his cousin Kamizuru Onoki.
<span style="font-weight:400">While Onoki inherited the Bloodline Limit Dust Release, Ishigawa inherited the Second Tsuchikage’s sensory abilities.
<span style="font-weight:400">That was precisely why he had personally entered the battlefield in the Land of Fog: to deal with this squad.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Starting tomorrow, each team will operate in pairs. If that Konoha squad is bold enough to remain in the area, they won’t be able to resist attacking arger target.
<span style="font-weight:400">And once they enter my sensory range, there will be no escape for them!" Ishigawa ordered, his mind already formting a n to corner Mochizuki Hui and his team.
<span style="font-weight:400">Meanwhile, Mochizuki Hui’s squad was unaware that Iwagakure’s ANBU Commander had personally entered the Land of Fog to hunt them down.
<span style="font-weight:400">At that moment, the four of them were resting in a hidden location far from Iwagakure’s ANBU gathering point, ensuring they were out of sensory range while they nned their next move.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Captain, we’ve already taken down four more Iwagakure ANBU squads. I bet Iwagakure is panicking by now!" Hunter said, his voice filled with excitement. The recent hunts had left him feeling as if he were living in a dream. Never had he felt so powerful before.
<span style="font-weight:400">"That’s a given! If this were four years ago, six ANBU squads would be more than an entire division!" Lightning boasted, enjoying the taste of his soldier pill. However, after chewing for a moment, his face twisted in disgust.
<span style="font-weight:400">Internally, Lightning cursed: <i><span style="font-weight:400">Damn, these things are still as disgusting as ever!</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">"Don’t underestimate Iwagakure," Mochizuki Hui cautioned, swallowing his own soldier pill in one gulp to avoid tasting it.
<span style="font-weight:400">"By now, they’ve likely gathered a fair amount of information about us. Iwagakure won’t just sit back and let us keep hunting their teams. Their next move will probably be a targeted n against us."
<span style="font-weight:400">Hearing this, both Lightning and Hunter’s faces grew serious as they nodded in understanding.
<span style="font-weight:400">While things seemed to be going smoothly now, they were still living in the world of shinobi—a world where death coulde at any moment.
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