Chapter 62: Let Them y Alone!
<span style="font-weight:400">"Captain, since Iwagakure is nning to target us, what’s our next move?" asked Hatake Sakumo.
<span style="font-weight:400">Although Mochizuki Hui was younger than everyone else in his team, they had long since grown to trust his leadershippletely.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Our next move? Naturally, we retreat and let Iwagakure y their game alone," Mochizuki Hui replied with a sly grin.
<span style="font-weight:400">"After all, our mission isn’t about conducting deep strikes and assassinations; it’s about forming an alliance with the Vige of Fog. We’ve already done more than enough by taking down six Iwagakure ANBU squads and drawing their elites towards us. That’s a huge win.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Now that they’re focused on us, we should pull out, leave this dangerous area, and return to the region of the Vige Fog.
<span style="font-weight:400">“This way, while their forces are still chasing shadows, we can take on Vige of Fog andplete our primary mission," Mochizuki Hui exined his strategy, causing the others'' eyes to light up.
<span style="font-weight:400">"As expected from the captain! Iwagakure is going to be running in circles thanks to us!" Hunter eximed, full of admiration for Mochizuki Hui.
<span style="font-weight:400">"You''re such a sneaky little fox, Hui," Lightning remarked with a chuckle, causing Mochizuki Hui to roll his eyes.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hatake Sakumo stood by, silently smiling. He had the rare gift of foresight, and whenever he looked at Mochizuki Hui, he saw a radiant future.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mochizuki Hui was a beacon, a source of light that could bring life and hope to all things.
<span style="font-weight:400">"Alright, let’s take a break. We’ll prepare to move out in one hour. I expect Iwagakure’s reinforcements will arrive soon, and they’ll likely make their move in the next day or so. Stay alert and be cautious," Mochizuki Hui instructed before walking to the cave’s entrance, where he leaned against the rocky wall and closed his eyes to rest.
<span style="font-weight:400">The other three nodded, tidied their gear, and took the opportunity to rest and recover their strength, ensuring they were in peak condition.
<span style="font-weight:400">An hour passed quickly.
<span style="font-weight:400">Hui and his squad silently left their hiding spot, making their way out of the region. Meanwhile, Kamizuru Ishigawa, so confident in his hunt, had no idea that his intended prey had already left the game, slipping away and leaving him to y alone.
<span style="font-weight:400">If he knew, he might have rolled on the ground in rage.
<span style="font-weight:400">The next day, as expected, Iwagakure began their operation. Teams of two ANBU squads patrolled the area. Kamizuru Ishigawa used all his sensory abilities to try and catch Mochizuki Hui''s team.
<span style="font-weight:400">But by the end of the day, they had achieved nothing.
<span style="font-weight:400">"This is normal. Since they’re moving in pairs, even though they’re elite, they must be cautious and gather information before making a move. Tomorrow, they’ll likely feel more confident and take action. Make sure everyone is ready," Kamizuru Ishigawa said confidently, unfazed by theck of progress. To him, it was natural for an elite ANBU squad to act cautiously in enemy territory, especially when the stakes were high.
<span style="font-weight:400">The other Iwagakure ANBU agreed with his assessment, preparing themselves for what they believed would be the decisive confrontation the next day.
<span style="font-weight:400">That second day arrived, and the Iwagakure squads continued their patrols in pairs. However, this time, they didn’t stick together as closely, leaving gaps in their formations—an intentional strategy to lure Hui’s team into attacking.
<span style="font-weight:400">Yet, as the day ended and night fell, Kamizuru Ishigawa found himself staring at his map with a grim expression, wondering why the Konoha ANBU had yet to make a move.
<span style="font-weight:400">"It seems the prey is craftier than I thought—they’ve realized we’re targeting them," he mused aloud. "In that case, we’ll go back to single-squad operations. If they still don’t show themselves, then their entire presence here bes pointless. And the moment they do appear, that’s when we’ll kill them."
<span style="font-weight:400">He calmly issued new orders, confident that he was forcing Hui’s team into a corner. To him, it was clear that Konoha had sent this specialized squad with a specific mission: to assassinate Iwagakure ANBU squads and draw attention away from the Vige of Fog, allowing Konoha’s forces to more easily establish control there.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was an obvious strategy: lure Iwagakure’s forces into focusing on the squad, then take Vige of Fog in the meantime. Kamizuru Ishigawa believed his enemy had finally realized they were being targeted and had be overly cautious.
<span style="font-weight:400">But that wouldn’t matter anymore. By restoring normal patrols, he would force them to act, making it impossible for them to escape detection.
<span style="font-weight:400">To him, it was an open-and-shut case—a ssic, unavoidable trap.
<span style="font-weight:400">But what he didn’t know was that Mochizuki Hui’s squad was far from ordinary. They operated with great autonomy, and their assassination spree had been a spontaneous decision, not an official mission.
<span style="font-weight:400">Since Kamizuru Ishigawa had misread Mochizuki Hui’s team from the start, his entire strategy was built on wed assumptions.
<span style="font-weight:400">His seemingly foolproof n would ultimately amount to nothing—just an exercise in futility, like trying to catch water in a sieve.
<span style="font-weight:400">In reality, Mochizuki Hui had simply chosen to leave the game, allowing Kamizuru Ishigawa to battle wits with thin air.
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