Seeing Mitsumasu Doui take his last breath, Feng Zheng retracted his sword and said, "He was very difficult to deal with!"
Hodaka and Mieko also stopped their attacks and nodded. Doui's body fell to the ground. Hodaka said, "Yes, we fought for so long, and even though he took many hits, he never let me hit his Chakra points!"
Mieko nodded. She was about to speak, but her gaze fell on Feng Zheng. She immediately became angry and asked, "Why do you always run away and ambush?"
Feng Zheng shrugged and said, "It's fun."
Hodaka and Mieko's faces instantly darkened.
Renjiro's Shadow Clone also flickered in. He looked proudly at his three students and praised, "Well done! Although he was a bit tired from fighting me, the three of you still managed to kill a fully-fledged Jonin!"
The three of them looked at him. Hodaka asked, "Do we need to reinforce Sensei?"
Before the Shadow Clone could answer, a voice came from behind them, "No need."
The three immediately turned around and saw Renjiro. Renjiro had finally succeeded in killing his opponent. He had sealed his opponent's body and was about to come help his Shadow Clone when the three of them killed Doui.
Renjiro dispelled the Shadow Clone and received all its memories.
He looked at his students and said, "Well done. Have you sealed their bodies?"
His students shook their heads. Renjiro said, "Seal their bodies and store them. Return and gather within two minutes. Feng Zheng, bring Hoka as well. Also, do not steal their belongings. For missions that specifically require killing certain Ninja, do not steal their belongings, because they might have things the Village needs, and their items might contain traps."
The three nodded and used Body Flicker Technique to leave. They went to their respective battlefields and sealed the bodies in scrolls.
Feng Zheng used Body Flicker Technique to Hoka's side and looked at him. He and his dog were both wrapped in multiple bandages.
Hoka looked at Feng Zheng and asked, "Is it over?"
Feng Zheng nodded. "All the enemies are dead."
Hoka was surprised. He thought, "They actually took out six Ninja squads in 30 minutes that we couldn't catch in days!"
While Inuzuka Hoka was lost in thought, Feng Zheng sealed Mitsumasu Doui's body in a scroll. He asked, "Can you move?"
Hoka stood up and said, "Yes, my injuries are not serious."
Feng Zheng nodded and said, "Good, Sensei wants us to gather. Come with me."
Within a few minutes, everyone had gathered where Renjiro was. Renjiro had sealed Doui's body.
Renjiro glanced at everyone and said, "Report the situation."
Mieko replied, "No injuries, about 15% Chakra remaining."
Hodaka said, "No injuries, about 25% Chakra remaining."
Feng Zheng said, "No injuries, about 40% Chakra remaining."
Inuzuka Hoka didn't know the rules of Renjiro Squad. However, hearing the three Chunin, he understood and replied, "Light injuries, about 35% Chakra remaining."
Renjiro nodded and said, "Get ready. We are also preparing to attack the second Hidden Mist squad."
The three were all surprised. Feng Zheng asked, "Sensei, wouldn't it be better to rest first and recover Chakra?"
Mieko and Hodaka both agreed with Feng Zheng but said nothing.
Renjiro replied, "Normally, yes. But our enemies will run away. And we are in the Land of Fire, so our reinforcements will arrive soon. However, we cannot wait for them."
Renjiro didn't explain the details and used Body Flicker Technique to leave. His students immediately followed him.
Hoka was dumbfounded again; they had suddenly disappeared! He immediately followed their scent.
Renjiro arrived at the pond where the Hidden Mist Ninja were hiding. Feng Zheng, Mieko, and Hodaka followed closely behind.
Hoka was the last to arrive. They stood at the other end of the pond.
Mieko asked, "Sensei, why are we back here?"
Renjiro smiled and asked, "When multiple enemies are pursuing you, where do you think is the best place to hide?"
The four fell into thought. Hoka had some guesses, but he didn't answer because he thought the question was for Renjiro's students.
After a while, Mieko replied, "In a place no one would expect you to go."
Feng Zheng and Hodaka gave her speechless expressions. Hodaka scoffed, "Isn't that just stating the obvious?"
Renjiro laughed. "Well, she's right. In this situation, where they are being pursued by a stronger squad, and that squad is being pursued by multiple other squads, the best hiding place is near the first squad pursuing them."
Hearing this, the three students' eyes widened. They immediately activated their sensing skills.
However, they didn't sense anyone nearby.
Renjiro continued, "It's truly clever; those pursuing them would never imagine they are so close. And since this is their hiding place, it means they are very confident they won't be discovered here, so they will hide very well."
"Even if the hiding place of those pursuing them is exposed, the other party will attack them and won't think there's another squad hidden here."
Feng Zheng asked, "Sensei, how did you sense them?"
Renjiro chuckled and said, "I am very sensitive to Earth and Water natures. When I used the Flowing Earth Wall Jutsu, I sensed another underground cave that was very suitable for hiding, and the patrol didn't manage to find them, so it was easy to guess who was hiding there."
Renjiro began to make Hand Seals, but Feng Zheng said, "Wait, Sensei. I sense some Chakra reactions to our left."
Hodaka activated his Byakugan. Renjiro stopped and asked, "How many people?"
Feng Zheng replied, "Four Chunin-level... The other three have also arrived, all seven are Chunin-level."
Hodaka added, "They are all members of our patrol."
Renjiro waited. Soon, seven Chunin arrived beside them. Upon arrival, one of them said, "We heard a lot of noise from this area, so we came to reinforce you."
Renjiro nodded and replied, "One of the Hidden Mist squads has been dealt with. We are now going to deal with the other. The three of you wait here, and the remaining four go and hide. Hoka, go with them."
They nodded. The four members of the first patrol dispersed in different directions to hide. Hoka did the same. The remaining three waited with Renjiro Squad, wondering what he was planning.
Renjiro made several Hand Seals, clapped his hands on the ground, and softly said, "Earth Release: Senbon Jutsu."
Half an hour ago:
Inside the underground cave where Sakai Nagaka and others were hiding, a sudden tremor was felt!
Unlike Kuriwaki Kazuki's squad, the members of this squad were younger. Only Sakai Nagaka was in her thirties. The other three members were all teenagers.
Sakai Nagaka looked at her squad members and said, "It seems Kazuki and his squad have been discovered by the Konoha Ninja. Try to sense them."
Her squad nodded. Special Jonin Mino Mayu asked, "Lady Nagaka, wouldn't it be better if we helped those Konoha Ninja? That way, we could eliminate that squad from the Mizukage Faction."
Chunin Terumi Honzo, a member of this four-person squad, added, "This might even help us establish a good relationship with Konoha. With those people dead and becoming friendly with Konoha, we could return smoothly."
But Sakai Nagaka shook her head. She said, "We don't know if the Konoha team is strong enough to kill them. If they aren't strong enough, and Kazuki and his squad eventually escape, then we will be in a difficult situation."
"This doesn't even consider that the Konoha Ninja might also view us as enemies, and we might end up helping Kazuki and his squad escape. Our situation would become even more difficult."
Mino Mayu softly said, "But your niece recently participated in the Konoha Chunin Exams, and I heard she even made it to the finals. Could we use this opportunity to talk with Konoha?"
Sakai Nagaka replied, "I also thought about this, but in the end, Konoha didn't agree to help us. Even if I said that, I'm afraid Konoha would demand our surrender and treat us as captives. They might let us go for the reason you mentioned, but then, things would not be under our control."
Hearing Sakai Nagaka's words, everyone's expressions became solemn.
After some time, their last Chunin member, Kenkyu Shujun, said, "What if we take this opportunity to escape?"
Sakai Nagaka replied, "If they can find Kazuki's squad, who are so well hidden, we would be exposed as soon as we leave this hiding place. Don't worry too much. I don't think they will find our location. So we'll look for an opportunity to leave in a few days."
With no other option, they could only wait in their hiding place.
After the first tremor, no other movement was felt in the hiding place, so they inferred that the battle location had shifted.