Chapter 148 - Hiding

Standing on the surface of a small river, Tōshirō said with some helplessness, it was a good thing he was cautious and had prepared beforehand, otherwise, he would have been dead for sure this time.

Although the fifty thousand ryō spent on Granny Cat was a bit costly, it was nothing compared to his life.

Carefully putting away the equipment made from fish skin, Tōshirō thought that he might need it again in the future, so he couldn't just throw it away.

While sorting his gear, Tōshirō couldn't help but complain. Ever since he received this equipment, he had strongly suspected it was made from leftover materials the ninja cats had eaten.

But he had no evidence...

He looked around to observe his surroundings and recalled his previous position and direction while gliding.

Tōshirō confirmed that he was behind the Sand Ninja's camp. Not far to the west was the boundary between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers.

The Konoha camp was about 180 kilometers away. If he wanted to return, he would have to pass through the Sand Ninja camp, which was extremely dangerous.

But taking a detour wouldn't be much safer. He was certain that there were many Sand Ninjas gathering in this area at the moment.

"I should have flown higher! That way, even the ballistas wouldn't have been able to reach me!" 

Muttering to himself, Tōshirō began planning his next course of action.

It wasn't that he didn't want to fly higher; it was just that high-altitude flying without any cover was too cold. Even with a coat or cloak, the cold wind would find its way through the seams and chill him to the bone.

After a little thought, Tōshirō created three shadow clones, sending them to walk along the riverbanks and downstream, while he himself followed the river toward the Land of Rivers.

Staying here was not an option. Soon enough, the Sand Ninjas who ambushed him would start searching this area. He didn't step onto the land either. Compared to the forests on either side, the river was better for hiding his tracks. He planned to stay in the river until he got far away from here.

As for the shadow clones, they were meant to mislead the pursuers. Any time he could buy was valuable, and even if he lost a clone, it would still provide some information.

About twenty minutes after Tōshirō left, a tall figure emerged from the woods and arrived at the spot where Tōshirō had landed.

The nearby riverbanks and the water splashes from his landing, as well as the traces from his Fire Release used to slow down, were evident.

"Did the enemy land here?"

"It seems they've already left!"

Finding the destination but not the target's whereabouts was within her expectations.

After inspecting the surroundings, Yekura hesitated briefly.

She didn't know which direction to pursue!

The traces left were not well-hidden, indicating that the enemy left in a hurry and didn't carefully cover their tracks.

However, the clues were present on both sides of the river, which made things problematic. 

Although some traces seemed to be deliberately misleading, there was no way to determine which side the enemy took. They might not have taken either.

Looking at the river, Yekura became troubled.

After a brief hesitation, she created a shadow clone to chase upstream and downstream along the river.

She gambled that the enemy would not land so quickly.

Though not everyone was involved in the ambush mission, there was no time to dwell on that now.

Genichi, who stayed behind to wait for reinforcement, had already explained the mission's situation to them, hoping they would cooperate in the next steps.

"Has Jōnin Yekura already led her subordinates to chase ahead?"

After understanding the situation, the reinforcing ninjas didn't waste any time and actively cooperated.

Subsequently, they split into several groups and followed Yekura's traces in pursuit.

They understood the mission's importance. If the enemy escaped, their logistical support route would face severe difficulties.

Sand Ninja's resources were already scarce. Since six months ago, supplies had become increasingly difficult to obtain.

The rear logistics team had started transporting materials only at night to reduce losses and exposure risks.

As a result, transport speed decreased significantly, and the risk of nighttime attacks increased.

Using sealing scrolls for transporting materials was out of the question due to their limited storage space. They were only feasible for individual, small, or medium squads, but not on the scale needed for the frontline camp.

Time passed slowly as the cat-and-mouse game progressed.

"This is also a shadow clone, right?"

Having dispersed the second shadow clone used to cover the enemy's real body, she still had not located the main target.

It had been almost a whole day since Tōshirō had set off. Despite the growing pursuit party and their increasing number, they hadn't caught the main target yet.

Each time they thought they had caught up, they were disappointed, and many had been injured, although most were mid or lower-level ninjas.

Nevertheless, it frustrated her greatly.

As a prominent Bloodline Limit user leading so many people, she had still not succeeded in finding the enemy.

"Is this one injured, too?"

"Yes, Jōnin Yekura! The enemy... ambushed from behind... inattentive for a moment..."

Facing the famous genius ninja from the village, the young man carrying his injured companion became a bit shy.

He normally wasn't like this but didn't know why he felt so flustered after seeing her today, even stammering while speaking.