A Hair's Breadth

"Damn!"

"If Father finds out about my mistakes, I'm done for!"

"Kurenai, Daiwashi, help me out here!"

Just before passing out, hearing Yoroi's words, Asuma Sarutobi's first thought was to plead for Kurenai and Daiwashi to intercede on his behalf.

The mistakes he made were severe; not only would the Fourth Hokage be infuriated, but even his father, the Third Hokage, would be furious and punish him severely.

First, he forged orders and escaped from the Konoha Medical Corps camp.

Then he got captured by Mist Ninjas, almost becoming a prisoner to trade for war supplies.

After being rescued by Yoroi and his team, he still showed no gratitude, disregarded his captain's orders, and attempted to kill the Mist Jonin out of personal vendetta.

Any one of these offenses could have warranted the death penalty during the stringent wartime regulations.

As the Third Hokage's son, Asuma Sarutobi failed to set an example and acted recklessly during a critical moment for a ninja unit. It was inevitable that the Third Hokage would be furious upon hearing this, and Asuma would likely face years of house arrest to prevent the incident from becoming public and tarnishing the Sarutobi clan's reputation.

However, none of this concerned Yoroi.

He never had a good relationship with Asuma, and Asuma's actions had only made Yoroi's mission more difficult.

From reading the original story, Yoroi knew that young Asuma was extremely rebellious.

Ignoring the Third Hokage's orders and refusing to heed his father's guidance.

The original story explained that Asuma's rebellious nature strained his relationship with the Third Hokage. Eventually, Asuma left Konoha, joining the Fire Temple and becoming one of the "Twelve Guardian Ninja," with a bounty of 35 million ryo in the black market, making him a target for the Akatsuki member Kakuzu.

Realizing Asuma's rebelliousness, Yoroi saw it as self-destructive behavior.

During the Third Shinobi War, many geniuses had fallen.

Yoroi, always cautious on missions, was exasperated by Asuma's constant troublemaking.

In Yoroi's view, it was a miracle that Asuma survived until the original story's events!

Thus, Yoroi knocked Asuma out using the Shadow Sewing Technique, which didn't bother Kurenai or Daiwashi. They also thought Asuma had gone too far. Kurenai and Daiwashi quickly completed Yoroi's instructions, killing Hozuki Genji for real this time and setting the Mist camp ablaze.

Watching the Mist camp engulfed in flames, Yoroi took a deep breath, feeling a bit tense.

Rescuing Asuma was only part of the mission; it wasn't over yet.

The sudden attack on the Mist camp would soon draw many Mist Ninjas to investigate.

While this might give the Konoha Medical Corps some respite, Yoroi and his team would face relentless pursuit by the Mist forces, both for their pride and to prevent anyone from escaping to alert Konoha for reinforcements.

Engaging the Mist forces directly was not an option Yoroi considered.

Killing Hozuki Genji had been challenging enough, consuming a lot of Yoroi's mental energy.

Now, with just Yoroi, Kurenai, Daiwashi, and the burden of Asuma, Yoroi didn't feel confident facing the Mist army's Jonin.

Setting the Mist camp on fire had given Kurenai a moment of satisfaction.

But the looming threat of the Mist forces' pursuit made Kurenai frown and ask Yoroi, "Yoroi, what should we do next?"

"Yes, Yoroi, our mission's success depends on you!"

Kurenai's question was echoed by Daiwashi.

After rescuing Asuma, Yoroi had established absolute authority within the team.

Kurenai and Daiwashi instinctively looked to Yoroi for guidance.

This was a sign of Yoroi's leadership and the team's reliance on him.

Yoroi had already considered the next steps in his plan.

Hearing Kurenai and Daiwashi's inquiries, Yoroi's intense gaze fell on Asuma, and he said lightly, "Kurenai, Daiwashi, I've had the next part of the plan ready for a while. Thanks to Asuma's cooperation, we'll proceed accordingly."

Yoroi's cryptic smile puzzled Kurenai and Daiwashi.

Using Transformation Jutsu, Yoroi transformed into Hozuki Genji. Kurenai and Daiwashi realized that Yoroi intended to disguise himself as Hozuki Genji and take "prisoner" Asuma through the Mist defenses. If interrogated by Mist ANBU, Yoroi could reveal Asuma's identity, claiming they were retreating with the important prisoner during the camp attack.

Yoroi's plan was brilliant, impressing Kurenai and Daiwashi.

In their disguises, Kurenai and Daiwashi found a dead Mist Ninja and transformed it to match his appearance.

They avoided transforming into Hozuki Genji's subordinates to conceal their deaths and prevent the plan from failing.

With Kurenai and Daiwashi disguised as Mist Ninjas "guarding" Asuma, Yoroi's team headed towards the Mist camp's final defensive line.

Passing through the initial defenses smoothly due to Yoroi's disguise and Asuma's prisoner status, they neared the last checkpoint. The final barrier seemed just a step away from breaking through the Mist's encirclement.

But suddenly, a Mist Jonin appeared before them just as they were about to escape, ruining their near-perfect escape plan!

"Hozuki Genji, wait!"

"Why didn't you greet me earlier?"