Naruto: The Hidden Shadow Style

Haseo firmly believed his own judgment. In a battlefield like this, no ninja would ever operate without support.

Even someone as strong as a Hokage would bring along a protective squad when approaching or moving through a battlefield—unless they were someone like The Fourth Hokage, who could freely travel anywhere using space-time ninjutsu, then such rules wouldn't apply.

So here was the question: Could that enemy, blown off their feet by just one explosive tag, possibly be a ninja on the level of The Fourth?

To be honest, such a comparison wasn't quite fair—to either party involved. The trap set up by Haseo and the others wasn't complicated at all—if someone still stumbled into it so carelessly, it simply meant that enemy didn't understand warfare at all.

From a distance, Haseo could roughly estimate that the enemy couldn't be older than sixteen. It was even possible he was a battlefield rookie—his youth and lack of experience had now cost him dearly.

"Stay still—no killing blows. Just wait patiently," Haseo once again issued instructions to his comrades behind, using that birdlike whistling sound.

The enemy hit by the explosive tag hadn't died immediately but was instead writhing and groaning in pain on the ground. However, judging from his blood loss and the location of his injuries, continuing to live was already impossible. Even the time he had left struggling before death wouldn't last much longer.

Haseo worried that among his teammates, someone might not be able to bear this sight and decide to finish off the enemy prematurely to end his suffering. In reality though, his command proved unnecessary. Although this squad was still young, they were professional ninja. No qualified ninja would expose their position out of slight pity for an enemy—that kind of foolish action would clearly prioritize sentiment over mission.

In fact, they simply didn't possess that sense of sympathy. If anyone should feel remorse toward this scene, it should naturally be the enemy's companions rather than Leaf ninja. Therefore, since those comrades hadn't acted to end his suffering and had only chosen to observe, there absolutely was no reason for Konoha to do so.

It might seem heartless, but under the circumstances, it was the rational choice. On a battlefield like this, killing came without guilt—and so, bloodshed never ended.

Perched above, Chichio already had her bow drawn. She carefully kept watch on any abnormalities around that enemy, ensuring she could launch an attack promptly should other enemies appear. However, her arrows had never been aimed directly at that inexperienced enemy himself. Because she knew that letting him bleed out was the only option that made sense—for both sides.

"Don't be too cautious. For now, we have the advantage in numbers. Once I give the signal, we must strike at the right moment—boldly and without hesitation—and decisively eliminate the remaining enemies as quickly as possible." Haseo continued speaking to Nagisa beside him.

The enemy they encountered now shouldn't be part of a large-scale force—or else they would have already started searching and hunting this area thoroughly. Therefore, it was most likely the enemy was either a four-man squad or a two-man team. Regardless of whether it was two or four members, once having lost one ally beforehand, the enemy had already fallen into disadvantage.

Attacking had its downsides—you often had to step on traps the hard way.

Considering that the nearly dying enemy had performed so poorly, it was very likely their squad was a newly formed one with little battlefield experience. Although Haseo's side was in a similar situation, this kind of assessment at least allowed them to psychologically establish a sense of balance—or even superiority.

Both sides understood this well, so it was possible the enemy might choose to retreat directly.

If they could seize an opportunity, then they would strike decisively. If the enemy clearly chose to withdraw, then there was no need to pursue… Haseo would never rashly issue an order for a chase—it was too risky, and more importantly, their mission was defense, not offense.

The sound of explosions had long reached faraway places. Soon, the forest returned to silence again; even that enemy had stopped struggling, seemingly already dead. However, besides this enemy, Haseo still couldn't locate any others.

Their scout ninja, Renjiro, likewise failed to provide any useful intel.

As the corpse cooled down, Haseo gradually became hesitant... He began doubting his earlier judgment—could the real enemy really have just been this one guy?

Just as Haseo was thinking this, suddenly, without warning, an arrow crackling with lightning pierced into the tree trunk beneath his feet. Then, that very foothold exploded violently.

Instinctively, Haseo and Nagisa Nara vanished from the canopy in a blur, dropping straight to the ground—they had been exposed.

The attacker was Chichio. Her arrows tipped with specially crafted metal capable of channeling chakra left a deep impression on Haseo. Yet Chichio would never attack allies.

"Oh, so the fourth one was hiding over there?" a hoarse voice drifted softly from where Haseo and Nagisa had previously hidden themselves.

Had it not been for Chichio's timely warning, Haseo and Nagisa could easily have been silently eliminated just now.

The enemy muttered this single sentence from atop the tree before immediately abandoning pursuit of Haseo and Nagisa. With unimaginable speed, he charged straight toward Chichio.

There was no time for Haseo and Nagisa Nara to even process their recent fear—they wordlessly chased after him immediately.

Meanwhile, Chichio began backing away. Judging by her opponent's movement speed, she realized that taijutsu wouldn't stand a chance. She needed distance. But the enemy was too fast—in an instant, the gap between them narrowed significantly.

Fortunately, Haseo was right behind the enemy. His hands were already forming hand seals:

[Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Technique!]

Flames burst forth like swarming locusts, engulfing the enemy. The attacker charging straight ahead was forced to change direction to evade, thereby also slowing his momentum.

Haseo finally caught up.

"Looks like I'll have to deal with you guys first," the enemy halted his steps, turning his face around. Only now did Haseo get a clear look at the old man's aged features.

At the same time, as soon as he saw the other's face, Nara immediately shot a red signal flare into the air without hesitation. This signaled the most urgent of situations... Now he at least understood why that Konoha team had vanished here so silently.

Haseo was caught off guard by Nara's reaction—it felt way too intense. He was still thinking about their numerical advantage. After all, the enemy was only one person. Even if he was a Jonin, the four of them together might still stand a chance.

Nara took a deep breath and spoke with unusual seriousness:

"It's Menzuomen from Sunagakure."

"Who?"

Haseo felt confused. He had never heard of this name before.

He wasn't some obsessive fanfiction writer or anything. How was he supposed to know the names of every powerful ninja—especially from this time period?

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