"Am I too late? This is a bit troublesome."
Perceiving the Chakra clashing within Hidden Mist Village through Kagura Minds Eye, Amane quickly located the Chakra signatures of Ding, Mei Terumī, and Ao.
To her surprise, Ding had actually joined the expedition and was very close to Mei Terumī.
Looking at the unconscious and sealed Kirigakure Anbu she was carrying, Amane's mind began to race.
[From the Chakra's performance, this is a five-person escorting one operation. Ding and Mei Terumī are closest to Ao, and Ao is not stained with the Chakra permeating Hidden Mist Village.]
The tactic was very clear: Ao would not be detected by the enemy, while the others would feign attacks to attract attention.
So, perhaps it could be like this... After discerning Mei Terumī and the others' plan, Amane sensed the remaining Chakra in her body and nodded.
Without another word, she immediately rushed into Hidden Mist Village and headed towards Ao's location.
As soon as Amane entered, she was greeted.
A considerable number of shuriken, Kunai, various flying Ninja tools, and exploding tags were thrown her way.
Amane didn't waste any extra effort. With her flexible movements and the body activation brought by Lightning Release Chakra, this group of Ninja, mostly Genin level, couldn't even touch her.
Although Amane intended to avoid battle and give these Ninja a way out, not everyone possesses such keen insight. Moreover, due to the high-pressure policies of the Village of the Bloody Mist, many Ninja's self-thinking abilities had long been eroded.
But this was exactly the effect Amane wanted.
[Try to follow me as much as possible.]
In the current situation, there was no better way to make Mei Terumī retreat than to show her that the task was impossible.
Amane wanted to expose Ao's location and make Mei Terumī and Ding's duo encounter a large number of ordinary Ninja.
At that point, facing Ao's exposure and the encirclement of numerous ordinary Ninja, would Mei Terumī choose to complete the mission no matter what, or would she retreat in the face of difficulty and try again next time?
Although it was a gamble, Amane's guess was basically correct, judging by the very few casualties observed throughout the entire battle in Hidden Mist Village via Kagura Minds Eye.
However, there was still a difficult point before that: Ao possessed the Byakugan ability.
"Who are you!"
Mei Terumī's face was serious, exuding killing intent. Beside her, Nakamura Iku also drew his blade, the Wind Release Chakra wrapped around it seemingly unremarkable, yet through the mist, numerous cut-down buildings could vaguely be seen.
Amane had no means to escape the Byakugan's observation, so naturally, she was discovered by Ao, who then informed his two teammates.
"Who knows? I'm not interested in women who foolishly fall into traps."
The gloomy tone paired with the full black robe made her suspiciousness, as the Kirigakure Anbu had just said, reach its peak.
Originally, Amane had considered using the Akatsuki's attire, but that might turn out to be a drawback for subsequent operations.
[A disguised hostage, a despicable but effective tactic.]
During their exchange, Mei Terumī and Nakamura Iku did not stop attacking; on the contrary, their attacks were continuous. However, because there were other Hidden Mist Ninja around Amane, they seemed unable to fully commit.
And more importantly, Amane also confirmed that Mei Terumī's current level should not have reached the Kage tier.
"A trap? A fishing net can catch fish, but it can't catch an orca!"
Saying that, she spat a mouthful of mist at Amane.
Amane had no Susanoo-like means against this move, and Transformation Jutsu was difficult to maintain upon contact. Fortunately, with Kagura Minds Eye and the "hostage," Amane dodged it as before.
Then came a perfectly timed wind blade to the face, which was hard to dodge even with perception.
"What!"
Nakamura Iku was astonished. His wind blade had disappeared with just a touch of the opponent's palm?
[No! It's not like it disappeared, it's more like...]
However, before Nakamura Iku could deduce the conclusion in his mind, a large number of ordinary Ninja began to attack Mei Terumī and Nakamura Iku, while Amane continued towards Ao's direction without looking back.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Mei Terumī rapidly performed Hand Seals and unleashed another Bloodline Limit.
Large quantities of highly concentrated acid intercepted the approaching Ninja, creating an opportunity for her teammates to intercept Amane.
But! At this moment, Nakamura Iku's reaction was subtly half a beat too slow, allowing Amane to slip through.
[Hahahaha, it actually worked! Good job, Ding, it seems you still remember the secondary mission.]
The Amane currently acting was a newly split Shadow Clone.
The backup plan was that if it might be intercepted here, it would disappear and transmit information back, while simultaneously creating an opportunity for Amane to approach Ao.
The reason it was called a backup was that, besides the Byakugan not being able to see through a Shadow Clone, Amane also couldn't be sure if Ding would seize this opportunity to create some possibilities for Mei Terumī's failure.
Clearly, Ding's professionalism was very high; Amane had to give full marks for this silent, tacit cooperation.
Even though their goals were completely different.
So, when Amane saw another Amane, who was "aggroing monsters," running towards her in the distance, the two exchanged a smile and immediately adjusted their strategy.
"Damn it! Why is that person messing up now?"
Now, after Amane's targeted operation, Ao's behavior of using Byakugan to avoid Hidden Mist perception while rapidly advancing no longer made sense.
As the air blast from numerous exploding tags ahead pushed away the mist, what greeted them was a group of nearly twenty Ninja being led by a Black-Robed Person.
What was there left to hide?
Ao's face instantly turned the same color as his name.
[There are no masters left in Kirigakure currently, except for the forces of the mastermind. Damn it! It seems we really fell into a trap.]
Ao had opposed this sudden attack from the beginning, and now all these phenomena indicated that it was indeed as he had thought.
Now, Suikazan Fuguki and Kisame Hoshigaki might even suddenly appear.
No!
Perhaps those two might appear at the stronghold!
Thinking of this possibility, Ao couldn't help but feel a chill. Although there were quite a few masters there, only three could truly be called Jonin-level masters.
And if he thought more despairingly... Ao couldn't help but charge directly at Amane. He possessed the Byakugan ability, so he had naturally developed Byakugan combat methods.
He wanted to try to capture Amane alive and force information out of her!
"Byakugan Killer Ao, interesting, let's play."
[Just kidding, my current state is not good. I could have tried earlier when I first came out.]
She probably had half a unit of Chakra left. Losing the advantage of Chakra quantity, and being a Shadow Clone, she naturally wouldn't have the advantage of vitality.
So how could Amane have much fighting power against Ao now?
But a necessary fight was still needed.
This would also allow her to understand to what extent she could contend against Ao, who was considered a good fighter even among Jonin.
[Wind Sealing Technique: Release!]
Approaching a certain distance, Amane immediately released Nakamura Iku's wind blade, first to see how fast Ao's reaction was, while simultaneously boosting her physical abilities with Lightning Release Chakra.
Seeing the wind blade, Ao raised an eyebrow, a glint flashing in his eyes, and easily dodged it with the power of his Byakugan.
At the same time, his Hand Seals were completed, and both hands spread open, pointing at Amane's position.
[Five-Point Sealing?!]
Through Kagura Minds Eye, Amane could feel that Ao's five fingertips simultaneously released a small ball of Chakra. If all of them hit, the Sealing Jutsu would activate, reducing the muscle performance of the enemy's torso and limbs.
It was effective, a very practical combat Sealing Jutsu, but Amane felt the opponent's keenness.
[He probably recognized the Wind Sealing Technique I drew on my hand, using this to test my understanding of Sealing Jutsu.]
The release timing, guided by the Byakugan, was chosen precisely at the moment Amane threw her shuriken! Dodging it by spending a little more Chakra was not impossible, but Amane had no doubt that the moment she moved, the opponent's other hand would use the same technique on her.
She understood this technique too well.
And precisely because of this, Amane knew she had fallen into Ao's trap.
To dodge at the cost of more Chakra clearly indicated that she knew what Ao was using. And if she was hit, would Amane dispel it or not?
If she chose not to dispel it, Amane's intention to engage in a brief skirmish would be directly thwarted.
After much thought, dodging was the most practical option. What, I can't be knowledgeable?
Water Release! Water Trumpet!
While dodging, she formed Hand Seals and directly countered Ao's second Five-Point Sealing, ending the first round of engagement with Amane at a slight disadvantage.