Nawaki quickly explained:
"The enemy hasn't arrived yet, but it's only a matter of time before a battle breaks out. Just be ready to fight."
Having a sensory ninja on watch meant that the enemy would arrive soon or launch an attack during the night when everyone was resting.
Takuya hadn't given a direct warning because of the unspoken understanding within his team.
As long as he showed even the slightest change in his usual demeanor, Minato and Nawaki would pick up on it immediately.
"Let's move out."
But this time, Takuya's decision took them by surprise.
"Aren't we going to rest and wait?"
"No, this mission is going to be tricky. Neither the Rain Village nor the Sand Village will just sit back and let these supplies reach the front lines without a fight. There will be many enemies trying to stop us."
Takuya's response was quick and firm. "We'll travel through the night and aim to arrive by morning."
In the past, Takuya would have chosen to rest and continue traveling during the day.
But the current situation was different, and it was better to reach their destination as soon as possible.
The frequent scouting by Sand and Rain ninja wasn't a good sign.
"Understood,"
Minato and Nawaki nodded and went to relay the information to the others.
Soon, everyone was ready, and they continued their journey under the cover of darkness.
Although traveling at night brought its own set of challenges, their pace wasn't too slow.
In the darkness, a flash of white light streaked across Takuya's body before disappearing into the night.
Some distance away, a Sand Village sensory ninja, who had been hiding and observing the supply convoy from a tree, felt a sudden pain in his throat. The next second, blood sprayed from the wound.
All he could do was clutch his throat in disbelief as he fell from the tree.
In his sensory field, there had been no chakra signatures approaching.
So what was that white figure that just attacked him?
Was it some kind of special jutsu?
Or perhaps a unique summoning beast?
As a special summoning beast, Snowy was different from other tailed beasts. It could suppress its chakra, gather natural energy, and blend seamlessly into the environment, avoiding detection by traditional sensory methods.
Then, it could approach the target and easily execute a one-hit kill.
How sharp are a tailed beast's claws?
How terrifying is its power?
Perhaps only those who had experienced a tailed beast's rampage truly understood the terror they embodied.
Killing a sensory ninja was no more difficult for Snowy than slicing through a blade of grass with its claws.
After easily eliminating one sensory ninja, Snowy headed for the next target.
In the rain-soaked night, no one would have expected that a small, white fox had transformed into a white-clad Grim Reaper, harvesting the lives of their enemies.
It wasn't long before Snowy returned to Takuya's shoulder, nuzzling his face affectionately.
Takuya petted its little head and smiled as he asked,
"All taken care of?"
Snowy nodded, yawned, and curled its tail under its head like a pillow, settling down to sleep.
But not before giving Takuya a satisfied look, a touch of pride in its eyes.
As if to say, "With Snowy on the job, it's a sure thing."
The poor enemies probably didn't even know how they died. Takuya offered a silent three-second tribute to those unfortunate souls before calling out to the team behind him,
"The sensory ninjas have all been dealt with. Pick up the pace!"
"Yes, sir!!"
Minato and Nawaki didn't seem surprised; they gritted their teeth and kept pushing the carts, while the others were left in a daze.
The sensory ninjas have all been dealt with?
But the captain didn't seem to have made a move...
How were they taken out?
Was the captain just joking?
Without those sensory ninjas, the team's pace quickened considerably.
Meanwhile, some who had planned a midnight ambush were still waiting for news.
Among them was a Sand Village squad specifically tasked with intercepting Leaf Village's supply lines.
Staring out at the pitch-black sky, the rain dripping steadily down, Masa and his team hid in a cave, waiting for the latest intel from their sensory ninja.
From the information they had gathered during the day, a Leaf Village supply convoy was passing through the area they were responsible for.
That convoy had the audacity to stop and rest along the way.
If it weren't for the sensory ninja's advice to hold off and wait for further updates, Masa would have already led his team to attack.
"Could that idiot Kuromoku have fallen asleep?"
"It's been over three hours without any response."
Masa grumbled, irritated, before ordering one of his subordinates,
"Iwato, go check if that fool Kuromoku has dozed off. Why hasn't he reported anything?"
"Yes, Masa-sama."
Iwato braved the downpour, disappearing into the pitch-black night.
It didn't take long for him to reach the spot where Kuromoku had been hiding and keeping watch.
Looks like we've got a problem...
Seeing Kuromoku's corpse lying on the ground, his throat slashed open, blood mixing with the muddy rainwater in a grotesque blend, Iwato froze in shock.
Without even checking on his fallen comrade's body, he turned and fled back to the cave.
"Masa-sama, it's bad! Kuromoku's been killed!"
"What?" Masa shot to his feet.
They had all been waiting for Kuromoku's report, and now they learned he was dead!
"This is bad!"
Masa suddenly realized what was happening and slapped his thigh in frustration.
"It must be the Leaf ninja! They discovered Kuromoku's surveillance, so they pretended to stop and rest to deceive us, making us think they were an easy target for a midnight raid. Meanwhile, they killed Kuromoku and slipped away."
"Those Leaf ninja are so cunning!!"
Masa cursed furiously.
If that supply convoy reached the front lines, it would mean his mission was a failure.
And failing this mission wouldn't just mean a blot on his record—he'd likely lose a significant amount of battle credit.
The thought of failing, especially now that Lady Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law had been killed in the Land of Fire, made Masa panic. Lady Chiyo's hatred for the Leaf was at a boiling point, and failing this mission and letting the supplies reach their destination would earn him nothing but trouble.
"Pursue them!!"
With no time to lose, Masa led his men to the spot where the convoy had rested earlier.
Seeing the empty campsite, with nothing left but the remnants of a rain-doused fire pit, Masa was so furious he nearly exploded.
He immediately set off after the convoy, following the tracks left by their carts.
He didn't believe that in just a few hours, the Leaf ninja could have simply vanished into thin air.
"Master, the enemy is pursuing us,"
As the convoy pressed on, Snowy suddenly alerted Takuya.
Glancing back, Takuya chuckled,
"These guys are quicker than I expected. I thought they'd wait until later in the night to move. I guess killing their sensory ninja wasn't enough to fool everyone."
"Keep moving forward. I'll go hold them off."
With those parting words, Takuya dashed towards the back of the convoy, disappearing into the night with a few swift flickers of movement.
"Keep moving."
With Takuya gone, Nawaki took over issuing commands.
***********
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