While engaging in casual conversation with the other party, Tōshirō did not let his guard down too much. Though he had successfully deceived Pakura, he could not afford to relax until he was truly safe. A single careless moment, and it would be over for him.
"Please, is my companion going to be alright?" Inside the temporary camp set up by the Sand ninja, the Chūnin carrying Tōshirō asked a medical ninja.
"He's fine. He's under a genjutsu, unable to control his actions temporarily. He'll recover by the morning."
"Really? Thank you so much!"
"We apologize for any trouble our friend may have caused."
The temporary teammate who had carried Tōshirō bowed deeply, expressing his gratitude.
"You're being too polite..."
Lying beside them, Tōshirō let out a sigh of relief. He had successfully infiltrated their ranks. All of his planning had not gone to waste.
After being chased by these Sand ninja for an entire day, he was utterly exhausted. He needed to find a place to rest, or he would not last much longer.
Even though he had mastered Sage Mode, it had its limits. The power boost was significant but could not sustain him through a whole day of constant use.
With no other option, he took a risky gamble. Fortunately, it paid off.
Deceiving the medical ninjas was not difficult for him after fooling Pakura. Knowing medical ninjutsu himself, he accurately mimicked the injuries he wanted and used some minor tricks during identity confirmation. Nothing unexpected happened.
Not only did he find a relatively comfortable place to rest, but he also had people taking care of him...
Finding this somewhat ironic, Tōshirō chuckled inwardly. He had endured significant effort to fend off the Sand ninja pursuit, causing substantial harm to a group of lower-level ninjas. And now, he was sharing the same tent and receiving treatment alongside them.
After exchanging a few words with his fellow "patients," Tōshirō decided to minimize exposure by pretending to sleep. He needed to rest and regain his strength.
Time slowly passed.
"It's been almost the whole night, and still no trace of him?"
"We lost his trail after midnight. Damn it, he must be hiding somewhere! Where's our sensor ninja?"
"The sensor ninja didn't find anything either..."
"Could he have broken through the perimeter?"
"Impossible. We have heavy defenses around; he couldn't have slipped through silently."
A group of Jōnin from Sand Village sat in a circle, discussing the mission. There were at least seven or eight of them, each leading their subordinates.
Despite their numbers, finding Tōshirō in the vast borderlands was challenging. They had completely lost his trail only late into the night because he had strategically used shadow clones to create distractions.
These shadow clones carried all Tōshirō's explosive tags, shuriken, and other consumables, making loud noises whenever discovered to draw attention.
"Could he have blended into our ranks?"
It wasn't out of the question, as suggested by one of the Sand ninja. The idea was quickly brought up.
"Not likely. We're all Jōnin. Simple transformation jutsus wouldn't fool us."
"It's possible. Remember, he's an Uchiha, highly skilled in genjutsu. We can't underestimate him."
Pakura, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. Given the opponent's cunning nature, she believed it was highly possible he had infiltrated their ranks. Otherwise, they would not have failed to find him for so long.
...
With Pakura's input, the room fell silent. The reputation of the Uchiha and their Sharingan was well-known. Though young, Tōshirō's skills were not to be taken lightly. Some of them had faced his shadow clones and were highly aware of his genjutsu talents.
"Let's split into two groups: one continues the search while the other evaluates our own ranks."
This compromise was quickly accepted by the group.
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
...
With quick consensus, the leaders divided the team. The dissenting Jōnin, Pakura, and a puppet master Jōnin formed a special investigation team to inspect their own ninjas.
"Summon your subordinates, and we'll start from there, expanding outward."
Once decided, the Sand ninjas swiftly sprang into action...
(End of Chapter)