The water source wasn't far from their location, only about a half-hour round trip.
But when half an hour had passed, and Hunter hadn't returned—and when Mochizuki Hui could no longer sense his chakra—there was only one explanation: something had gone wrong.
Let's rewind to when Hunter left to fetch water.
After he departed from the cave, he remembered Mochizuki Hui's reminder to stay alert and proceeded with extreme caution, not daring to let his guard down.
On his way to the stream, he encountered no surprises. Upon reaching the stream, he filled up the pouches and, as a habit, used his sensory abilities to check the surroundings before heading back. Just like before, he sensed nothing unusual.
But he couldn't shake a growing sense of unease from welling within him.
So, instead of heading back immediately, Hunter slowed his pace, paying close attention to the strange feeling in his gut.
As a sensory ninja, Hunter was naturally attuned to such things, and his sixth sense was highly reliable—a rare gift of intuition. It was this sense that told him there was a good chance he was being watched.
It felt as if someone with greater sensory abilities than his own was tracking him from a distance, following his movements closely.
As for who this person might be, Hunter could easily deduce that.
An Iwagakure ANBU.
After all, aside from Konoha ANBU, the only others active in this area were the Fog shinobi and Iwagakure's ANBU.
It was unlikely that the Fog shinobi would follow him so stealthily. And based on intelligence reports, the Village of Fog didn't have any particularly strong sensory ninjas.
Which meant it had to be Iwagakure ANBU.
More likely, it was the ANBU that had come over from the area near the Land of Earth.
As to why these ANBU hadn't attacked yet, Hunter quickly reasoned that they were using him as a guide, letting him unwittingly lead them to his comrades.
Their squad had been hunting Iwagakure ANBU ever since entering the region near the Land of Earth, and up until two days ago, they had thoroughly humiliated their enemy.
So, it wasn't hard to imagine the kind of grudge these Iwagakure ANBU harbored against them.
Now that they had finally found a lead, the Iwagakure shinobi weren't about to settle for capturing just him—they wanted the entire Fourth Squad.
Having figured this out, Hunter's heart sank as he quickly considered his options.
Slowly, he began altering his path as he walked, leaving subtle signs along the way.
Time ticked by, and Hunter could feel the presence of his unseen pursuers growing more and more intense.
He also sensed that the pressure was now coming from multiple directions, indicating that the enemy was setting up a perimeter around him.
Hunter allowed a small, cold smile to form at the edge of his lips.
He had already shifted his course, moving further and further away from the cave where the captain and the others were, deliberately leading his pursuers away.
In the forest all around Hunter, things were playing out just as he suspected: ten or more ANBU squads were tightening a circle around him, keeping themselves at a distance beyond his sensory range.
These were all Iwagakure ANBU squads, commanded by Kamizuru Ishigawa, who coordinated their movements.
All they had to do was wait for their prey to lead them back to his nest, and then they could close in, wiping out the whole group of Konoha shinobi.
He firmly believed in his insight.
"Hmph, let's see where you run this time. You've killed so many of my men—time to pay for their lives with your own," Kamizuru Ishigawa had muttered under his breath as he followed Hunter, anticipation flickering in his eyes.
Although he had been outplayed before, if he could now eliminate all the Konoha ANBU operating in the Land of Fog, it would be a victory worth the previous setbacks.
Of course, even if this little mouse didn't lead him to the nest, capturing just one squad would still give him leverage. He was confiLightningt he could extract more information about other Konoha ANBU squads from their prisoners.
"Good thing you decided to step in personally, commander. Dealing with a sensory ninja like this would have been much more difficult otherwise," one of the division leaders remarked, clearly trying to flatter Kamizuru Ishigawa.
"Yes, sensory ninjas are a real nuisance. Unless you have overwhelming power or a large number of attackers, they're almost impossible to catch," Kamizuru Ishigawa replied, understanding the challenge all too well as a sensory ninja himself.
From their conversation, it was clear that both were in high spirits, even making small talk.
But as more time passed, Kamizuru Ishigawa's expression had grown darker and darker.
No ninja would go out of their way just to fetch water from a place that took half an hour to reach.
Yet here they were, following this Konoha ANBU mouse for over twenty minutes already.
It was becoming clear—they'd been tricked, yet again!
"Close the net!" Kamizuru Ishigawa commanded, suppressing his rising fury as he sped toward Hunter.
The other Iwagakure ANBU, despite their lingering doubts, followed orders, converging from all sides on their quarry.
As soon as someone entered his sensory range, Hunter's feeling of being watched grew even sharper.
He halted, activating his sensory jutsu to get a clearer picture of the situation.
"They really are Iwagakure ANBU... and there are so many of them. Looks like this is the force that came from the Land of Earth. Good thing I didn't head back; I'd have put the captain and the others in danger."
Hunter felt a shudder of fear at the thought. He didn't hesitate to turn and flee, racing in the direction where he sensed no enemies.
His plan was to draw his pursuers as far away as possible from Mochizuki Hui's team, then, before they could capture him... take his own life.
He had no other choice. As an ANBU, Hunter was well aware of the gruesome methods used to extract information from prisoners.
If he were captured alive, the enemy would subject him to torment beyond imagination, trying to extract every piece of intelligence they could.
Just the thought of such torture made Hunter's skin crawl.
Moreover, with the unpredictable variety of ninja techniques in the world, he couldn't be certain that the Iwagakure ANBU wouldn't use some jutsu to extract information directly from his mind.
Given all this, taking his own life seemed the only viable option.
At least that way, he could ensure the safety of his captain, his squad, and the other Konoha ANBU.
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