Seeing that Baishi was weak, the four Kumogakure jonin who had just escaped immediately launched a counterattack.
In an instant, dozens of shurikens flew out, heading straight for Bai Shi's vital points.
However, it seemed that Baishi was completely oblivious to these attacks. He continued to recover his chakra without any intention of dodging.
As the shuriken were about to hit him, suddenly, four Root Jonin stepped in front of him, wielding short blades, and after a flurry of clashing sounds, all the shuriken aimed at Baishi were stopped.
Then, one of them said, "A, you can rest now."
Without any pause, he and the three others rushed toward the Cloud ninjas.
At the same time, another three Root ninjas came to protect Baishi from behind.
Seeing this, Baishi simply sat cross-legged, focusing on recovering his strength while observing the battlefield.
First, looking over at the Chunin, the Root ninjas had gained a significant upper hand because Baishi had caught several of them off-guard earlier and even trapped one of the Jonin. They were essentially suppressing the enemy in combat.
"These ninjas are indeed stronger than average Chunin, but compared to the Root ninjas, they are still lacking."
Shaking his head inwardly, Baishi shifted his attention away from the Chunin and towards the battlefield of the Jonin.
Unlike the Chunin, the battles among the Jonin were much more intense. It was common to see clashes of ninjutsu and taijutsu, with close-quarters combat becoming exceedingly perilous.
This made Baishi feel a bit terrified. He thought, "Thank goodness I used Wood Release to suppress the enemy earlier; otherwise, if I had been caught in close combat, the consequences would be unimaginable."
After watching for a while, and realizing that neither side would come to a conclusion anytime soon, Baishi's gaze involuntarily drifted towards several bodies that looked as if they had been mangled beyond recognition.
To be honest, Baishi was extremely averse to killing. As a youth who had grown up in a time of peace, he held deep respect for life.
However, in the year since his traversal into this world, he had seen too many innocent children lose control under Hashirama's cells and ultimately die in misery.
This had stripped him of his previous reverence for life and left him with a deep-seated disdain for this cruel ninja world.
To leave this world, or to change it, one needed sufficient power. Clearly, he did not have such strength right now.
Thus, all he could do was remain hidden.
However, in the ninja world, where lives were as cheap as grass, not killing did not mean one would not be killed, especially as he was currently in the dark gathering place of the Root.
Thus, Baishi had to harden his heart.
Thanks to the mental preparation he had built up, he was able to kill those Cloud ninjas without changing his expression.
Just as Baishi was drifting in thought, a loud shout suddenly rang out: "Cover me!"
Awakened by this voice, Baishi quickly looked in the direction it came from, only to find it was Yamamoto Ling, who seemed to be one of the leaders of the Cloud ninjas, directing the battle.
Unbeknownst to them, they had already drifted far from the center of the battlefield.
As Baishi contemplated what kind of trick the enemy might have, a flash of lightning suddenly appeared, instantly covering a radius of several hundred meters.
Everyone on the battlefield became alert, preparing to defend against the impending danger.
However, moments later, the expected attack did not occur, and instead, the lightning glowed ominously and did not dissipate.
"Is this... an illusion?!"
Realizing this, Baishi quickly did hand seals, disrupting the chakra in his body. His mind cleared, and the blinding light of the lightning gradually faded.
When he looked back at the battlefield, only three Jonin remained on the Cloud side, while Yamamoto Ling, who had originally called out, had vanished without a trace.
"Did he escape?"
With this thought in mind, Baishi glanced toward Danzo's position. Seeing that Danzo showed no reaction, Baishi understood that the enemy could not have fled.
"Of course, there are still several Root ninjas who haven't shown themselves yet."
This time, the manpower from the Root was clearly disproportionate to the difficulty of the task.
He could guess the reason: Danzo likely treated this mission as part of his training, intending for Baishi to adapt to true combat sooner.
At the same time, those extra personnel were to ensure that no intelligence leaked out.
Now, Danzo's arrangement paid off; those several Root ninjas who had yet to reveal themselves were likely already pursuing the enemy.
Just then, an explosion echoed from the forest.
Watching the flickering flames, Baishi sighed inwardly: "With insufficient strength, even the most meticulous plans might lead to death!"
Scanning the battlefield littered with fallen Cloud Chunin, as well as the three Jonin who had just become pawns and were now encircled, Baishi concluded that this battle would soon come to an end.
Indeed, fifteen minutes later, all the Cloud ninjas lay defeated on the ground, including Yamamoto Ling, who had fled earlier.
After counting the numbers and confirming their accuracy, Danzo ordered, "Clean up the battlefield!"
As his words fell, the Root ninjas immediately sprang into action—some delivered finishing blows, others retrieved equipment, and some erased traces of the battle. Everyone's roles were clear, moving in perfect coordination like parts of a machine.
About half an hour later, the battlefield was completely transformed. Though traces of the battle still lingered, there was no indication left from which anyone could deduce the identities of the two sides.
In particular, the traces left by Baishi's Wood Release were thoroughly cleaned up, ensuring the secret of the technique would not leak out.
As he surveyed the battlefield, Danzo nodded in satisfaction and then said, "The mission has been completed. Return to the village at once!"
"Yes!"
Everyone responded in unison and quickly arranged themselves, guarding Danzo and Baishi as they headed in the direction they had come from.
······
As the sun set and the moon rose, time soon passed into the night.
Hidden Leaf Village.
Headquarters of the Root.
In a certain room, Baishi lay quietly on his bed, reflecting on the events of the day.
There was no doubt that this mission was not just a mere assignment; it was also a test by Danzo. Fortunately, he had passed.
However, this also meant that he could no longer study and train as peacefully as he had over the past four years.
What awaited him now was likely an endless stream of missions; Baishi had no doubt that Danzo would not spare any resources on his behalf.
In this tumultuous ninja world, where every moment was fraught with danger, it would be strange if Danzo didn't fully exploit a top-tier tool like him.
However, this was not a good thing for Baishi himself.
Although he possessed Wood Release and demonstrated Jonin-level strength in today's battle, the impending ninja world war was on the horizon, with villages increasingly active and mission danger levels soaring. A Jonin's strength might not be sufficient.
Thus, moving forward, his primary task was to quickly improve his own strength.
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