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"I think, based on the most rational judgment, we should turn back now. Not only because of the imbalance in our strength, but also because the mission has no meaning if we continue."
"The mission has already failed…"
Haori said in a strange tone, a hint of helplessness and seriousness in his voice.
He didn't speak forcefully, but he wasn't actually trying to get Kakashi's opinion. He was clearly informing the other party that they should retreat now.
Or rather, they had to retreat.
After chasing for over an hour, Haori and Kakashi finally caught up with the enemy, but a second engagement was impossible.
Because they hadn't just caught up with two enemies, but quite surprisingly, a whole bunch of them. If Konoha had enough strength, it would be fair to say that they had caught a big fish.
But unfortunately, they only had two people, and they were both Chunin. So, their only choice was to retreat – before alerting the enemy.
Because the people they had caught up with were not just Mei Terumi and Haku.
There were also Zōri Haku, Kushimaru Kuriarare, and Ringo Ameyuri, several members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Then, there was a young ninja with a shark face. His name was probably Kisame Hoshigaki.
There were also several other ninjas. It was difficult to accurately determine their names, but based on some characteristics, it could be judged that they were from Kirigakure's Hozuki clan.
One point that needed to be noted was that there was also a seemingly young boy mixed in.
This male ninja had a baby face and looked quite young. From this distance, you could see that he had silver hair. If you got closer, you could see more detailed features. He had purple eyes and a scar under his left eye that looked like a suture.
He was holding a stick-shaped weapon with hooks at both ends, thick at the back and thin at the front. One end was decorated with a green flower of an unknown species.
So, his name was probably Yagura.
Seeing this group of people, combined with Konoha's intelligence notebook, Haori suddenly felt that his team was really lucky. While other teams couldn't find the enemy, they had stumbled upon a hornet's nest.
This lineup could play a decisive role in a medium-sized battle. To put it more dramatically, they could wipe out a small country.
Even Kakashi, who was obsessed with his mission, agreed with Haori's judgment at this time. He wasn't stupid. He could judge the strength comparison. With the enemy's current strength, if they chose to fight, the result would be obvious.
Meaningless sacrifice, let's just forget about it.
"Is there any way to immediately inform Minato-sensei about what's happening here?" As he quietly retreated, Haori asked Kakashi.
Although Haori was the captain, Kakashi was Minato's disciple. Maybe they had some special way of contacting each other?
"No."
However, Kakashi denied this possibility.
This answer didn't make Haori disappointed. He had just asked out of possibility. He didn't really expect Kakashi to come up with a feasible way to contact him. At this time, Konoha didn't have any real long-distance, real-time communication methods.
"Then, there's no objection to retreating now."
Haori made the decision. If they didn't leave now, would they really be sending themselves to the enemy's group to be killed? Haori wasn't interested in this kind of unequal battle, one against many.
Although the two of them were hiding their figures and didn't get too close to the enemy, and they were careful when retreating, at this time, Yagura, one of the Kirigakure group, suddenly stopped.
He had obviously noticed the enemy's activity.
"What's wrong?" A ninja next to him asked.
"There's someone following us," Yagura considered for a moment, then said to his companions. "You guys continue retreating. I'll take care of them."
There were only two of them. Yagura wasn't afraid of this kind of sneaky enemy.
...
On Haori's side, during the retreat, he finally noticed something wrong.
That feeling of being watched was definitely not an illusion. So, Haori stopped.
"Kakashi, you go first. Tell Orochimaru or Minato-sensei about the situation here as soon as possible."
Then, he gave Kakashi these instructions.
"What's wrong? Can't we retreat together?" Kakashi didn't understand. Couldn't they just retreat together? Why did they have to split up?
Haori pointed in a certain direction. "It seems like we were exposed just now. There's a guest coming. I'm going to meet him."
"How many?"
"Maybe one, maybe several…" Because of the distance, Haori couldn't make an accurate judgment.
"Then, it's more efficient to act as a team. We'll go together…"
Haori interrupted Kakashi. "Konoha Chunin Kakashi Hatake, your priority is to deliver information."
After saying that, he didn't bother with Kakashi anymore. He walked directly towards the direction he had just pointed.
Then, Kakashi stood there, stunned. After pausing for a moment, he straightened his face and continued to advance towards Uzushiogakure as Haori had instructed.
But at this time, he had already used his maximum speed, regardless of chakra consumption.
On Haori's side.
Soon, two figures gradually approached each other in the snow.
"Only one person. Come on, let me see who it is." Haori muttered to himself.
"You're staying behind to cover the retreat, letting your companions go back to report? It's indeed a feasible strategy. But the prerequisite is that you can hold out long enough."
The person's figure hadn't fully appeared yet, but his voice had already come out. And he seemed to have seen through Haori's strategy.
"Don't worry about that. I can hold out long enough."
Was Haori letting Kakashi leave first for this reason? No. If he was going to use certain techniques, he didn't want any Konoha ninjas present.
This was just preparation to fight with all his might.
Haori finally saw who the person was.
Yagura, the future Three-Tails Jinchūriki and Mizukage. Like Rōshi, he was also someone Haori paid attention to.
Being able to become a Jinchūriki was enough to show his immense chakra reserves. Being able to become the Mizukage was enough to show his strength and future potential.
It seems like choosing to fight alone was the right choice.
Haori wasn't in full condition at this time. If you're talking about chakra reserves, he was definitely low on chakra due to consecutive battles.
But his fighting style was unique. He didn't rely entirely on chakra. He wasn't just an ordinary ninja. He would go all out when he needed to.
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