After intercepting Ishiki's group,
Yugito Nii had left behind a clone to block the two Konoha squads.
It was her presence alone that forced Kawahara Junji and Kuriyama Yazuko to split their teams and flee separately.
Their original objective had been simple:
signal for reinforcements through the sentry tower.
Now that the carrier pigeons had flown and signal flares had exploded into the sky,
they had already accomplished their mission.
As for how many casualties the tower's patrol unit would suffer —
they were fully aware.
But compared to the importance of the scroll stolen from Frost Country,
this sacrifice was acceptable.
After all, the duty of the sentry post was to raise the alarm,
even at the cost of their lives.
The walls of earth summoned to block Yugito's earlier flames
had successfully stopped the majority of the fire.
Only a few stray fireballs had managed to arc around —
not enough to pose serious danger.
By the time Yugito circled around the barrier,
the Konoha squads had already scattered.
The Kumo pursuers also split into two groups.
A Jōnin commander intercepted Yugito midway,
delivering updated intel.
Hearing it, Yugito veered off to pursue Kawahara Junji's squad.
The scroll, according to the report,
was most likely in their hands.
And Junji's team was the stronger of the two —
veterans with a known reputation on the Frost front.
As for the patrol squad that fled the tower?
In Yugito's mind, they were insignificant.
She had left a clone to handle them.
Even if they escaped,
they wouldn't affect the real mission:
retrieving the stolen scroll.
The betrayal of Moro'i had shaken the entire village.
A veteran of both the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars,
an elder that even the Fourth Raikage addressed as "Big Brother" —
to think he would steal Kumogakure's top secrets!
Damn Konoha!
Damn them all!
Yugito's heart boiled with killing intent.
But barely two minutes into her pursuit,
a memory echoed back through her mind —
the collapse of her shadow clone.
She frowned sharply.
Golden Chakra Mode?
Quickly, she corrected herself:
"No... it's Konoha's Yang-Style Body Technique!"
During the Third War, Yugito hadn't yet mastered the Two-Tails,
but even then, she had heard rumors about Konoha's terrifying ninjas.
One of them had wielded a mysterious body technique —
Yang-Style Chakra Enhancement.
Few had ever mastered it.
Information was scarce.
As a kunoichi from a village proud of its Lightning-Style body arts,
Yugito had once investigated body techniques herself.
According to old intelligence,
only the Kujō Clan of Konoha had possessed this special training.
But the Kujōs were few,
and during the Third War,
their head had perished on the battlefield.
Since then, the technique had disappeared from the shinobi world.
So…
The one she fought must be a descendant of the Kujō Clan.
A specialist in taijutsu —
unsurprising for a family with that reputation.
Still, Yugito couldn't help but marvel:
Konoha never ceased producing monsters.
But now, her heart steeled itself.
Next time —
if she encountered that golden chakra brat again,
she would kill him.
During their brief clash,
she had learned enough.
Just as the ancient intel described,
practitioners of the Yang-Style Body Technique had terrifying healing powers
and could unleash devastating attacks.
Although the report mentioned that their strikes could cause internal explosions within the body,
Yugito hadn't experienced that herself.
Maybe it was because her clone was wrapped in the Two-Tails' chakra flames,
which naturally offered immense protection.
After all, a clone —
even one reinforced by bijū chakra —
was ultimately a construct of chakra.
Yugito's thoughts sharpened.
She caught up to the other Kumo teams.
Knowing they were deep inside the Land of Fire,
and that Konoha's reinforcements could arrive at any moment,
she accelerated —
entering a partial Tailed Beast Transformation.
The Two-Tails' specialties were fire and speed.
Empowered by it, Yugito became a streak of ghostly blue fire.
Meanwhile...
Ishiki Kujo had no idea of her thoughts.
Nor what was happening elsewhere.
He knew only one thing:
They had to run.
The idea of "holding ground" barely flashed through his mind.
Anything beyond that would be an insult to reality.
If it were just him —
and if he saw Might Guy in trouble —
he might have considered doubling back.
But now?
He had three people to protect.
If he broke away now,
and Kumo caught up,
Mirinae might survive —
but Yasuda Tōbi and Suzumebachi would surely die.
He couldn't let that happen.
Even if they weren't close friends,
they were comrades.
And Ishiki wasn't the kind of man who let comrades die while he fled.
Tōbi had regained consciousness,
though his wounds hadn't fully healed.
He was pale, trembling —
but he could still move.
Fortunately,
the main Konoha camp wasn't far.
At their pace,
they could reach it within a few hours.
And the pigeons, the flares —
they had already alerted every patrol in range.
Sure enough,
after fleeing for some time,
they encountered a Konoha reinforcements team.
Upon regrouping,
the squad leader immediately ordered:
"Suzumebachi, escort Tōbi back to camp!
Mirinae, Ishiki — you're with the support unit!"
"Our mission is to stall for time."
"If Yugito appears, our true countermeasure will be…"
"Lord Orochimaru himself."
Hearing that,
Ishiki exhaled slowly.
With someone like Orochimaru on the move,
at least their odds of survival were no longer zero.
Without him?
Supporting Yugito's advance would've been suicide.