"Lord Hyakusen, be careful—there might be an ambush."
Ao's face was tense with worry as he urgently warned Hyūga Hyakusen.
As the commander of the Mist shinobi forces, Hyakusen wasn't as cautious as, say, Jōshū the Fierce, but even he knew the basic rule of warfare: Never rush blindly into a forest.
"Ao, I've heard your sensory skills are decent. Take a squad and scout ahead."
"Huh?" Ao's expression darkened, but he didn't dare show his reluctance. With no choice, he led a small team forward to clear the path.
After scouting several miles ahead, Ao's squad sent a bird-call signal—all clear. Hyakusen smirked. "Ao's too paranoid. There's no trap here. The Leaf's Hundred-Man Unit must've panicked and fled into the Misty Forest in desperation."
Picking up the pace, Hyakusen soon caught up with Ao's squad.
"Lord Hyakusen, the White Blood Demon is cunning. We should still proceed with caution."
"Enough, Ao. If we let the Leaf escape, what then? Even if there is a trap, so what? Worst case, we retreat."
With a dismissive wave, Hyakusen pushed forward.
Ambushes in the Misty Forest were the Mist's specialty. Even if the Leaf had set something up, they'd only be digging their own graves. What was there to fear?
Before they knew it, the Mist forces had chased the enemy dozens of miles deep—until they finally caught up to the Leaf's Hundred-Man Unit.
"Halt! The mist ahead is toxic!"
Hyakusen raised his hand, stopping the advance.
Ao frowned. "Lord Hyakusen, this isn't natural forest miasma. The Leaf must've released poison gas."
"Find a genin. Test it."
Spotting a young shinobi nearby who dared to look afraid, Hyakusen casually pointed. "You. Do it."
"W-what?!" The genin's face paled, but disobeying a suicide order was unthinkable.
Dying now would be mercy compared to the punishment for defiance—torture, or worse, his family suffering for his insubordination.
The moment the genin stepped into the gas, his body went numb. His chakra froze—a clear sign of lethal poisoning.
"It's a trap! Fall back!"
Hyakusen finally realized the danger. Poison in a mist-covered forest was a nightmare. Time to retreat.
But before leaving, he fired a volley of Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets, killing the poisoned genin on the spot. The other Mist shinobi showed no reaction—this was standard protocol. A compromised comrade was a liability. Eliminating them prevented intel leaks.
As Hyakusen led the retreat, unbeknownst to him, Umino Yoru's shadow clones had already spread out, weaving Hidden Mist Jutsu across the forest.
Poison bombs and water bat toxins were unleashed, merging with the artificial mist to form toxic barriers—a labyrinth designed to cut off the Mist forces' escape.
Of course, the Mist's formation was wide, and the poison supply limited. The barriers couldn't seal them in completely at first.
But step by step, the maze tightened.
The gaps between the poison walls? Lined with traps and Leaf snipers.
Each Leaf squad was guided by a shadow clone acting as a tactical advisor. Even better, each clone wielded two Sand-style puppets—elite jōnin-tier weapons. Using Red Secret Technique: Twin Puppet Manipulation, these clones fought at a level rivaling most Mist jōnin.
With the forest's cover, their strength only grew.
Yoru could maintain 25 shadow clones. Ten controlled the elite armored puppets, while the other 15 functioned as high-level puppet masters—effectively filling the Leaf's combat gaps.
And with Pakura of the Scorch Style joining them? Their advantage skyrocketed.
If they could just stall the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and Hyakusen, the Mist forces—trapped and outmaneuvered—would be annihilated.
"How does the Leaf have this much poison?!"
Hyakusen dodged through the barriers, but the maze only grew denser, splitting the Mist forces into isolated pockets.
Attempts to disperse the gas with jutsu backfired—while high-level shinobi could resist the diluted toxins, the weaker ones collapsed from cumulative exposure.
Soon, the Mist had no choice but to navigate the narrowing paths, until—
They were fully trapped in the poison maze.
To make matters worse, the Leaf began using Wind Release and explosive tags to spread the gas intentionally, maximizing its reach.
Thanks to scavenged Sand antidotes and the clones' coordination, the Leaf operatives moved freely, striking at will.
But Hyakusen and the Swordsmen were relentless.
They bulldozed forward, casualties be damned, nearly breaking free—forcing Yoru to bait them personally.
"White Blood Demon! Found you!"
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen locked onto Yoru and Might Dai.
Ao protested, but Hyakusen kicked him aside.
"KILL THEM!"
Hyakusen charged Yoru, battle-hungry.
"Seventh Gate: OPEN!"
Might Dai activated the Eight Gates and intercepted the Swordsmen.
Meanwhile, two armored puppets shielded Yoru from Hyakusen's bone blades.
"Why do you have Samehada?!" Hyakusen snarled, drawing his own spine-sword. "Did you kill that coward Hōzuki Ryūkei?!"
"Gale Slash!"
Yoru ignored him, letting the puppets keep Hyakusen busy.
Another puppet engaged Kisame's Shark Skin, while Yoru himself clashed with Zabuza's Executioner's Blade.
The remaining four Swordsmen?
Left to Might Dai.
And for him? Four opponents was easy.
Though he hadn't yet mastered the Daytime Tiger, his Morning Peacock and Morning Rooster were more than enough—and he could use them repeatedly.