Renji and Retsu followed the carved clan marks through the woods until they reached the spot where the enemy had split up again.
Retsu crouched, scanning the ground. "This isn't the trail of just two anymore. Looks like nearly twenty. Yan left two kinds of signs. The open one points west for any Konoha support. The private Uchiha code points east for us. More footprints head east."
He frowned. "Yan must have found something big. The western marks aren't for us at all. They're for the village's pursuit teams. He's betting Konoha will react. The east is for us and any Uchiha support. You were right. This is big. Move. Yan could be exposed any second."
Edge of the Konoha Forest
Kenshi caught up with Takuma and Clan Head Nobunaga, reporting in a low voice. "They split ahead. The trail that entered the forest was Yan's. There was a short fight fifteen hundred meters past the fork. Fast engagement. One enemy took poison. That was Renji and Retsu's work. The kids have stirred up a hornet's nest."
Nobunaga's eyes hardened. "We advance at speed."
At his command, the unit surged forward.
The forest was thick with life, towering trunks rushing past as Renji and Retsu vaulted from branch to branch. They paused to listen, then kept moving without bothering to hide.
After a hard sprint, they stopped again. Retsu slammed a fist against a trunk. "Damn it. Another split. We'll never catch them like this. They're laying decoys, and they're fast."
Renji lifted a hand, signaling silence. Both slid backward into cover and began weaving signs.
They froze when they saw their "enemy." A blond kid, about their age, clutching a kunai. Instead of fear, relief washed over his face when he saw their Police Force gear.
Retsu snorted. "Hey, sunshine. You out here camping?"
The kid scratched his head, sheepish. "I'm Minato Namikaze, student at the Academy. My teammate was kidnapped. I followed the clues he left behind. Are you here to rescue someone too?"
Renji and Retsu traded a glance. The crates weren't for smuggling goods. They were stealing a child from Konoha.
Renji moved fast. "Retsu, you run your own trail. If you catch up and don't find Yan, do not attack alone. Leave marks and wait for support. If you meet Yan, you stay with him. I have a partner here. I'll follow his clue path. Our instinct was right. This isn't just a big fish. This could get people killed."
He turned to Minato. "Lead the way. You can find your teammate, right?"
Renji scored both the public Konoha mark and the private Uchiha code into the soil, then nodded to the blond. The two took off in one direction while he called back to Retsu, "Live, and we go home together."
Under a giant tree, Kenshi studied the symbols. "According to Yan's signs, the enemy split here. Yan continued forward. The boys split too. Renji went left with someone. Retsu pressed on alone. We won't know who Renji's with until we see them."
Takuma cleared his throat. "I'll take Renji. Brother, you and Kenshi push after Retsu and Yan. Renji left two sets of marks. He wants it this way."
Nobunaga nodded once. "So be it. First through Fifth squads with Takuma. Move."
Deeper in the forest, a burly man sped along the trunks with a red-haired girl on his back. Three shinobi guarded them in a triangle.
"Mouse behind us still on?" the man asked.
A smile played on the girl's lips. "Keeping pace. A promising one. Shame. In an hour, lay flowers for him at the Memorial Stone."
The man smirked and quickened his pace.
Half an hour earlier, two enemy cells had rendezvoused. The trailing team arrived bristling. "Why stop? Why aren't you following the plan?"
The masked leader in front kept his voice flat. "We have company. New plan. Sanai becomes the girl. We pretend to rest here. I carry her and continue as planned. Three of you head back now. Scramble their view. They're trackers, not sensors, or they wouldn't be so close.
"The other five take the real girl left, to the rendezvous. If no one is there, don't wait. Go straight to the Cloud. The three who loop back, return in half an hour. We crush the tail at the forward point. I'm mission lead. Follow my call."
Retsu raced on when three figures appeared ahead. Both sides halted, reading each other in a heartbeat. The clash ignited at once.
"Uchiha Shuriken Technique."
"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire."
Retsu struck first, then pivoted to withdraw toward support. One jonin, two genin. I'm a genin. I can annoy them, not win. Don't be a hero. Draw them in, live to regroup. Yan, stay safe.
"Fast little brat," growled a scarred man. "Kill him and go."
They accelerated. The gap closed. Retsu cursed. I never dated your sister. Why chase me like this? Fine. Bite once, then run. Stall for time.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball."
"Uchiha Shuriken Technique."
The trio staggered, then answered in perfect rhythm.
"Water Style: Flowing Wall."
"Manipulated Shuriken."
"Lightning Style: Ground Runner."
The surge of lightning caught Retsu clean. His body exploded into smoke.
"Earth Style: Headhunter."
A small enemy vanished waist-deep into soil with a yelp. Retsu burst from the earth, boot slamming onto the trapped man's neck. Using the rebound, he cut hard left, a shuriken whispering past the closest foe's nape with surgical precision.
Retsu panted, grinning through the burn in his lungs. "Heh. Now it's one on one."
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