Judging from the thick smoke, fire, and the direction of the sound, it was definitely one of the exploding tags traps Uchiha Ryosuke had set earlier.
"It seems those unlucky guys triggered the trap first…" Uchiha Ryosuke thought, while expanding his perception.
His keen hearing and sensitive sense of smell immediately relayed the situation on the battlefield clearly.
About seven hundred meters away, there were sounds of hurried breathing and the enemy's uncertain voices.
"Damn it, what happened?"
"It's an exploding tags trap, we actually fell for it!"
"How is that possible? We didn't detect anything just now!"
"The enemy probably lured us here on purpose. Be careful not to fall into their ambush! For now, let's retreat! Go!"
"..."
From the sounds, it was clear the enemies had fallen for it.
The only pity was that, although they fell into the exploding tags trap, they only sustained injuries, and not too severe, still able to move.
At this moment, those six enemies had already begun to retreat rapidly in the direction they came from.
And the one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist who was about to enter the trap on this side also turned and left decisively after realizing something was wrong.
"As expected of a Jonin..."
Uchiha Ryosuke's eyes narrowed slightly.
These elite Ninja from Hidden Mist Village displayed powerful and professional Ninja qualities.
If it were a lower-ranked Ninja, rashly entering his trap like that, they would have been pulverized long ago.
Of course, Uchiha Ryosuke had no intention of stopping there.
He quickly appeared, turned, and threw a kunai at the fleeing Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
The opponent was already a hundred meters away, his figure vaguely visible through the gaps in the tree branches and leaves.
Uchiha Ryosuke's kunai instantly broke the sound barrier, flying towards the enemy's back with a piercing sound.
"Hmph!"
The one pursuing Uchiha Ryosuke was a middle-aged man with a beard.
Like the other Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, he also had bandages wrapped around his neck.
His weapon looked like a giant hammer.
This weapon was called Kabutowari.
All these features told Uchiha Ryosuke that this guy was Ameyuri Ringo, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
By the time Ameyuri Ringo heard the movement behind him, it was already too late; he couldn't dodge or block.
After a muffled grunt, his body swayed.
He quickly stomped hard on a tree branch, using the momentum to accelerate his escape, not daring to look back.
In an instant, he had vanished into the dense forest.
Sarutobi Shio, Hyuga Koji, and Uzuki Sen, who were fleeing, were already somewhat exhausted.
They were about to be caught by the enemy.
Suddenly, they heard a violent explosion from behind them and were greatly surprised.
"It sounds like the commotion caused by exploding tags, but not just a single exploding tag, rather an exploding tags formation... When did you set up a trap?"
Sarutobi Shio asked his two companions in surprise.
But Hyuga Koji and Uzuki Sen were equally confused.
They exchanged glances, both shaking their heads.
"We didn't set the trap."
"Not you?"
"Then who was it?"
Sarutobi Shio showed a puzzled and thoughtful expression.
"Could it be that Uchiha Ryosuke?"
Uzuki Sen asked.
When Uchiha Ryosuke was injured and unconscious, they had already checked his Ninja identification, so they naturally knew Uchiha Ryosuke's name.
"Let me see what happened..."
Hyuga Koji said, then activated his Byakugan to observe the situation behind them.
Upon seeing it, his pupils suddenly constricted slightly, and he felt it was incredibly unbelievable.
"Those guys are injured and are retreating quickly!"
"It seems they were the ones who triggered the exploding tags trap!"
Hyuga Koji's words also greatly surprised the other two.
The two looked at each other again, then back at Hyuga Koji.
Sarutobi Shio narrowed his eyes and asked in a deep voice, "Are you sure?"
"Confirmed, that guy is now 800 meters to our southeast!"
"And besides us and him, there are only those enemies here. No one else would set such a trap here."
Hyuga Koji's answer made Sarutobi Shio narrow his eyes again.
He stopped speaking.
Uzuki Sen then said, "So he deliberately let us retreat first, choosing to stay behind to deal with the enemy himself?"
"Hmph! Playing the hero!"
Sarutobi Shio curled his lips.
"Anyway, at least the enemies have been repelled. Those were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist..."
Hyuga Koji's face was filled with lingering fear.
He had even prepared himself to die there.
Now that he was alive, he felt some gratitude towards Uchiha Ryosuke.
"That kid just got lucky."
Sarutobi Shio again curled his lips in disdain.
"What do we do now?"
Uzuki Sen asked.
Suddenly being pursued by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had also scared her to the point of being flustered.
Such powerful enemies were not something they could handle.
"Let's go meet up with Uchiha Ryosuke first."
Hyuga Koji suggested.
But this decision was immediately rejected by Sarutobi Shio.
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist are injured; this is a golden opportunity!"
"If we can take this chance to pursue and eliminate them, we'll have made a great contribution! Maybe from now on, we can become Jonin!!"
His eyes glowed with fervent light.
He was incredibly excited about this matter.
But the other two, hearing his words, showed worried expressions.
"Although that's true, wouldn't it be a bit too risky?"
Uzuki Sen asked.
Hyuga Koji continued to suggest, "I agree to pursue the injured enemies. Taking advantage of their injuries is the best opportunity to counter-kill them, but we need to meet up with Uchiha Ryosuke first."
"No need!"
"That kid just now used us as bait! Such an act of sacrificing comrades to achieve one's own goals is selfish and completely irresponsible, no matter how you look at it!"
"He didn't even care about our lives!!"
Sarutobi Shio rejected it again.
This time, Hyuga Koji and Uzuki Sen both fell silent.
The former, being a member of the Hyuga Clan, actually knew some things himself.
The Uchiha Clan's reputation and treatment in the Village had greatly declined over the years.
Many people in the Village held certain prejudices against them.
Even Uzuki Sen, not from a Konoha noble clan, had naturally heard about this.
They knew in their hearts why Sarutobi Shio was targeting Uchiha Ryosuke so much now.
However, they found it inconvenient to interject in such matters, nor did they want to be seen as siding with the Uchiha Clan...