Almost at the same moment, Hidden Leaf's Anbu located Maple, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki from Takigakure, and informed her of the incident in the village and the suspension of the Chunin Exams.
Upon learning the exams were halted and all Jinchuriki needed to evacuate urgently, Maple quickly asked, "What about Naruto? Is he okay?"
The Anbu replied, "Don't worry, another team is handling him. He'll be taken to a shelter."
"Why don't I go with you to find him? I can fly and find him quickly!"
As she spoke, Maple half-transformed into her tailed beast state, sprouting two pairs of the Seven-Tails' distinctive insect wings and taking to the air.
Buzz.
The Anbu shook his head. "Naruto's covered by another team. Don't worry, and no more talk—come with us to the shelter now!"
Maple knew the gravity of the situation and nodded. "Alright."
Soon, three Anbu escorted Maple and her two Takigakure teammates toward the nearest shelter.
But just then, cries of anguish echoed from ahead, as if a battle was unfolding.
Wail.
The Anbu squad leader signaled for the group to take cover, then moved forward alone, leaping onto a tree branch to assess the situation.
"Heh, after searching forever, I finally found you!"
Suddenly, a mocking laugh rang out near the Anbu squad leader's ear.
"How!?"
The squad leader spun around, his movements swift as he slashed backward with his kunai!
Clang.
With a piercing metallic clash, the Anbu squad leader was horrified to find his kunai had struck the opponent's blocking arm—and it was the kunai that snapped!
Undoubtedly, the figure behind the squad leader was none other than Hiruko, who had infiltrated the Forest of Death in search of the Jinchuriki.
Using Steel Release to block the kunai, Hiruko thrust one hand forward, instantly piercing the squad leader's shoulder.
Clutching his wound, the squad leader retreated swiftly while shouting, "You're the Akatsuki's Hiruko?"
He deliberately raised his voice to alert his distant teammates to evacuate with the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki immediately.
Hiruko said, "No use struggling—none of you are escaping!"
As Hiruko prepared to finish off the injured squad leader, a sudden gust brought a massive cloud of scale powder, enveloping everything in just a breath or two.
Whoosh.
Hiruko paused, frowning.
The scale powder came strangely, clearly a jutsu, and as its density increased, he realized even his Mangekyo Sharingan couldn't pierce the surroundings.
"It's got the feel of tailed beast chakra—could it be the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki? Didn't expect a kid like that to pull off a jutsu like this!"
Hiruko chuckled.
In the scale powder mist, the half-transformed Maple flew to the injured squad leader's side, whispering, "I'll get you out!"
The squad leader snapped urgently, "Idiot, why haven't you escaped!? That's the Akatsuki's Hiruko—forget me, run!"
Maple, brimming with confidence, said, "Don't worry, this is my secret jutsu, Scale Powder Concealment Technique. It blocks sight and perception. Even a Mangekyo Sharingan can't spot us in this mist!"
The squad leader shook his head. "I'm injured—the smell of blood will give us away. Go!"
Maple refused. "I can fly—they won't catch me!"
The squad leader insisted, "You don't understand the Akatsuki. You can't take any chances with them!"
"He's right!"
Suddenly, a voice rang out beside them.
Not just Maple—even the highly alert squad leader was stunned.
Thud.
In the next moment, with a low, muffled sound, Maple, hovering in midair, was struck heavily and crashed to the ground!
An arm then lifted the fallen Maple, and as she was hoisted up, the arm and body gradually became visible, revealing Ranmaru in his Akatsuki red-cloud robe.
"How is this possible!?"
Maple coughed up blood, her face full of confusion.
She couldn't understand how the enemy could pinpoint her in her Scale Powder Concealment Technique. When the powder reached a certain density, it disrupted sight, perception, and even sound.
The squad leader cried out, "You're not Hiruko! You're—"
Swish.
Before he could finish, a black arm pierced his chest from behind, and Hiruko stepped out from behind him.
…
In the distance, Shino, Kiba, and Hinata's team, having stumbled upon the scene, heard the squad leader's earlier cry and immediately took cover.
Hiding in the bushes, Kiba asked anxiously, "Come on, what's going on up there? Who's fighting?"
Due to the headwind, Akamaru's scent-based detection was less effective, so Kiba had to rely on his teammates' reconnaissance.
Shino shook his head. "My parasitic insects won't go near that area."
Kiba was stunned. "How's that possible?"
Shino explained, "Something's scaring my insects so much they refuse my orders. Whoever's fighting over there is incredibly strong!"
He glanced at Hinata.
With her Byakugan activated, Hinata's face was filled with shock. "I—I saw the Akatsuki's Hiruko and another member attacking the Anbu and Maple!"
"What!?"
Kiba and Shino gasped in unison.
Hinata's face stiffened. "Oh no, they've spotted us!"
In the Scale Powder Concealment Technique, Ranmaru tilted his head toward the bushes where Hinata, Shino, and Kiba hid, then calmly looked away.
Undoubtedly, Maple's Scale Powder Concealment Technique could indeed block sight and perception under normal circumstances. But against dojutsu with penetrating vision—like Ranmaru's Hogan or Hinata's Byakugan in the distance—its effectiveness was far less impressive.
Maple was simply unlucky to encounter Ranmaru, who perfectly countered her.
As for Hinata, Shino, and Kiba, Ranmaru had no intention of attacking them. For one, time was tight, and there was no need to waste it on irrelevant targets. For another, he wasn't bloodthirsty.
Noticing Ranmaru's odd behavior, Hiruko also looked toward the trio's hiding spot and asked, "Did you see something?"
Ranmaru shook his head. "Nothing!"
Hiruko didn't suspect otherwise and said, "We've got the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki. Now only Hidden Leaf's Nine-Tails and Sand's One-Tail remain!"
Rumble rumble rumble.
At that moment, a loud roar echoed from the distance, accompanied by tremors shaking the ground!
Hiruko laughed. "That's a big commotion—looks like we've got another catch!"