"Master Xin?" one of the accompanying shinobi asked as Xin stopped and stared toward the right side of the group, muttering to himself.
"Everyone, listen up! Keep moving forward. No stopping, no matter what."
Something was wrong.
Hearing Xin's command, the accompanying shinobi and the injured understood that danger was near.
Without hiding the truth, Xin shouted, "We've got a large number of Suna shinobi closing in on us. It's that old hag Chiyo, she's planning an attack!"
"Damn it!"
"Those bastards!!"
"Master Xin, should we send a distress signal back to the camp?"
"We'll take those Suna dogs down!!"
The shinobi, even the injured ones, roared in defiance, preparing for the worst.
"No need to send a signal, just keep moving forward. I'll handle the enemies. Your mission is to continue on the path and reach the border outpost in the Land of Fire as quickly as possible."
What good would it do to send a distress signal right now? If they could hold off the enemy, they'd be fine. If not, by the time reinforcements arrived, they'd likely all be dead. Escaping with even a few survivors would be considered a victory.
"Yes, sir!" The group responded in unison, speeding toward the border outpost in the Land of Fire.
But after a while, someone noticed something strange. Where was their leader?
Turning back, they saw Xin lagging behind, walking slowly.
"Xin-sama, we need to pick up the pace," Hyuga Kaze called out, confused by Xin's casual demeanor in such a critical moment. Was he planning to stay behind and fight the enemy alone?
"Not good!" Kaze exclaimed, activating his Byakugan.
"The enemy is closing in much faster than I expected," Xin muttered to himself.
It seemed the enemy had accelerated their encirclement once they noticed that the escort team had quickened their pace.
"Xin-sama, we're surrounded by Suna shinobi. There are a lot of them," Kaze reported, his eyes scanning the area.
"I know. Keep moving forward. Leave the rest to me."
Suna had deployed hundreds of shinobi for this attack. The remaining forces had likely been sent back to Sunagakure by Ebizō, given how stretched their resources were on the River Country front. Suna's shinobi numbers couldn't compare to Konoha's.
With the war against Amegakure over, there was no reason for them to maintain such a large force in this region.
But to Xin, whether they sent a few hundred or even a few thousand shinobi, it didn't matter. Suna was about to learn the true meaning of fear.