While the Leaf forces were preparing to face them, the Cloud ninja were also surging toward the Leaf's position.
"Lord Dodai, the Hyuga squad responsible for monitoring us has been completely wiped out. Lord A and Lord Bee are currently leading a strike team, bypassing the main Leaf force to head toward the Leaf's rear camp." A messenger reported.
"Excellent," Dodai nodded with satisfaction.
In direct frontal clashes, the Cloud had yet to gain a significant advantage against the Leaf, even though they were usually the aggressors.
The Hidden Cloud might look like a bunch of muscle-bound brutes, but they were cunning; they still intended to use a feint to draw the Leaf's attention, then strike where they were most vulnerable.
"Pass the word: form a defensive perimeter. Prepare to repel the Leaf's primary offensive." Upon reaching a strategic high point, Dodai issued his command.
Receiving the order, the Cloud force that had been charging toward the Leaf camp halted, and Earth Style users began constructing terrain advantages.
The Cloud had failed to gather intel that Tsunade had returned to the front, or that rising stars like Minato Namikaze had arrived. As for Saiki—a combatant capable of dueling Killer Bee—the Cloud assumed he had been vaporized in the Tailed Beast Ball's explosion; they believed the Leaf's high-end combat power was the same as it was a week ago.
In their eyes, Jiraiya—the Leaf's strongest asset—would inevitably move to intercept their main force. This would leave the Leaf's rear camp empty, providing the perfect opportunity to slaughter the medics and the wounded before they could recover.
The Cloud were truly not stupid; they were masters of deception, as evidenced by the future incident where they would attempt to kidnap Hinata and force Hizashi Hyuga to commit suicide.
Because the Cloud had been acting so recklessly lately, even brilliant minds like Shikaku Nara had grown slightly careless, failing to predict this calculated maneuver.
Intelligence is not omniscience. No one can predict every turn of fate—just as the Cloud failed to predict the anomaly that was Saiki.
"Heh, interesting," Saiki chuckled as he ran.
A ninja engagement didn't require the rigid discipline of a standard army, but the advance of the massive unit was still heavy and suffocating. No one spoke; they moved through the trees like a swarm of silent, leaping fleas.
"Saiki, what is it?" Tsume Inuzuka looked over, and several nearby ninja spared him a glance. To have the mood to joke at a time like this suggested a very thick set of nerves.
He raised a hand and pointed toward the front right. "Sensei, in those underground bunkers several kilometers out... it looks like quite a few people are hiding."
"What?!" Tsume was startled. She demanded confirmation: "Saiki, are you sure about that?"
"Positive. At least a hundred of them. Their average level is quite high, and two of them have chakra signatures that are terrifyingly massive." Saiki nodded seriously.
It was a stroke of luck. Saiki knew that Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu were plotting across the entire Shinobi World and were familiar with every major battlefield. Therefore, since arriving at the front, Saiki had made it a habit to scan the earth beneath him whenever he had a spare moment.
Ninja could manipulate the earth with Earth Style, but "Underground Travel" jutsu were rare; most didn't consider the earth a viable path for large-scale troop movements or ambushes.
Furthermore, sensory abilities were heavily restricted by terrain. Most sensors couldn't see what was happening deep underground, which was exactly the loophole the Cloud had exploited.
The Cloud had come prepared. After their failed night raid, even with their heavy losses, they continued their harassment specifically to buy time to dig several bunkers a hundred meters below the surface, protected by sensory-blocking barriers.
If Saiki hadn't been bored and scanning the dirt, those barriers—which were effective even against his perception—might have hidden them.
"Keep moving. I'm going ahead to notify Lord Jiraiya." Knowing Saiki wasn't the type to joke about tactical intel, she dropped the order and blurred toward the front of the line.
"Boss, are you for real?" Genhai asked curiously. Kurenai was also watching him intently.
"Why would I lie to you?" Saiki gave him a flat look, his eyes narrowing.
He wasn't mistaken about those two massive signatures; it was definitely the A-B brothers. He couldn't be sure if they were planning a pincer attack or a raid on the rear camp.
If it was a pincer attack, they'd just have a brawl later. But if they were targeting the rear... Tsunade was back there.
Saiki wasn't about to let them pass.
Before long, Tsume reached Jiraiya and whispered the report. Minato Namikaze, possessing formidable sensory skills of his own, immediately expanded his range.
The entire army maintained its pace toward the Cloud main force to avoid tipping their hand. Stopping to chat was impossible. Jiraiya could only whisper to Minato, "Minato, can you pick them up?"
Jiraiya's sensory range was excellent in Sage Mode, but in his base state, he required a specialized barrier to scan the area—sensing deep underground was simply beyond his current kit.
Even the Hyuga captain nearby couldn't see that far or that deep with his Byakugan, especially with a specialized interference barrier in the way.
Saiki really wanted to complain about the inconsistency of sensory powers in this world. Tobirama Senju could supposedly sense disturbances from a thousand miles away, yet he was ambushed and killed by the Gold and Silver brothers.
From what Saiki had seen, most sensors were lucky to have a range of a few kilometers. Even the "Kagura Shingan," the supposedly ultimate sensory eye, capped out at a few dozen kilometers.
It was absurd. The Shinobi World used ancient communication methods and modern, long-range radar-style detection, yet fought close-range ambushes. The logic of war here was non-existent.
Faced with Jiraiya's question, Minato felt a bit embarrassed. The enemy was nearly five kilometers away and buried a hundred meters deep. He could only report what his intuition told him. "Sensei, I can detect the presence of a sensory-blocking barrier about five kilometers to the southwest, but I can't determine the numbers or the nature of the threat inside."
Jiraiya glanced at Tsume, then thought of Saiki. The whole thing felt like black magic. If Minato hadn't confirmed the existence of a barrier, he would have assumed the boy was lying. How could a child possess such god-tier perception?
Jiraiya deliberated. Whether the Cloud were there for a pincer attack or a raid on the camp, he had to act. He turned to Tsume. "Chunin Tsume, bring Saiki to me. I need to confirm the coordinates with him personally."
They were about to hit the Cloud main line. They had to redeploy without causing a panic in the ranks. Jiraiya was feeling the pressure.
"I refuse," Saiki said to Minato Namikaze.
The orders had been issued quickly. The main force would continue their advance, while Saiki and Minato would return to the camp to organize a response and prepare a counter-ambush.
Minato had intended to place a Flying Thunder God marker on Saiki's body so he could monitor the Cloud's movement while Minato sprinted back to the base to gather the reserves.
Saiki stared at Minato with narrowing eyes. He could have just given Saiki a marked kunai. The fact that he wanted to mark Saiki's body made the boy look ready to draw his sword if he didn't get a damn good explanation.
Being rejected so bluntly, Minato looked awkward. He wasn't a dense idiot like Naruto; his "sunny" exterior hid a very calculating, somewhat manipulative interior.
With a forced, apologetic smile, Minato acted as if nothing had happened. He handed Saiki a specialized three-pronged kunai instead.
"I'll be back as soon as possible," Minato said before vanishing in a streak of yellow.
Staring at the kunai in his hand, Saiki sneered. "Does he really think I'm an idiot? The Flying Thunder God markers are permanent. He wants a back-door into my life in case I ever become a threat to the village. It seems he still hasn't processed his defeat."
Minato was indeed still a bit salty, but his primary motivation was his belief that Saiki was a wild card. Leaving a marker on him was a fail-safe for the village's security.
Saiki held the specialized kunai. He manifested his Auspicious Cloud, using its divine pressure to anchor the space around him. He began injecting his own chakra into the kunai, attempting to reverse-engineer the formula. He was genuinely curious about the mechanics of spatial jumping.
Minato had no idea that by leaving the kunai, he had given Saiki a textbook for the Flying Thunder God.
Saiki was familiar with the Reverse Summoning Jutsu and had a working knowledge of Sealing Arts. He wasn't a total novice in space-time theory.
With the Auspicious Cloud "freezing" the coordinates, Saiki could clearly feel the microscopic spatial ripples triggered by the formula. It was entirely possible he could develop a teleportation art that surpassed the Flying Thunder God itself.