Old people get angry when you question them so do it

As the teams prepared for the upcoming battle, Jonin Izumo gathered everyone and began explaining the situation.

"We have confirmation that the enemies we will be facing belong to the Cloud Village," he announced, holding up a piece of paper, likely a report from the village. "There are four enemy teams, meaning we'll be up against four jonin and twelve chunin."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Jonin Akira, Jonin Utakata, and I will each take on one of the jonin. The fourth jonin will be handled by Chunin Sho. The rest of the chunin will be split among the remaining forces, including you genin." He glanced at Team 1.

There were no complaints or concerns. Everyone nodded in understanding. The chunin would be facing their own rank, while the genin of Team 1, all geniuses, would be fighting above their level, a role they had been trained for since their selection.

Seeing no objections, Izumo continued, "The sensors will first determine the enemy's exact location. If the terrain is favorable, we will go for a direct assault. If not, we will eliminate them one by one before they realize what's happening."

The Hyuga Jonin motioned for the sensors to move, and Sho, Koichi and Hitoshi followed him into the forest.

As the rest of the squad waited, Utakata approached Ren and Yugao.

"Neither of you has faced enemy shinobi in direct combat yet," he said, his usual neutral tone softer than usual, "but I know your abilities are more than sufficient to deal with chunin-level opponents. That said, be careful. A shinobi's strength isn't just in their jutsu or physical ability it's in their mind. Never assume you know what your enemy will do."

Both Ren and Yugao nodded, Utakata then turned his attention to Ren. "During the battle, keep an eye on Chunin Sho's fight. Step in if necessary."

Ren simply nodded in response. He understood why. While Yugao would be facing chunin opponents like the others, Ren had been asked to monitor Sho's battle because he was capable of handling a jonin if needed. Unlike normal shinobi, Ren's combat power was far beyond what his displayed level suggested. Most shinobi developed their skills in a balanced manner, meaning their level reflected their overall combat ability with some margin of error. Ren, however, had focused heavily on high speed combat, making his actual strength at least ten to fifteen levels above his own Level 43.

The group continued waiting in silence.

More than an hour later, the sensor team returned. The Hyuga Jonin spoke first, "We've located the enemy. They're hiding in a bunker dug at the base of a mangrove tree. There is only one entrance, and it is covered with seals so you will have to break through it first." His gaze shifted toward Utakata as he said the last part, indicating that his expertise in fuinjutsu would be needed to break the seal.

Utakata nodded without question.

Izumo frowned slightly. "It looks like we'll have to go with a direct assault then. Our mission is to eliminate them all."

At that moment, Haruto Sarutobi, one of the chunin under the Hyuga Jonin, hesitated before speaking. "Sir, considering the way they're positioned, doesn't this confirm that they're a suicide team? Their real goal is likely elsewhere. Should we really eliminate them all?"

Silence followed his question.

Izumo turned his gaze toward him, his tone still like it always was. "Chunin Haruto, our mission is to eliminate all enemies. Is that understood?"

Haruto visibly stiffened under the pressure, realizing his mistake. "Understood, sir."

The Hyuga Jonin said nothing, letting his subordinate face the consequences of his own words. In Konoha, while the military environment was more lenient compared to other villages, questioning an order from a superior especially just before a mission was unacceptable. Hierarchy was crucial, and Haruto would likely face consequences when they returned to the village.

Ren also understood the reality of the situation. Team 1's job was only to eliminate the infiltrators. The larger political schemes between Cloud and Konoha were beyond their mission. It wasn't their place to interfere.

After a brief moment, Izumo looked at the group one last time and gave the order.

"Let's go."

The Hyuga Jonin took the lead, and the entire squad followed, moving swiftly through the trees toward the enemy's hidden bunker.

As the three squads reached the swamp area, they found themselves surrounded by countless mangrove trees, each looking identical to the next. However, the sensors had already pinpointed the enemy's location, and the team moved swiftly toward their target.

The Hyuga Jonin raised a hand, signaling the squad to halt. He pointed at one of the trees, which seemed no different from the others.

Izumo stepped forward, scanning the terrain carefully.

"The location does not favor us," he stated. "If we enter the bunker, they could collapse it on us, putting us at an extreme disadvantage. However, if we fight outside, we'll have to deal with the increased risk of their lightning-style jutsu. That said, handling the latter is far easier than being buried alive underground, so we'll be engaging them in the open."

He turned toward Utakata. "What about the seal?"

Utakata said nothing at first. Instead, he motioned for Ren to come forward. Without hesitation, Ren flickered next to his sensei, standing silently as Utakata gestured toward the tree.

"What do you see?" Utakata asked.

Ren focused chakra into his eyes, looking closely at the roots of the tree. A cover fuinjutsu concealed most of the details, but as he concentrated, he was able to see past the initial layer. His eyes narrowed as he analyzed the sealwork.

"It looks like a basic hiding seal at first," he mumbled, "but there are linking symbols connected downward. It's likely designed to alert those inside if someone tries to break in. There are also hidden seals, probably for traps. The linking symbols extend up the tree as well, but I can't determine their function… though it's either for an explosion or a collapse."

Utakata nodded. "It leads to an explosion. Your first assessment is correct, the seal alerts them of intrusions and triggers hidden weapon traps. If anyone enters forcefully, the tree will detonate, causing the mud to collapse and bury the bunker. However, the explosion can only be activated by someone with the key. What you're looking at is a fully integrated fuinjutsu array capable of both automatic and manual control."

Ren listened intently as Utakata continued.

"Watch carefully. I'll dismantle it. Pay attention to each step."

Utakata then turned to Izumo and simply stated, "Twenty seconds."

Without another word, he flickered forward.

Ren focused entirely on his sensei, adjusting his angle so he could closely observe every movement. He came to know that Utakata was a Level 5 Fuinjutsu Master some time ago and this was a rare opportunity to see someone of that caliber in direct action because even though he could learn from him anytime it was rare to see them in work in the field.

Utakata extended his hand toward the center of the seal, channeling chakra into it. Ren observed closely as Utakata's chakra passed through dozens of hidden symbols, dismantling the alert and trap functions in an instant. The seal should have reacted violently, yet it remained completely inert. The linking symbols shattered as if they were nothing more than fragile glass.

Once the alert system was neutralized, Utakata shifted his chakra toward the tree itself. Suddenly, dozens of hidden seals lit up all over the trunk, glowing faintly even to the naked eye. However, before they could activate, they lost their light and collapsed one by one at a staggering speed.

Exactly twenty seconds later, Utakata jumped back. In one swift motion, he threw several explosion tags directly into the now-visible bunker. A second later,

BOOM.

The swamp shook violently as an immense blast erupted from the underground chamber. Water and mud shot into the air from the sheer force of the explosion.

And then shadows burst from the bunker, moving at high speed.

Instead of retreating, the enemy shinobi immediately launched themselves toward the Konoha forces, ready to attack.

As soon as the enemy shinobi emerged from the bunker, they launched several smoke bombs, instantly reducing visibility and covering the battlefield in a thick haze. However, this had limited effect on Ren thanks to his system, he could still see the levels and names of everyone around him, except for two individuals whose levels were displayed as "???". Despite this, he could still see their names, ensuring that a sneak attack wouldn't catch him off guard.

And a sneak attack did come.

The four strongest enemies with Level 58, Level 63, and the two shinobi with unidentified level immediately rushed toward the weaker Konoha shinobi. It was clear that they had some prior knowledge of Konoha's squad formations, as they headed straight for the weaker units first.

However, Konoha's sensors were unmatched in skill. Even within the smoke, they could track the enemy's movements, allowing the Leaf shinobi to react swiftly.

Just as one of the unknown-level enemies charged toward Team 1, Utakata flickered in front of Yugao, blocking the attack effortlessly. Taking advantage of this moment, Ren formed a hand seal and released a massive Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.

A powerful gust of wind tore through the battlefield, blowing away the smoke and revealing the battlefield clearly.

With full visibility restored, the battle began instantly.

The Hyuga Jonin immediately engaged one of the "???"-level enemies.

Izumo Nara dashed toward the Level 63 opponent, intercepting him before he could strike any of the Konoha shinobi.

This left the Level 58 enemy to Sho Inuzuka. Akira pointed at the masked figure and stated, "He will be your opponent." Sho simply nodded, focusing on his target.

Meanwhile, the remaining ten enemy shinobi rushed toward the rest of the Konoha forces.

Among them, the strongest had Level 51, a shinobi named Touma Sano. Ren immediately set his sights on him and flickered forward, choosing his target without hesitation.

As he passed by Hitoshi, he gave a quick message, "Confirm if the two others are dead or in hiding." Hitoshi nodded, already sending out his insects to scout for any hidden threats.

The rest of the shinobi chose their opponents instantly, Koichi took on two enemies one at Level 43 and the other at Level 36.

Haruto also faced two opponents, balancing the battle distribution so that every other Konoha shinobi had one enemy to deal with.

With the battlefield fully set, the fight erupted into full-scale combat.

{A/N:- A double release today or rather tomorrow idk since I will be updating a new chapter at the refresh time GMT: 00. For me this would be 21:30 and from now on chapters would be released at that time.

This is because someone pointed it out to me that I should update at that time so I could steal more stones from you.}