Escaping the Mist Ninja starts with backstabbing your teacher.

Mental energy is very complex. In his previous life, he would not dare to easily attack other people's mental energy, because it might backfire on himself.

But this world is different. Ninjas with chakra possess various mental techniques and illusions.

This led him to specifically seek out some ninjas in Kusagakure who could extract memories from the dead, and to discover their unique understanding of the spiritual realm.

Each has its own specialty. Although the Grass Ninja don't have any particularly powerful ninjutsu or techniques, they have collected ninjutsu from various villages and are somewhat proficient in each.

This perfectly matched Izumi's requirements; these were exactly what he needed. Combined with some basic knowledge he had acquired in Kirigakure, he could easily understand and learn it.

While using various methods to access his memories, he could only modify recent memories at the moment, so he began to modify Yashamaru's memories from today.

From the moment they arrived here, everything they saw, and the truth they learned from Yekura, they began to question the village and suspect Rasa and the higher-ups.

He agreed to assist Yekura by providing a certain amount of intelligence to investigate why the Sand Village leadership made that decision.

However, they were attacked, resulting in the death of their comrade and the escape of several others.

This modification, intended to deepen the impression, employs a certain kind of suggestion. This was originally a method used by secret agents to interrogate and obtain intelligence, belonging to the realm of illusion techniques.

Whether it succeeds or not, it will serve as a test, and it will be used on Juan and Maki later.

With a flick of his finger, he channeled chakra into the opponent's cervical spine, temporarily severing their senses from their head and body, thus achieving general anesthesia.

Finally, he raised his middle finger, and a thin bone needle emerged, which he inserted directly into the back of the opponent's neck and spine, injecting a portion of bone into the opponent's spine for coverage and modification.

"Could this be considered a different kind of human puppet?" Izumi murmured to himself, before black lines flowed into the bone needle.

When the time comes, as long as the other party is within a certain range, he can sense the spell and directly form hand seals to control the other party.

After doing all that, drop the other person on the ground and get a good night's sleep. It's time for the next kid.

Izumi's gaze fell on the distance, where Juan, hiding behind a tree, was secretly watching them. The sudden eye contact made her quickly shrink back behind the tree, secretly praying that Juan wouldn't come closer.

Unfortunately, the more you resist facing something, the more likely you are to face it.

In just a few breaths, the footsteps arrived as expected, and Juan's expression changed from prayer to fear, and then to tears welling up in her eyes.

As a genin, she witnessed a battle that was not something she should be facing at this time, and she had no intention of resisting at all.

This is terrifying! Is this what a battle between Jonin looks like?

"Waaaaah, teacher!"

As Juan, weeping bitterly, heard the footsteps that were so close at hand stop, she could only pray silently.

But I also don't understand why, why the teacher would get involved with the Mist Ninja, even though... the Mist Ninja are so hateful.

She strives to become a ninja and grow stronger in order to avenge her parents, who were murdered by the Mist Ninja.

She was willing to believe her teacher's words, but the moment the Mist Ninja appeared, her worldview began to crumble.

Clutching her kunai tightly in her hand, she struggled internally before finally revealing a resolute expression, tears welling in her eyes as she brandished it.

Izumi grabbed the other's wrist and with a slight pull, the intense pain caused him to release his grip, and the kunai slid to the ground.

He lifted the scroll up completely, looked at the other person's hateful expression, and said calmly, "You do have some courage."

"You seem to hate Kirigakure, but unfortunately, it was Sunagakure that sought peace with Kirigakure, and your teacher was also betrayed by Sunagakure."

"Now that you can't take revenge and have lost the teachers who could have guided and cared for you, shouldn't you be hating the high-ranking officials of Sunagakure who started the war?"

Izumikawa revealed a cold smile. The Third Shinobi World War was started by the Sand Village after the disappearance of the Third Kazekage.

Shifting internal conflicts to external ones and reintegrating internal forces to unite against external threats, while successful, came at the cost of human lives.

He leaned down gently and whispered in the other's ear, "Let me tell you the truth: the Third Kazekage was killed by Sasori, the grandson of your Elder Chiyo."

"So, do you understand now? From beginning to end, all the trouble was caused by the Sunagakure leadership."

"The war has begun, and your parents have sacrificed themselves. Your teacher was also betrayed. This is Sunagakure, this is your village."

A devilish whisper rang in Juan's ear, telling her a reality that shocked her and was simply unacceptable.

What?! The Third Kazekage was killed by Elder Chiyo's grandson?!

So, were these Sand Ninja kept in the dark about this war from beginning to end?

The light in Juan's eyes gradually dimmed and turned gray. Her worldview collapsed once again. Was this the truth of the world?

Izumi saw that the other person's whole body had turned ashen, and he loosened his grip, rolling down to the ground like soft mud.

This made him slightly curl the corners of his mouth, and after squatting down, he whispered, "It seems, it seems, that I don't need to offer any small assistance."

"I'll give you some time to think it over carefully: do you choose the village or your teacher?"

Standing up again, Izumi made a gesture towards the sky, and the circling skeletal giant bird, carrying Momona, descended towards them.

"This girl is Yekura's disciple in Sunagakure. You keep an eye on her and see what choice she's going to make."

"As for that side, although Yekura should be able to take them down on her own, it's better not to waste time."

Leaving Momona and Bone Bird behind, Izumikawa sped off towards where Yekura was.

……

Meanwhile, Ye Cang stood atop the puppet dog, four fireballs swirling around her, looking down at Maki.

Maki was in a rather disheveled state, staring warily at the puppet dog. If it weren't for Ye Cang, he could have easily dealt with it.

However, even with both factors combined, without a powerful summoning beast, he was no match for his opponent.

Indeed, summoning beasts are also a way for ninjas to greatly enhance their strength.

"Maki, you are quite good. Not only are you young, but your strength is also very good. It's a pity that Sunagakure is corrupt and cannot tolerate the existence of geniuses."

"If you can threaten Luo Sha's position, you will probably be eliminated without mercy."

"After all, that's how I was back then, easily betrayed to the Mist Ninja."

As Maki listened to the other person's words, he felt the burning sensation in his lungs and coughed violently a few times. His breathing, which sounded like a broken bellows, betrayed his condition.

The scorching aura was very strong, and even he, who was skilled in wind-style techniques, could not completely resist it. The scorching heat had already damaged his lungs.