The Genjutsu Devil of Konoha

While Tsunade was handling her 3 vs 1 situation quite well, Seijuro had used that time to cast an illusion over the ninja fighting Nawaki and the one fighting Mikoto. This light illusion was nothing too major, really.

Just made them unable to see the small obstacles around them like rocks and so on, nothing that would tell them, oh shit, I am in an illusion.

After all, who checks around to see if every rock and every leaf was in the correct location... Seijuro did.

If even one thing was off, he would know. He may not have the Sharingan, but he damn well would never be put in a genjutsu, just for that minor detail about him. He paid way too much attention to stuff.

Turning around, Seijuro would see Tsunade's fist land on a Jounin's stomach...

Seijuro flinched a bit, watching as her fist went straight through the guy.

Causing the man to puke out blood.

Jeez, her raw strength was crazy.

The third Jounin, seeing an opening, tried to capitalize. He moved fast, nearly silent, slipping behind her blind spot with a kunai coated in something faintly glistening—poison, no doubt.

But just as he prepared to strike—

SHLIK.

His world twisted strangely, and the last thing he saw... was his own headless body, standing dumbly a few steps away.

Thump.

His head hit the dirt. His lifeless eyes stared up to see the "ally" who had severed his head in one smooth motion. Only... that wasn't his ally. It was Seijuro. It was quite easy to cast an illusion when the other person wasn't paying attention to it.

Tsunade turned, breathing only a little heavier than normal—which said a lot, considering she'd just fought three Elite Jounin at once—though she looked fine... for the most part.

Seijuro watched as her wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Seijuro calmly sheathed his sword. It had served its purpose. He did clean it, though, not trying to have his sword be hella rusty.

Seijuro dusted off his uniform casually. "This felt targeted."

Tsunade's sharp gaze snapped to him. "Elaborate."

She already suspected it—but she needed to hear how the little genius pieced it together. A test of sorts.

Seijuro tilted his head, almost lazily. "First," he said, holding up one finger, "they didn't seem particularly interested in the client. Not once did they move toward him. Their entire focus was... us."

Seijuro's shadow clone pulled the client up from underground, while the basic illusion he placed on the clone technique vanished.

Hm, he used like 10% of his chakra in this fight. Hm, maybe he was a bit too wasteful.

Yes, he made a shadow clone with like 5% chakra. The rest of his chakra was used for something else, like reinforcing his body and casting illusions.

So yes, he didn't waste as much chakra as it may have appeared, so he still had Chunin-level reserves.

He continued, lifting a second finger. "Second, the enemy formation. Nawaki was forced into fighting a long-range specialist... his worst matchup. Mikoto, a Uchiha prodigy, got locked in with a Taijutsu specialist—probably trying to neutralize her Sharingan's advantage. And you, Tsunade-sama..." he pondered on it for a bit, his gaze landing on the unconscious and dead shinobi, "your three opponents specialized in long-range combat. Trying to keep you from getting close where you're strongest."

Hm, well, since some of them were dead, he was sure he wouldn't mind if their bounty were collected—that was, if they were in the bounty book to begin with.

Tsunade crossed her arms, eyes narrowed slightly. "Are you implying someone leaked our information?"

Nawaki blinked, frowning. "But... who could even do that?"

Seijuro shrugged, voice cold. "I could understand if they prepared for Nawaki. He's the grandson of the First Hokage. Even if it's a stretch, fame brings attention. Preparing for Tsunade-sama, an elite Jounin with unmatched medical knowledge, also understandable. Stretch again, but tolerable."

He paused, letting the silence draw.

"But me and Mikoto?" His thoughtful expression stretched a bit.

"We graduated two months ago. No one outside the village should even know our names yet, let alone our combat styles and team composition."

Tsunade's gaze darkened.

Seijuro finished simply, "This was an information leak. Someone knew exactly who was on this mission... and sold that knowledge."

Tsunade pondered it, mind racing. Whoever leaked the information not only endangered the mission but also placed her—her—in a trap. That wasn't just sloppy. That was treasonous.

"I'll have to report this to Hiruzen immediately," she muttered, more to herself than to them.

"But," she added firmly, "this mission's compromised. We're heading back."

Her brother was on this mission; she couldn't fathom letting him face so much danger.

Seijuro shook his head, firm but respectful. "We're only two days from the objective. We reach it, finish what we started, then retreat. While there, you could send a message hawk back to Konoha to report the breach. It's safer than turning back blind."

Mikoto nodded. Nawaki did too—his ass probably agreed because he wasn't trying to fail his first-ever actual mission.

While Mikoto... well, she had a huge crush on Seijuro.

Tsunade clicked her tongue... she pondered her options real quickly. The run back to Konoha, while having the merchant and his goods, would be like 6 to 8 days, while the town was like 2 days away with the merchant. If they went there, rested for a day, and then dashed toward Konoha at full speed...

They would make it in 3 to 4 days. So basically, the same amount of time it would take if they went back now—except that in the second scenario, they completed the mission and were more rested.

Hm, she thought on it for a while before she let out a long breath. "Fine. We complete the mission. But the second we're done, we head back."

Seijuro gave a sharp, confident nod.