"Don't even think about escaping!" Hiruko appeared in front of Nono in an instant, blocking her path.
He had waited an entire day in the Land of Waterfalls. There was no way he would allow Nono to escape back to the Land of Fire.
That would only introduce unnecessary variables.
Nono glanced at the four people surrounding her and showed no intention of surrendering. Instead, she chose to break through from the weakest point—the side guarded by Rat.
In a flash, she charged forward, chakra surging into her hand and forming a sharp chakra scalpel.
Even though Rat struggled desperately, it was useless. The chakra scalpel pierced straight through his heart, killing him instantly.
After dealing with Rat, Nono didn't linger. She hurled several shuriken toward the three pursuing figures, forcing them back for a moment.
Seizing the opening, she immediately fled.
"What a waste of space."
Looking at Rat's corpse, Kaoru showed no anger over a comrade's death. Instead, she sneered coldly, blaming him for his lack of strength.
That man had always given her lewd, disgusting looks. She had long since grown sick of him.
"Hurry and chase her, or she'll get away."
Yugata didn't spare the dead Rat even a glance. His gaze remained fixed on the fleeing Nono as he spoke calmly.
Black market bounty hunters had no concept of comradeship. Only missions and money mattered.
"Relax. She won't escape," Kaoru said lazily. "I enjoy a good game of cat and mouse."
With that, she took the lead in pursuit.
"She's here—don't let her get away!"
Misfortune came in waves.
Nono, already being chased relentlessly by Hiruko and his two remaining companions, suddenly found herself targeted by Mori Ryosuke, a jōnin of Takigakure, along with his team.
Even though she had killed Rat, her situation had not improved.
On the contrary, it had become even more dangerous.
"See?" Hiruko said as he caught up. "I told you earlier—you should've come with me. It's safer when we look out for each other."
Because Hiruko had not concealed his identity, Ryosuke immediately recognized him as a Konoha ninja.
Those words also made him realize something else. Nono was a Konoha ninja as well.
"Bastards! What exactly are you, Konoha Village ninjas plotting?!"
Ryosuke shouted in fury. He refused to believe that everything that had happened today was a mere coincidence.
Was Konoha targeting the Seven-Tails? With that thought, Ryosuke attacked in rage, intending to deal with Nono first.
Water Release: Water Needle Senbon!
Countless senbon condensed from water shot toward Nono.
Already injured, Nono struggled to defend. Though she managed to block some of the water needles, several still struck her.
She was rendered powerless to counter Ryosuke's follow-up attacks.
At the critical moment, Hiruko intervened, repelling Ryosuke's assault.
Nono was his leverage against Hirakawa Aoshi—she absolutely could not die here at Takigakure's hands.
But that action only deepened Ryosuke's suspicion.
"So you really are accomplices from Konoha!" he roared. "The Konoha Village will have to explain everything that happened today!"
With that, he launched another attack. The other Takigakure ninjas joined in as well. In their eyes, Nono, Hiruko, Kaoru, and Yugata were all enemies.
Seeing this, Yugata immediately formed hand seals and activated Earth Release. A thick earthen wall rose abruptly from the ground, blocking Takigakure's offensive.
"Let's retreat first!" Seizing the moment, Hiruko attempted to grab Nono and escape.
But Nono reacted instantly, spitting out flying needles that forced Hiruko to dodge. She then turned and fled once more.
Bang! Ryosuke shattered the earth wall with a powerful blow.
"None of you is getting away!"
Thus, the chase resumed.
Nono sprinted at the front. Hiruko and his two companions pursued closely behind.
Ryosuke and the Takigakure ninjas followed relentlessly at the rear.
Glancing back, Nono understood that if she wanted to escape, she had to force Hiruko's group and Takigakure into direct conflict.
She immediately threw shuriken toward Hiruko's group.
Although they dodged them all, their pace slowed for a moment. That brief delay allowed Ryosuke to catch up.
Seeing this, Hiruko's expression darkened.
"In that case," he said coldly, "we'll deal with the Takigakure ninjas first!"
As his words fell, the two sides clashed head-on. Seeing her plan succeed, Nono finally let out a breath of relief.
Just as she was about to escape successfully—
A kunai suddenly flew toward her. It was far too sudden.
Unable to dodge in time, Nono was stabbed cleanly through her right leg.
"Who's there?!" No one answered.
The hidden attacker's purpose was simple—to prevent her from escaping so easily.
The disturbance naturally caught the attention of both Ryosuke and Hiruko.
Hiruko and his companions were temporarily pinned down by Takigakure's forces, unable to break free.
But one Takigakure ninja managed to catch up to Nono, raising his weapon to finish her off.
In her current condition, Nono had no power left to resist.
"Die!" The Takigakure ninja sneered.
But in the very next instant, a flash of white light cut through the air.
The ninja's head flew off.
This sudden scene left Nono—who had been prepared to accept death—completely stunned.
When she looked up, she saw a familiar figure standing beside her.
"Aoshi-nii!" Indeed—it was Aoshi.
He had arrived and used Hatake-style kenjutsu to instantly kill the Takigakure ninja who had been about to strike Nono.
Her cry was heard by everyone present.
Upon seeing Aoshi, both Hiruko and Ryosuke's expressions immediately turned grim.
"Konoha Hero… Hirakawa Aoshi." Ryosuke spoke his name slowly.
As a jōnin of Takigakure, he naturally recognized Aoshi.
And he also knew—He was absolutely no match for him.
Because of Aoshi's sudden appearance, everyone who had been fighting stopped almost instinctively, as if by tacit agreement.
After briefly scanning the surroundings and seeing the chaotic mix of people present, Aoshi turned to Nono and asked what had happened. At the same time, he began treating her injuries without delay.
Nono naturally didn't hide anything and recounted everything that had occurred from beginning to end.
[Successfully treated Yakushi Nono. Reward obtained: Golden Orb.]
[Congratulations, you have obtained the Transparent Escape Technique.]
This was a D-rank ninjutsu commonly used for infiltration and reconnaissance, regarded as one of the three advanced techniques alongside the Body Flicker Jutsu.
"Hirakawa Aoshi, what exactly are you Konoha Village ninjas trying to do?"
At this moment, Ryosuke stepped forward and questioned him directly.
This was the Land of Waterfalls, firmly within Takigakure's sphere of influence. Even knowing full well that he was no match for Aoshi, Mori Ryosuke still had the confidence to confront him here.
"It's all just a misunderstanding," Aoshi replied calmly. "Give me some face—how about we end things here?"
He wasn't saying this out of fear.
Aoshi understood very clearly that Nono's appearance here must have been due to a mission, which meant his side wasn't entirely in the right. In many cases, ninja villages would simply ignore exposed spies.
But Aoshi couldn't ignore Nono. Therefore, avoiding any further escalation with Takigakure was the best possible outcome.
As for Hiruko, Aoshi knew very well that he was definitely up to no good. However, even if Aoshi explained that they weren't allies, Takigakure wouldn't believe it.
So his plan was simple: first resolve the conflict with Takigakure, then deal with Hiruko afterward.
"A misunderstanding?" Ryosuke sneered. "I think you Konoha ninjas are after the Seven-Tails!"
"The Konoha Village already has the strongest Nine-Tails," Aoshi replied evenly. "Why would it covet Takigakure's Seven-Tails?"
Among all the Tailed Beasts, the Seven-Tails ranked near the bottom in terms of overall power.
Although these words were somewhat harsh, they were undeniably true.
Ryosuke opened his mouth to retort, but at that very moment, an overwhelming surge of chakra swept across the area, causing everyone present to change expression.
A massive beetle-like creature with six wings and a single tail was flying rapidly toward them.
The Seven-Tails! Seeing this, Mori Ryosuke's face instantly turned extremely ugly.
He knew that Erika had not yet fully mastered Tailed Beast Transformation. The Seven-Tails appearing here meant only one thing—It had gone berserk.
"Damn it! What happened in the village?!"
At this point, Ryosuke no longer had the mind to question Aoshi about Konoha's intentions, nor did he care about Hiruko and the others.
The most urgent matter was to deal with the rampaging Seven-Tails.
Even with the appearance of the Seven-Tails, Aoshi remained completely calm.
At the same time, he immediately understood Danzo's plan. The other party intended to use the Seven-Tails to deal with him.
Clearly, Danzo also knew that ordinary methods were no longer sufficient to handle Aoshi.
After all, two years ago, Aoshi had already defeated Satori.
Two years later, he would only be stronger.
However, ninjas and Tailed Beasts existed on entirely different levels.
There were indeed individuals in the ninja world capable of defeating a Tailed Beast single-handedly—but they were all top-tier existences.
In Danzo's eyes, no matter how monstrous Aoshi's talent was, it was impossible for him to grow to a level that surpassed a Tailed Beast in just two years.
Even if it was only the relatively weaker Seven-Tails.
"Nono, you go first. This situation is beyond your abilities." Aoshi stepped forward, telling Nono to retreat.
Nono looked worried and said, "But Aoshi-nii, you—"
"Don't worry," Aoshi replied confidently, patting her on the head. "A mere Seven-Tails can't do anything to me."
"If you stay here, I'll just be distracted instead."
"I understand… then you must come back alive!"
As Nono withdrew, Hiruko and his two remaining companions also prepared to seize the opportunity to escape.
Fighting a Tailed Beast was far beyond what they could handle. But how could Aoshi possibly let them go so easily?
Since Hiruko had chosen to attack Nono, Aoshi had no intention of sparing him.
After all, Hiruko would eventually defect from Konoha in the future anyway.
Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Aoshi dispatched a shadow clone to intercept Hiruko, while his main body stepped forward to face the Seven-Tails, which had already charged straight toward him.
"Hirakawa Aoshi, what is the meaning of this?!" Seeing Aoshi block their path with a shadow clone, Hiruko's face darkened drastically.
"You dare attack a fellow Konoha ninja? Are you trying to defect from the Konoha Village?!"
Hearing this, even Aoshi's shadow clone couldn't help but admire Hiruko's shamelessness.
"Hiruko," the shadow clone said coldly, "you colluded with black market bounty hunters to pursue and harm Nono. As a Konoha ninja, I have the authority to arrest you and bring you back to Konoha!"
"If you dare to resist, I am authorized to execute you on the spot!"
At these words, Hiruko immediately erupted in anger.
"How dare you!" he shouted. "You're nothing more than a chūnin, yet you dare show disrespect to me, a jōnin?!"
As his voice fell, Hiruko made the first move.