While a certain unfortunate office worker was running himself ragged, Team One arrived at the location where intelligence had been leaked.
But the gruesome corpses scattered along the way made them all frown deeply.
With bodies strewn everywhere, Nawaki expressed his outrage: "What the hell is going on here? Why would civilians get killed like this?"
Shen, who had never seen such carnage in either of his lives, shared the same grim expression.
After a moment's thought, he reached a conclusion: "A mere unverified rumor was enough to bring shinobi down on these people and massacre them. Obviously, whoever spread that information couldn't possibly be a local civilian."
Orochimaru, no stranger to bloodshed, still frowned at the scene. "What makes you say that?"
"It's simple. Civilians wouldn't invite shinobi to come kill them. Humans are naturally self-interested—we don't do things that offer no personal gain."
Seeing the horrifying sight before her, Nayou slipped into her Little Iceberg persona.
She asked disbelievingly, "But what if there really are people like that?"
Following Shen's gaze, she immediately understood: "Oh, I get it now."
Nawaki, clueless as ever and not one for deep thinking, scratched his head in confusion: "Why're you lookin' at me like that?"
"Heh," Shen smirked faintly but offered no further reply.
"Just tell me straight—do people like that even exist for real?"
Seeing he wouldn't let it go, Orochimaru cut to the point: "Regardless of their motives, we can't allow them to achieve their goals. If we keep moving forward, we might find some clues."
"Fine, whatever. After all, finishing the mission comes first!" Nawaki gave up questioning further.
In his eyes, nothing mattered more than the reward money waiting at the end of this job.
Seeing how he reacted, Shen shot an assured glance toward his companion.
This time even Nayou couldn't help but admire his foresight.
Yes indeed—just moments ago, our young genius had looked directly at Nawaki.
His meaning was perfectly clear: Even someone as straightforward as this guy acts based on self-interest. There's absolutely no way any of those innocent, tragically dead civilians could've been the ones leaking intel about the Kusanagi Sword.
Much later, while Orochimaru was leading Team One forward, he suddenly sensed something off: "Be careful. I'm detecting chakra fluctuations ahead."
Nayou instantly activated her Byakugan and began observing.
Soon, she reported what she saw: "Three kilometers away, two black-clothed shinobi are fighting. I can't identify which villages they belong to."
Shen nodded gravely: "We have a mission to complete, so there's no need to hide our identities. These guys are fighting out in the open committing brutal killings—we're dealing with merciless bastards."
"Hmm." x2
Both Orochimaru and Nawaki nodded in agreement.
"Also, one of them moves extremely fast—he's almost finished off the other," Nayou solemnly reported the details visible through her Byakugan.
Team One wore grim expressions, each of them knowing deep down that if the enemy succeeded, they'd permanently lose their intel source.
Eager to finish the mission quickly, Shen came up with a plan right away. "Nayou and I will move ahead to stop them. Snake Uncle and Nawaki, you two need to arrive quickly."
"Okay!" x3
With the situation so dire, none of the three raised any objections.
At this moment, the most suitable course of action was clearly for Shen—who controlled lightning natured chakra—and Nayou to head to the location first.
In a wilderness three kilometers away from Team One, an unidentified ninja dressed in black was swiftly slashed across the shoulder by another person.
"Heh... heh..."
Holding his wound, the black-clad ninja remained alert for his opponent's next move.
The other black-cloaked ninja sneered at him contemptuously before lifting the kusarigama in his hand, dripping with fresh blood, and lightly sticking out his tongue to lick it. "Just tell me the information about the Sword of Kusanagi obediently, and I might consider sparing your life."
"Spare my life? I can take you directly to where the Sword of Kusanagi is." Ignoring the severe pain, the injured ninja immediately rejected the offer.
The black-clothed ninja holding the kusarigama seemed to have already lost patience: "You try to run the moment you see me. Do you really think I'd fall for your tricks? Forget it! I'll find the intel myself!"
Before the wounded ninja's eyes, the swinging kusarigama approaching rapidly appeared as though it would end his life right there.
Clasping his eyes shut, he felt no fear in his heart: "Mom, Dad, I'll finally be joining you soon."
"Clang!"
Right at the critical moment when the kusarigama was about to sever his head, the sound of clashing metal yanked the injured ninja back to reality.
Opening his eyes, he looked up and saw a boy wearing a black trench coat raise his hand to block in front of him, intercepting that deadly blow.
"Nayou!"
The boy in the dark coat shouted loudly, using the black blade on his wrist to suppress the kusarigama-wielding ninja.
[Purple Lightning Twin Lion Steps!]
Suddenly, a white-clad girl with purple lion heads attached to her hands appeared before the injured ninja's eyes.
As he watched, the girl hurled a punch toward the black-cloaked ninja who was being completely restrained by the boy.
[Red Lotus Twin Dragon Fists!]
"This brat came from where? How can their speed rival my Body Flicker Technique?" The black-cloaked ninja thought anxiously. He immediately released the kusarigama he was holding and dodged the girl's attack.
After retracting his black blade, the boy aimed a punch at the enemy ninja, who had barely evaded the previous strike and was still suspended midair.
"Boom!"
After landing the hit, the boy in the black coat didn't intend to give up chasing.
His pupils instantly turned scarlet red. His hands quickly formed hand seals before he launched a Fire Release technique toward the fleeing opponent.
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!]
The black-cloaked ninja who was punched just now now had a large hole burned through his chest clothing, sending him rapidly flying backward.
As he watched the incoming Great Fireball approach head-on, he relied on rich combat experience to forcefully twist his waist midair, narrowly avoiding this attack.
The boy in the black trench coat and the white-clad girl were none other than Uchiha Shen and Hyuga Nayou!
"Not done yet! [Wind Release: Tornado Hurricane!]"
After speaking, Shen exhaled a massive whirlwind from his mouth.
The fire tornado formed by the clash of these two ninjutsu reached a height of five meters.
The black-clad ninja, pulled toward the whirlwind by its immense suction force, showed no fear at all. His eyes began to glow from under his hood.
Even in this desperate situation, he still believed he could turn things around.
"Water Release: Waterfall Jutsu!"
After casting the jutsu, the black ninja used the steam from the clash of fire and water to land safely on the ground.
Then he activated the Body Flicker Technique and crept silently toward the injured ninja beside Shen.
"I can see you perfectly!" Nayou's moon-like pupils focused on him.
She scanned the black-clad ninja's position with her Byakugan and raised both palms toward him.
[Soft Fist Art: Twin Lion Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!]
Sensing the incoming danger, the black ninja immediately halted his steps, dodging the massive burst of chakra.
With no time to marvel at the power of the technique, he switched targets, picking up the fallen kusarigama from the ground. After a few Body Flickers, he appeared beside Nayou.
"Nayou, watch out!" Shen shouted.
In an instant, he vanished into a streak of white light.
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