Next,
Yuu untied all three hostages and signaled for them to stand up.
The mission objective was only to rescue one hostage. The extra two weren't meant to be given to Kusagakure. They were backups—and backups for the backups. If they didn't end up needing them, they could also be used as bargaining chips and "sold" to other teams that failed to obtain a hostage.
Mm… that probably didn't count as breaking the rules, right? After all, when it came to the mission objective of "rescuing hostages," most candidates' interests aligned…
Soon,
just as Yuu and Rin were leaving the cell with the three hostages,
Yuu suddenly paused.
"…Heh. Looks like these Kusa ninja have even less patience than expected."
Although there was still some distance from the fork where they had split earlier,
thanks to the clone technique's shared sight and hearing, Yuu could clearly see what the shadow clone he had left behind was seeing.
At this moment, the two Kusa ninja had already returned from the side they had explored and were questioning Yuu's shadow clone from a distance. After all, there were only two paths here. Since they hadn't found anything on their side, the hostages had to be on this side.
Just as both sides closed to within five meters,
the tall, thin man, who seemed to be the team captain, suddenly sharpened his gaze and made a slashing motion, chopping toward the "Mikami Yuu" in front of him.
He knew that Konoha's Shadow Clone was a clone technique that split chakra evenly.
And the amount of chakra returned to the main body differed depending on whether it was passively killed or voluntarily dispelled.
In other words, as long as he dealt with Yuu's clone first, it was equivalent to weakening Yuu's strength by thirty percent. If both sides were at full strength, the tall, thin man wasn't confident he could defeat him. But ten against seven… the advantage was his!
That judgment wasn't wrong.
But…
the instant he attacked, the tall, thin man suddenly felt his vision blur. The "Mikami Yuu" in his sight vanished. The next moment, an icy chill struck from his rear side. He twisted his body to block, but before his movement was halfway complete, a fist struck his ribs.
Crack!
A clear sound of breaking bone rang out.
The tall, thin man screamed as if hit by a speeding carriage. His entire body flew backward and slammed heavily into the wall. He spat blood and slid down, clearly losing his ability to fight.
"…Fuck!"
The gloomy young man was stunned.
Attacking first against someone reacting second, only to be instantly beaten in one move… what kind of operation was this? Was this the speed and strength a genin should have?
More importantly, the other party was a damn shadow clone!
Seeing "Mikami Yuu" coldly turn his head toward him, the gloomy young man no longer cared about anything else and quickly formed hand seals.
"Earth Release: Rock Pillar Prison!"
Rumble—!
Hard stone pillars stabbed out from underground and the walls, forming the shape of a cage, seemingly about to imprison Yuu.
But "Mikami Yuu's" figure only flickered. The next moment, he appeared behind the gloomy young man—more accurately, he first appeared in front of him, then brushed past him. The gloomy young man stood frozen in place. Only after one or two seconds did he remember to touch his neck, but all he touched was a hand full of blood.
"Uh…"
The gloomy young man couldn't say another word. He fell to the ground and died.
Two kills in one second.
At this moment, the tall, thin man, who was not yet dead, had his pupils shrink violently. He stared at the scene in horror while pulling a water pouch from his chest and pouring it into his mouth. As he did, a strong smell of fresh blood spread outward, and his injuries began recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"?!"
"This is…"
Blood from an Uzumaki clansman?
So Karin's mother hadn't been carried around as a blood pack by the ninja taking the Chūnin Exam the way her daughter had been, but her blood had been turned into HP potions and distributed to these Kusa ninja, huh?!
Yuu instantly understood, the corner of his mouth curving up slightly.
This was what it truly meant to search high and low only to find it without effort. He had been thinking about how to make his interrogation process reasonable, but this Kusa ninja was quite self-aware and had even prepared the physical evidence for him.
At once,
Yuu flashed in front of the Kusa ninja. Before the man could stand and resist, he grabbed him by the throat, seized the water pouch, shook it slightly, and found there was still quite a bit left.
"I'll give you a chance to live. Tell me, what's inside this?"
…
Above ground.
Obito and the short, fat Kusa ninja stood seven or eight meters apart, facing each other and remaining wary.
From their positions, they couldn't really hear the movement underground. The surroundings were also extremely quiet. There was only the rustling of wind through leaves and the occasional birdsong from far away, rising and falling. It made Obito somewhat restless.
At that moment,
the short, fat man suddenly spoke. "Hey, black-haired one. Are all Konoha genin as arrogant as that white-haired brat just now?"
"?"
Obito glanced at him and snorted. "That's not arrogance. That's confidence. With Yuu's strength, killing you guys seven times in one minute would be enough."
"Hah? What a load of nonsense. Do you know how strong our captain is? He actually reached chūnin-level strength long ago, he just hasn't been promoted yet! And me too… if the captain hadn't stopped me earlier, I could beat ten guys like you!"
"…"
Even Obito was left speechless by the short, fat man's boasting. But remembering Yuu's instructions before going down, he suppressed his temper.
"Hmph. I can't be bothered to argue with you. By the way, how long does it take to get here from Kusagakure? Is there anything fun over there? Maybe I'll go take a look sometime."
"…Fun things? Do women count?"
"? What are you talking about?"
Seeing Obito's shocked expression,
the short, fat man became smug. "Haha, brat, don't tell me you've never touched a woman before? In our Kusagakure, all ninja, even genin, can use the village's resources as they please. Money, food, women—if we get tired of them, killing them directly doesn't matter…
"Last year, we even caught an Uzu—"
The short, fat man's boasting abruptly stopped.
The information that they had captured an Uzumaki clanswoman was an absolute secret in the village. If not for the fact that their team members were all descendants of village higher-ups, elites in whom expectations were placed, they would never have known. If such intelligence were leaked to Konoha, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Obito did not notice this detail, but his pupils were already trembling. The black two tomoe appeared.
"This… this is way too much! How can ninja do something like that? And you're actually happy about it… What do you take life for?!"
"…Sharingan?!"
The short, fat man was shocked. "You're from the Uchiha clan?!"
Whoosh—!
A faint tremor came from beneath their feet, accompanied by hot wind blowing out of the tunnel entrance.
This was a sign that fighting had already begun below.
Realizing this, the short, fat man gritted his teeth. Although the Uchiha had a fierce reputation in the ninja world, the other party was still only a boy of around ten. If he could kill an Uchiha here… the reward his village would give him was unimaginable!
Go for it!
Swish, swish—!
The short, fat man flicked his wrist, shooting the kunai and shuriken he had prepared at Obito. At the same time, his hands rapidly formed seals, and he opened his mouth to spit.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Opposite him,
under the effect of the Sharingan, Obito had long since seen his movements clearly. His hands formed the same seals, far faster than the short, fat man.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Boom—!
With chakra surging, a larger and more intense orange-red fireball erupted from Obito's mouth. Carrying scorching heat waves, it charged directly toward the Kusa ninja. In the instant after collision, it smashed apart the enemy fireball and continued blowing forward with undiminished force.
At the same time, Obito gripped his kunai and chased after him.
"Hey! Does Kusagakure not have its own Fire Release? Why are you using our Uchiha ninjutsu? Even if you steal techniques, at least learn them properly. This power is way too shabby!"
"Damn brat…"
The short, fat man gnashed his teeth and prepared to fight desperately.
Just then, Obito's eyelid suddenly twitched. He heard a sound like liquid flowing. He instinctively raised his head slightly and glanced from the corner of his eye toward the reeds not far away. There, he saw a blurry shadow flash by, accompanied by traces of chakra flow.
"That is…"
"Watch your back!"
The latter half was shouted toward the short, fat man.
Although Obito despised the Kusa ninja's behavior, out of humanitarian instinct, he still gave a warning.
But the other party clearly thought Obito was trying to trick him into turning around.
"Ha, such a crude trick. You think I'll fall for it? I—ugh!"
At that moment,
a long, wet, slimy, barbed thing shot out from the dense reeds like lightning. At astonishing speed, it crossed nearly twenty meters, carried a sharp wind, and landed on the short, fat man.
He only had time to cry out before it wrapped around his waist and abdomen. His feet left the ground, and a terrifying force dragged him backward.
"Hey!"
Obito reacted very quickly. His wrist snapped out immediately, and a string of kunai and shuriken shot forward with sharp whistling sounds.
With several muffled thuds, most of the hidden weapons pierced the Kusa ninja's body, while a few nailed into that long object, leaving wounds oozing pale green liquid. Judging by its shape and function, it should have been a pink-green tongue.
"Bastard! Konoha scum…"
The Kusa ninja was hit by four or five kunai and instinctively cursed. But before he could finish his sentence, he was dragged deep into the reeds. Then came a horrifying series of crunches, as if flesh were being squeezed and crushed by overwhelming force, accompanied by a shrill scream that abruptly stopped.
"…"
Obito gritted his teeth. The palm gripping his kunai was covered in cold sweat.
What kind of monster was that?!
Just then,
sounds came from inside the tunnel. Yuu and Rin quickly climbed out with four hostages.
Three of them were the true hostages arranged by Konoha in advance. The remaining one was the unconscious tall, thin man, with his hands and feet bound.
As a "witness" to Kusagakure's crimes, Yuu planned to leave him for the Yamanaka clan to soul-search. At this moment, he had instead become someone who needed protection.
"Obito, what happened? Yuu and I heard movement outside. And that Kusa ninja…"
Rin immediately looked around and asked quietly.
"Yuu! Rin! Be careful!"
Obito pointed his kunai forward, speaking rapidly.
"There's a big guy over there. I don't know what it is. It used its tongue to roll up a Kusa ninja and eat him!"
"Oh?"
Yuu raised a brow.
From the moment he had just climbed out of the tunnel, he had indeed sensed a massive, vicious chakra presence, carrying cold killing intent. Thinking back, when Summoning Technique had found this stronghold earlier, it had also warned him there was a "big guy" in the wetland.
Could it be the same one…
"Rin, protect the hostages! Obito, guard the sides with me!"
Without hesitation, Yuu drew the short sword from his back and issued orders.
Hearing this, Rin immediately placed the terrified hostages in the center and held a kunai, nervously scanning the surroundings.
Obito also moved to Yuu's right side. His crimson two-tomoe Sharingan spun wildly, trying to capture any clue.
The air froze briefly. Only the rustling of reeds in the wind and faint birdsong from far away remained, accompanied by a faint bloody smell drifting in the breeze.
Suddenly!
"Left side… ten o'clock direction!"
Obito's eyes moved. He was the first to capture a faint trace of chakra flow, while his hands quickly formed the seals for Great Fireball.
Almost at the same time that the long tongue stabbed straight at them with a foul wind, Obito opened his mouth and spat out the scorching chakra he had already gathered, forming an orange-red fireball several meters in diameter, blocking the path the tongue had to pass through.
Hiss—!
The tongue was clearly extremely sensitive to high temperatures. The instant it made slight contact, it immediately shrank back.
Yuu's original movement to flash over and slash it paused as a result. Instead, he activated Cell Activation Technique, using the doubled dynamic vision in that instant to capture a blurred shadow diving toward deeper waters in the wetland.
"It lives in a damp water region, hunts with its tongue, and can turn invisible… Is it a giant lizard or salamander?"
Judging from the length of the tongue, that thing's body should be at least five meters long, possibly reaching eight to ten meters. The only thing Yuu was uncertain about was whether it had been deliberately placed here by the examiner team as part of the exam, or if this was just a coincidence.
Beside him,
Rin spoke quietly. "Yuu, we already rescued the hostages. Should we retreat first?"
"…Wait."
Yuu stared at the direction where the shadow disappeared, speaking rapidly.
"It actively attacked us. If we turn around now, it may ambush us from behind. It'll be troublesome if the hostages die. We should find a way to deal with it first, or at least heavily injure it and ensure safety before leaving."
As he spoke,
a faint sound of water came from far away, followed by a string of rustling noises.
"It's ashore! It's moving around us!"
Obito said.
Yuu reached one hand toward his ninja pouch.
"Call out the location!"
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!