Tatsuma's Rasengan in hand, unlike its usual size of a fist, was as small as a glass marble that a child would play with, but it was a jutsu harder than the Heavy Water Strangulation Jutsu that caused trauma to Hanzo.
Within this tiny water droplet, Water Release Chakra compressed tens to hundreds of times, simultaneously utilizing the principle of Chakra attribute change to minimize viscosity and maximize fluidity.
Facing the flying Kunai, Usugaki instinctively dodged. Although he had just experienced an incomprehensible scene caused by a Kunai, evading ninja tools was instinctive for every Jonin, making it even more difficult to overcome.
When the moment passed with the Kunai flying by, Usugaki found the Tatsuma in front of him had also disappeared, and that feeling of being on edge reappeared, a tingling sensation rising from the tailbone to the back of his heart.
Usugaki wanted to use Body Flicker to dodge, but the prolonged output had slowed down both his physical and mental reactions by a beat. In that beat's time, Tatsuma managed to pat the water droplet in his hand onto Usugaki.
With the coordination of Gentle Fist techniques, the water droplet almost ignored the resistance of Usugaki's skin and instantly flowed into his body.
With no time to defend or dodge, Usugaki felt Tatsuma's palm against his lower back, but there was no sensation of pain transmitted. At that moment, his delayed reaction finally kicked in, and he used Body Flicker to retreat.
Tatsuma then used his own Kunai carried on Minato's body to move out of the water area. Tatsuma always kept one of Minato's Kunai ready on him, just as Minato did.
After teleporting out of the water area with Flying Thunder God, Tatsuma said to Caterpillar and Vulture, "Retrieve the bodies, clean up the scene."
"Hmm?"
Caterpillar, who had been observing the battle using special parasitic insects, involuntarily made a puzzled sound with his nose, because his insects informed him that Usugaki was still alive and well.
But the next moment, Caterpillar fell completely silent, because through the insects' vision, he saw a scene so bizarre that it gave him a chill.
Usugaki, gasping for breath, suddenly froze with an expression of post-disaster relief on his face. Then, from every pore on his body, as well as from the small wound on his cheek, copious amounts of blood much thinner than normal began to flow.
Usugaki's body collapsed onto the water's surface, slowly sinking, with only his back remaining above water. Even after the surge of blood ceased, liquid continued to flow from his back.
As the gradually thinning flow of blood mixed with the clear water, the scene of his death was too eerie. Perhaps if Usugaki's body were dissected, the amount of blood left would be even less than what typically flows from slaughtered animals bled to death? The key was that apart from the scratch on his cheek, Usugaki's body showed no signs of injury whatsoever.
Their leader's skills. I'm afraid they could fetch a high salary even at a slaughterhouse, right?
"Ding~ [Ninjutsu+5], [Spirit+5], [Seals+3], Would you like to claim?"
As the battle ceased, the mist that had lost its Chakra sustainment and the "pool" of water gradually disappeared. When the Earth-Style Wall was removed, Usugaki's body lay on the muddy ground.
Caterpillar summoned his insects to examine Usugaki's condition internally, then said to Tatsuma, "Leader, the extent of damage in the body is severe. It's likely the brain cells have also suffered significant damage."
"Then there's no need to leave the body. His deeds should be known to the Mist ANBU pursuing him, and having his body around would complicate the deaths of the other three."
Tatsuma spoke calmly. Minato glanced at his friend. After two years of scientific research, he felt that Tatsuma, who had returned to combat, was much colder than he had remembered.
Minato knew that Tatsuma had experienced too much discomfort during the scientific research incident. He didn't know Tatsuma's current state—whether he was venting pent-up emotions or if his personality had truly become colder.
However, Minato didn't ask, because his observations were not thorough enough. Moreover, if the truth was even harsher, he needed to first prepare a solution to help Tatsuma return to being the cheerful and sunny boy he used to be.
Before formally becoming an ANBU, the Hokage had discussed this matter with Minato, instructing him to promptly report any signs of emotional instability or personality changes in Tatsuma. Minato had agreed.
Yet Minato clenched his fist lightly. He wasn't planning to disclose what he had just seen to the Hokage. As a friend, his priority was not to "snitch" but to correct Tatsuma before he truly made a mistake.
Tatsuma, unaware of Minato's unusual behavior, was reviewing the recent battle and asked Minato, "How many days do we have left?"
Minato, returning to himself, replied, "We have nine days left."
Tatsuma nodded and said, "Then I'll leave the next target to you. According to intelligence, Taketsuki's Water Release skills are average, far inferior to Usugaki's. However, he is a Kaguya Clan hybrid with extremely high proficiency in Taijutsu and possibly possesses the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai."
"But with your speed, even Shikotsumyaku shouldn't pose too much of a threat to you. Just be cautious, and with me here, you won't have to exert yourself too much."
Upon hearing Tatsuma's words, a slight smile lifted the corners of Minato's mouth beneath his mask. Perhaps his friend was just temporarily struggling with pent-up emotions.
"No problem. While Shikotsumyaku might be troublesome for others, for us, it only offers more offensive options."
Minato's tone remained light. He was modest by nature, but with Tatsuma, who knew him well, there was no need for false modesty; he could express his true thoughts openly.
Tatsuma chuckled in response, "Shall we also practice the speed of sealing techniques while we're at it?"
"Let's see if he cooperates."
Minato replied with a smile. While they conversed, Caterpillar and Vulture completed their tasks, restoring the battlefield. Caterpillar asked, "Should we search the place where Usugaki was staying? He didn't have any stolen goods on him."
Tatsuma turned to look towards the small village, much poorer compared to Konoha, and said, "Hmm, seven hundred thousand ryo. That's too much for anyone in this village. They can't keep hold of that wealth."
In such a primitive village where even houses and roads were basic, without any commercial system, seven hundred thousand ryo would be impossible to spend normally. Long-term idleness would only arouse suspicion among neighbors.
In a large village like Konoha or in a city like the Daimyo's estate, seven hundred thousand ryo wouldn't be considered much. If a Konoha villager found that much, they might pay off their mortgage and have extra to improve their lives.
In the Daimyo's estate, they could use the seven hundred thousand ryo to pay off debts and slowly manage the rest.
In this ninja world without price controls, the gap between rich and poor is much larger than in Tatsuma's previous life. Two hundred ryo can buy several tens of pounds of fish in Awa, but in Konoha, it's only enough for a few simple meals, and in the Daimyo's estate, it might just cover a simple meal of vegetarian noodles.
Upon hearing Tatsuma's words, Caterpillar nodded and looked at Vulture, asking, "Should you go or should I?"
"I'll go," Vulture replied.
Minato interjected, "I haven't been much help today. Take a break, both of you. I've been to the village before and I'm familiar with the situation there. I'm the best fit for this."
With that, both nodded in agreement, conceding the opportunity to Minato. Not only did Minato make sense, but who wouldn't want a moment to relax?
Although handling aftermaths was their usual duty, it was also a quality every ANBU should possess, giving them a chance to train their juniors!
Tatsuma couldn't refute Minato's enthusiasm. After nodding, Minato turned and headed towards the village.
Minato, newly inducted into ANBU, had occasionally received guidance from Tatsuma on the essential abilities and techniques ANBU ninjas must possess, but his skills were still not as proficient as those of the veteran ANBU.
His stealth abilities were somewhat inexperienced compared to other ANBU, but they were sufficient for the small village where only two or three passing ninjas temporarily resided.
Before long, Minato returned and handed Tatsuma a scroll, saying, "Leader, I've checked it. There's a total of 677,800 ryo, with a small amount used for replenishing dry rations."
As he spoke, he also brought out a small cloth bag. Such a small amount of inexpensive dry rations didn't justify sealing them in a scroll. Tatsuma nodded, took the scroll, and then said, "Dispose of the dry rations, Vulture. It's up to you."
Under his mask, Vulture's handsome face twitched, but he still took the bag of dry rations. Instead of disposing of them immediately, he crushed the rations and scattered them when he encountered a gathering of birds.
They didn't linger in place but hurried towards the location where the latest intelligence indicated their next target, Taketsuki, had been recently spotted.
Compared to when they first received the mission, the distance between Taketsuki and Usugaki not only did not shorten with each encounter, but grew larger. It's unclear whether Taketsuki lacked the resolve to become a renegade ninja or believed in the notion that the most dangerous place is the safest.
Unlike Usugaki, who preferred narrow paths and took one step at a time, Taketsuki boldly traveled with merchant caravans between various villages and towns.
Tatsuma's personal speculation leaned towards the former. After all, Taketsuki had Kaguya Clan blood, and such associations could impair judgment—a somewhat understandable conclusion.
Of course, even if it was the latter, it would still be a dim-witted move. Did Taketsuki truly think Konoha's Ninja stationed in various towns and ANBU's covert lines were mere decoration?
However, the route Taketsuki chose had one advantageous point: within his range, many other ninjas appeared, significantly complicating Tatsuma and his team's covert search efforts.
After all, the Perception Technique could only sense Chakra, and Tatsuma could recall the Chakra characteristics of some familiar ninjas.
However, it's difficult to use the Perception Technique to investigate a Hidden Mist Village renegade whom they've never met before. They could only rely on more traditional observation methods, which weren't challenging for the four-member team. After all, ordinary ninjas and even non-ninja informants could notice unusual signs and thereby confirm the identity of others.
Yet, this approach had its drawbacks—low efficiency. They had to observe each person who overlapped with the mission target to confirm or exclude them.
After spending a day and a half, they finally found Taketsuki on a flat road, but he was surrounded by a merchant caravan. Tatsuma and the others didn't dare to act recklessly.
They stealthily followed for a distance and saw no signs of Taketsuki separating from the group. Suddenly, Tatsuma had an idea and said to Minato, "I have an idea to quickly get Taketsuki out of the crowd."
"Leader, please tell me," Minato replied.
The worry on Minato's face faded as he looked at Tatsuma. Tatsuma observed the not particularly fast-moving caravan ahead and said, "Let's flank ahead and leave a Flying Thunder God seal in the middle of the road."
When he passes the seal, one of us will teleport over, take Taketsuki, and transfer him to the other person, but the transition must be swift to avoid alarming others. Ideally, they shouldn't even notice one person missing.
However, we haven't trained extensively in this consecutive Flying Thunder God teleportation. Honestly, I can't guarantee its success."
Hearing this, Minato squinted and said, "No problem, leave it to me, Leader. You choose a good battlefield first. But I also have a suggestion."
"Oh?"
"Let's call this tactic the Super Wind Multiple Flash Teleport Zero Style. How does that sound?"
"Let's put it to a democratic vote, but of course, I as the Leader have veto power."
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