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"Finally, it's over," Jin sighed as he plopped down onto the ground.
This battle had cost him dearly.
The chakra he had painstakingly accumulated over the years was now reduced to less than a fifth of what it once was.
In short, he had taken a massive loss.
Moreover, he realized the significant gap between himself and a jonin-level opponent. The enemy's tactics were a series of interconnected traps and strategies, and one wrong move meant certain death unless you had a powerful countermeasure.
For now, Jin wasn't capable of such sophisticated combat tactics.
These were skills honed through experience, something Jin's abilities couldn't simply simulate.
It was frustrating.
"Why did we encounter Iwa-nin here?"
Kushina asked, still not understanding.
"They must have infiltrated to carry out some mission," Jin replied, looking at the charred jonin who stood motionless in front of them.
He walked over, ready to search the body for anything useful.
"Wait, Jiraiya-sensei told us not to touch bodies carelessly,"
Minato reminded him.
"Don't worry," Jin waved him off. "In this state, he couldn't have hidden any explosive tags, and he didn't have time to set any traps."
Jin was cautious about his life. If there was any danger, he would have used a shadow clone to check first.
He used his sword to poke and prod the jonin's body, finding only a few badly burnt ninja tools. Nothing of real value.
However…
"This guy must have been the one behind the attack on that village, Kushina,"
Jin said, flipping one of the ninja tools over with his sword.
If they waited for the tools to cool down, they could still be used, though Jin found them somewhat unsatisfactory.
"What?" Kushina ran over and examined the jonin's body.
"Was it them?"
They remembered the village they passed by on their way to the outpost, where everyone had been slaughtered except for a single girl.
It had nearly caused a rift between the three of them.
Even now, Kushina still harbored some resentment toward Jin.
Minato remained silent, deep in thought, considering the details.
"But where are the things they took?"
Kushina asked, still puzzled. Jin had mentioned that the village's valuables had been stolen when he searched it, but the girl hadn't been searched, and Minato hadn't thought to search any bodies either.
There didn't seem to be any valuables on them.
"You should ask the village chief about that," Jin said with a cold smile, though his Sharingan showed no sign of amusement.
He was a firm believer in fairness.
If anyone wronged him, whether they were a shinobi or an ordinary person, they would pay the price.
Even the Hokage would face him when he became strong enough.
The village chief sat up in bed, staring at the dim light filtering through the window. He knew dawn was approaching.
He hadn't slept well all night.
He walked to the table and poured himself a cup of tea, just bringing it to his lips when—
"And you still have the nerve to drink tea?"
A voice suddenly spoke, causing the old man to spit out his tea in shock.
He quickly lit the oil lamp, revealing three unexpected guests in his room.
Jin stood at the door with his arms crossed, Kushina hung upside down from the rafters, and Minato stood by the window, blocking any escape route.
"What brings you three shinobi here in the middle of the night?"
The village chief forced a smile.
But seeing the three ninja's expressionless faces, he couldn't muster any more pleasantries. They were clearly not here for a friendly visit.
"If it's money you want, our village isn't rich, but we'll do our best to gather whatever we can for you," the village chief said, his voice trembling.
His eyes were filled with fear, like a civilian being extorted by rogue ninjas.
"Still playing innocent?"
Jin sneered.
Even Kushina was beginning to feel swayed, but Minato and Jin remained unmoved.
Kushina tended to believe anyone who seemed pitiable enough, while Minato was too cautious to overlook anything important.
"You were the one who leaked our whereabouts to the Iwa-nin, weren't you?"
Jin accused, not bothering to beat around the bush.
"You're wrong, my lord! I know nothing about that!"
The village chief fell to his knees, sobbing as he banged his head on the floor, trying to appear as innocent as possible.
"I've never even seen an Iwa-nin!" he wailed.
Jin crouched down in front of the old man, speaking slowly.
"From the start, I found it odd that a village in such a crucial location could still exist."
"But that's because—"
"Don't try to fool me with those excuses," Jin cut him off.
"Shinobi don't care whether you live or die. You should know that by now."
In times of war, civilians were always the ones who suffered the most, a harsh reality that shinobi couldn't escape from.
During the Warring States period, when ninjas were fewer in number, they still shared an equal death rate with civilians, showing just how little regard ninjas had for ordinary people.
That attitude hadn't changed even now.
Ninja battles were fought without concern for the lives of civilians.
"And for a village to survive in such a strategic location, it must be of some use to the shinobi. Since you can't offer jutsu or wealth, there's only one thing left—information."
"Of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Konoha treats its people the best, so they wouldn't normally drive you out or wipe you out, giving you the foundation to stay."
"With that foundation, how could villages like Taki, Kusa, or even Iwa ignore your presence?"
Other shinobi villages wouldn't pass up the chance to exploit such a key location.
Whoever controlled this place had the advantage, and while they might not be able to withstand Konoha's retaliation, it was better than letting others take control.
"There's only one way you could have gotten them to leave you alone," Jin said, his voice darkening.
"You sold out Konoha's shinobi."
"Your 'warmth' toward us was just a cover to get close and gather more information, which you then sold to other shinobi villages."
"The so-called 'rogue ninja' you mentioned were likely people who didn't offer enough money, so you lured Konoha shinobi here to threaten them into paying more."
As Jin laid out the situation, even Kushina started to piece things together.
"The reason those Iwa-nin attacked the village was because they didn't have enough money, so they raided other villages!"
"Then, once they had enough, you sold our whereabouts to the Iwa-nin,"
Minato added.
As for what else they might have traded, that was beyond what Jin and the others could deduce.
This village had openly sold out Konoha's shinobi and used their position to extort other villages.
Realizing he had been exposed, the village chief slumped in defeat.
"We just wanted to survive! What's so wrong about that?"
The chief shouted in anger.
"This is our home! Why do you shinobi get to destroy it at your whim? If you can destroy our home, why can't we use you to secure our survival?"
Jin had no rebuttal for that. Asking them to move the village was out of the question.
The daimyo's office had issued a law known as the "Land Protection Act," which required civilians to safeguard the land granted to them by the Land of Fire.
They weren't allowed to leave on their own.
This law had some relevance when the shinobi villages were first established. Jin speculated that it was initially intended to limit the power of the shinobi, but instead, it restricted the civilians' chances of survival in war.
"But you shouldn't have let the Iwa-nin harm other villages,"
Kushina angrily rebuked, her voice trembling with emotion.
The sight of that devastated village still haunted her dreams.
"We just wanted to survive," the village chief repeated, bowing his head. At the very least, he felt some guilt for those who had died at the hands of the Iwa-nin.
"Too bad, you won't survive this," Jin said, shaking his head. Although he had initially wanted to take revenge, he realized that these people were also desperate, just like many others.
He didn't hold grudges against those who were already dead.
"What do you mean by that?" The village chief looked up, his face twisted with anger and fear, his eyes bloodshot.
"Did you really think betraying Konoha would come without consequences?"
Jin replied with a sigh.
He glanced at the solemn faces of Minato and Kushina. They both understood what fate awaited this village.
"Spare the others; I'll take full responsibility for everything!"
The village chief desperately tried to shield his people, reaching out to grab Jin, only to be kicked into a wall.
"You can't handle the consequences," Jin said, shaking his head as he opened the door and looked outside.
"By now, they've already arrived."
Before entering the village, Minato had sent a reverse summoning message back to the village.
As the sun peeked over the mountains, the first rays of light illuminated the forest surrounding the village.
Several Konoha shinobi, clad in green flak jackets, stood on the branches, overlooking the village.
A woman with patterned face paint, crouching on a large black wolf, licked her black-painted nails with a wicked smile.
"Leave no one alive!"
"Kill!"
The slaughter began.
At Konoha's newly established outpost, hidden deep within a forest.
Jin was at the mission tent, pulling out scrolls one by one.
"What are you doing, Jin?"
Minato asked, puzzled.
"Obviously, I'm exchanging these for merits,"
Jin replied, pushing the scrolls toward the staff member. The staff member looked bewildered, seeing the scrolls were filled with newly created jutsu.
But this was a forward outpost, not the village's research lab.
"Can't I trade them?"
Jin asked, curious.
"You can, but they need to be sent back to the village first for evaluation,"
the staff member replied with a forced smile. He had seen bloody heads brought in for merits, but jutsu scrolls were a first. And apparently, the village did allow such trades.
It was bizarre.
Minato was astonished. Seeing so many jutsu, he was envious.
"These are all useless. If you want to learn any, I have a directory. You can choose whatever you like," Jin said nonchalantly.
In truth, these were jutsu he couldn't use. He planned to trade them for merits and then exchange those for useful items.
At the same time, he hoped to be reassigned to the rear, establishing himself as a jutsu development genius.
It was a win-win-win situation.
Although, getting transferred to the rear might be a bit difficult.
"How's Kushina holding up?"
Jin asked.
"She still hasn't fully recovered from what happened that night. Even though she's been promoted to chunin, she doesn't seem to care much," Minato replied with a sigh.
That night had left a deep impact on Kushina.
And because of their victory over the jonin, they had all been promoted to chunin.
(End of Chapter)