Tea Country, a nation rich in fisheries.
Like many of the small nations surrounding the Land of Fire, the Tea Country had no shinobi village. The daimyo and nobles would usually hire shinobi from larger nations to work for them.
However, this time the commission had fallen into the hands of the Akatsuki.
Sasori hid within Hiruko, silently standing outside a hidden chamber.
The door creaked open, and after finishing the details with the client, Fudō stepped out.
Through Hiruko, Sasori watched the client hurry away through another secret exit. His voice was cold:
"Finished?"
"Yes, Sasori-san."
Fudō's tone was respectful.
"Then let's go. Tell me the target on the way."
Sasori controlled Hiruko to move forward.
As for this partner, Sasori was rather satisfied.
He didn't talk much, and his strength was reliable enough.
On the way, Fudō relayed every detail of the commission to Sasori.
The other party had paid twenty million for them to assassinate the two noble families that controlled the Tea Country's port.
"Killing nobles?"
Sasori's pace did not falter. For him, killing a few nobles was as simple as drinking tea or eating a meal. Not the slightest psychological burden.
"Yes, nobles—the Gotō family and the Kanroji family."
...
"From Tea Country's port, if we set sail, we can reach the Land of Waves the next day."
Shimon took out a map and carefully confirmed the sea route.
Nodding in agreement, Takeshi took a deep breath, sensing the damp air that was almost identical to that of the Land of Water.
The difference was that here, the air carried none of that sweet, bloody scent.
"Sorry, Captain Takeshi, but today's tickets are already sold out."
A frivolous voice sounded as Tobitake Tonbo returned to the group empty-handed.
"But I managed to grab tomorrow's tickets. I don't know what attraction the Land of Waves holds, but plenty of people are buying tickets—many of them ronin."
"Ronin?"
Takeshi glanced toward the ticket booth not far away and found it was just as Tobitake said. Quite a few ronin with katana at their waists were shoving and jostling crudely to squeeze their way forward.
"Thanks to Shitō-senpai's huge frame, I wasn't shoved aside by that mob."
Tobitake half-joked, while Akimichi Shitō gave a simple, honest smile.
"We'll stay here tonight and leave tomorrow morning."
Since today's tickets were gone, Takeshi gave the order to rest a night without any mental burden.
"This way, you two intelligence division shut-ins can at least experience some seaside scenery."
"Captain, don't lump me together with Shimon. Our analysis squad still has to fight on the frontlines."
Tobitake bluntly voiced his dislike for Shimon.
Those intelligence types constantly gave them bizarre requests, sometimes even waking them up in the middle of the night to decipher strange codes.
"You bastard!"
Provoked, Shimon almost forgot what it meant to carry the Will of Fire and nearly lashed out at his comrade.
Akimichi Shitō quickly pulled out snacks, ready to watch the show.
Takeshi didn't bother stopping, instead searching along the streets for an inn with an ocean view.
...
Night fell.
Takeshi and the others sat around a table, waiting for the sushi feast they had ordered.
Meanwhile, two figures appeared on the harbor street, heading straight for the Kanroji residence.
"Who's there?"
Two guards holding long staves shouted as the figures approached the gate.
Sasori merely had Hiruko open its mouth and fire several poison-laced senbon.
"Wait here at the gate."
Leaving those words, Sasori swung Hiruko's tail, smashing apart the Kanroji's gate. Amid cries of alarm, he strode inside without hesitation.
"Understood. Earth Release!"
Fudō bit his finger and unfurled a scroll prepared long ago.
As his jutsu activated, the terrain of the Kanroji estate changed.
A massive earth wall rose, sealing them off from the outside world. The arriving law enforcers found themselves helpless.
Such a large-scale jutsu quickly caught Tobitake's attention.
Although those inside the inn didn't sense chakra fluctuations, they did feel faint tremors through the ground.
"Large-scale Earth Release? Could it be Iwa-nin?"
The first thought on everyone's mind was Iwa-nin.
"Unlikely. This is far too distant from the Land of Earth."
Shimon dismissed the notion. Even during the great ninja wars, Iwa's hand had never reached this far. Especially not in peaceful times.
Takeshi's brow twitched. He couldn't shake an ominous premonition.
Could it really be that he had run into those two Uchiha by sheer chance?
Though, finding their traces was indeed his mission.
"Let's go. See what's happening."
Though reluctant, Takeshi issued the order.
...
Kanroji residence.
Fudō grabbed a law enforcer's katana with his bare hand. Under the man's horrified gaze, he crushed the blade to pieces.
The flying shards shattered the morale of the enforcers. Having never faced shinobi before, simply holding formation without fleeing was already their limit.
With one elbow strike, Fudō caved in a man's face, sending him flying. He felt no pity, only searching for the next target.
As the bloodied man tumbled to his comrades' feet, the rest finally broke. Panic spread, and they fled in all directions.
"Pathetic. Fighting against people who can't even use chakra properly is unbearably dull."
Fudō flexed his joints, boredom on his face.
Just as he turned to re-enter the earth wall's enclosure, he suddenly bent forward, dodging three kunai flying from the shadows.
"Tch, detected?"
Seeing the ambush fail, Shimon leapt out, swinging his fist toward Fudō.
"A rat?"
Fudō blocked, momentarily pausing as he noticed the Konoha forehead protector.
So these were the Konoha shinobi White Zetsu had mentioned. He hadn't expected to bump into them here.
Taking Shimon's kick head-on, Fudō grabbed his leg, clamping down to prevent escape. At the same time, he raised his elbow, ready to smash it down and break Shimon's leg.
But just as his elbow was about to strike, he found he could move no further.
From his perspective, thick yellow liquid was crawling up from his leg onto his body, bringing with it waves of searing pain.
"Genjutsu: Acidic Corrosion."
At the last moment, Tobitake had completed his genjutsu.
"Yoshi, let's go!"
Seeing it succeed, Akimichi Shitō swung his massive iron staff down toward Fudō's head.
Facing imminent death, Fudō finally realized he was caught in an illusion. Clenching his teeth, he broke free at the last second.
"Release!"
The instant the genjutsu shattered, his movements returned. With the iron staff just a few centimeters from his skull, Fudō quickly formed the "Snake" seal with his hands.
...
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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