Chapter 191: From F-Rank to EX-Rank? Not Happening. A Hidden Injury? That Doesn't Exist Either.
Haruno Sakura quietly sucked in a breath.
Has this non-chief finally become a European emperor?
"Calm down..." she said to herself in her heart. Sometimes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
She flipped to the next page with a look of anticipation, but was disappointed to find that the latter half of the book had been torn out, with almost no real substance left, only some summary and introductory text.
Hn... as expected, the Sound-nin wouldn't leave anything truly valuable behind.
The girl, somewhat disappointed, touched the mask on her face and tossed the book, along with the messy scrolls at her feet, to Shino.
"By the way, Captain, where did these Sound ninja take the materials?"
Haruno Sakura pondered for a moment, then asked.
"There should be a main base," Shino said without looking up, as he collected the scrolls and books that Yūgao and Sakura had tossed over and sealed them into a sealing formula. "It can be analyzed from the various signs. It's just that the reconnaissance troops haven't found them yet."
"It's only a matter of time," Yūgao added.
She walked over, holding a stack of more than a dozen scrolls so high it covered her head. The small mountain of scrolls was stacked very unscientifically, swaying and looking as if it were on the verge of collapse, but under her steady steps and superb balance, it stood firm.
"What, are you very interested in this mission?" Shino asked, looking up at Sakura. When participating in this kind of mission, there's an unwritten rule that Anbu have the right to look through the spoils of war. So Sakura is probably interested in some of Orochimaru's ninjutsu?
The captain, after all, was experienced and saw through her little thoughts.
"Don't worry, we'll definitely have a part in the next mission," he said with a smile. "We're an elite squad, after all."
Indeed, in the operation to rescue Sasuke, Squad 14 had defeated the Sound ninja with just their own strength, and the combat power they had displayed was indeed quite extraordinary.
Of course, Tsunade herself was well aware of Squad 14's combat power. She had originally formed this small squad with the intention of it being an elite Anbu squad. Otherwise, on what basis would they have occupied such a low number as "14"? If they were really ranked in order, it would not be an exaggeration for them to be ranked over one hundred.
In this small squad, Shino was a veteran Anbu member with the qualifications to be an Anbu proctor, a model of an elite Jonin.
Yūgao could rank among the Jonin with just her swordsmanship alone. Paired with some of her secret techniques, it was not a problem for her to erupt with the strength of an elite Jonin.
And the newly promoted Anbu, Haruno Sakura, was a super rookie who had already stepped into the elite Jonin level and was beginning to march towards the Kage-level...
A small squad composed of three elite Jonin-level ninja, it was no exaggeration to say that they were a standout even in the entire Anbu.
Previously, they had only been assigned a large number of low-difficulty missions in order to build their cohesion.
Now, judging from the operation to rescue Sasuke, their coordination had already shown some results. It was also time to stop those boring, low-level missions and give them a bit more of a burden... An operation like this, searching Orochimaru's bases, could lead to a direct confrontation with Orochimaru with just a moment of carelessness. Tsunade had only dared to send out an elite squad like Squad 14.
However, this time on the mission, the three elite squads dispatched by Tsunade had not encountered a single small battle.
The biggest danger had to be the trap that Sakura's clone had encountered. The power of that snake venom was still quite terrifying.
The base that Squad 14 had just finished plundering was already the second to last target of their trip.
Their luck was not bad; they had found some materials that were neither useful nor useless. After their burst of luck, the last base was, as expected, dirt poor.
At dusk, near evening, the other two elite squads had also completed their search missions and had come to rendezvous with Sakura and the others.
After a brief report on the situation, the three squads set off and left.
They walked until it was completely dark before the Anbu stopped. They set up a simple camp and made do with simple bedrolls for the night.
The next day, the group was eager to return home. They arrived back in Konoha before the sun set.
In the evening, the afterglow of the setting sun shone on the Anbu building in Konoha.
Tsunade, along with a group of high-level Konoha officials, was leading the ninja from the Intelligence Division in checking the materials that the Anbu had brought back.
"Tsunade, the gains from this operation are not very good," the Hokage advisor, Utatane Koharu, said with a frown after flipping through the summary table submitted by the Intelligence Division. She tapped her knuckles on the table, somewhat dissatisfied.
"The Soft Physique Modification project, human experiment data, and cloning technology..." The other advisor, Mitokado Homura, slowly took off his glasses, put down the list in his hand, and rubbed his dry eyes. "They are all good things, but the key content in these scrolls has all been destroyed by Orochimaru's subordinates. The remaining parts are of little significance to us."
"..." Tsunade stood with her arms crossed, frowning, silently listening to the two elders' words without speaking.
With her status, it would have been fine for her to refute the two elders a few words. However, Tsunade, who was already sitting quite firmly in the Hokage's seat, did not mind showing some respect as a junior in this situation.
If she didn't speak, someone else would naturally speak for her.
The Third Hokage let out a long puff of smoke, tapped his pipe on the table, and glanced at the two advisors out of the corner of his eye.
"Koharu, Homura, this mission only explored Orochimaru's peripheral bases. It's very normal that we didn't find anything useful. Next time, when the reconnaissance troops find Orochimaru's core base, I'm sure we will find truly valuable materials," he said slowly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood up, casually picked up a scroll from the categorized and organized scrolls on the table, flipped through it a few times, and continued, "What's more, this kind of cruel human experimentation is not suitable for use on the village's ninja!"
The scroll he was flipping through was precisely the Uzumaki Jūgen human body modification handbook that Sakura had found.
"Hiruzen, you're wrong..." a ninja suddenly pushed the door open and walked in, saying in a deep voice. "For the benefit of the village, it is only natural for ninja to make sacrifices. You shouldn't be so naive!"
The person who had come was Shimura Danzo.
"..." Sarutobi Hiruzen was silent for a moment, then said slowly, "Danzo, I have argued with you on this point many times. Let's not argue in front of the younger generation again."
"Since that's the case," without waiting for Danzo to speak again, Tsunade quickly took over the conversation and made a decision. "Then let's end today's mission report here! The Intelligence Division will pack up the things. Anbu Squads 81 and 82, you will escort the advisors out."
She glanced at the three elite Anbu squads standing on the side, waiting for orders and inquiries. She nodded slightly at Sakura and said, "You've all worked hard, too. Go back and rest. The next mission will have to wait for the results from the reconnaissance troops. You can have a few days of leave."
The Hokage advisors exchanged a look and were the first to stand up and leave.
Then the other ninja also followed and walked out.
Sakura, walking at the very back, deliberately dawdled for a while. When most of the people had left, she came to Tsunade's side.
"Master, that hidden injury to my nerves seems to be acting up again."
Tsunade looked at the pink-haired girl quietly for two seconds.
She had personally inspected Sakura's injuries. How could she not know if she had any hidden injuries?
For her to say such a thing at this time... what does she mean?
"There's a more private treatment room over here. Let's go there and I'll take a look at you."
Tsunade lifted her chin, signaling for Sakura to follow her.
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