Encounter

"Teacher, are there enemies?"

Naruto looked at Shisui, who was manipulating crows to gather information, his face full of anticipation. He hooked his finger on the ring at the end of the Kunai and spun it like a Kunai.

"Is there really a problem, Shisui?"

Kitajima Tora poked his head out of the carriage with a worried expression and looked at Shisui, asking...

Unlike when he first set off from Konoha, his carriage now had a long line of large wagons loaded with grain attached to it, making the procession incredibly bulky and massive.

These carts, horses, and provisions were all obtained from the Border Defense Force in the small town they came from. With such a large group, it was inevitable that Naruto and Shuyuan, along with their five companions, would be somewhat overwhelmed.

With the mighty Body Flicker Shisui here, Kitajima Tora wasn't too worried about his own safety. What worried him was the food supplies behind him. If they were caught in the crossfire of the ninja battle, who knew how much damage they would suffer?

Instead of immediately acknowledging Kitajima Tora, Shisui reached out and beckoned a crow to land on his shoulder, communicating with it in a way that no one else understood, and thus obtaining the intelligence he had gathered.

He tore off some breadcrumbs and fed them to the crows as a reward, a slight smile on Shisui's face.

"Mr. Kitajima, there's no need to worry. There was indeed a slight mishap ahead, but it's nothing serious. We haven't spotted any enemies yet... It's my friends from Konoha who have appeared."

"That's good, that's good, as long as we don't have to fight!" Kitajima Tora breathed a sigh of relief, his heart finally at ease.

"Eh! Not the enemy? How boring. Is this how C-rank missions are all about, just constant traveling? This is so tedious!" Naruto put away his Kunai and complained.

Along the way, we didn't encounter a single formidable enemy, nor even a petty highway robber. Every day was spent traveling.

Naruto was incredibly bored.

"You're just a kid. You can get paid after a safe trip, and you're still not satisfied? Once you've witnessed the battles of ninjas, you'll know how lucky you are to have a job like this."

"Ha! You old man are really boring. Life is so dull without any passion."

Kitajima Tora started bickering with Naruto again.

The convoy continued on its way.

They soon arrived at the Taniguchi the valley and saw Kimimaro and the others who had been waiting there.

"Senior Shisui"

Kimimaro took the initiative to step forward and greet him.

"Long time no see! I didn't expect you to be able to lead the little ones all by yourself."

Shisui patted Kimimaro on the shoulder with a sigh, and the latter gave a helpless smile.

Shisui had spent some time in the Anbu, and when Kimimaro entered the Anbu at a young age, he was the one who took care of him; the two had a good relationship.

"Shuyuan, you've grown taller again!"

This time, Sakura and Rindou did indeed see their teacher smile.

"Kimimaro, are you also out on a mission?"

Shuyuan smiled and nodded, surprised to run into an acquaintance, someone almost like family.

Anyone who knows my father knows that he only has one disciple, Yuki Kuyue, who is now the Anbu Chief. However, few people know that my father also has two other disciples who are "half" disciples.

Kimimaro was one of those half-brothers. Before becoming the Lord Hokage's disciple, Kimimaro was trained by his father.

Later, it seems that the Lord Hokage recognized Kimimaro's talent, and his father also felt that Kimimaro could learn more from the Lord Hokage, which is why he became the Lord Hokage's apprentice.

"That's right, I took on a job arresting people, which is a good opportunity to show my three rookies some blood."

Kimimaro replied with a smile, and he and Rindou stepped aside to clear the narrow valley path behind them, where the tragic scene immediately came into view.

"Vomit--!"

"Ugh--ugh--!"

Several of the guards leading the way at the front of the convoy couldn't help but vomit. They were just ordinary guards, although they had fought off some petty thieves before.

However, this hellish scene was something I had never seen before in my life.

Naruto and Sasuke also turned pale, but managed to hold back from vomiting. They realized why this place smelled so awful.

Suzuran and Shuyuan remained calm and carefully observed the scene in the narrow passage.

Kimimaro wasn't surprised by Shuyuan's composure; after all, he had been entrusted by Katsuki to take Shuyuan along to practice against mountain bandits!

It's quite amusing that this little girl with the Rain Ninja Forehead Protector is so calm.

"This... could it be that you took on that killer's job?"

Shisui had already learned about the situation here through the crows, but after seeing it in person, he suddenly realized what was going on.

"Hmm, so you've got your eye on him too, Shisui- senpai? Looks like I'm lucky, I snatched him up before you."

Kimimaro laughed.

"Let's not talk about that. What's going on with this valley? Was it done by that serial killer?"

Shisui pointed to the hellish valley.

At this moment, Kitajima Tora also got off the carriage and walked over. Seeing the scene in the valley, he did not vomit like his subordinates, but remained quite calm.

Hearing Shisui's question, he hurriedly looked at Kimimaro.

"It should be correct; the scent is the same as that left at the other locations." Kimimaro's right sleeve revealed a white snake, about the thickness of a chopstick, its head emerging and its bright red tongue flicking out.

"So what are you going to do next? Continue hunting down that serial killer?" Shisui continued to ask.

"Yes, we've been searching around this border for two days now, and this is the first time we've found such a fresh site." Kimimaro nodded.

"Our convoy needs to pass through here. Do you still need to preserve the scene here?"

Shisui asked the question that Kitajima Tora was most concerned about, and the noble-born merchant looked at Kimimaro with great eagerness.

He wanted to return to the Land of Grass as soon as possible and sell off the grain he had. Only then could he finally feel at ease. He didn't want to waste even half a day if possible.

After a few seconds of silence, Kimimaro communicated with the small snake in his sleeve before saying, "I've gathered the target's aura, but I'm powerless to clear out what's here."

His strengths lie in Taijutsu and his own Kekkei Genkai, not Ninjutsu; his ability to alter terrain is a specialty of Earth Release ninjas.

"... Now that you mention it, I don't know Earth Release either!" Shisui frowned. All his specialties were offensive Ninjutsu, and his Chakra nature was the three most lethal types: fire, wind, and lightning.

Kitajima Tora had a deep understanding of ninjas, and upon hearing what the two said, he immediately showed disappointment.

If it weren't for the ninjas' help, his guards alone would have spent the entire day cleaning the valley and repairing the road.

"Teacher Shisui, let me do it!"

Shuyuan suddenly spoke up at this moment.

"Shuyuan, you have mastered the Earth Release?" Shisui looked at Shuyuan in surprise.

"If Shuyuan is involved, there's no problem. I can guarantee it." Before Shuyuan could speak, Kimimaro spoke in a tone that indicated the problem was solved.

He was one of the few who knew the secret of Shuyuan. (To be continued)