Killer Demon?

After passing through the valley, we left the land of the Land of Fire. After traveling dozens of miles, the scenery suddenly opened up before us.

The lush forest has transformed into a vast, endless grassland, with waist-high weeds growing everywhere. The weeds on both sides of the road undulate like waves with the gentle breeze.

"What the hell? What's wrong with this damned killer? His aura is getting weaker and weaker."

Kimimaro looked puzzled.

I have absolutely no idea how that murderer managed to conceal his presence; it was as if he had merged into nature. Even his summoned beast was completely baffled.

This C-level mission is indeed more troublesome than expected.

Is there a problem?

Shisui walked over and asked.

After traveling for most of the day, everyone was exhausted, and it was almost lunchtime, so the group found a high hill to set up camp and cook a meal.

Shuyuan and the other kids, including Rindou, huddled together, chattering away and exchanging their experiences as ninjas.

Shisui noticed Kimimaro's change and came over to ask him about it.

"This is a bit troublesome. We can't find the killer's whereabouts. My White Serpent can't find any trace of the killer's aura at all; it's as if he vanished into thin air in this vicinity."

Kimimaro frowned, while the white snake hidden in his sleeve shook its head blankly.

"That's so tricky?"

Shisui was surprised. It was just a C-rank mission, meant for training their rookie subordinates. Logically speaking, it shouldn't have been so much trouble for Jonin like them.

"I think this might be due to insufficient intelligence during the mission classification process... The difficulty of this search alone is enough to classify it as B-Rank Mission." Kimimaro's brow furrowed deeply. "If that serial killer were any stronger..."

The words weren't fully spoken, but Shisui completely understood their meaning.

When a mission is classified incorrectly due to a lack of sufficient information or staff negligence, it can be a disaster for the ninja who receives the mission.

It's fine if a simple task is deemed difficult, but the real problem is when an extremely difficult task is considered easy. In such cases, many people die every time.

"What are you planning to do next? Are you going to give up?" Shisui asked.

"I'm not afraid of how powerful that murderer is, but the little guys I'm looking after don't have enough strength," Kimimaro, somewhat troubled.

If he were alone, no matter how powerful the other party was, he would have enough courage to confront them head-on.

However, with three more burdens, he could no longer act as freely as before. He had to consider things carefully before taking any action, taking into account the safety of the little devils.

Even in terms of age, he was only three years older than Rindou and Miki.

"Is this also to temper my character?" Kimimaro wondered thoughtfully.

Just then, a chaotic shouting sound came from afar.

"Um?"

Shisui looked in the direction where the guards were gathered; that was where the unusual activity had originated.

He and Kimimaro exchanged a glance, temporarily setting aside their misunderstandings, and hurried over together.

"Shuyuan, what happened?"

Shisui asked sternly.

He frowned and looked into the crowd. He smelled blood and glanced around. He saw a man covered in blood lying on the ground.

"This person stumbled over, yelling for help..."

Shuyuan was also completely baffled by the details. Before they could even speak to this guy, Shisui and Kimimaro arrived.

"Make way, don't block the road."

Kimimaro's cold and ruthless demeanor was even more frightening than Shisui's, and the guards who had gathered to watch the spectacle immediately scattered.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Kimimaro knelt on the ground, grabbed the somewhat delirious man, and slapped him twice across the face.

"Tell me what happened? Is someone chasing you? How did you get covered in blood?"

"Shisui- sensei, isn't Kimimaro- sensei being a bit too heartless? That man looked badly injured! Why are you treating him like this...?"

Sakura looked at the man who had been slapped, her face showing pity.

"What an idiot! That man wasn't injured at all; he was just frightened. The blood on him must have come from someone else."

Shisui didn't speak; it was Sasuke who answered Sakura's question. His eyes turned crimson, and a black tomoe slowly rotated within them.

"Sasuke, be gentle, she's a girl," Shuyuan interjected, comforting Sakura, whose face was flushed with embarrassment. He also frowned.

"This guy ran from the direction we were going. Could there have been some battle ahead?" Shuyuan clenched her fist, glanced at the composed Shisui, and still didn't act rashly, waiting for Kimimaro's questioning results.

Under Kimimaro's invigorating technique, the man regained his senses and answered Kimimaro's questions fluently.

"The murderer killed your comrade? When they were about to finish you off, a group of Grass Ninja rushed out and fought with the murderer, and then you desperately fled to us..." Kimimaro finished his sentence and asked the man again.

"Yes, yes, it was a monster. That monster killed my companion in an instant and tore Yoko in two..."

The man was terrified; his body shrank back like a boiled shrimp, trembling uncontrollably.

"A murderer... is this some kind of effortless windfall?" Kimimaro shook his head. "I was just worried about not being able to find him, and now he's delivered himself right to my doorstep."

"Shisui- senpai, I'll be going now." Kimimaro said goodbye decisively, then called to Sakura and the others to get going immediately.

The four people sped off like the wind in the direction the man had come from.

"That was great! Such an exciting mission..." Naruto's mouth was practically watering as he watched Kimimaro and the others leave.

"Alright, Naruto, stop looking. There will always be a chance." Shuyuan patted Naruto on the shoulder.

"Well!"

Naruto reluctantly turned his gaze away and looked at the man lying on the ground.

"Teacher Shisui, what should we do with this guy?"

"Give him some hot water, and let him leave once he's sober. We still have a mission to complete."

Shisui said calmly, his attention still on the murderer, who was being treated as a monster, and he was very concerned about him.

"Hopefully, it's not some troublesome guy..."

Silently Kimimaro well, he found a clean spot to sit down, drank some hot water, ate some flatbread, and recovered his strength.

Suzuran also brought some hot water and flatbread to the frightened man, and then sat down with Shuyuan and the others, also eating dry flatbread.

"... Quack quack!"

Crows flew swiftly across the sky, but Shisui still couldn't shake his worries!

In Shisui's eyes, Kimimaro was really no different from Shuen and the Shuyuan; they were all still children.

Since he's already run into us, we can't just ignore it.

Watching the crows fly away, Shuyuan grinned, put her hands together to Hand Seals, and unleashed Secret Technique.

Mind's Eye of the Kagura.

He was also very curious about what that monstrous killer was. (To be continued)