Robbery Successful

Moriyue had learned a piece of intelligence from Shino, though he had no idea whether it was true. Its reliability remained to be seen, but at least they now had a lead on the talismans.

"Hmm, the information you gave me is somewhat interesting. I don't know if it's real or not, but at least you spoke up. Now, let's discuss something else."

Upon hearing that, Shino wore the same expression Hinata had earlier. Seriously, you're not even going to pretend? You're openly admitting that you went back on your word?

"Listen, I know you're in a hurry, but don't be hasty. I always keep my word. If I said I'd let you go, then I'll let you go. I won't break my promise."

Seeing Shino's expression, Moriyue waved a hand at him. To show his sincerity and prepare for the questioning to come, he gestured for Kiba's restraints to be removed.

After being dazed by the stench, then untied only to be tied up again, Kiba gradually regained his senses. The ropes around him were nothing like Hinata's elaborate bindings. As Moriyue had put it, tying up a grown man and a dog like that just felt a little perverse.

"My nose hurts... You bastards, you actually ambushed me? Let Shino and Hinata go! Akamaru, let's get them..."

"Wait, Kiba! Calm down..."

Shino knew that with Kiba's reckless personality, he was about to do something excessive again. The three of them together had struggled to win; Kiba charging in alone would just be throwing his life away.

Sure enough, before the hot-blooded young master Kiba and Akamaru could swagger around for even a minute, Ando and Kazeki had subdued him. To make him behave, Moriyue had specifically lent them his unsharpened Blunt Saber. They stuffed Kiba into a sack and gave him a brutal beating.

"Hmm, the annoying one has calmed down. You saw it yourself—we really did let your companion go. They just failed to seize the opportunity."

"But I never hold grudges. I'll still let you go when the time comes. After all, one more person means one more mouth to feed."

Moriyue gave a broad wave of his hand. The poise he displayed really did not make him seem like someone who quibbled over every little thing.

"We aren't enemies, are we? You're examinees too, and you want to pass the exams. Isn't that convenient...?"

His tone was full of temptation, but Shino remained unmoved. He had recovered quite a bit of Chakra during this time, and the Parasitic Insects living within him had quietly begun chewing through the ropes. All he needed to do was stall for time.

"Go on, I'm interested. We truly aren't enemies."

Shino's small movements never stopped, but Moriyue did not care much. If he could get valuable intelligence out of them, then letting these people go would be no great loss.

"We have a complete set of scrolls here. We can give them all to you. Let's see what you have that you can trade me for."

Moriyue stretched lazily and tossed the Heaven and Earth Scroll in his hand into the air. These two scrolls, which every examinee dreamed of obtaining, were being casually toyed with by him, making Shino feel somewhat envious.

"Speak. As long as you satisfy me, your companions and the scrolls will all be yours..."

He crouched before Shino and looked down from above at the bound, immobile boy, revealing a... bewitching smile.

Wind and sand swept across the semi-desert region. This oasis was one of the few areas along the border between Sunagakure and Konoha that was not particularly harsh. Most of the time, ninja from both villages patrolled and guarded the border, but because of the Chunin Exams, both sides had reduced their forces to some extent as a gesture of goodwill.

But this gap also gave certain interested parties a chance to stir up trouble. Whether in Konoha or Sunagakure, there were people who feared the world was not chaotic enough. Moreover, Danzo had secretly fanned the flames behind Sunagakure's rebellion. With traitors on both sides, was it not perfectly normal for a group of strange people to slip into the Chunin Exams?

"Captain, do you think... that guy was telling the truth?"

Kazeki looked troubled. Ever since learning some information from Shino, she had been worried.

"Hmm? You mean the possibility that someone might attack Gaara? Let them attack him. As long as they don't drag us into it, it's fine."

Moriyue did not even turn around. Mainly because Hinata behind him was still struggling desperately, and he was afraid that if he turned back, she would hit him with a rocket headbutt.

That was right. After obtaining the intelligence he wanted from Shino, along with some ninjutsu scrolls, he... still kidnapped Hinata.

What a joke. Of all the participants, Hinata was the most valuable. She could be treated as an all-purpose exchange ticket. As long as they encountered a Konoha squad, Hinata could be traded for plenty of good things. How could he possibly let her go?

Kazeki frowned deeply and shook her head. She truly did not care about the Kazekage's affairs, but she was worried about the mysterious power Shino had mentioned—the power suspected to be related to talismans.

This intelligence might not necessarily be true, but she knew that once the news reached the Cloud Shinobi, the Raikage would certainly send people to investigate that power. From every perspective, Moriyue, as an experimental subject, was well suited for the mission. But she did not want him taking such risks again. His body... probably could not withstand being pushed around like this much longer.

Naturally, Moriyue had no idea what Kazeki was thinking. He would have loved to investigate that stuff.

As he hurried along, Moriyue had also figured something out. Rather than searching through the vast crowd for isolated squads, it would be better to lie in ambush on the path to the finish line. They could wait at ease for exhausted prey while also guarding against any potential attacks. Why not?

Moriyue had not been idle along the way either. He had extorted quite a few ninjutsu from Shino. Though those techniques were not particularly powerful and did not seem to have any notable strengths, they were still ninjutsu. Unless ordinary ninja made special contributions, they would not learn any other ninjutsu from the time they graduated from the Ninja Academy until they were sent to die as cannon fodder. If they wanted ninjutsu, they either had to steal it or trade for it.

"Hmm, the Reverse Jutsu Formula can make ninjutsu operate along paths different from their original ones. But reversing every ninjutsu doesn't produce an effect. The routes, strengths, and weaknesses still need to be explored on my own. Still, it's somewhat useful. Giving him a set of scrolls wasn't a waste."

Moriyue was secretly rather pleased. Along the way, he had tried running those ninjutsu through reversal pathways. Most of them had made him cough up two mouthfuls of blood, but a small number had produced miraculous effects.

"Pfft~"

He spat out another mouthful of blood. Clearly, the reversed effect of this ninjutsu was not very good. Moriyue coughing up blood every now and then was precisely the source of Kazeki's concern. With such severe blood loss, she truly feared that he would simply die while walking.

Hinata, struggling behind him, was also at a loss. Could it be that my Gentle Fist training is just too good? I can make him cough blood even through a sack?

"Captain, look over there! Someone's fighting!" Ando signaled for the two to stop and pointed into the distance, where two squads were confronting each other.