Talking Too Much Gets You Killed

Aburame Tetsumaru got fully dressed, prepared to say goodbye to his father, then headed to the mission center to cancel his leave and select some missions. But when he knocked on the door, there was no response.

Aburame Tetsumaru knew Aburame Kazekazu inside was not asleep. He immediately understood that his old father was pretending to sleep after drinking and refused to get up.

Aburame Tetsumaru smiled, knocked on the door three final times, then turned and left.

The mission center was now right beside the Hokage Building. It was bustling with people coming and going. Aburame Tetsumaru squeezed inside, asked the guards where to cancel his leave, and smoothly switched himself back to active duty.

He then selected four missions in the mission hall. All of them headed northwest, and could be turned in either at the Land of Rain camp or on-site.

But when he went to collect the mission documents, he found that one had already been taken. He could only let it go. With everything handled manually, finding another suitable mission would waste too much time.

By the time he had finished preparing, it was already ten in the morning. Aburame Tetsumaru hurriedly set off.

When he reached Konoha's gates, a familiar figure appeared within his Secret Technique: Domain Barrier. It was his old father, Aburame Kazekazu, who was afraid of farewells.

The elderly Chunin stood secretly atop a large tree near the gate, carefully identifying every ninja who passed through. The instant he recognized Aburame Tetsumaru, he sprang up from his seated position and nervously rubbed his hands over his clothes.

Aburame Tetsumaru saw everything clearly through the Field Barrier and felt delighted. After finishing the formalities, he deliberately gave the tree a thumbs-up, then burst out laughing and ran away.

Aburame Kazekazu immediately flew into a rage. "That brat, was he provoking me? He was, wasn't he?"

His anger lasted less than twenty seconds before he became smug again. "That kid's already stronger than his old man. Now I don't have to worry anymore. Hahahaha."

Several old ninjas in the tree immediately became annoyed and grumbled, "Keep it down, keep it down. Don't expose us."

"You're the only one who knows how to show off. Shut up."

"Shh, shh, stop making noise. My daughter's here. All of you, shut it."

Aburame Tetsumaru had not run very far, yet he heard every word clearly. He was instantly speechless. So this tree was apparently a farewell tree where old fathers watched their sons and daughters off.

Ninjas were, after all, people before they were tools.

The first mission was to wipe out bandits, an extremely simple job. The client was a village near the main road. These bandits must have been driven mad by poverty. Did they really think they could casually rob a village near a major route, one that obviously had money?

With money, a village in the Shinobi World could hire ninjas. What bandits could survive against ninjas? Even slaughtering such a village was impossible. Located along a main route, the attack would quickly be discovered, and then the Daimyo's estate would pay to hire even stronger ninjas to eliminate them. This was simply courting death.

After finding the village chief and asking for information, Aburame Tetsumaru's height and build gave the man tremendous confidence. The chief hurriedly revealed everything he knew, bowing over and over.

It turned out the bandits had kidnapped the village's women and children, using them as hostages to threaten the village into handing over money and food.

The moment he heard that, Aburame Tetsumaru developed killing intent. Scum like this should be wiped out completely. He reassured the village chief with the briefest words. "Don't worry. I'll bring them back."

After leaving the village, he identified the bandits' trail and released a group of Dragonflies to observe from an altitude of 1,300 meters. They quickly found the bandits' route.

Tracking was the easiest part of this mission. Ten minutes later, Aburame Tetsumaru found the bandits' lair: a crude camp with no walls and no sentries. Fifty or sixty crooked-looking men sat or lay around a cave. A few sturdy men held swords or standard spears, while the others carried things like farming tools.

Under the cover of Camouflage Insects, the Insect Tide silently flooded forward. The bandits noticed nothing of the Insect Swarm's movements. These people had no ability to resist.

When the Insect Tide spread into the cave, it discovered something unexpected. Besides the kidnapped women and children, the five bandits guarding them were dressed very differently. Two of them were even dressed as ninjas.

With ninjas involved, this was no longer a C-rank mission.

The cave's lighting was terrible. Even with a bonfire lit, it remained dim, and the insects crawling across the ground did not have particularly good eyesight. Aburame Tetsumaru simply could not make out the symbols on the two ninjas' forehead protectors.

Releasing Ghost-faced Moths that could see clearly was not suitable either. Those moths were simply too large and were better suited for even darker environments.

Just as he was caught in a dilemma, he heard several bandit leaders discussing their next plan.

A bandit leader dressed like a ronin asked, "What do we do after getting the food and money? Build a mountain stronghold here?"

The ninja bandit leader immediately rebuked him. "Ahou, how can we stay here? Konoha Ninja will arrive within three days at most. We leave once we get the money and find some remote place afterward."

"Aren't you ninjas too?"

"Idiot, how could ninjas from a small country possibly defeat Konoha Ninja? If they send people, there will definitely be Chunin."

"Won't they send Genin?"

"Genin would be even more terrifying. By the Land of Fire's customs, if several Genin are dispatched for this kind of mission, there will definitely be a Jonin accompanying them. Then we won't even have a chance to run."

"If there had been any other choice, we wouldn't have come to the Land of Fire. Only here can we rob enough food and money now."

The five people discussed their next target one sentence at a time, but Aburame Tetsumaru no longer wanted to listen. He had obtained enough intelligence and made up his mind to fight.

With a thought, the ground outside the cave flipped over entirely. Locusts hidden beneath it launched upward, instantly striking every bandit present in the throat.

At the same time, eleven Combination Insects took flight. After accelerating for two seconds, they flew into the cave, detonated after their final turn, activated their terminal weapon sections, and shot toward their targets at four times the speed of sound.

Using the whistle of the Combination Insects flying past as a signal, hundreds of Camouflage Insects on the ground instantly flipped over, revealing a swarm of Poison-Stinger Beetles. But there was no longer any need for them.

The three ronin were killed by the Combination Insects without making any response. The two ninjas each deflected one or two Combination Insects, but four insects had been targeting each of them from the start. They were struck by the follow-up insects and collapsed on the spot, hovering near death.

Aburame Tetsumaru waited ten seconds and found that one ninja had rapidly lost all signs of life. The other had stopped breathing, but his heart was still beating strongly.

He took no risks. With a thought, a large Scorpion quietly crawled over and viciously stung the ninja's toe.

The ninja felt no pain, but he sensed danger. He rolled and leaped up, only to be riddled with poisonous needles by the waiting Poison-Stinger Beetles. He fell stiffly to the ground, and several seconds later, his heart was paralyzed and stopped beating.

After that, Aburame Tetsumaru patiently waited another half hour. Only after confirming that every target was dead did he command the Insect Swarm to begin cleaning up the battlefield.

These bandits had robbed villages along the main road, clearly because they had been driven mad by poverty, so he did not expect much loot. There were only two decent swords, four Kunai, and seven or eight usable Shuriken. The other battered swords, spears, and farming tools were too bulky and worthless. He handed them, along with several dozen copper coins, over to the village chief to deal with.

After completing the mission, he discussed the procedures for getting it upgraded with the village chief. He emphasized that if he came back and found the mission was still C-rank, he would return to have a serious discussion with the chief about compensation.

By the time everything was handled, it was already dark. Aburame Tetsumaru did not delay. He casually ate some rice and continued on his way.

After running at full speed, he had traveled nearly eighty kilometers from the village by midnight. Aburame Tetsumaru finally stopped, built a bonfire to boil water, and even spread out a blanket to lie down and rest.

Before water boiled, there was a stage when its sound suddenly grew quieter. At that moment, a shadow suddenly darted out of the darkness and linked to Aburame Tetsumaru's shadow. Then two ninjas leaped out and drove their jitte into Aburame Tetsumaru's chest and back.

"What?"

"Not good!"

The Aburame Tetsumaru stabbed through the front and back of his chest turned into a cloud of Kikaichū and scattered in all directions.

"An Insect Clone? When?"

Aburame Tetsumaru's tall figure suddenly appeared in the clearing illuminated by the bonfire. He raised his leg and lashed out with a whip kick into the air. With a thunderous bang, he kicked a humanoid figure out of thin air.

The figure tumbled toward the darkness and was caught by a ninja.

Aburame Tetsumaru stood where he was, facing off against four ninjas.

The ninja who rose from the darkness last reprimanded him in a low voice. "Aburame Tetsumaru, you are suspected of spying on a secret Konoha base. Surrender without resistance."

Aburame Tetsumaru looked at the four masked ninjas. The patterns on their masks were exceptionally intricate, deliberately distinct from the Anbu's animal masks. Others might not know, but Aburame Tetsumaru understood perfectly.

"Shadow Imitation Technique, Transparent Escape. You aren't Anbu. Who exactly are you? Where is the arrest warrant?"

"We belong to a secret organization. Our authority exceeds that of the Anbu. We do not need to explain ourselves to you."

One ninja holding a jitte shouted angrily, "If you dare resist, we will regard you as a rogue ninja. Every Konoha Ninja will have the right to kill you."

The mask of the ninja who had spoken first shifted slightly before turning back. He saw the upward curl at Aburame Tetsumaru's lips.

"Loose lips sink ships. The ancients did not deceive us."

Since they were getting serious, the Insect Tide would devour them.

Aburame Tetsumaru had remained here for a full fifteen minutes. The entire environment was unquestionably his home ground.

Every blade of grass within a thirty-meter radius flattened in unison. Locusts sprang from the ground with sharp popping sounds. The bark of every tree in that range burst away, revealing trees packed full of Camouflage Insects and Poison-Stinger Beetles, which fired a skyful of poisonous needles with crackling pops.

The four Root Ninjas all used the Substitution Technique to evade. The logs they left behind were battered by Locusts and poison needles until wood chips flew everywhere, instantly splitting them into finger-thick strips.

Three explosions boomed in succession. They were the sounds of three Root Ninjas being blasted away. The thirty-meter radius had been calculated by Aburame Tetsumaru as the movement distance of the Substitution Technique. Many Landmine Insects lay in ambush among the unflattened grass beyond that range.

"One is still missing. The Nara using the Shadow Secret Technique. As expected of a smart one."

Aburame Tetsumaru rapidly formed hand seals and aimed at the figure flipping over the minefield.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough

Explosive wind blades swept over, throwing the airborne figure off balance and sending him rolling several times. He barely managed to grab a large tree when the Nara ninja discovered in terror that a swarm of Locusts was shooting toward him on the wind. It was already too late to dodge.

Before long, the four captives were injected with large doses of anesthetic and dragged beside the bonfire. Their masks were removed as well. Now there was truly nothing left to worry about.

No one had died mainly because Aburame Tetsumaru had upgraded the Landmine Insects. Their bodies had been greatly reduced in size, while their explosive reaction speed had increased tenfold.

After being infused with more Chakra, their explosive power had not decreased. Aburame Tetsumaru had also deliberately increased the number of fragments and reduced their lethal radius. He no longer pursued the old effect where a single Landmine Insect explosion could seriously wound a Jonin, as in Chapter Twenty-Two. Instead, he pursued maximum destructive power within a limited kill radius.

The three people injured by the Landmine Insects had both lost their legs, but they were still alive and out of danger.

"Can you tell me why you came after me?"

All four closed their eyes together and gave no answer.

"I knew it would be like this. What a bother."

Aburame Tetsumaru pulled open the four men's jaws and tugged out their tongues for careful inspection. Sure enough, they bore the Sealing Technique of Cursed Tongue Eradication Jutsu, confirming that they were Root Ninjas.

He then severed the tendons in all four of their hands and bound them up.

In any case, they could not die here. They could not die along my route.

It turned out Aburame Tetsumaru had discovered these four ninjas following him while still in the village. That was why he had deliberately traveled at night, hoping to obtain more intelligence.

Who would have thought that the four said nothing along the way? Only when he stopped to rest did they quietly discuss their mission.

The four Root Ninjas were carrying out a graduation examination mission. Its content was actually to control or assassinate a Chunin, a Konoha Ninja. Only by completing this mission could they ensure that Root Ninjas were ninjas who obeyed only Shimura Danzō, not Konoha's ninjas.

The Nara ninja in charge of command had suggested launching a sneak attack first. If that failed, they would arrest him in Root's name. If that also failed, they would retreat, report to the rear, and arrange charges to turn this Aburame ninja into a rogue ninja.

How vicious. He could be killed for no reason at all, and if he successfully resisted, he would become a rogue ninja. In the end, it was still a dead end.

This was even more disgusting than Kirigakure's Bloody Mist Village policy.

A thought suddenly rose in Aburame Tetsumaru's mind:

Shimura Danzō's Root really is a ticking time bomb. It has threatened my life for no reason at all. Once I'm strong enough, I should get rid of him as soon as possible. That would be much more reassuring.

Since these Root members chose targets at random, Aburame Tetsumaru had a way to deal with them. He would capture them here without killing them, transport them somewhere far from his route, kill them there, then completely destroy the bodies and evidence. That way, it would have nothing to do with him.

Had he not obtained this intelligence, Aburame Tetsumaru would probably have had no choice but to run all the way to the Land of Rain camp and seek Orochimaru's protection.

At that point, Aburame Tetsumaru's fate would no longer be in his own hands. It would depend entirely on the struggle between Sandaime and Danzo. He might even truly be forced into defecting.

No matter what, these four Root Ninjas would most likely return safely to Konoha. Whether they would be punished by Root afterward was unknown.

So silence was golden. Talking too much made trouble far too easy.