Chapter Twenty-Two: The Young Nurse Nonō / Chapter Twenty-Three: The Black Death, Sarutobi Ryō

The shockwave ceased.

A puff of white breath escaped Akira Sarutobi's mouth.

As the smoke and dust dispersed, Akira Sarutobi's weary yet spirited eyes were revealed.

"Impressive..."

Akira Sarutobi sincerely praised this taijutsu.

Merely gaining an initial grasp of it had allowed his strength to leap to a whole new level.

That was the power of a technique.

If he continued training, not only would its power improve dramatically, but his physical stamina and strength would continue to advance by astonishing margins as well.

"That's enough for today..." Akira Sarutobi walked over to the nearby river and took a bath directly in it.

Watching her young master disappear into the night, Ino Yamanaka lay back down on her travel mat. "Young Master has gotten even stronger now... The assessment mission is in the bag..."

A Busty Girl, Yakushi Nonō

The sun rose and set.

When dawn came once again, Akira Sarutobi and Ino Yamanaka arrived at the eastern coastline of the Land of Fire.

Returning to this familiar place, they had not had the chance to properly look around during their previous mission to the Land of Whirlpools.

Facing the sea, the Blonde Ponytail Girl could not help kicking off her shoes and stepping onto the beach.

Splash!

A wave rolled in, washing over her feet.

As he watched the girl face the sea breeze, Akira Sarutobi's cold expression softened slightly.

In his previous life, Akira Sarutobi had come from the bottom of society and had seen plenty of its dark side.

In this life, his identity had changed. He had risen to prominence from the moment he was born, yet the path of a ninja was still stained with blood and darkness.

All along the way, he had trained like a machine, grown stronger, killed... then trained again, grown stronger, killed again... repeating that cycle.

After living two lives, the essence of life seemed not to have changed much.

At times, Akira Sarutobi truly envied his Childhood Sweetheart's carefree optimism.

And with her by his side, his icy heart felt a slight warmth.

The waves continued to crash against the shore as they breathed in the sea air and listened to the ocean.

When the sun rose, a girl dressed like a commoner approached from the other side of the beach.

She appeared to be in her teens, with fair skin and a beautiful face.

Her light golden hair curled at the ends and hung down around her shoulders.

As for her figure, Akira Sarutobi could not help taking a few extra looks.

Ordinary clothing could not conceal that... exceptionally curvaceous figure.

That was right, exceptionally curvaceous!

Akira Sarutobi had always thought such a figure existed only in manga and games, but he had never expected... someone like that to exist in the real world.

The sun rose over the sea, casting rays of rosy light in every direction.

The sea breeze lifted her face covering, revealing eyes filled with compassion for the world.

The holiness of her face combined with her exceptionally curvaceous figure, creating a... unique charm.

Akira Sarutobi stared fixedly at the approaching figure.

Only when the girl had reached him did Akira Sarutobi slowly speak. "Walking Miko... Yakushi Nonō."

"Young Master Ryo."

Yakushi Nonō gave a slight nod in greeting.

Perhaps no one in Konoha did not know Akira Sarutobi.

But... very few knew the title Walking Miko.

That title had been earned in the underground world.

It was unknown to the ninjas living in the light aboveground.

Nonō was somewhat surprised, then wondered... had Lord Danzo personally told this young master before her?

Yakushi Nonō was sizing Akira Sarutobi up.

Naturally, Akira Sarutobi was observing her as well.

For some reason... this famous female ninja from the world of Hokage seemed... rather cold toward him, perhaps even hostile.

Of course, as Konoha's foremost female spy ninja, Nonō was very skilled at concealing her thoughts.

That fleeting coldness quickly became the ordinary manner she showed everyone else.

With his excellent memory, Akira Sarutobi could not recall ever offending her.

"I am the contact for this assessment mission. I have already reviewed Lord Danzo's written order regarding the specifics..."

Yakushi Nonō adjusted her round glasses.

The glasses lent her a hint of intellectual elegance.

Root's ninjas had unique methods of communication.

Even when separated by thousands of miles, they could exchange information with one another in a short time.

"Mm." Akira Sarutobi nodded. "Please tell me the specific objective of the assessment mission..."

"Don't be in such a hurry."

Nonō turned around, signaling for Akira Sarutobi to follow.

Behind them, Ino Yamanaka hurriedly ran over to pick up her shoes.

"Based on my observations, nighttime would be the best time to act in this assessment mission..."

A female ninja who had rendered great service to Konoha during the war, she had now been able to return home because of the Post-War cleanup mission.

"The target belongs to a criminal organization entrenched in the local port."

Criminal organizations were also known as Yakuza Organizations.

Much like Japan in the real world... the gangs of this world were mostly made up of samurai, ronin, Rogue Ninja, and others of similar professions.

During the Warring States Period, ninjas had driven the samurai from the stage of history.

Some samurai went to the Land of Iron and established a neutral nation.

The rest chose to make a living as bodyguards, guards... or by establishing Yakuza Organizations.

Even the ninjas of the Five Great Nations could not involve themselves in every aspect of their countries' internal affairs.

Thus, allowing these samurai and ronin to exist had become an unspoken rule observed by everyone.

"Look over there."

Upon reaching the edge of the town, Yakushi Nonō climbed to the roof of an abandoned building and pointed into the distance.

Ninjas generally had excellent eyesight.

In the original story, during the Chunin Ninja Exams, Might Guy and Kakashi had both been able to clearly see Orochimaru inside the Purple Fire Formation from several hundred meters away.

As for Akira Sarutobi... with the system's assistance, long-range vision was even less of a problem.

As his right pupil contracted and expanded,

the distant scene was immediately brought closer, allowing him to observe the target at a higher magnification.

At the docks, groups of workers moved cargo back and forth.

A small number of samurai and ronin stood apart from them.

These samurai maintained order, and their uniform clothing made it clear they belonged to a Yakuza Organization.

"Young Master, they're all ordinary people..."

Ino Yamanaka, who had caught up at some point, sensed the people in the distance and found that they were indeed all ordinary people.

Even the samurai were merely a little stronger physically, with somewhat more vigorous Chakra.

They were far below the standards of the samurai from the Land of Iron.

After all, the samurai of the Land of Iron could contend with ninjas.

"Who is pulling their strings?" Akira Sarutobi turned his head toward the exceptionally curvaceous female spy ninja.

"..."

Nonō fell silent.

She did not know whether this was something the young master had figured out himself, or something Lord Danzo had told him.

"The Twelve Guardian Shinobi... people close to the Feudal Lord of the Land of Fire."

"Oh?"

Akira Sarutobi raised an eyebrow.

Just as Yakushi Nonō thought this young master, the Second Generation Hokage's descendant, would choose to deliberate carefully or even contact Lord Hokage...

Akira Sarutobi's next words left her frozen in shock. "Then we'll kill those gang leaders one by one first and lure out the mastermind."

"What, is there a problem?" Akira Sarutobi's bluntness slightly changed Nonō's expression.

"No problem. We'll proceed according to your arrangement, Young Master Akira Sarutobi."

Nonō nodded.

"If we are going to act, I still recommend doing so at night... That way, we won't frighten the ordinary people..."

"Mm, all right... Next, I'm going to scout the area..."

After saying that, Akira Sarutobi directly left with Ino Yamanaka.

Watching the two depart, Nonō adjusted her glasses and became a little curious about this young master.

"Perhaps... the intelligence reports were not entirely accurate..."

Black Reaper: Akira Sarutobi

The docks were calm on that night.

After a busy day, people put out their lights one after another following dinner.

The entire port town gradually sank into darkness.

Before long, a commotion approaching from afar disturbed the quiet road.

One of the local gang leaders, after stuffing himself with food and drink, was returning to his base with several subordinates.

Yet they soon stopped in their tracks.

Because...

Beneath a dim streetlamp ahead stood a figure dressed entirely in black, wearing a white mask.

Soon, the figure began walking toward them, moving faster and faster.

"Who's there?!"

Their vigilance, honed by years spent among society's underbelly, made the gangsters tense up immediately.

By the time the gang leader asked that question, Akira Sarutobi had already arrived before them.

Covered from head to toe, Akira Sarutobi showed only his hair and ears.

His face was completely concealed behind the white mask.