A Clash of Experts

"No, no, we were too hasty." Shuichi said in a conciliatory tone, "Please lead the way. I've heard that your village is a country under your rule, rich in resources. My brother and I have been traveling around the Shinobi World for several years and are exhausted both physically and mentally. It would be wonderful if we could stay in your village."

The ninja became even more smug. He led Shuichi and Orochimaru around two small hills along the other side of the village, and then a seemingly abandoned old town appeared before them, with half of the city walls and houses demolished.

"All new ninjas must complete a certain number of missions here before they can officially join us. Although this place looks dilapidated, there are still many shops operating here, enough for you to stay for a while."

"Oh?"

After listening to the ninja's instructions, Shuichi and Orochimaru carefully observed their surroundings upon entering. The area consisted mostly of inns, interspersed with a few restaurants, all of which were very basic.

"As expected, there are few ninjas in this Shinobi World who are easy to deal with, let alone those from small countries." After investigating, they found that these barely habitable places were more expensive than some hot spring inns in the Land of Fire. It seems that the Hannya Clan intends to rip off foreign ninjas ruthlessly first.

Orochimaru and Shuichi, eventually choosing an inconspicuous little inn, which was one of the bases mentioned in the mission intelligence.

"Hello, are you two looking for a room?" a young receptionist asked as soon as they entered the hotel.

"Yes, we plan to stay here for three days. It would be even better if there were shower services available."

The young waiter's hand trembled slightly under the table; he himself was momentarily stunned, but quickly recovered. "I'm sorry, we don't have shower facilities here. Would that be acceptable to you, esteemed guest?"

"That's fine for now, let's get a room right away."

After a quick registration, the young man led them to a room and left. Back at the counter, seeing no one around, he quickly crumpled a piece of paper into a ball, stomped on it to reveal a hidden compartment, and then tossed the crumpled paper inside.

Not long after, in an abandoned house in a corner of the city, several people gathered together and discussed something.

"Captain, more Konoha ninjas have arrived. This time there are two of them. They don't have any obvious distinguishing features. Should we eliminate them?"

The person being questioned was completely shrouded in a black robe. He remained silent for a moment before speaking, "The Shinobi World is relatively peaceful right now, and Konoha hasn't reached the point of manpower shortage. A two-person team is practically nonexistent. They likely have teammates elsewhere. If these two suddenly disappear, we might have to abandon this covert operation."

"However, the Hannya Clan has always distrusted most of the outside ninjas. The leaders have very close relationships, and even though we infiltrated the Valley Village a few years ago, we still haven't been able to get into the core."

"Now, taking advantage of their recruitment campaign, I think killing a few Konoha elites should be enough. After all, those Konoha Ninja have almost traced us back to us."

"... Alright, keep a close eye on them." The captain in the shadows spoke after a long pause, "To be absolutely sure, choose a good spot..."

The next morning, Shuichi and Orochimaru arrived at the mission posting area for the Hannya Clan. There were very few people there, and a clerk dressed as a ninja seemed to be doing nothing.

"Sir, we're here to take on a mission. Staying in the inn is just too expensive. Are there any suitable missions available right now?" Shuichi asked directly.

The ninja quickly glanced at them and replied, "You guys aren't very lucky. All the better missions from a few days ago have already been taken. Now there's only one low-value herb-gathering mission left. It might be several days before you can get a new one. What do you think?"

After seemingly considering it for quite some time, Orochimaru and Shuichi finally accepted the mission and immediately set off.

Before long, several figures also quickly left the city.

While traveling at high speed, one of them kept his hands clasped together, as if he was constantly sensing something.

"They probably didn't notice that my sensing talisman was hidden in a lining of the bamboo basket, so there wouldn't be any chakra fluctuations. Now they are indeed heading towards that place."

"Then let's hurry. Sakamaru and Rukawa shouldn't stay in ambush for too long, otherwise there's a risk of being exposed."

Orochimaru and Shuichi were walking at a leisurely pace ahead, and soon they arrived at the place where they were collecting herbs.

"Hmm, it seems they're definitely going to make their move today. Maybe after this, we'll never catch them again," Shuichi said to Orochimaru, looking at the nearly 40-meter-high cliff in front of them.

The herbs needed for the mission all grow on cliffs, making them too easy to ambush. If it weren't for some kind of ghostly Shuichi, I wouldn't believe it!

"Then let's have some fun together."

"Captain, they've stopped at that location," the Sensory Ninja at the rear promptly reported.

At this moment, the captain frowned. "The other side's behavior is quite abnormal. They didn't react at all to that terrain? Are they extremely confident in their own strength?"

"Could it be that those three Konoha Ninja possessed important information, forcing them to risk their lives?"

The captain decisively stated, "That means our presence within the Hannya Clan has been suspected. After this, we'll withdraw. Even if the other side has two Jonin, we still have the advantage. If we really take them down, it will probably cause Konoha a lot of pain for a while."

"Stay alert. The first surprise attack might not succeed, but at least we can separate them. Then we can surround and attack them, giving them no chance to breathe."

"Hi!"

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..." The group quickly arrived at a spot not far from the cliff, each trying to minimize the sound they made.

A ninja formed a hand seal and placed his hand on his closed eye, chanting, "Sand Eye!"

A large eyeball slowly drifted towards the cliff, looked down, and saw Orochimaru and Shuichi gathering herbs against the wall, with nothing unusual about them.

"Do it!"

Three ninjas arrived at the cliff edge at lightning speed. "Earth Release: Rock Slide!"

"Rumble, rumble..."

The rocky area several meters in front of them cracked open and then transformed into countless boulders that crashed down on Orochimaru and Shuichi.

"Whoosh!"

Shuichi flashed like a black shadow, leaping to either side of the foot of the mountain as soon as the rocks began to fall, easily dodging the falling Taiseki. As for Orochimaru, he didn't need to worry about him.

Before he even landed, several more Shuriken came hurtling towards him, while an even larger area of Senbon covered him from behind, all predictively aimed at the spot where he was about to land.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu! BOOM!"

Shadow Clone appeared beneath his feet, saying, "Brother, can I borrow your back? Help me test another round of lightning!"

By stepping on the Shadow Clone, Shuichi's main body performed a change of direction in mid-air, directly avoiding the enemy's attack range.

The Shadow Clone plummeted downwards due to the force of the impact, and just as it landed, a large-scale explosion erupted from the ground, "Boom boom..."

"Luckily, I was quick-witted. They really did bury Explosive Tag on the ground. With that kind of attack rhythm and trap setup, an average Chunin would probably be dead already."

Seeing Shuichi was indeed filled with lingering fear; a ninja can never let their guard down for a moment. "Ugly-Dog-Dragon-Rat-Dog-Boy-Snake-Tiger, Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."

A large Shuriken scattered and flew towards the ground, landing evenly. "Boom! Boom!"

Explosions echoed from several landing points. Shuichi then unleashed chakra from his feet, paused briefly in mid-air, and quickly rolled several times to find a safe spot to land and stand firmly.