Playing a Part

Hyuga Kagami did not tangle with Sasori. He flew straight above Mitsui Chuichi's corpse and, without hesitation, hurled several kunai wrapped with Explosive Tags.

Boom! Boom! Boom...

Amid a series of violent explosions, Mitsui Chuichi's corpse was instantly blown to pieces.

Hyuga Kagami destroyed Mitsui Chuichi's corpse to prevent Sasori from tracing Mitsui Chuichi's identity back to him.

After all, he had no idea how long he would have to remain at the border outpost. If Sasori came looking for him, he would not even have anywhere to run. The village was currently doing everything it could to Purge him. If he abandoned the outpost and fled, the village could conveniently charge him with desertion in the face of battle and execute him with full justification.

But with Mitsui Chuichi's corpse destroyed, it would not be so easy for Sasori to uncover Hyuga Kagami's identity.

No matter how strong Sasori was, he was ultimately just a Rogue Ninja. Without Sunagakure's support behind him, intelligence gathering was bound to be his weakness.

Furthermore, since Konoha and Sunagakure's cooperation this time involved a Purge of their own people, there had to be very few who knew about it, and they were certainly the highest-ranking figures in both villages. Whether Sasori investigated Konoha or Sunagakure, it would be difficult for him to obtain the specific list of personnel involved in this Purge.

One flew through the air while the other pursued on the ground, and the distance between them naturally grew wider and wider.

Glancing at Sasori far behind him, furious and frustrated, Hyuga Kagami laughed heartily.

Sasori had not yet joined Akatsuki. Though he had the impressive achievement of killing a Kage-level opponent, he still fell within the traditional mold of a Sunagakure puppet master: his methods were limited, he relied too heavily on puppets, and he lacked ways to deal with all sorts of strange and unusual powerful opponents.

Therefore, after Hyuga Kagami had luckily seized the Third Kazekage Human Puppet, Sasori's combat strength immediately dropped sharply.

This weakening did not refer solely to combat power. More importantly, it affected mobility. Without the Third Kazekage's Human Puppet, Sasori had lost control of the battlefield. Whether they fought or made peace was no longer up to him.

This was also why the Fourth Hokage had managed to surpass the Sannin in such a short time and awe the Ninja World.

Those who could defeat the Fourth Hokage could not catch him, while those who could not defeat him could not escape. Where to fight and when to fight were entirely the Fourth Hokage's decision. That was the greatest helplessness in the hearts of every enemy who encountered him. As the Fourth Hokage grew stronger by the day, fewer and fewer people could defeat him one-on-one. Thus, the name "Yellow Flash" naturally came to shake the Ninja World.

The current Sasori has not yet reached his peak. Perhaps after he joins Akatsuki soon, sees the Rinnegan, and learns of the power that stands above the Kage-level, his strength will improve even further.

With those thoughts in mind, Hyuga Kagami gradually shook off Sasori, left the desert terrain, and slipped into the forests within the Land of Rivers.

After repeatedly confirming that he had lost Sasori, Hyuga Kagami deliberately made a large detour before finally stopping atop a tree five li away from his outpost.

If he simply returned so brazenly, Hyuga Kagami would inevitably be questioned over Mitsui Chuichi's death.

But having taken the Third Kazekage Human Puppet, he could not report his encounter with Sasori. Once he reported it to the village, the Third Kazekage Human Puppet in his possession would be difficult to keep under the village's thorough investigation.

Moreover, once an S-rank Rogue Ninja was involved, the village would most likely send Jonin, perhaps even Elite Jonin, to investigate. That would greatly increase the chance of the Tenseigan being exposed.

Therefore, he had to put on an act and make Mitsui Chuichi's death seem reasonable.

After thinking it over briefly, Hyuga Kagami began to act.

He wrapped all the exposed parts of the Third Kazekage Human Puppet, such as its head and hands, in bandages, leaving only its slightly vacant eyes exposed. Then he draped it in a gray cloak.

Since it had originally been made from a corpse, its build was almost exactly the same as when it had been alive. Coupled with the absence of chakra threads, after Hyuga Kagami's disguise, the Third Kazekage Human Puppet looked like a living ninja.

After inspecting it carefully once more and confirming that there were no obvious flaws, Hyuga Kagami handed the Third Kazekage Human Puppet two kunai and had it slash him with them.

Once everything was ready, Hyuga Kagami shouted for help as he raced toward the outpost.

Inside the outpost.

Hearing Hyuga Kagami's cries for help in the distance, Anko, who was recovering from her injuries, froze for a moment before leaping from her room and landing outside the outpost.

At the same time, the other two squad captains in the outpost also leaped out, watching the direction of Hyuga Kagami's cries with vigilance.

A moment later, they saw Hyuga Kagami, covered in blood, staggering toward the outpost. Behind him, an unfamiliar ninja in a cloak was pursuing him.

Including the injured Anko, the three Konoha ninja did not hesitate. They immediately rushed forward and exchanged blows with the unfamiliar ninja chasing Hyuga Kagami.

Even using only taijutsu, the Third Kazekage Human Puppet was far stronger than Anko and the others. To avoid overplaying the act, Hyuga Kagami pretended to be exhausted and collapsed to the ground. The Third Kazekage Human Puppet, posing as his pursuer, exchanged a few moves with the three before immediately withdrawing.

The three did not risk pursuing it. Instead, they returned to Hyuga Kagami and asked, "What happened?"

Hyuga Kagami shook his head. "I don't know either. Captain Mitsui and I had just infiltrated the Land of Wind when we were attacked. The captain died on the spot. That man chased me all the way, and I barely managed to escape back here."

When Anko heard that, her expression darkened further.

The other two Chunin squad captains exchanged glances and saw that both their eyes were filled with shock and confusion.

Back in Hyuga Kagami's room at the outpost, Anko wrapped his wounds while saying in a hoarse voice, "They're all dead."

By "they," Anko meant the other seven people among the nine former subordinates of Orochimaru who had arrived together, excluding Anko and Hyuga Kagami.

Hyuga Kagami's squad was not the only one sent out on a mission today. The other two squads at the outpost had also gone out. Yet only the two squad captains with questionable identities had returned safely, while all the former subordinates of Orochimaru who served as squad members had died in "accidents."

Hyuga Kagami said nothing and merely nodded silently.

At a remote outpost of twelve people, eight had died in battle in less than two weeks. Aside from Mitsui Chuichi, who had accidentally been killed by Sasori, the other seven had all been Orochimaru's former subordinates. Anyone who was not blind or stupid could see something suspicious was going on.

After a moment, Hyuga Kagami pointed outside the door and said quietly, "Be careful of them. I suspect they're Root."

Anko had long noticed that something was off about the three squad captains sent to replace them, so she nodded. Then she asked softly, "What happened to you today?"

Hyuga Kagami glanced at Anko and answered calmly, "Don't overthink it. I really did run into an accident today."