Uzumaki Mina (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

"Kakashi, seal all this into the storage scroll. We'll split it after we leave here!"

After killing Iwata Kumaji, Uchiha Yoichi and Kakashi made their way to the Iwata family's treasury. Since Kumaji had taken most of the guards with him when he left, the Iwata estate was unusually empty.

They couldn't stop two chunin, even if the guards had used a fair amount of chakra.

Kakashi's eyes widened slightly at the piles of cash before him. His D-rank missions had only earned him a few thousand ryo, but now there were tens of millions in sight.

It's all because the captain made me do it. I didn't really want to.

Kakashi comforted himself inwardly, but his hands moved quickly, pulling out a storage scroll and sealing the treasury's banknotes, jewelry, and other valuables into it. In the end, he didn't even leave behind the bottles and jars.

After finishing, Kakashi carefully placed the storage scroll into his ninja tool pouch. Turning around, he caught Uchiha Yoichi's contemptuous gaze and immediately said with a serious expression, "Can't leave any clues."

"Let's leave here first. Head to Sancho Town."

With that, Uchiha Yoichi and Kakashi leaped onto the rooftops and dashed straight out of the city. As for Sancho Town, it was a small settlement on the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Earth.

Fifty li south of Sancho Town lay the Kannabi Bridge, a vital transport route connecting the Land of Earth and the Land of Grass.

By the time the remaining guards of the Iwata family returned, all they found was the ransacked estate.

Seeing the Iwata residence in shambles, the Guard Captain stumbled frantically as he ran out, shouting, "Go—go report to the Daimyo! This is all the work of the Cloud Ninja!!"

On the other side, the Kumogakure ninja sent to hunt down Uchiha Yoichi had also arrived in the Land of Grass.

But once there, they lost track of Yoichi's exact whereabouts and needed to send scouts to investigate.

"Have you found where that Uchiha is?"

"Lord A, Lord Osai, there's evidence he's on a mission in the Land of Grass. We've sent people to pinpoint his location."

Upon hearing this, Lord A said, "The Land of Grass? That's fine. Kill him and leave immediately. If he were in Konoha, it'd be a real hassle!"

Osai felt guilty and eager to earn merit, so he spoke up to Lord A, "A, how about I take out a few Konoha border sentry posts?"

"Absolutely not, Lord Osai."

A female Cloud Ninja advised, "We have no valid reason. If we do that, Konoha will retaliate with the same tactics, and the friction between our nations could escalate into war!"

If they were hunting someone who had stolen the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Kumogakure would be in the right. But if they used that as an excuse to wipe out Konoha's border posts, Konoha would see it as an act of war.

That would inevitably lead to a battle between the two great villages, and Iwagakure would be overjoyed.

Lord A said, "Osai, first kill that Uchiha who got the secret technique from you."

"Understood, A."

The Cloud Ninja team had seven members. Aside from one liaison with the village and two intelligence couriers, the remaining four were all elites.

After a while, the scout returned, but his expression was grim. He entered and said, "Lord A, it's bad. The capital of the Land of Grass is buzzing with rumors that we Cloud Ninja killed the Grass Minister Iwata, looted the Iwata family's assets, and also murdered a relative of Minister Kawaki from the Land of Earth."

"Damn it, I don't remember any such mission!"

Lord A was stunned, then roared in anger. He turned to look at Mabui, who was with him. She shook her head, indicating she had no idea either.

If such an assassination mission existed, it would have to be A-rank or S-rank. And with nearly the entire Land of Grass knowing about it, it would be considered a failure within Kumogakure.

"Lord A, it's probably another village framing us. After all, before we came to the Land of Grass, Lord Raikage didn't warn us about anything like this."

"Then it's definitely a setup. That bastard—don't let me run into you!"

Mabui suddenly speculated, "Lord A, could it be that Uchiha who learned the Lightning Release Chakra Mode? That's Lord Raikage's signature technique. If someone uses it, it's easy to mistake it for our work."

Hearing Mabui's words, the other Cloud Ninja mostly caught on, and their faces twisted with anger.

Not only had he stolen their secret technique, but now he was dumping the dirty work of assassinating nobles and ministers onto Kumogakure's head. What a bastard!

"Shi, hurry up and find that guy's whereabouts. Once I find him, I'll gouge out his eyes!"

"Yes, Lord A!"

After arriving in Sancho Town, Uchiha Yoichi and Kakashi found an inn and settled in.

Once in the town, they had shed all their ninja gear and used the Transformation Technique. No one would guess that the three of them were ninja.

After entering the room, Uchiha Yoichi dispelled the Transformation Technique and also released the Illusion Technique on the Red-Haired Female Grass Ninja.

Breaking free from the illusion, the woman immediately kicked her legs back to retreat, but she quickly found herself backed into a corner.

"Don't be nervous. I'll ask you a few questions. If you answer wrong, you'll become a medal for my subordinate here."

Uchiha Yoichi pointed at Kakashi, who stood by with his arms crossed and a sword in hand. At the remark, Kakashi shot him a dead-fish-eyed glance.

The Red-Haired Female Grass Ninja looked at Uchiha Yoichi and Kakashi with fear in her eyes, then silently nodded.

So Uchiha Yoichi cut straight to the point and asked, "Are you from the Uzumaki Clan? In that Grass Ninja squad earlier, you were probably the sensor ninja. And those bite marks on your arm—looks like biting you lets someone recover quickly from injuries. So the Grass Ninja were using you as a healing blood pack, right?"

Uchiha Yoichi's words made the red-haired female ninja tremble all over. Kakashi, standing to the side, also grew more serious upon hearing this.

No wonder the captain insisted on bringing this female ninja back. Uzumaki Clan, sensor ninja, and biting her could heal injuries.

After hearing this, Kakashi realized the value of this female ninja. This was far beyond what a B-rank mission could compare to.

"...I am from the Uzumaki Clan."

"And your name?"

". Mina."

"Do you still have family in the Grass Village?"

". No."

"Then you can't go back to the Grass Village. Come back to Konoha with me!"

Uchiha Yoichi had just finished speaking when he noticed a trace of resistance flicker in Uzumaki Mina's eyes. A possibility occurred to him, so he continued, "To be precise, come back to the Uchiha with me. Within the Uchiha, there are plenty of people who don't have a good relationship with Konoha—I'm one of them. Come back to the Uchiha with me, and you won't have to worry about what Konoha might do to you."

Hearing Uchiha Yoichi's words, Kakashi directly slapped his forehead.

He knew Yoichi's relationship with the village was average, but saying it so blatantly like this was highly suspicious of defection. And he'd even mentioned that many in the Uchiha felt the same way—truly putting him, a Konoha Chunin, in a difficult spot.

Uzumaki Mina, upon hearing this, was also considering. If she said she wanted to leave, that definitely wasn't realistic. The other party already knew she was from the Uzumaki Clan and possessed these abilities; if she tried to leave, she might just get a blade to the gut.

But Uzumaki Mina also disliked Konoha. Otherwise, when she fled from the Land of Whirlpools back then, she could have gone straight to Konoha instead of crossing the Land of Fire to reach the Land of Grass.

Still, Yoichi's line about him not having a good relationship with Konoha had somewhat convinced her. After thinking for a few minutes, Uzumaki Mina finally replied, "Fine."

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