Wandering Ninja: My Hostage, Gone?

"Byakugan!"

"Akamaru, sniff them out properly..."

Kazeka's words fell, startling Hinata and Kiba Inuzuka. After a quick scan, both their expressions turned grim!

"I... I'm sorry..."

Hinata spoke timidly:

"When I used my Byakugan to investigate earlier, I saw quite a few hunters, but I didn't think much of it..."

"Kazeka, Akamaru also says your observation is correct..."

Kiba Inuzuka frowned:

"This gathering of people is indeed suspicious. Could they be after the barrier we're guarding?

Could some force be trying to infiltrate Konoha?"

"Don't jump to conclusions before the situation is clear..."

Kurenai Yuhi raised her hand slightly, stopping Kiba Inuzuka's wild speculation:

"Based on the observations, the other party seems to be a considerable distance from the barrier.

Furthermore, as ordinary people, it would be difficult for them to destroy the barrier on their own.

Therefore, I suspect their target isn't here..."

Kurenai Yuhi stroked her chin and spoke again:

"Ninja missions are always full of variables. Although our original mission is complete, considering the current special circumstances...

Hinata, Kiba, you two hide in the shadows and provide support at any time. Kazeka, you and I will go investigate the specific situation!"

"Yes!"

After Kurenai Yuhi finished giving instructions, Hinata and Kiba Inuzuka instantly turned into shadows and disappeared into their surroundings.

Kazeka exchanged a look with her and took the lead, walking towards the nearest hunter!

"Hello, we are ninja from Konoha. May I ask your name and where you live?

This is a recorded dangerous area on the border of Konoha, usually off-limits to civilians. How did you get here?"

The ninja's footsteps were swift. In a minute or two, Kurenai Yuhi and Kazeka had arrived before a hunter.

This hunter appeared to be in his thirties, with a sturdy build and several scars on his arms, exuding an aura of ruggedness.

However, upon seeing the two suddenly appear before him, he seemed somewhat fearful:

"Ah... Ah, this, ah, I am Hayashi Tadayuki, a hunter from around here.

I live off the mountain, but the game nearby might have been hunted too aggressively and become scarce, so I thought I'd try my luck here.

I really didn't intend to come here. If the ninja lords don't mind, I'll leave right now..."

"You don't need to be afraid. Since you are also a citizen of the Land of Fire, we won't do anything to you..."

Kurenai Yuhi comforted him at the opportune moment and inquired:

"Have you noticed anything unusual recently?

Anything abnormal, you can tell me. If you've encountered trouble, I will help you."

"N-nothing, I'm just an ordinary person, how could I encounter any trouble..."

Hayashi Tadayuki shook his head repeatedly:

"If you have nothing else, I will leave now..."

"Do you need us to escort you?"

"No, no need. Ninja lords are busy with important matters, I wouldn't trouble you with my trivial affairs..."

Watching Hayashi Tadayuki leave, Kurenai Yuhi nodded to Kazeka, and they went to the locations of other hunters.

After encountering three hunters, Kurenai Yuhi's eyes finally grew serious:

"Interesting!"

Kurenai Yuhi's eyes showed a thoughtful expression:

"They just stumbled upon this place and didn't notice anything unusual. It seems they are in contact with other hunters, yet they insist they came here alone..."

Kurenai Yuhi looked at Kiba Inuzuka, who was standing on a tree branch:

"Kiba, it looks like the true B-rank mission you've been longing for is about to appear."

"Teacher Kurenai, are we just going to let them go?"

Kiba Inuzuka seemed confused:

"Since you've seen something is wrong, why not use genjutsu to extract information from them directly?"

"They are just ordinary people. Even if they are assigned a mission, the information they can obtain is very limited.

If we use ninjutsu, it's easy for their superiors to discover us and alert them..."

Kurenai Yuhi slowly explained:

"And if we do nothing, just hide and follow from behind, we might gain more information. Alright, enough idle chatter..."

Kurenai Yuhi lightly clapped her hands:

"Next, it's time to carry out the real mission. You all need to hide well, don't alert the enemy!"

"What, you responded to Konoha Ninja like that?"

"Sir, we shouldn't have attracted their attention. From the looks of it, two Ninja, they don't suspect us!"

"Idiots, who can you fool with such clumsy acting?

Get out of my sight, don't appear before me unless I order you to!"

In a clearing in the woods, a guy who was slightly chubby, with a sinister face, and wearing a brown-yellow Ninja outfit.

was angrily staring at Hayashi Tadayuki and several hunters who were hurriedly running away from him.

He held a dagger in his hand, constantly aiming at their bodies, as if contemplating where to strike.

Seeing his barely contained killing intent, a burly man with a face full of scars glanced at him:

"Zhenyou, rein in your killing intent. It's not these hunters' fault that we attracted the suspicion of Konoha Ninja by being too conspicuous..."

"Heh heh, it can't be helped..."

The last guy, skinny with a brutal gaze, interjected:

"Gato wants us to set up defenses here to prevent any villagers from the Land of Waves from sneaking ashore.

If we don't arrange for some hunters, how can the three of us possibly cover this area?

By the way, Gato has almost taken control of the Land of Waves, right?

Since these hunters have already been exposed, when are we going to silence them?"

"Guqi, don't talk about silencing people all the time, it's creepy..."

Huangshi glared at Guqi with dissatisfaction:

"The other Rogue Ninja around Gato are trash, but they did complete their initial tasks.

They just sent me a message, the encirclement of the Land of Waves is complete.

There's no need to worry about villagers sneaking through, we can leave now..."

Huangshi took out a piece of paper from his embrace, and waved it at the other two:

"However, it's important to see things through. I'll send a message later to gather all the other hunters.

Since we've already captured the families of those hunters, let's just kill them all together.

After all, families should stay together, neatly!"

"As expected of Rogue Ninja, that kind of treacherous nature is truly unforgettable..."

With Kazeka's cold voice, Team 8 appeared, surrounding the three guys.

On the Rogue Ninja side, although they looked like evil villains, only Huangshi was a Chunin; the other two were both Genin!

Seeing that the other side had a Jonin in charge, Huangshi immediately adopted a negotiating stance:

"Are you Konoha Ninja? We've placed a restriction on the families of these hunters.

Let us leave, and we can break the restriction.

Otherwise, you can't bear the responsibility for the deaths of dozens of villagers, can you?"

"Do you think we came to find you this late for no reason? We've already rescued those villagers..."

Upon hearing this, there was no hesitation in their eyes, and Kazeka's eyes were filled with disdain:

"Your clumsy method of releasing restrictions is so simple it doesn't even pique my interest to study, but..."

Kazeka's eyes swept over the three of them, and the corners of his mouth gradually curved upwards:

"You three bizarre freaks are quite interesting research subjects for me!"