"Byakugan!"
"Akamaru, sniff around properly..."
Kazeka's words made Hinata and Kiba Inuzuka jump. After investigating, both of their expressions darkened!
"I-I'm sorry..."
Hinata spoke timidly:
"When I used the Byakugan to investigate earlier, I saw quite a few hunters too, but I didn't think much of it..."
"Kazeka, Akamaru says your observations are right..."
Kiba furrowed his brow:
"This many people gathering here is definitely suspicious. Could they be targeting the barrier we're guarding?
Could some organization be trying to infiltrate Konoha?"
"Let's not jump to conclusions before we've investigated..."
Kurenai raised a hand slightly, stopping Kiba from letting his imagination run wild:
"Based on what we've observed, they seem to be some distance away from the barrier.
Besides, since they're ordinary people, it would be difficult for them to damage the barrier.
So my initial suspicion is that this isn't their target..."
Kurenai rubbed her chin and continued:
"Ninja missions are always full of surprises. Although our original mission is complete, given the unusual circumstances...
Hinata, Kiba, hide nearby and be ready to provide support. Kazeka, come with me to investigate what's going on!"
"Yes!"
After Kurenai gave her instructions, Hinata and Kiba vanished into the surroundings like shadows.
Kazeka met her gaze, then led the way toward the nearest hunter!
"Hello. We're Konoha Ninja. What's your name, and where do you live?
This is a dangerous area marked on Konoha's border maps. Ordinary people aren't allowed in. How did you get here?"
Ninjas moved swiftly. In just a minute or two, Kurenai and Kazeka had reached a hunter.
The hunter looked to be in his thirties. He was sturdy, with several scars on his arms, and had a distinctly tough air about him.
However, when he saw the two of them suddenly appear before him, he looked a little afraid:
"Ah... Well, I'm Hayashi Tadayuki, a hunter from around here.
People living near the mountains rely on them for a living, but maybe too many people have been hunting nearby, because there's much less game now. I thought I'd come here and try my luck.
I really didn't mean to come here on purpose. If you don't mind, I'll leave right now..."
"Don't be afraid. You're a citizen of the Land of Fire, so we won't do anything to you..."
Kurenai reassured him, then asked:
"Have you noticed anything unusual recently?
You can tell me about anything out of the ordinary. If you've run into trouble, I'll help you."
"N-No, nothing. I'm just an ordinary person. How would I run into anything?"
Hayashi Tadayuki shook his head hurriedly:
"If you don't need anything else, I'll be on my way..."
"Would you like us to escort you?"
"No, no need. You ninja have important business to attend to. I wouldn't want to trouble you over something so minor..."
As they watched Hayashi Tadayuki walk away, Kurenai nodded to Kazeka, and the two went to speak with the other hunters.
After speaking with three hunters, Kurenai's expression finally turned serious:
"Interesting!"
Kurenai looked thoughtful:
"They claim they just wandered in and haven't noticed anything unusual, yet they clearly have connections with the other hunters. Still, they insist they came here alone..."
Kurenai looked at Kiba, who was standing on a nearby tree branch:
"Kiba, it looks like the real B-Rank Mission you've been dreaming about has finally arrived."
"Teacher Kurenai, are we just going to let them go?"
Kiba looked puzzled:
"If we know something's wrong, why not use genjutsu to get information from them directly?"
"They're just ordinary people. Even if they've been given assignments, they won't know much.
If we use ninjutsu, their superiors might notice and become suspicious..."
Kurenai explained calmly:
"But if we do nothing and simply follow them from a distance, we might learn much more. All right, enough talking..."
Kurenai clapped her hands softly:
"It's time to carry out the real mission. Stay hidden, and don't alert them!"
"What? You actually responded to the Konoha Ninja like that?"
"Sir, I don't think we attracted their attention. From the way they acted, the two ninja didn't suspect us!"
"Idiots! With acting that pathetic, who could you possibly fool?
Get out of here! Don't show your faces again unless I tell you to!"
In a clearing in the woods stood a slightly overweight man with a sinister face, dressed in a brownish-yellow ninja uniform.
He glared angrily at Hayashi Tadayuki and the other hunters as they hurriedly ran away from him.
He held a dagger in his hand, repeatedly eyeing their bodies as if trying to decide where to stab them.
Watching his murderous intent grow harder to contain, a burly man whose face was covered in scars glanced at him:
"Zhenyou, rein in your bloodlust. Our actions were too conspicuous and drew the Konoha Ninja's suspicion. It's got nothing to do with the hunters..."
"Heh heh, there's nothing we can do about it..."
A third man, thin and gaunt, with a vicious look in his eyes, cut in:
"Huangshi, Gato told us to set up defenses here to stop villagers from the Land of Waves from sneaking ashore and escaping.
If we don't recruit some hunters, how are the three of us supposed to cover the whole area?
Speaking of which, Gato has nearly taken control of the Land of Waves, hasn't he?
Now that these hunters have been exposed, when are we going to kill them?"
"Guqi, stop talking about killing people every other sentence. It's creepy..."
Huangshi glared at Guqi in annoyance:
"The other Rogue Ninja working for Gato are useless, but they've at least completed the first part of the mission.
They just sent me word that the encirclement around the Land of Waves is complete.
There's no need to worry about any villagers slipping through. We can leave now..."
Huangshi pulled a slip of paper from his clothes and waved it at the other two:
"But we should see things through. I'll send word for the other hunters to gather here.
Since we've already taken their families hostage, we might as well kill them all together.
After all, a family should stay together!"
"Figures. The Rogue Ninja really are a bunch of backstabbing scum. It's hard to forget just how rotten you are..."
At Kazeka's icy voice, Team 8 appeared and surrounded the three men.
The Rogue Ninja looked like a gang of evil villains, but Huangshi was the only Chunin. The other two were both Genin!
When he saw that the other side had a Jonin leading them, Huangshi immediately adopted a negotiating stance:
"You're Konoha Ninja, right? We've placed seals on the hunters' families.
Let us go, and we'll remove the seals.
Otherwise, you won't be able to bear the deaths of dozens of villagers, either, will you?"
"Do you think we waited until now to find you for no reason? We've already rescued the villagers..."
The three men showed no hesitation, and Kazeka's gaze was filled with even more contempt:
"Your crude sealing technique is so simple that it's not even worth studying. But..."
Kazeka looked over the three men, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled upward:
"You three bizarre misfits, on the other hand, might be worth studying for a while!"
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