Kumo Ninja's Pursuit

Chapter 9: Kumo Ninja's Pursuit [Seeking Recommendation Tickets]

He skillfully exited the Two-Tails' seal space.

He basically went in every day to play for a while, trying to communicate, whether it was to build rapport with the Two-Tails or because he felt a bit sorry for her...

Toneri's main objective in doing so was... to prevent the Two-Tails from going berserk without reason!

After this period of contact, Toneri learned from the Two-Tails, as well as from his own feelings, that the seal currently on him was unstable!

It could even be said to be very unstable!

If it weren't for the fact that the Two-Tails had sustained quite a few injuries during the transfer of the seal.

He would currently be fully capable of directly breaking the seal's cage and becoming a free Tailed Beast.

And he believed that no Tailed Beast could refuse this.

So, Toneri needed to mend his relationship with the Two-Tails as quickly as possible before finding help.

He didn't expect the Two-Tails to treat him as a friend.

At the very least, before he took action, he hoped she would hesitate even slightly, even a 0.1-second hesitation would be a success for Toneri himself.

Moreover, prolonged contact would allow Toneri to better understand the Two-Tails' current state and thoughts.

It wasn't that he was cunning and racking his brains to seal the Two-Tails.

It was because if he couldn't even keep the Two-Tails in check, he knew all too well what would happen to a Jinchūriki who lost their Tailed Beast.

It wasn't that he wanted to do this, but he had to!

After emerging from the seal space, Toneri sat quietly in the carriage, waiting and recovering his Stamina.

The long hours of training during the day wouldn't recover so quickly, even with the Two-Tails' subtle assistance.

As the sky gradually darkened, Toneri prepared to leave the merchant caravan.

Although life in the caravan was very comfortable, with food and shelter.

Even if the food wasn't great, it was enough to fill his stomach.

But the more this was the case, the more uneasy he felt.

It was too easy.

Leaving the Land of Lightning had been so simple and smooth.

It was less than two days away from the Land of Fire, and everything made Toneri feel it was too easy.

So easy that he suspected the merchant caravan had ulterior motives.

Although he had chosen it himself initially, in the face of his own safety, those things became less important.

Therefore, tonight, Toneri decided to leave the merchant caravan!

It wasn't far from the Land of Fire anymore, and he could roughly discern the direction. Once he entered the Land of Fire, the path to Konoha wouldn't be so out of reach.

He sat quietly in the carriage, recovering his Stamina.

Waiting for nightfall.

When the slightly dim moon was fully positioned directly overhead in the night sky, Toneri saw through the gap in the carriage curtain that the caravan guards were still diligently patrolling.

But it was midnight, the time when a person's will was weakest.

If he left now, it would definitely be the most opportune moment.

He didn't know if the merchant caravan truly had other intentions, but caution was the mother of safety.

He wouldn't live carelessly until the end.

Cough, he was being prudent!

Seizing the moment, he quietly slipped out of the carriage and performed a forward roll, disappearing into the nearby bushes without making a sound.

Being small and thin had many disadvantages, but also many advantages.

The training he'd done in the carriage these past few days wasn't about reaching a certain level, but at least about having complete control over his body!

He moved stealthily, weaving rapidly through the trees. The specially purchased clothing played a crucial role at this moment, allowing him to hide in the darkness while also avoiding the impact of some weeds and branches.

The knowledge and abilities etched into his memory were now being utilized to their fullest.

Traveling at night, especially in a dense forest, was certainly not a wise choice.

The dangers in the forest at night were far greater than during the day.

But Toneri had no choice but to do so.

Only by quickly reaching the Land of Fire would his own safety be somewhat guaranteed.

Otherwise, setting aside the Two-Tails' rampage, he wasn't even sure if the Kumo Ninja had truly been fooled by his little tricks.

After all, he wasn't a ninja, and his judgment of ninja abilities was based solely on his subjective perception.

To be safe, Toneri preferred to assume he was being pursued.

Of course, this time it had nothing to do with carelessness; it was wisdom!

Fortunately, I'd been freeloading off the merchant caravan these past few days, saving my precious Military Rations Pills. Now they'd come in handy.

They tasted awful, though.

But compared to my own life, taste wasn't that important.

As I spent more time walking through the forest, Toneri became more familiar with the vegetation distribution in this world of Hokage, and his speed in traversing the path increased.

Compared to the slow-moving caravan, traveling alone was actually faster.

Dawn!

Bang—

A muffled sound came from beside the caravan's carriage.

Noticing the commotion, the caravan guards and the caravan leader rushed towards the source of the sound.

They saw a person with slightly tanned skin, a white mask covering his face, a buzz cut, a simple ninja combat outfit, and a short blade strapped to his back.

He had suddenly appeared in front of the carriage where Toneri had been staying.

Upon seeing who had made the noise, those who had been about to step forward stopped in their tracks.

Especially when they saw the forehead protector representing a Kumo Ninja tied to the person's arm, they became even more hesitant to approach.

The person was none other than the Kumo Ninja Anbu who had been tracking Toneri!

On his left shoulder stood a small, fluffy beast. It wasn't very large, just a bit round, but one could vaguely make out that it was a rat!

Round.

The Kumo Ninja Anbu stared at the carriage Toneri was staying in for a while, the nose of the rat on his shoulder twitching incessantly.

The caravan owner and guards stood frozen in fear, not daring to speak.

"Where is the child in this carriage?" the Kumo Ninja Anbu asked, having received an answer from his Summoning Beast.

Through the white mask, one could see a pair of cold, emotionless eyes.

The caravan owner shivered.

His forehead instantly broke out in a profuse sweat. "R-R-Right... Right here, sir... th-that... that child isn't... isn't he in the carriage?"

Swish—

Two white lights flashed!

The Kumo Ninja Anbu's right hand was on the short blade on his back, slowly sheathing it.

Clang, Bang!!

A diagonal cross-shaped slash appeared before everyone's eyes.

The carriage door shattered and fell apart!

As it turned out, inside the carriage, apart from the slightly messy cargo becoming a little tidier, there wasn't a soul to be found.

The caravan owner continuously wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. "S-Sir, I... I don't know what happened. Yesterday... yesterday he was still in the carriage!"

The Kumo Ninja Anbu ignored him and entered the carriage, crouching down to search the floor for something. Meanwhile, the round rat on his shoulder jumped onto the wooden planks, its little nose sniffing around.

He gently rubbed his hand over the wooden planks a few times.

"The scent a human can distinguish has been completely erased. If it weren't for the Scent Rat, he would have truly gotten away.

It seems this brat is not simple. This caravan's destination is the Land of Fire, is he from Konoha?"

The guess in his heart was almost certainly true.

In that case, he couldn't delay any longer. They were not far from the Land of Fire. If he entered the Land of Fire, it would be truly troublesome!

With that thought, after the Scent Rat returned to his shoulder, he flashed and disappeared inside the carriage.

This caused the caravan owner and guards, who had been trembling outside in fear, to exhale a long sigh of relief.

For traveling merchants like them, ninjas were the last people they could afford to offend...

However, after the Kumo Ninja Anbu had been gone for a while, the caravan owner's previously anxious expression eased.

"Have you notified everyone who needs to be notified?"

An old man emerged from behind the owner.

It was the old man who delivered Toneri's meals every day.

He nodded. "I've told them, it's just..."

The caravan owner shook his head. "We weren't involved in any of this, we don't know anything...

Whatever Konoha does is their business, but we have to say something. After all... our businesses are all in the Land of Fire..."

People say Jin Mu is short every day, but Jin Mu is really not short at all. You haven't seen how long I am, have you?

I'm worried about scaring people away by letting them know how long it is during the new book period! I'll show you all once it's officially listed!

Also, seeing how many author friends had a rough time when their books were listed yesterday, Jin Mu is really panicking!

I heard that editors can see the readership of new books, which affects their promotion slots, so I hope you all won't "raise" (i.e., wait to read) too much.

You can start "raising" it slowly after it's listed. Please click on it more during the new book period and leave comments. I'll like them one by one for you all, and I'll even reply to some of the fun ones!

I won't say more, Jin Mu is putting out a bowl and begging for everything!

Thank you to the great "Book Lover's Obsession" for three ten-thousand-point rewards, and thank you to the great "Que Shi Yi" for a ten-thousand-point reward! Thank you to the great "Clown Who Wants to Go to Heaven" for your rewards, and thank you to all the many book friends for your rewards!

Because of you all, Jin Mu's little notebook is almost full! I love you all, muah (づ￣ 3￣)づ