Yakushi Nonō

A forest of crimson maples at the foot of the mountain.

The squad captain crouched down and lightly touched the blood on a maple leaf with his fingertip.

It was still warm!

But the trail abruptly ended here.

Neji activated his Byakugan and carefully surveyed the surroundings: jagged mountain walls, dense forest... Finally, his gaze settled on an izakaya two kilometers away.

Noticing Neji's gaze, the squad captain looked toward the izakaya and said, "Crimson Leaf Izakaya has great service and great food. At mealtimes, it's impossible to get a seat. But most people don't go there to eat."

Neji asked curiously, "If not for food, then what for?"

The squad captain smiled. "Of course, for the proprietress."

Neji paused, then smiled faintly.

"Food and sex are human nature."

"Looks like the best dish at Crimson Leaf Izakaya is the proprietress herself."

After pondering for a moment, Neji said, "Let's go take a look."

The squad captain turned and instructed his two companions, "Stay sharp. The attacker may be hiding in the izakaya."

The four of them strode into Crimson Leaf Izakaya, where a strange stench of alcohol, sweat, and other odors washed over them.

Looking at the customers on the first floor, the squad captain shouted, "Patrol Team investigation! Everyone stay where you are. No one moves without permission."

Neji activated his Byakugan and scanned the room. He found nothing unusual; they were all ordinary people.

Hearing the commotion, the izakaya's proprietress came downstairs from the second floor.

She was a voluptuous blonde beauty who looked to be in her twenties. She wore glasses, and while her features were not particularly seductive, her bearing was exceptionally alluring.

The moment he saw the proprietress, Neji's pale eyes narrowed slightly.

The Wandering Miko, Yakushi Nonō.

One of Root's finest spies, exceptionally skilled at disguise.

Disguising identities, disguising emotions.

Deceiving enemies, even deceiving herself.

The Yakushi Nonō before him resembled the orphanage director in Neji's memories by seventy or eighty percent, but their temperaments were completely different.

The orphanage director had been gentle and considerate, like a virtuous wife who diligently managed the household.

But the woman before him was seductive and enchanting, carrying an air of worldly allure.

It was hard to imagine they were the same person.

If Neji had not remembered Yakushi Nonō so clearly, he might not have recognized her so easily.

The squad captain walked to Neji's side and lowered his voice. "They're all ordinary people. We didn't find anything unusual."

Neji patted the squad captain's shoulder and smiled. "Good work. Let's eat first. This meal is on me."

"..."

The squad captain's expression stiffened slightly.

So you came to the izakaya to eat?

Naturally, Neji did not explain further. He walked over to an empty table in the corner and waved at Nonō. "Proprietress, bring out your strongest liquor and your best dishes."

Hearing that, Nonō immediately perked up.

Her beautiful eyes brimmed with charm as she personally carried over the food and wine, placing them on the table before Neji.

As she bent over, a flash of snowy skin was revealed.

Voluptuous, firm.

The result of year-round training.

Her voice was bone-meltingly sweet.

"Ninja Lord, is your mission over? There's some exciting entertainment upstairs to help you wash away your fatigue."

The squad captain waved his hand with a stern face, signaling for Nonō to leave.

"You eat first. I'll be right back."

Neji chugged down a large bottle of sake, then pretended to be overcome by drink and lust as he headed for the second floor.

"Neji, what are you doing?"

"Hey, come back!"

The two Patrol Ninjas called after Neji as he staggered upstairs unsteadily.

"Let him go."

The squad captain let out a soft sigh.

As for Neji's behavior, he hadn't noticed anything strange about it. He simply thought it was normal.

Ninjas fought and killed every day; the pent-up negative emotions needed an outlet. At the very least, they had to indulge in one of the four—wine, women, wealth, or gambling.

The ninja way was an aspiration, while life was life. The two did not conflict.

Though Neji was young, the burden on his shoulders was heavy.

The only Byakugan bloodline in Kumogakure—what that meant to the village went without saying, and what he would face in the future was equally obvious.

What made the squad captain feel that something was off, however, was this:

Ever since Neji had entered this Ju Restaurant, he had been acting far too strangely.

Were there some tricks hidden in this Ju Restaurant?

With that thought, the squad captain set down his chopsticks and casually began surveying his surroundings.

"Ninja Lord."

Seeing Neji suddenly run up to the second floor, Nonō spoke with surprise and excitement, "Let's get a private room."

Neji stomped hard on the wooden floorboards and smiled. "This Ju Restaurant must be pretty old. If we shake things up in a private room and make the people downstairs eat dust, that wouldn't be very nice, would it?"

"Hehe."

Nonō laughed so hard her body trembled. "Then let's go to the basement. The basement isn't afraid of shaking, and the soundproofing is good too."

"The basement sounds great. I like basements."

Neji took the initiative to wrap an arm around Nonō's slender waist. She naturally leaned into him, and the two headed toward another staircase.

But after taking only a few steps, Neji suddenly pinned Nonō against the wall with his backhand.

"Aah, Ninja Lord... don't... Didn't we agree to go to the basement... It hurts."

Neji tightly clamped down on Yakushi Nonō's wrist, brought his lips to her ear, and said with a soft smile:

"Auntie Nonō, we've finally met."

"..."

Nonō's expression changed rapidly. She had never imagined that her identity would be exposed.

The next instant, a short blade sprang out from behind Nonō's heel, and she viciously kicked at Neji's ribs.

Neji clamped his legs together hard, firmly trapping Nonō's calf.

Screech!

With a piercing cry, violent Black Lightning spread from his palm and forcefully invaded through the acupuncture point on Nonō's wrist.

"Ahhh!"

Nonō groaned in agony, her entire body convulsing as her strength quickly drained away.

Neji lowered the limp, powerless Nonō to the floor, but his brows furrowed slightly.

Nonō was utterly weak in combat.

It was unrealistic to expect her to assassinate him.

Were there other Root ninjas in the Ju Restaurant?

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!

Just as that thought arose, violent explosions suddenly rang out from the first floor.

The Ju Restaurant shook as if it were caught in an earthquake.

Neji's pupils contracted as he rushed downstairs.

By the time he reached the first floor, the three ninjas from the Patrol Team were already lying in pools of blood. The diners around them had died even more horribly, their flesh mangled and bloody, not a single muscle left intact.

Whoosh!

A black shadow suddenly darted past the front of the Ju Restaurant.

Neji's expression turned grave. He immediately entered Lightning Release Chakra Mode and used the Body Flicker Technique to chase after it.

When he ran past the street corner, he was only five or six meters away from the other party.

"Lightning Release: Chidori Spear!"

Black Lightning rapidly extended from his palm, piercing through the target's back.

After being struck by the Chidori Spear, the black shadow shattered directly into countless insects and dispersed into the air.

Seeing this, Neji blinked and muttered to himself:

"An Insect Clone... the Aburame Clan. Was it Aburame Ryoma? Or Aburame Torune?"

Whoosh!

A cold wind blew past.

"Quick, chase him."

"Don't let him get away."

As soon as the voice fell, ten Patrol Ninja leaped out from all around and tightly surrounded Neji.

The Captain was a Special Jonin in his thirties. With a clang, he drew his long blade and pointed it at Neji.

Upon seeing Neji's eyes clearly, the Captain revealed a shocked expression and asked in a trembling voice, "You're Neji?"

Neji glanced at the ten Patrol Ninja radiating killing intent, and his tightly furrowed brow gradually relaxed.

So this was where they'd been waiting for me.