The Shinobi World's Greatest Original Sin: Weakness!

Whoosh!

The sound of a blade tearing through flesh rang out.

Blood gushed forth, staining the surrounding area red.

The one responsible for all this, Izumi, gracefully and precisely turned to block the attack.

Clang!!

Their weapons clashed, and then they both leaped back, putting some distance between them.

Thud!

Izumi landed on a rock. Looking at Samui, whose eyes burned with fury, she flicked her Ninja Blade, flinging the blood onto the ground as if she disdained having it soil her weapon.

"Is that all?"

She spent a lot of time with White Dove, so naturally, she knew plenty of ways to provoke people.

"Uchiha!!"

Samui might usually have seemed like a cool, mature woman, but she was warm beneath that icy exterior. Seeing Karui die before her eyes had filled her with fury. If reason hadn't told her that protecting her teacher and retreating were the most important things, she might have lost control.

Even so, she could never forgive the person who had killed Karui. Gritting her teeth, she launched an attack.

This wasn't just revenge. She was also trying to hold off her opponent and buy Omoi time to retreat.

As long as White Dove wasn't involved, Izumi excelled in every regard, so she could see through Samui's intentions at a glance.

However, she thought pursuing them any further was too risky. She didn't know whether the enemy had reinforcements waiting, or if they had some trump card or trap up their sleeve. Rather than continue the pursuit, it would be better to keep this one here.

That was why she tried so hard to provoke Samui and make her lose her cool.

"Captain Samui!"

Omoi, who was farther ahead, had naturally seen what was happening behind him. He stopped in his tracks on instinct.

"Run, Omoi! Don't worry about me. You must get Teacher B back to the village..."

Samui shouted as she attacked.

She still had something she wanted to say to her younger brother, but there was no time.

Ah, I should've never confiscated all those books of his before, like Ninja Abin and Ninja Plum...

As the thought crossed her mind, she chose to fight as if she were willing to trade her life for her opponent's.

If she didn't, she wouldn't last long.

This Uchiha girl... was too strong.

"Samui..."

Seeing the scene behind him, Omoi's usually listless eyes, as dead as a fish's, filled with tears.

Omoi regretted it deeply. He hadn't given his all during training; he'd always done just enough to get by. As a result, despite his incredible talent, he was only a Chunin, unable to do a thing in a moment like this. He could only watch Karui and Samui risk their lives to protect him...

It hurt!

It hurt so much!

Omoi didn't have a Sharingan, or he might have awakened the Mangekyo on the spot.

But as much as it hurt, he understood that the two of them had bought this chance with their lives. He couldn't let them down. Carrying Killer B on his back, he fled at full speed.

The Cloud Ninja from the intelligence station had a temporary hideout not far away. As long as he could meet up with them, retreating safely wouldn't be a problem.

I swear I'll avenge you!

Omoi made a vow in his heart.

You couldn't teach someone a lesson by telling them, but one experience was all it took!

He was finally experiencing firsthand what it was like to be a character who went dark.

Because he was powerless, he lost everything!

In a place like the Shinobi World, the greatest original sin was weakness.

Carrying endless hatred and regret, Omoi fled with Killer B on his back.

By now, Izumi had gained the upper hand.

She might have been much smaller in both age and build, but the fight was completely one-sided.

A few minutes later.

Thump!

A spinning kick sent Samui, now covered in wounds, flying. She rolled across the ground several times before losing consciousness.

The fact that she'd held on this long was thanks to her iron will.

Three-Tomoe Sharingan + Ninja Army Six Styles!

Even setting aside everything else, she was truly explosive when it came to Taijutsu. She could hold her own even against Kage Level opponents.

Izumi... was absolutely unhinged, and she was truly strong.

"Big Bro Dove will definitely love this 'gift' I got for him!"

Looking at the unconscious Samui, Izumi hesitated for a moment before carrying her back to the valley.

However, when Izumi returned to the valley with the unconscious Samui, the atmosphere felt a little off.

Tekka was standing by himself, leaving her Big Bro Dove alone with Orochimaru. The two of them seemed to be discussing something amiably.

"Senior Orochimaru, I'll leave all this to you, then!"

By the time Izumi approached, White Dove had just finished talking with Orochimaru.

They'd agreed on how to get—or rather, swindle—funding from Danzo, exchanged contact information, and discussed the research projects White Dove wanted to commission. Naturally, it was time for them to part.

"The intelligence you gave me is certainly worth the price, White Dove. I'll also look into everything else you mentioned!"

Orochimaru nodded warmly, then turned and left.

His gains from this visit had exceeded all expectations. He was thoroughly satisfied.

He'd learned so many secrets about the Shinobi World and secured a huge grant. How could he not be satisfied?

As for the research projects he'd been commissioned to handle, one was researching the Mangekyo, one was improving seeds, and one was developing a secret medicine to enhance physical fitness.

There were three projects in all, with payments to be made according to their progress.

"Big Bro Dove, I brought you a gift!"

After Orochimaru left, Izumi showed off her "gift."

Hiss!

White Dove drew a sharp breath when he saw what Izumi had brought back.

(She really is the Cloud Ninja's beauty and figure queen. Any picture of her would be too explicit to pass review!)

Bringing back a head would have been perfectly normal, but bringing back a cool, mature kunoichi with blond hair, blue eyes, and a "bountiful chest" made for a rather strange scene.

This was the Shinobi World, not the set of some lewd game.

Still, White Dove did recognize this kunoichi.

After all, she was something of a beauty queen in Kumogakure, and her pictures had been everywhere in doujinshi before he crossed over.

He just hadn't expected her to be so beautiful in person!

No, that wasn't right!

The kunoichi were all much prettier than they were in the anime.

After all, chakra was a wondrous energy in the Shinobi World, and disguise was a class every ninja had to take. The kunoichi's looks were practically guaranteed.

No matter how hard they trained or how rough their skin became, a few medicinal baths and secret medicines could make their skin smooth and fair as jade, restoring their beauty.

So White Dove was a little stunned as he looked at the captive before him.

Killing her with one slash would be a waste, but if he interrogated her for information, she wasn't like that other intelligence expert who knew a great deal.

Still, this was better than getting nothing. Taking her back would be fine.

After all, she was Killer B's student, which made her an important figure in Kumogakure.

Of course, the more important reason was that White Dove knew some interesting information. If he used it well, he might be able to plant a bomb in Kumogakure with her.

And this bomb could truly blow Kumogakure to pieces.

Skin color!

You know what I mean.

It wasn't until he'd arrived in the Shinobi World that he realized how terrifying the divisions over this were in the Land of Lightning.

So there was a chance he could win her over.

But now wasn't the time to carry out that plan, so White Dove wasn't in a hurry.

Besides, he wasn't the one in charge of Konoha. If they were going to make a move against Kumogakure, it would have to wait until after he took that position himself.

Hmm, he was going to dig deeper into Samui's background. It was obvious at a glance that there was something going on there.

"Blow up the intelligence outpost, then we'll leave!"

White Dove gave the order, then wiped the blood from around his eye.

He'd just removed one Mangekyo and handed it to Orochimaru for research, so now he only had his right eye—the one with the "Kotoamatsukami: Radiance" ocular technique.

After losing one Mangekyo, his overall combat strength had dropped considerably. He could still just about count as Kage Level, but he was definitely at the bottom of the ranks.

On top of that, he'd used up too much chakra today. He wouldn't be able to recover for at least a few days.

Izumi and Tekka immediately took the captive and White Dove away from the valley.

After the three of them had left.

Rumble!

The valley was blown apart by Explosive Tags.

The mission was to clear out the intelligence outpost, so they had to make sure the job was done.

For example, they hadn't killed many Cloud Ninja, but destroying the intelligence outpost still counted as completing the mission.

At the same time, they'd also succeeded in drawing out their target.

Orochimaru had taken the bait!

And they'd even picked up a Cloud Ninja captive as a bonus.

However, White Dove had no intention of turning her over. Trading with Kumogakure behind the scenes using her was the best option.

Asking for ninjutsu or secret medicines wouldn't work, but they certainly wouldn't refuse to trade for things like "trade privileges" or "protection rights."

On top of that, she could be planted back in Kumogakure as a "bomb." She couldn't be more useful.

A haul to be proud of!

And he'd also successfully recovered the Mangekyo from Kakashi's left eye. That was extremely important.

With this Mangekyo, he could not only explore more of its secrets himself, but also gain a way to counter "Obito."

He'd always been wary of that White-Eyed Wolf.

In the original story, Obito would launch the night of the massacre the following year. Of course he'd be keeping an eye on the Uchiha now, so White Dove had to get his hands on that Mangekyo.

With those thoughts in mind, they headed for the Land of Grass.