The Greatest Original Sin of the Ninja World: Weakness!

Sshhh!

The sound of a sharp blade tearing through flesh rang out.

Blood sprayed forth, staining the surrounding area crimson.

Izumi, the one responsible for this, turned with elegant precision and swung her blade to parry an incoming attack.

Clang!!

Their weapons collided, and both parties leaped backward, separating.

Thud!

Izumi landed atop a stone, watching Samui, whose eyes burned with fury. She gave her ninja blade a light flick, casting the blood onto the ground as if disdainful of having her weapon dirtied by such filth, and spoke:

"Is that all?"

Having spent so much time by White Dove's side, she naturally knew plenty of ways to provoke others.

"Uchiha!!"

Though Samui usually maintained the appearance of a cold, icy beauty, she was entirely warm-hearted beneath that exterior. Seeing Karui die right before her eyes had filled her with uncontrollable rage. If not for the reason telling her that protecting their teacher's retreat was the priority, she might have lost her mind entirely.

Even so, she could never forgive the person who killed Karui, so she gritted her teeth and launched an assault.

This was not just for revenge; it was to stall the opponent and buy time for Omoi to retreat.

As long as the matter didn't involve White Dove, Izumi was top-tier in every aspect, and she saw through those intentions with perfect clarity.

However, she felt that continuing to pursue would be too risky. She didn't know if the enemy had reinforcements, or what hidden cards and traps they might have, so rather than chasing, it was better to keep this one pinned down.

That was why she was doing everything in her power to provoke her and make her lose her composure.

"Captain Samui!"

Omoi, up ahead, naturally saw the situation behind him and instinctively came to a halt.

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

Samui shouted as she continued her assault.

She still had words she wanted to leave for her younger brother, but unfortunately, it was already too late.

Ah, if I had known, I wouldn't have confiscated those books of his like [Ninja Abin] or [Ninja Plum]...

As these thoughts surfaced in her mind, she chose a life-for-a-life fighting style.

If she didn't, she wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

This Uchiha girl... was simply too strong.

"Samui..."

Seeing this scene behind him, Omoi's eyes, usually as listless as a dead fish, began to stream with tears.

He felt immense regret. During training, he had never given his all, always doing just enough to get by. As a result, despite his immense talent, his actual strength was only that of a Chunin. At a time like this, he was useless, forced to watch helplessly as Karui and Samui sacrificed themselves to cover his escape...

Pain!

It hurt too much!

If Omoi had possessed the Sharingan, he might have awakened the Mangekyo on the spot.

But pain was pain; he understood that this opportunity was bought with their lives, and he absolutely could not let it go to waste. He carried Killer B on his back and fled at full speed.

Not far ahead was the temporary hideout of the Cloud Ninja intelligence station. As long as he linked up with them, a safe retreat would be guaranteed.

I will definitely avenge you both!!

Omoi made a vow in his heart.

People cannot be taught by words; only experience can teach them in an instant!

At this moment, he finally understood the treatment of a character undergoing a dark transformation.

Because he was powerless, he lost everything!

In a place like the ninja world, the greatest original sin was weakness.

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

Meanwhile, Izumi had gained the upper hand.

Despite being smaller in age and stature, the battle was completely one-sided.

A few minutes later.

Bam!

With a roundhouse kick, she sent Samui, who was already covered in wounds, flying. The woman rolled across the ground several times before falling unconscious.

Being able to hold on until now was purely a testament to her indomitable willpower.

Three-Tomoe Sharingan + Ninja Army Six Styles!

To say nothing of other aspects, her taijutsu was truly explosive; she could go toe-to-toe even with Kage-level powerhouses.

Izumi... she is truly unhinged, yet truly formidable.

"Brother Dove will surely love this 'gift' I've prepared for him!"

Looking at the unconscious Samui, Izumi hesitated for a moment before taking her along and heading back to the valley.

However, when Izumi returned to the valley with the unconscious Samui, she felt that the atmosphere was somewhat off.

Tekka was standing alone to one side, leaving her Brother Dove to stay with Orochimaru, the two of them discussing something as if they were on the best of terms.

"Senior Orochimaru, then I will leave these matters to you!"

As Izumi approached, White Dove had just finished his conversation with Orochimaru.

Having discussed how to "request (swindle)" funding from Danzo, established contact methods, and finalized the commissioned research projects, the two were naturally parting ways.

"The intelligence you provided, White Dove-kun, is indeed worth the price, and I will certainly investigate everything you mentioned!"

Orochimaru nodded with a gentle attitude before turning to leave.

His gains from this visit were unexpectedly vast; he was completely and utterly satisfied.

Not only did he learn so many secrets of the ninja world, but he also secured a massive sponsorship—how could he not be satisfied?

As for the commissioned research projects, one was to study the Mangekyo, one was to study seed improvement, and one was to study secret medicines for enhancing physical constitution.

A total of three research projects, with payments to be made according to progress.

"Brother Dove, this is the gift I brought for you!"

After Orochimaru left, Izumi revealed her "gift."

Hiss!

Upon seeing clearly what Izumi had brought back, White Dove drew a sharp breath.

(She really is the representative of Kumogakure's beauty and figure; any single snapshot of her would be too scandalous to pass censorship!)

In truth, it would be standard procedure for her to bring back a severed head, but bringing back such a cold, glamorous, blonde-haired, blue-eyed kunoichi with "ambitious assets" made the situation feel rather strange.

This is the ninja world, not some adult film set.

However, White Dove actually had an impression of this kunoichi.

After all, she was considered the visual representative of Kumogakure, and before he transmigrated, the doujinshi featuring her were everywhere.

He just hadn't expected the real person to be this beautiful!

No!

It should be said that the beauty of female ninjas is far greater than in the anime.

After all, there is the magical energy known as "chakra" in the ninja world, not to mention that disguise is a mandatory course for ninjas, so the beauty of kunoichi is truly guaranteed.

Even if they train as hard as they do and their skin becomes rough, a few medicinal baths and secret concoctions can immediately make their skin as tender and white as jade, keeping their beauty on point.

Therefore, White Dove was a bit stunned as he looked at the captive before him.

Killing her with a single strike would be a waste, and if he were to interrogate her for intelligence, she didn't possess the vast amount of information that the other intelligence specialist did.

But having this gain was better than nothing, and taking her back wouldn't be a bad idea.

At the very least, she was a disciple of Killer B and could be considered an important figure in Kumogakure.

Of course, the more important reason was that White Dove knew some interesting intelligence; if used well, he might actually be able to plant a landmine in Kumogakure using her.

And this landmine was the kind that could truly shatter Kumogakure.

Skin color!

Those who know, know.

Only after coming to the ninja world did he realize how terrifying the opposition in this regard was in the Land of Lightning.

So, it wasn't impossible to win her over.

However, now was not the time to execute that plan, so White Dove wasn't in a hurry.

In any case, he wasn't the one calling the shots in Konoha; if he really wanted to strike at Kumogakure, it would have to wait until he sat in that position himself.

Hmm, he prepared to dig deeper into Samui's background; one look told him there was definitely something going on.

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

White Dove gave the instruction, then wiped the blood from his eyes.

He had just removed one Mangekyo for Orochimaru to take away for research, so now he only had his right eye, the one with the "Kotoamatsukami: Light" ocular technique.

With one Mangekyo gone, his combat power in all aspects had decreased significantly; although he could barely be considered Kage-level, he was definitely at the gatekeeper tier.

Furthermore, his expenditure today was too great; he wouldn't be able to recover for at least a few days.

Izumi and Tekka immediately took the captive and White Dove to depart from this valley.

After the three of them left.

Rumble!

The valley was shattered by explosive tags.

This mission was to wipe out an intelligence outpost, so it naturally had to be done right.

Even if the number of Cloud Ninja killed wasn't high, destroying the intelligence outpost itself counted as completing the mission.

At the same time, the goal of fishing had also been successfully achieved.

Orochimaru had taken the bait!

And he even came with a bonus: a Cloud Ninja captive.

However, White Dove had no intention of handing the man over, because using him to conduct private deals with the Cloud Ninja was the way to go.

If he were asking for ninjutsu or secret medicines, they would naturally refuse, but they certainly wouldn't turn down a trade for things like "trade qualifications" or "protection rights."

Plus, the fact that the captive could be planted back into the Cloud Ninja as a "mine" made him incredibly useful.

A bountiful harvest!

Furthermore, he had successfully retrieved the Mangekyo from Kakashi's left eye, which was absolutely critical.

With this Mangekyo, not only could he explore more information regarding the Mangekyo, but he also gained a means to restrain "Obito."

He had always been wary of that White-Eyed Wolf.

In the original plot, that man would incite the Uchiha Clan Massacre next year, so he was naturally keeping a close eye on the Uchiha now; thus, this Mangekyo was something he had to secure.

With these thoughts in mind, they headed toward the Land of Grass.