He paused, then added, "I checked the blast zones beforehand with Sensory Ninjutsu. They were all unoccupied, so no civilians were hurt."
A slightly shorter Anbu Ninja could not help speaking up, skepticism in his voice. "You did this alone? These spies' Chakra signatures weren't top-tier, but they were at least elite Chunin. Working together, they'd give even an ordinary Jonin trouble."
Kawaki Aoba raised an eyebrow. Instead of answering, he pointed to one of the unconscious spies. "Check his neck. I struck his sleep point with a Chakra needle. The others either suffered internal injuries from the grenade blasts or had their meridians damaged by steel wire. None of them will wake up anytime soon."
A faint arrogance entered his voice. "You can't judge someone's strength by guessing."
The lead Anbu Ninja stepped forward and examined them. Sure enough, each spy bore signs of precise strikes to vital areas, just as Kawaki Aoba had said. The Chakra needle at the neck was particularly deft: it had rendered its target unconscious without endangering his life.
He turned to Kawaki Aoba, his tone softening. "You handled them cleanly.
"We'll take them back to the Anbu for interrogation. Someone will follow up with you about the mission report. You can go home and rest."
"The report can wait."
Kawaki Aoba stepped forward and met the lead Anbu Ninja's gaze. "I have a question. What reward does the village give for stopping spies from stealing vital secrets? More specifically, could I use this as grounds to request higher-level ninjutsu access?"
The Anbu Ninja paused, apparently not expecting such a direct request.
After several seconds of silence, he said, "Higher-level ninjutsu access requires approval from both the council of elders and the Hokage. This one mission probably won't be enough.
"But your performance was