An Interception in the Shadows, the Pursuit Squad Sets Out

An Interception in the Shadows, the Pursuit Squad Sets Out

Late at night.

Within the dense forest.

Five dark figures darted rapidly between the branches, moving at incredible speed.

Sasuke followed behind the Sound Four, cold wind brushing across his stoic, icy face.

He had finally gotten out.

He had left that village where they played house all day to pursue true power.

For some reason, he felt more relaxed than ever before.

This was the broad path meant for his Uchiha Clan.

Tayuya deliberately slowed down ahead of him and fell back to Sasuke's side.

As she ran, her scanty midriff-baring outfit could barely contain the magnificent swell of her chest.

They bounced violently up and down.

The unfathomable cleavage seemed ready to suck in a person's very soul.

Tayuya glanced at Sasuke and deliberately puffed out her chest.

"Kid, keep up with my pace. We'll reach the rest stop soon."

Sasuke looked at her coldly.

His gaze was so clear and devoid of any impure thoughts that it was as though he were looking at a block of wood covered in fat.

"Shut up and lead the way."

Tayuya's eye twitched.

Damn.

Was this brat blind?

With this body of mine, I'm among the best in all of Otogakure. Even Lord Orochimaru couldn't help taking a few extra looks at me.

Yet this little bastard didn't even glance at me!

No wonder he couldn't beat that freak Chenshu Senju.

Elsewhere.

Hidden Leaf Village, Mission Assembly Hall.

The atmosphere was oppressive to the extreme.

The two senior advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, sat in their chairs with faces as dark as thunder.

Kakashi, Shikamaru, Naruto, and the others stood below them.

"The Uchiha Clan truly can't be tamed. He actually ran off in the middle of the night with Orochimaru's people!"

Utatane Koharu slammed the table in fury.

The village had just suffered a major disaster, and the jonin were all outside carrying out reconstruction and stabilization missions.

Their defensive forces were severely depleted.

That little bastard Sasuke had chosen this exact moment to flee, delivering Hidden Leaf Village a vicious slap across the face.

He was openly slapping the high-ranking officials in the face.

"Form a pursuit squad immediately!"

Mitokado Homura looked at Shikamaru and issued his order sternly.

"Shikamaru, you are currently the only outstanding chunin in the village who is free. You will lead the team and bring that traitor back."

Shikamaru scratched his head, his face full of misery.

What a pain.

What the hell is this mess?

Instead of sleeping in the middle of the night, I have to chase down a lunatic with the Sharingan.

And the people Orochimaru sent to meet him are definitely a bunch of freaks.

This is absolutely a miserable suicide mission.

Naruto was hopping around anxiously at the side.

"Shikamaru, let's go already! Sasuke must have been tricked by that Orochimaru guy. I have to bring him back!"

"Calm down, you idiot."

With red eyes, Sakura clung tightly to Naruto's arm.

Looking at the group, Kakashi let out a helpless sigh.

I'm exhausted.

Bang!

Just then, the doors were kicked open.

Everyone turned their heads in unison.

Chenshu Senju walked in leisurely with one hand in his pocket.

He had just used needing to pee as an excuse to ditch Jiraiya at a street corner, then rushed here without even changing clothes.

Utatane Koharu frowned.

"Chenshu Senju? We're discussing a classified mission here. Who let you in?"

"I was passing by. Saw how lively things were and came to join in."

Chenshu Senju casually pulled over a chair and sat down, taking out a bag of free chips from his pocket.

He began crunching away.

"I heard the Uchiha kid ran off?"

"You already know?"

Kakashi's dead-fish eyes widened.

What was going on with this brat's intelligence network? It was actually faster than the ANBU.

Chenshu Senju ignored Kakashi and looked toward the higher-ups.

"Not only do I know, I can also join the pursuit squad for free."

The entire room was stunned.

Even Mitokado Homura froze.

"Big Brother Chenshu!" Naruto shouted excitedly. "You're willing to help us bring Sasuke back? I knew you were a good man who cared deeply about his friends!"

Cares deeply about his friends?

A good man?

The corner of Chenshu Senju's mouth twitched.

He wanted nothing more than to kick Naruto flying.

Bring Sasuke back?

What was there to bring back about that stoic bastard? Wouldn't it be better to let him shine at Orochimaru's place and cause Orochimaru more trouble?

His true goal was to intercept those four Sound Ninja experience packs.

They were system rewards and lottery draws waiting to be claimed.

And Tayuya definitely had higher-grade Curse Mark crystals on her.

"I'm only doing this out of consideration for our fellow villagers. I'll help cover your backs."

Chenshu Senju spouted nonsense with a perfectly serious expression.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura exchanged looks.

With this monster who wielded Wood Release accompanying them, the mission's success rate would certainly reach one hundred percent.

Had this kid suddenly changed his ways today?

He was willing to work voluntarily without asking for funding?

No matter what, this was all benefit and no harm to the village.

"Since you've volunteered, that couldn't be better." Mitokado Homura nodded.

"But all actions must follow command. The captain for this mission will be..."

Before the higher-up could finish his solemn opening remarks—

Chenshu Senju had already risen and casually tossed the empty chip bag into the trash.

"Alright, enough nonsense."

He glanced at Shikamaru and the others.

"Move out."

Outside the gates of Hidden Leaf Village.

The pursuit squad quickly assembled.

Chenshu Senju stood at the very front, holding a kunai he had just swiped, looking as relaxed as if he were on a spring outing.

He had already locked onto the Sound Four's real-time positions through the surveillance network.

He had full-map vision.

There was no need to painstakingly follow footprints like in the original story.

"This way."

Chenshu Senju pointed in one direction, then formed a hand seal with one hand.

Whoosh.

His entire body instantly vanished from the spot, moving so fast that only a fleeting afterimage tearing through the air remained.

Shikamaru and the others were dumbfounded.

Was this the traveling speed of a quasi-Kage-level fighter?

"Keep up!"

Shikamaru gritted his teeth and rushed out first.

The others could only brace themselves and sprint wildly along the trail Chenshu Senju had left behind.

Not long after.

A hundred kilometers outside the village, within a dense canyon.

Jirobo carried a huge sealed wooden barrel and landed heavily atop a massive boulder.

Inside the barrel, Sasuke was undergoing the agonizing fusion of the Curse Mark's second stage and remained unconscious.

"Let's rest for a bit. This damn barrel is heavy as hell." Jirobo wiped the sweat from his bald head.

Tayuya stood on a high branch.

The night wind stirred her red hair.

Her outfit, whose collar plunged below her navel, fluttered loudly in the wind, seeming ready to expose everything at any moment.

That blood-pumping pale flesh was especially glaring beneath the moonlight.

Yet she did not care at all.

She closed her eyes and carefully sensed the activity several kilometers behind them.

"Those idiots from Hidden Leaf Village should be catching up soon."

Sakon sneered and twisted his neck.

"Perfect. I've been dying to twist off the heads of some Hidden Leaf ninjas."

"Don't get careless."

Kidomaru spat out a large mass of sticky spider silk.

He darted quickly across both sides of the canyon.

In only moments.

A gigantic spiderweb, nearly invisible to the naked eye, completely sealed off every blind spot in the area.

It was also coated in highly toxic mucus capable of cutting off chakra.

Ninjutsu: Barrier Trap.

Kidomaru grinned, his six hands forming seals at once.

With this barrier, even an elite jonin from Hidden Leaf Village would be trapped in the web for several hours.

The four of them each took up ambush positions.

They quietly waited for their prey to walk into the trap.

The air was thick with a fierce killing intent.

Tayuya licked her seductive lips.

No matter who Hidden Leaf Village sent—

They would die in this canyon today and become Otogakure's spoils of war.

But.

They did not know.

In the pitch-black night, a thick Wood Release vine had already silently emerged from underground.

As though alive, it stopped directly beneath Tayuya's full, perky chest.

Ready at any moment to begin its artistic bondage.

They did not get the Hidden Leaf Village pursuers they had been waiting for.

Instead, they got a ruthless harvester with full-map cheats, who specifically targeted female ninjas.