The Pursuit Squad's Return Debrief

The Pursuit Squad's Return Debrief

The morning woods were thick with moisture.

Shikamaru staggered under a large wooden barrel, his legs giving out as he nearly tripped over a tree root.

Inside the barrel was Sasuke, still unconscious.

"I can't do this anymore... I really can't walk another step."

Shikamaru dropped onto the grass and panted heavily.

Around him, Choji's face was covered in mud as he clutched an empty bag of chips and questioned his life choices.

Kiba had Akamaru perched atop his head, both of them looking utterly lifeless. He did not even have the strength to curse anymore.

Rock Lee's legs shook like sieves, yet he still stubbornly held a half-squat.

Everyone was on their last legs.

Body and mind alike were utterly exhausted.

"What the hell did that guy grow up eating?"

Kiba swallowed and broke the silence.

Naturally, he meant Chenshu Senju, who was strolling idly at the very back of the group.

"No idea." Shikamaru stared lifelessly at the sky.

The moment he closed his eyes, the scenes from the canyon began replaying in his mind.

Absurd.

It was utterly absurd.

Kimimaro, Orochimaru's so-called strongest weapon, had pulled out his own spine and wielded it like a whip. Just watching it made their scalps tingle.

And then what happened?

Chenshu Senju had not even formed a hand seal before summoning an enormous Wood Dragon dozens of meters long and crushing him without mercy.

What truly shattered their worldview was the moment Orochimaru burst out of the ground.

One of the legendary Sannin.

And Chenshu Senju had just slapped him across the face, sending him rolling across the ground more than ten times before he fled.

What kind of genin retrieval mission was this supposed to be?

This was practically a battle between gods!

Choji licked chip crumbs from his fingers and said miserably, "I ate all my supplies. When we get back, I need my dad to buy me ten boxes."

"You're still thinking about food at a time like this?" Kiba said speechlessly. "Aren't you afraid you'll run into a freak like Chenshu Senju again someday?"

Choji shrank his neck.

Afraid? How could he not be?

The power of that slap had practically been the defining awakening of their ninja careers.

"Cough... Actually, I thought that Wood Release move of his... had quite an artistic quality to it."

Neji, normally so serious, suddenly coughed, his face reddening.

The moment those words left his mouth, the atmosphere turned strange.

Artistic quality?

At those three words, the adolescent boys present almost simultaneously pictured the same figure.

Tayuya.

That oversized black coat.

Those thick vines lodged perfectly between her impressive twin peaks.

And that vast expanse of pale skin, half-hidden and half-exposed, gleaming white in the wind.

Gulp.

A chorus of synchronized swallowing sounded.

Choji silently touched his nose, which felt a little hot.

Kiba patted Akamaru's head and muttered softly, "In all my life, I've never seen such a... ferocious female ninja."

She was truly "ferocious."

"What do you think, C or D?"

Kiba lowered his voice and asked like a thief.

"What C or D? Isn't she A?" Rock Lee looked utterly confused. "That Tayuya woman is at most an A-rank rogue ninja."

Everyone gave Rock Lee a speechless look.

"Lee, this is why you still don't have a girlfriend," Neji said gravely, patting his shoulder.

"Why?" Rock Lee scratched his head, his face full of question marks.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, too lazy to explain.

Even he, someone who considered women troublesome, silently admitted that those vines were definitely the greatest invention in the ninja world.

At the rear of the group.

Chenshu Senju suddenly sneezed.

"Boss, those Hidden Leaf Village brats up ahead seem to be looking back at us," Sakon said cautiously.

Tayuya wrapped herself tightly in that tattered coat.

She glared viciously at Kiba and Neji ahead, wishing she could gouge out their eyes on the spot.

Although those humiliating vines had already been removed.

The marks they had left on her clothes could not be hidden at all!

Those little brats who had never seen the world before were practically about to have their eyeballs fall out.

"Ignore them," Chenshu Senju replied casually.

What concerned him more now was how to handle the intelligence after returning to the village.

The Hidden Leaf Village higher-ups were all old foxes, especially that scheming bastard Danzo.

If they found out he had five Kage-level or near-Kage-level fighters under his command now,

he would be invited to ANBU for tea tomorrow.

"Listen. Once we enter the Hidden Leaf Village gates, you'll be Lord Jiraiya's spoils of war."

Chenshu Senju stopped and began coordinating their story with a serious expression.

"But... that pervy old man was just standing off to the side, drawing while spurting nosebleeds. He didn't do anything," Jirobo said, scratching his head in confusion.

Smack.

Chenshu Senju slapped his bald head.

"You wouldn't understand the adult world. This is called diverting attention."

"If anyone asks, say that you were moved by Lord Jiraiya's overwhelming aura and decided to turn from darkness to the light."

The others looked at one another.

Wasn't that way too far-fetched?

Kimimaro frowned and asked, "What about your Wood Dragon? That was overwhelming power."

"Say I stole a secret medicine left behind by the First Hokage, got overstuffed after taking it, and burst out with power. It was a one-time item, and it's already gone."

Chenshu Senju lied without even blinking.

Keep a low profile.

He had to keep a low profile.

Genius, savior—all that was meaningless.

Wouldn't it be better to secretly keep these five top-tier combatants under his own command as a private assassination squad?

Let those old geezers in the village freeload off his subordinates? Not a chance.

"Alright, put away your killing intent and act a little pitiful."

Chenshu Senju waved his hand and casually tossed Tayuya a new coat.

"Put it on. Don't let those brats stare themselves anemic."

Tayuya bit her lip, snatched the coat, and blushed so deeply her cheeks looked ready to drip blood.

For some reason, she felt the despair of having boarded a pirate ship with no way off.

Yet when she looked at Chenshu Senju leading the way ahead, that sense of security was something she could never have felt beside Orochimaru.

Tayuya secretly glanced at Chenshu Senju's back.

This brat was far too sinister.

He was absurdly strong, yet he still wanted to pretend to be weak.

If anyone ever truly believed his claim about "taking the wrong medicine and suddenly powering up," they would definitely be conned until not even bone scraps remained.

Before long, the woods ahead gradually thinned.

The enormous gates of the Hidden Leaf Village had vaguely appeared in everyone's sight.

"We're finally home."

Shikamaru let out a long breath, feeling as though the wooden barrel on his shoulder weighed a thousand pounds.

Aside from Sasuke, who was still drooling in his sleep, no one knew just how absurd this night had been.

Just as the group was about to step through the gates.

A breeze passed by.

It carried an almost imperceptible chill through the air.

Several hundred meters above the ground.

A tiny, nearly transparent spore silently drifted over their heads.

No one noticed its presence.

On the surface of that transparent spore, a strange half-black, half-white face was faintly reflected.

White Zetsu.

Those emotionless eyes firmly memorized Chenshu Senju's back.

Then, an almost inaudible murmur drifted away on the wind.

"What incredible intelligence..."

"Wood Release... has appeared again."