The stinking ambush of orange-yellow liquid

It was just dawn.

Gorō Satoru had Deidara forcibly dragged out of bed and pulled him all the way towards the exchange shop.

His eyelids hadn't even opened yet, and his whole body was limp.

Waking someone up so early in the morning, aren't you afraid of getting retribution?

Gorō Satoru yawned, his voice muffled.

Isn't Kakuzu usually the one who does this kind of job?

Why do you have to drag me into this?

His white, wispy hair lay messily on his forehead, but he didn't bother to brush it away.

That guy was injured, wasn't he?

Deidara hoisted the corpse onto his shoulder with one hand, and dragged the listless, almost asleep Gorō Satoru Go forward with the other.

What does that have to do with me?

Gorō Satoru drew out his words, yawning repeatedly as he glanced at the energetic Deidara beside him.

He himself couldn't understand what was going on.

Ever since he and Deidara worked together on the bomb trap, this guy has considered himself a kindred spirit in art.

They'd drag him along to compare their skills, whether there was something to do or not.

No amount of explanation helped.

Gorō Satoru felt that this matter had caused him a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Aren't we in the same group?

Deidara replied matter-of-factly.

This action is not something that should be taken.

He was quite satisfied with the new team member.

At first glance, I didn't find this white-haired ninja very pleasing to the eye.

Later, when the conversation turned to his views on explosion art, Deidara's attitude changed.

Since they were all the same kind of people, he felt he could completely accept this new teammate.

Besides, this guy has a real knack for explosions; his talent is undeniable.

I wish I could take another look at Gorō Satoru's finished product.

Gorō Satoru bit off a Three-Color Dango from the skewer and chewed it.

What kind of reason is that?

Team members need to get some rest too, don't they?

He spoke while chewing on a meatball, his speech unclear.

It's strawberry flavored.

It's alright.

Seeing his lazy attitude, Deidara couldn't help but urge him on.

Can you hurry up?

At this rate, we won't even reach our destination by noon.

After a while, the two finally made their way to the vicinity of the gold exchange.

Gorō Satoru glanced at the toilet across the street, his expression somewhat complicated.

so what.

He spoke slowly.

The gold exchange had to be built inside a latrine.

Is the intention to treat money as dirt?

Deidara remained silent for a long while after hearing this.

He felt something was off.

But after thinking about it carefully, it does seem to make a lot of sense.

The location was chosen here to ensure the transaction was discreet.

Deidara offered an explanation.

Ordinary people would never imagine that there is a cubicle hidden behind the toilet wall.

He steadied the body, then turned and gestured with his Gorō Satoru.

They're gone.

Gorō Satoru glanced down at the Three-Color Dango he was holding in his hand.

Slowly exhale.

You go in first, Deidara.

I'll wait outside.

I absolutely despise it.

Meanwhile, Konoha ninjas had been staking out and monitoring various gold-exchange locations for several days.

They received intelligence a few days ago that members of the Akatsuki would be coming here to collect their bounty.

Asuma's squad was also involved in this operation.

No suspicious individuals have been spotted at any of the gold exchange offices these past few days.

Izumo asked, frowning.

Are they not coming?

Probably not.

Asuma shook his head.

Based on the information, this should happen in the next day or two.

However, their destination might be elsewhere.

Shikamaru chimed in as well.

My gaze shifted to the other side.

Gorō Satoru lay sprawled on the stone steps, idly counting the clouds in the sky.

Her white, tousled hair swayed and danced in the wind, looking messy and disheveled.

Why isn't Deidara showing up yet?

Could they have run off with the money?

Yeah, why didn't I go in with them?

Scamming the Akatsuki for a sum of money sounds pretty exciting.

Just as I was enjoying my daydream, I heard light footsteps behind me.

It creaks and groans.

What's that noise?

Gorō Satoru narrowed his Azure eyes slightly and slowly turned around.

Just then, a Shuriken of shurikens, gleaming with a cold light, flew towards him.

A faint but palpable killing intent permeated the surroundings.

They went straight to the point and did it for real.

Gorō Satoru lowered his eyes, his tone light and airy.

He leaped a few times, nimbly dodging the sharp metal pieces, and then looked towards the other side.

Asuma's face quickly came into his view.

This person hasn't changed much; he looks almost exactly the same as he did during the competition.

Gorō Satoru slowly and deliberately sized up Asuma opposite him.

The moment his foot touched the ground and he dodged the Shuriken, a voice rang out from afar.

Shadow Possession Jutsu.

A long shadow locked Gorō Satoru firmly in place.

Gorō Satoru frowned, looking displeased.

Is it really necessary to target me like this?

A large group of people suddenly attacked me.

It's done.

Shikamaru, standing a short distance away, breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, they had planned ahead before making their move; otherwise, given the strength this ninja had previously displayed, it would have been virtually impossible to take him down easily.

I just didn't expect that this guy would be the one coming to the gold exchange this time.

The intelligence I received a couple of days ago said that the person coming should be a black-haired ninja, plus a guy wielding a long sword.

They ended up running into Gorō Satoru, and a blond ninja next to him.

But none of that matters now. They know too little about the Akatsuki. If they can capture even one member, they might be able to extract a lot of information.

Izumo, Kotetsu.

Asuma gestured to the two of them.

Shikamaru's Shadow Technique won't last long; he needs to use this time to disable the opponent's mobility.

The other party has accomplices; one must be eliminated before the two separate.

Asuma planned to kill the blond ninja if possible, and then Gorō Satoru back to Konoha.

Um.

Izumo and Kotetsu exchanged a glance, then gripped their longswords and slashed down fiercely.

With a whoosh.

The blade precisely avoided a fatal spot, plunging diagonally into Gorō Satoru's body.

The two breathed a sigh of relief, both thinking to themselves that this mission had been surprisingly easy.

This person is a member of Akatsuki.

Their strength seems to be just so-so.

If everyone in the organization is similar to him, then there's really no need to worry too much.

Asuma and Shikamaru relaxed a little; they had successfully taken the first step.

Shikamaru's gaze casually swept over Gorō Satoru not far away, then suddenly fixed on a certain spot.

What's going on?

As if he had discovered something, the smile on his lips vanished instantly.

wrong.

Shikamaru shouted loudly.

Get out of the way quickly.

The blood flowing from Gorō Satoru's wounds was not blood at all.

They'd been tricked; the person wasn't injured at all.

Asuma others, who were closest to Gorō Satoru, were taken aback upon hearing this, and their gazes all swept over in that direction.

A little liquid seeped out from the edge of the blade where the long knife had pierced him.

But it wasn't bright red blood; it was a strange-looking, orange-yellow liquid.

What is it?

Asuma's expression darkened, and he quickly retreated.

This time they were careless.

Izumo and Kotetsu quickly followed.

Almost simultaneously, a deafening explosion occurred.

The body, riddled with long swords, rapidly expanded, then exploded like fireworks.

Asuma was faster and narrowly escaped.

But Izumo and Kotetsu, which were closest to it, were not so lucky.

At the moment of the explosion, an overwhelming amount of orange-yellow unidentified liquid completely covered them.

When the smoke cleared, the two men were lying on the ground, unable to get up.

Izumo and Kotetsu, that's how it ended.

What happened?

Shikamaru glanced around warily, then rushed over.

Could that stuff have been poisoned? Are the two of them beyond saving?

Thinking of this, Shikamaru's face tightened.

Izumo, Kotetsu.

Asuma carefully avoided the orange-yellow liquid on the ground and walked up to the two people.

How are you two doing?

In an instant, Asuma's gentle expression vanished, and he became like a drawn sword, his eyes blazing with deep fury.

hateful.

It's all his fault for making the wrong judgment; otherwise, things wouldn't have turned out this way.

The flames burned fiercely in Asuma's eyes; the Akatsuki, Gorō Satoru —he would definitely settle this score.

Just then, the two people on the ground suddenly started coughing violently.

Cough cough cough.

Upon hearing the voice, Asuma and Shikamaru's eyes lit up with surprise.

How are you all?

How much longer can it last?

No one knew what the poison was made of, yet it instantly incapacitated two people.

After a long while, a weak sound came from the ground.

We didn't die.

that is.

That's fucking disgusting.

Asuma and Shikamaru were stunned.

What does this sentence actually mean?