It Was Deliberate
Seeing Daisuke Ono flying backward through the air, Miya slammed his foot down and caught up with him in a single step.
Serious Punch.
Atomic Chakra gathered around his fist as he swung it down hard at Daisuke Ono's chest.
Bang.
Daisuke Ono, struck by the devastating blow, turned into a pile of splintered wood.
"Substitution Technique."
Miya was surprised. He hadn't expected Daisuke Ono to use the Substitution Technique in such a short time and dodge his attack.
Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu.
Miya landed on both feet, still searching for Daisuke Ono.
Suddenly, a pair of large hands reached out from underground and grabbed Miya's feet.
Miya showed no sign of panic. Daisuke Ono was asking for death.
Big Ball Atomic Rasengan.
A Rasengan over half a meter in diameter formed beneath Miya's feet. His Chakra already possessed considerable destructive power, and now it was combined with the power of a Rasengan.
Boom.
The earth beneath Miya's feet was struck with annihilating force.
Before that, Daisuke Ono, who had just reached out from underground and grabbed Miya's feet, sensed Chakra gathering beneath them.
"Not good!"
Sensing the danger, Daisuke Ono was terrified. He immediately abandoned his attempt to drag Miya underground and fled as fast as he could.
"You got away fast!"
Miya leaped out of the two-meter-deep crater and looked at Daisuke Ono, who had reappeared in the distance and was still shaken. He gave a sneer.
"I won't give you another chance to escape with the Substitution Technique."
The next second, Daisuke Ono watched in even greater terror as Miya vanished in a flash.
"Run..."
Before his body could react, Miya was already in front of him.
He raised his hand and threw a punch.
Bang.
Daisuke Ono flew through the air once more.
Bang, bang, bang...
Moving even faster, Miya hammered punch after punch into Daisuke Ono's body.
"Go down!"
Serious... Punch.
The final, fully charged punch landed, sending Daisuke Ono flying. He had already been beaten until his face was swollen like a pig's head, black and blue, and his whole body was nearly falling apart.
Bang.
Before Daisuke Ono even landed, he could no longer withstand Miya's blows and passed out.
"No fun. I'd just warmed up and he passed out!"
The Atomic Chakra covering Miya's body withdrew into him. He shook his head, a little dissatisfied, and looked at Daisuke Ono with considerable annoyance.
Soon, though, Miya's eyes turned to thoughts of money. Not only had he completed the mission, but he had also captured a Jonin and a Chunin alive. That was more than the mission had required.
After finding rope and wrapping it around Daisuke Ono and Akito Otsuka several times in every direction, Miya searched the stronghold and made quite a bit of extra money, taking bags and bundles of loot.
"I really lost big on this mission."
After taking care of over two hundred corpses, Miya felt helpless, with more than two hundred thousand ryo tucked in his pocket.
Seeing signs that Akito Otsuka was waking up, Miya punched him in the forehead again.
Poor Akito Otsuka.
As for the mission's instruction to "obtain whatever intelligence might be available," Miya hadn't found any.
But that didn't matter anymore. Could any amount of intelligence tell them more than two living captives? Did anyone really think Konoha's interrogation department was paid to sit around doing nothing?
As long as he brought them back to Konoha alive, Miya guaranteed that Daisuke Ono and Akito Otsuka would confess even to peeking at their neighbors bathing when they were children.
So, as for intelligence and all that...
It didn't matter!
What mattered was hurrying back to Konoha to eat at someone else's expense.
Miya hoisted the bound Daisuke Ono and Akito Otsuka onto his shoulders, then turned and left the Mount Batō stronghold.
"If I don't eat twice as much to make up for this, I won't deserve to call myself a foodie."
Landing at the foot of the mountain, Miya kept muttering to himself. Just getting here for this mission had taken three days, and the return trip would take another three or four. All told, that was a whole week.
How could Miya stand it?
"I held my appetite back a little before, but this time, just watch me eat you out of house and home."
Miya's mind was now filled with thoughts of revenge against Hiruzen Sarutobi. He planned to speak to the barbecue restaurant owner when he got back and have him stay open twenty-four hours a day.
He would eat enough to make up for everything he had missed these past few days.
"Miya, congratulations on completing your first mission so exceptionally well."
Suddenly, Orochimaru's voice rang out.
Miya, who was still muttering to himself, started in surprise.
"Good thing it wasn't an ambush..."
He felt a little relieved, but also a little angry.
"I've been too careless."
Orochimaru stepped out of the shadows. His face still looked slightly unnatural, as though it had only just stopped twitching.
And no wonder. He had heard every word of Miya's muttering.
"Poor kid..."
Thinking about what would happen when Miya learned in a moment that he still had more missions to carry out, Orochimaru looked forward to it.
"Orochimaru-sensei, why are you here?"
"Actually, never mind. You must have followed me here."
"I didn't obtain any intelligence, but I did catch two prisoners."
Miya pointed to Daisuke Ono and Akito Otsuka, whom he had put down at his feet.
Orochimaru was in no hurry to tell Miya he still had two missions to carry out. Instead, he wanted to hear Miya's report on this mission.
After all, reporting on a mission was also one of a ninja's essential lessons.
"Mm, I can see that."
Orochimaru meant more than what he could "see." Even if Miya didn't explain the mission step by step, he already knew how it had gone.
"Give me a report on the mission."
At that moment, Orochimaru's eyes were filled with an inscrutable look Miya couldn't understand.
"All right, I'll tell you. I could use a rest anyway."
"Oh, right, Sensei, did you bring anything to eat? I'm a little hungry!"
Miya, who hadn't eaten a decent meal in several days, stared at Orochimaru pitifully. He missed the taste of that little white jade snake from last time.
Miya couldn't help licking his lips.
"No. Catch something yourself later."
Orochimaru didn't know much about how Miya had taken Hiruzen Sarutobi for most of his private savings. He did know, however, that Miya's appetite frightened Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"No. Catch something yourself later."
"All right!"
Miya's expression instantly became one of utter "disappointment."
With acting like that, he ought to have been an actor.
What a waste!
Orochimaru was completely unmoved, his expression saying, "I'll just watch you perform in silence."
Seeing that he wasn't going to get anything out of him, Miya's expression changed again, and he said very seriously:
"After I arrived here, I immediately headed for the bandits' stronghold."
Orochimaru thought Miya would continue, but after that opening, Miya fell silent. He looked at Miya and asked:
"Mm, and then?"
Orochimaru hadn't expected Miya to stop and start like this, telling it one piece at a time, on purpose.
"Then I followed standard ninja procedure and prepared to infiltrate the stronghold and steal intelligence."