The ninja hawk carrying the message to Shinichi flew from a Bounty Station affiliated with the Hyūga clan. After almost two months of silence, the trap Shinichi had set was finally sprung.
The attacked Bounty Station was located deep in the Land of Fire, only about a hundred kilometers from Konoha. Upon receiving the message, Hyūga Shinichi immediately used the Flying Thunder God Technique (Hiraishin no Jutsu) to return to his study. While sensing the locations of his Flying Thunder God markers, he quickly located the attacked Bounty Station on a map.
He swiftly pocketed the map on his desk, jotted down a quick note, placed it in the study, and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave the village.
Few people could enter this study. Besides Hyūga Shinichi, the only people who might see the note were Hiashi and Shin. The message was intended for the Elder, Hyūga Shin. After he left the village, he needed Shin to help him process the necessary paperwork and, simultaneously, inform him of his whereabouts to prevent his family from worrying.
The Pursuit Begins
When Hyūga Shinichi's figure flashed out of thin air, he was already tens of kilometers away from the village, appearing at one of the Hyūga clan's subsidiary relay stations.
To pursue the ninja who attacked the Bounty Stations, the Hyūga clan had distributed kunai etched with the Flying Thunder God formula to all their affiliated businesses.
With countless strongholds scattered across the Land of Fire, Shinichi had established a network of markers. If an incident occurred, he could arrive instantly.
Even if the incident happened far from Konoha, he could reach the location quickly through multiple transfers.
Hyūga Shinichi's figure had barely appeared at the relay station before vanishing again.
After executing the Flying Thunder God Technique several times in rapid succession, Hyūga Shinichi finally reached his destination.
It was a dim bar, but the air was not filled with the aroma of alcohol; instead, it reeked of alcohol mixed with antiseptic.
Hyūga Shinichi's figure appeared behind the bar. Behind him, the liquor cabinet was in disarray, holding not bottles of wine but several slanted mission plaques. Other plaques were scattered across the floor.
A hidden door was open on the side of the bar, and light poured in from the opening, along with a strong smell of blood. Hyūga Shinichi quickly scanned his surroundings, stepped out from behind the bar, and approached the hidden door to look inside.
Beyond the door was a makeshift morgue. Several bodies lay sprawled on the cold floor, blood seeping from their wounds and staining the ground.
The cabinets on both sides were tightly closed, but a safe on the wall opposite the door had been blasted open by some kind of jutsu. Inside the safe, only scattered pieces of currency remained.
Shinichi quickly glanced at the bodies on the floor, noting that the dead ninja had few visible injuries. It seemed the disparity in strength was too great, and they were killed before they could put up any effective resistance. Their fatal wounds were all to the throat or heart, clearly indicating an overwhelming defeat.
Friendly Fire
Just then, a faint sound of footsteps came from outside the hidden door. Sensing movement, Hyūga Shinichi turned around, and three dark figures suddenly darted out from outside the hidden door.
They simultaneously hurled kunai at Shinichi while also drawing their swords to surround him.
In the confined space, Shinichi had nowhere to dodge the kunai. With a slight guess about the identity of the newcomers, Shinichi chose not to use lethal force. He simply raised his right palm and shouted softly:
"Eight Trigrams: Empty Palm (Hakke Kūshō)!"
High-density chakra surged out, deflecting all the incoming kunai. Simultaneously, a terrifying wind pressure swept over the three assailants, driving them back toward the hidden door.
As the three quickly landed and adjusted their stance, ready to attack again, someone stopped them.
"Stop right there!"
A middle-aged man wearing glasses appeared in the doorway, calling off the three ninja, his eyes wide with surprise as he stared at Hyūga Shinichi, who had inexplicably appeared in the morgue.
"You... you must be Lord Hyūga Shinichi!"
The middle-aged man hurried past his accompanying ninja, closely examining Shinichi's face. His gaze finally settled on Shinichi's eyes, and a look of intense enthusiasm spread across his face.
"Yes, I am."
"Did you release the ninja hawk?"
Hyūga Shinichi recalled the portraits of the various Bounty Station managers he had seen. Although the middle-aged man looked familiar, he couldn't immediately recall his name.
"Yes! I sent the message! Lord Shinichi, I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly."
"My name is Kohinata Tao, and I manage this Bounty Station."
"As you can see, the Bounty Station was attacked by an enemy."
While Kohinata Tao introduced himself, Hyūga Shinichi's gaze fell on the three ninja behind him. The dead ninja in the morgue was likely the station's regular security guard. So, who were these three ninja?
Kohinata Tao, with his years of managing the Bounty Station, naturally possessed excellent observation skills. Noticing Shinichi's gaze, he quickly explained:
"After releasing the ninja hawk, I contacted other clansmen in the town. These gentlemen are guard ninja from the Baishun Merchant Guild, on loan to me by the clan."
The Baishun Merchant Guild, mentioned by Kohinata Tao, was also a Hyūga-owned business, mainly involved in transporting goods—essentially a "security/courier service." In the chaotic ninja world, the demand for this service was high, and the profits were good, but it required the operator to have powerful strength to guarantee the safety of the goods.
Backed by the Hyūga, the Baishun Merchant Guild naturally received more family support and could recruit stronger ninja to protect its cargo. Kohinata Tao sought help from the Merchant Guild because he knew they had capable guard ninja.
Suspect Identification
Nodding slightly, Shinichi accepted Kohinata Tao's clear explanation and moved on to investigating the location of the culprits:
"Where are the attackers?"
"When did they leave, and in what direction?"
Ninja hawks fly fast. While ordinary eagles fly at 50-100 km/h, professionally trained ninja hawks can reach speeds of up to 200 km/h—twice the speed of ordinary eagles. Since this location was only about a hundred kilometers from Konoha, the intelligence could be delivered in half an hour.
Accounting for the time needed to organize after the attack, the enemy had been gone for at most an hour. With preparation and intent, Shinichi was confident he could catch up to the culprits.
"They left about forty minutes ago. After killing the guards and taking the money, they headed east out of town without stopping."
"There were two enemies. One wore a Takigakure forehead protector, but it had a scratch across it—he seemed to be a missing-nin."
"The other was a humpbacked dwarf with a covered face and did not engage in combat."
"Both wore long black cloaks embroidered with red cloud patterns. They appear to be from the same organization."
"Lord Shinichi, the enemies are very strong. The guards were not even a match for the Takigakure missing-nin."
"Please quickly gather our clan members and eliminate both of them!"
Kohinata Tao hurriedly revealed all the information he knew. Some details, like the number of attackers, hadn't been mentioned in the initial message.
Shinichi had initially expected to deal with only Kakuzu, but Kohinata Tao's description clearly indicated a two-person team. The masked, humpbacked dwarf who didn't fight was likely Sasori of the Red Sand.
That individual, who had assassinated the Third Kazekage and ignited the war, had vanished afterward. Shinichi was surprised to find that he had already joined the Akatsuki and was working for them.
The strength of the "Immortal" duo, Kakuzu and Sasori, who were raising funds for the Akatsuki, caused Shinichi's brow to furrow.
"Should I pursue them..."
Considering the strength of this duo, Shinichi looked pensive.
If the enemy had been only one person, Hyūga Shinichi would not have hesitated. His growth rate this year had been rapid, and with his mastery of various jutsu, he wouldn't be at a disadvantage even against Kushina in Sage Mode.
In ninja combat, intelligence is crucial in addition to raw power. Information on Kakuzu was almost transparent to Shinichi. In a one-on-one fight, Shinichi was confident he could capture him.
However, the addition of a second person meant that the combat power unleashed by two experts of that caliber working together was more than just simple addition.
Shinichi couldn't rely on them attacking one by one; "Akatsuki doesn't team up" was always just a joke. In a life-or-death situation, they would certainly jump him all at once.
Although Shinichi felt confident that even if he couldn't defeat them, he could use the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape gracefully, if he attacked and failed to capture them, it would be a futile effort.
It would also expose some of his intelligence, giving the enemy a defense mechanism.
Furthermore, if Shinichi showed too much strength in the battle, it might attract the attention of Obito Uchiha and Black Zetsu. Given this, a failed pursuit would indeed be a loss.
However, after a moment's contemplation, Hyūga Shinichi ultimately shook his head, dispelling the distractions and resolving to pursue. If he didn't act, he couldn't break the stalemate. If he did, there was a chance he could capture both of them.
There was no such thing as a plan with a hundred percent chance of success in this world. Even if Shinichi searched for allies, by the time he was ready to attack, the enemy might have already vanished without a trace again.
The Akatsuki's ability to remain hidden for so long without being noticed by the Five Great Nations was evidence of their excellent concealment skills.
"I will pursue the culprits. You must notify all our Hyūga-affiliated Bounty Stations in that direction and instruct them to evacuate first."
Hyūga Shinichi had decided to pursue Kakuzu and Sasori. His goal was to leave both of them permanently in the Land of Fire.
If that failed, he would at least instill enough deterrence to ensure their Bounty Stations could continue operating. At this point, Hyūga Shinichi was considering not only his personal plans and interests but also the clan's needs and benefits.
After giving his instructions, Hyūga Shinichi quickly left the Bounty Station.
The Bounty Station was underground, and the surface structure was a rarely visited funeral home on the edge of the small town, offering funeral services and selling coffins, incense, and paper offerings.
Emerging from the funeral home, Hyūga Shinichi kept his Byakugan activated. After a quick orientation, he set off in pursuit to the east.
The Chase
During his training in Mount Myōboku, Shisui had taught Shinichi much about ninja tracking and trail detection. With the aid of the Byakugan, Hyūga Shinichi quickly noticed the clues the pair left behind in the forest during their retreat.
The Land of Fire was mostly covered by primeval forests. The ground in such places was often damp and muddy, and decaying fallen trees were covered in moss.
Anyone walking through would inevitably leave footprints or other traces.
Therefore, ninjas usually choose to jump between trees when traveling to leave as few traces as possible. However, for some reason, Kakuzu and Sasori had been walking, leaving two sets of footprints on the forest floor.
Although the enemy had a head start, given their pace, they likely planned to camp out in the forest for the night. Realizing this, Shinichi slowed down, focusing on adjusting his condition to optimum readiness for the battle that could erupt at any moment.
In less than an hour of tracking, Hyūga Shinichi already had a breakthrough.
The figures of Kakuzu and Sasori finally appeared within the range of his Byakugan, firmly locked down by Shinichi!
Shinichi had left Konoha in the afternoon, and by the time he caught up, it was already approaching evening. The light was fading quickly in the primeval forest, where dense tree canopies offered little sun exposure.
Shinichi gradually closed the distance between them. However, for some unknown reason, Kakuzu and Sasori, who had been walking at a normal speed, suddenly quickened their pace, leaping onto tree branches to speed up their travel.
The enemy's sudden acceleration caused Shinichi's pupils to contract slightly. Determined to secure a quick victory, he decided not to wait until darkness fully set in. He increased his pace, quickly closing the gap between them.
Kakuzu and Sasori seemed to have sensed Shinichi somehow. As Shinichi rapidly approached, Sasori suddenly released a puppet, sending it charging into the dense forest behind them.
At this point, only less than a hundred meters separated Shinichi and the two Akatsuki members, yet layers of forest obscured the view. In theory, they shouldn't have been able to spot him.
As he leaped forward, a rattling sound came from the forest ahead.
A humanoid puppet, draped in a black cloak, burst through the trees, lunging toward Hyūga Shinichi.
"I was discovered after all!"
"But why?!"
Hyūga Shinichi hurled a Flying Thunder God kunai at the incoming puppet. The kunai, wreathed in Lightning Release chakra, instantly pierced the puppet's body and flew rapidly toward the forest ahead.
The pierced puppet's movements were completely unaffected. As it neared Shinichi, it swung its sword toward his head. Just as the long sword was about to strike Shinichi's neck, he suddenly vanished from his spot, reappearing tens of meters away where the kunai had flown.
Hyūga Shinichi flashed out of the void. The instant he grabbed the kunai, he spun his body and hurled the Flying Thunder God kunai in his hand toward Kakuzu, who was hurrying away in the distance.
"Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!!"
The kunai slammed through one thick tree after another, heading straight for Kakuzu's back.
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