Haruto Saito's tactic was extremely dangerous. He needed to retrieve the dropped reward card, but he couldn't afford to wait. He had to grab it immediately and escape, which forced him to take the risk of diving into the sea of flames.
Although he was only within the fire for a second or two, these flames were formed by the explosion of an explosive tag—a type of ninjutsu-based fire with an extremely high temperature and devastating power.
As a result, Haruto Saito suffered severe injuries!
If it had been anyone else, they would have died underground. However, Haruto had the ability to heal quickly by consuming cards, so his injuries were not a major concern.
Once again, fireworks lit up the northern plaza of Ryusui Village!
Hundreds of Kirigakure (Hidden Mist) ninja quickly rushed to the scene. At present, there were nearly three hundred Hidden Mist ninja in Ryusui Village—two full-standard battalions. Among them were even quasi-Kage-level individuals and elite sensory-type ninja.
Just one minute after the explosion, the Hidden Mist ninja launched an intense search. Sensory ninjas even activated forbidden sensory techniques to locate the assassin.
This explosion was different from the one the previous night. When Kaguya Rakuba was attacked, the Mist ninja had no immediate way of determining what had happened and had to investigate step by step.
This time, however, the assassination of Fujita Asa was very clear-cut!
It was an assassination!
There were three Jonin present at the time. Haruto's two shadow clones had been seen. Although they wore black robes, masks, and hoods that concealed Haruto's unusual left eye, the Mist ninja could at least confirm that these were assassins. They had also gathered information on their height and build.
Ryusui Village was soon in chaos again. The powerful sensory ninja expanded their detection range across the entire village, but they couldn't pinpoint any anomalies. This was because most of the Mist's sensory ninja were unfamiliar with the auras of the people within Ryusui Village, making it impossible to instantly determine who was who.
They could only rely on irregular chakra fluctuations or unusual movement patterns to identify suspects.
However, they still couldn't find Haruto.
Haruto had remained underground, suppressing his presence with the Hidden Aura Technique. As Terado once said, as long as it was a mental-based sensory technique, even an S-rank forbidden sensory jutsu would struggle to detect a ninja using the Hidden Aura Technique.
Haruto successfully escaped from Ryusui Village. He didn't stop. Once he confirmed that his surroundings were temporarily safe, he burst out from underground, transforming into a shadowy blur within the forest, pushing his speed to the limit.
He figured he should keep running for a few hours—regardless of whether the enemy was tracking him or not.
The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist were monstrously strong and terrifyingly skilled. Although Haruto had a reckless streak, he wasn't suicidal. If he didn't put enough distance between himself and the Mist's forces, and the Seven Swordsmen found him… well, in that case, he might as well dig a hole and bury himself—it would be a quicker death.
Just four minutes after Haruto fled Ryusui Village—
Back at the scene of the explosion in the northern plaza, most of the Mist ninja had dispersed to search, leaving about twenty behind. Among them were the three Jonin who had been protecting Fujita Asa, as well as a few medical ninja tending to their injuries.
"A small guy? How small exactly?" Near the massive crater, a bald ninja in his thirties roared angrily.
This was Yagi Jiro, the captain of the Sixth Battalion of the Mist's vanguard forces. After Kaguya Rakuba was assassinated, he had led his battalion to Ryusui Village. Fujita Asa had accompanied him to assist in the investigation of Rakuba's death.
But before they could even solve that case, Fujita Asa had also been assassinated!
In terms of official rank, Fujita Asa may not have been as high as Kaguya Rakuba, and in terms of combat ability, the difference was vast. However, when it came to his status in Kirigakure, it was difficult to say who was more important. Fujita Asa was the Hidden Mist's master of intelligence analysis—the best in the entire village!
Yagi Jiro felt like his head was about to explode. The situation was spiraling out of control. He had already sent a report back to the base, and the commander would likely come in person. Once word reached the higher-ups in Kirigakure, it would undoubtedly cause a major uproar!
"He was about this tall… about the height of an eleven or twelve-year-old child."
"That clone was extremely thin, and I couldn't determine what type of clone technique was used."
"There were two clones. While I was retreating, I noticed the second one underground—it dragged half of Fujita Asa-sama's body into the ground…"
The three Jonin who had been guarding Fujita Asa reported the situation, using hand gestures to describe what they had seen.
"Could it really be that little beggar from last night?" One of the Jonin suddenly exclaimed, as if he had just made a connection.
"A beggar?" Yagi Jiro frowned.
"Yes… according to the intelligence we gathered with Fujita Asa-sama, before Kaguya Rakuba-sama was assassinated last night, he had bumped into a small beggar on the street. That was the only time he had close contact with an outsider. Fujita Asa-sama speculated that the beggar had planted the explosive tag on Rakuba-sama. That beggar's height matches the assassin's clone from today's attack…"
"Could it be…" Yagi Jiro furrowed his brows even deeper, his expression darkening.
If the so-called beggar was the disguised assassin, then he had struck twice in a row?
"Right! The blood!" Another Jonin suddenly spoke. "That beggar coughed up blood last night! Fujita Asa-sama even said he wanted to collect the blood sample and analyze it with a secret technique…"
Just as the Jonin finished speaking, from the southern clearing of the plaza—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A fierce whirlwind swirled upward, mingled with puffs of white smoke. Seven figures appeared out of nowhere, standing in a row. Some were tall, some short, some fat, some thin. Their clothing styles varied, and there were both men and women among them. Each of them carried a unique ninja blade, and their presence was suffocating!
The moment they arrived, the temperature of the plaza seemed to drop several degrees.
The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist!
They had arrived!
"Greetings, my lords!"
"Greetings, my lords!"
Upon seeing them, all the Mist ninja around the crater immediately dropped to one knee in deference—including the powerful Yagi Jiro—paying their respects to the Seven Swordsmen.
"What happened now?" The captain, Momochi Sekigen, swept his gaze across the scene, his voice hoarse.
"Lord!" Yagi Jiro immediately stepped forward and reported, bowing deeply. "Fujita Asa-sama has been assassinated! The perpetrator may be the same one who killed Kaguya Rakuba!"
"What?!"
"Fujita Asa-sensei…"
"He's dead?!"
Momochi Sekigen's body shook violently, and the expressions of the other Seven Swordsmen changed dramatically.
Fujita Asa was merely a Jonin, but he held an extraordinary status within the Mist's ANBU due to his unmatched expertise in intelligence analysis. Over the past decade, every new ANBU recruit had received some level of training from him.
Even the Seven Swordsmen had studied under him!
"Damn it…"
Boom! Momochi Sekigen growled, and an overwhelming aura erupted from his body.
Yagi Jiro instinctively took a step back.
"Who?! Who did this?! Do we have any leads?!" Momochi Sekigen roared, his terrifying aura surging like a raging storm, pressing down on Yagi Jiro.
Cold sweat formed on Yagi Jiro's forehead.
"Yes! We have leads!" he quickly replied, his tone firm.
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