Actually, Yagi Jirou wasn't entirely sure if what he had was a real lead—the little beggar and his blood… But he had to say there was a lead because he was terrified that if he said there wasn't, the enraged Momochi Akahara might just cut him down on the spot!
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were the only team in the Hidden Mist Village with the authority to execute others on the spot. This authority could only be used outside the village. During wartime missions, any ninja below the rank of commander who was deemed incompetent or who made a major mistake could be executed on the spot by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen without needing to go through a trial in the Hidden Mist Village!
Yagi Jirou had failed to protect Fujita Asa, resulting in her death by assassination. This reason alone was enough for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to exercise their execution authority. As for whether this reason was justified, that would naturally be judged by the Mizukage.
Of course, the key issue was whether the enraged Momochi Akahara would act so recklessly to vent his anger.
Although Yagi Jirou came from a humble background with no connections, his strength was extraordinary, no weaker than Hōzuki Roba, who had been assassinated earlier. If he were executed on the spot without being given a chance to redeem himself, it would be a loss for the Hidden Mist Village.
"A lead…" Momochi Akahara stared at Yagi Jirou, a sinister smile creeping onto his lips. "What kind of lead?"
"We've already determined the assassin's height and build!" Yagi Jirou replied immediately. "And we have his blood! We can use it for tracking!"
******
Dusk.
In the central-eastern region of the Land of Whirlpools, an endless expanse of dense forest stretched as far as the eye could see.
A figure dashed through the woods, leaping up and down, crossing hills and rivers, moving forward relentlessly.
Haruto Saito!
He had been running for nearly four hours.
The roar of a waterfall echoed from ahead. As Haruto approached the stream, he finally began to slow down. By the time he reached the grassy bank of the stream, he stopped and plopped down on the ground, gasping for breath.
He was exhausted!
"Damn it… I don't believe it… they can still find me…" Haruto muttered to himself, still panting heavily as he sat slumped on the ground.
In nearly four hours, he had run almost 200 kilometers. This wasn't his top speed—otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to keep it up for four hours. His chakra would have been depleted long ago. During the run, he had been steadily outputting chakra, maintaining the fastest speed he could sustain for a long-distance sprint.
If he wanted to go faster, he would have needed to use some techniques to assist his speed.
After resting by the stream for a while, Haruto finally caught his breath. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out a stack of cards from his inventory space and began to sort through them.
These were the rewards from killing Fujita Asa!
There were only 18 cards in total.
There weren't any big surprises. Fujita Asa's ninjutsu abilities were quite ordinary. It seemed he only knew Water Release techniques, so Haruto had obtained several B-rank and C-rank ninjutsu cards, all related to Water Release.
However, he did get one **Mental Enhancement Card**.
He consumed what he could and stored the rest.
Then Haruto stood up, jumped into the stream, and began to wash himself.
Actually, during his run, he had already rushed into the water to quickly wash off the scent of blood and other traces. But after running so far, he had gotten dirty again. Moving at such high speed had covered him in dust, so he had to wash once more.
After bathing, Haruto used the **Instant Change Jutsu** to change his clothes on the riverbank.
He now wore a samurai outfit, complete with a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses. Compared to his previous ANBU ninja appearance, he looked completely different.
"Where am I…" Haruto glanced around, then pulled out a map from his inventory space. He quickly determined his current location.
"Great Wave Waterfall… Great Wave Village!"
The map showed that near the waterfall was a large village, one of the rare non-fishing villages in the Land of Whirlpools. It wasn't even a commercial village but rather a mercenary village called Great Wave Village.
After confirming his location, Haruto put away the map and disappeared in a flash.
******
Great Wave Village had been established six years ago by a group of wandering samurai. At that time, the Land of Whirlpools was still under the rule of the Uzumaki clan, but signs of unrest were already appearing. Local conflicts among the populace were common, leading to a surge in bandits and refugees.
After the fall of the Uzumaki clan, the Land of Whirlpools lost its rulers, and chaos spread among the people. Great Wave Village flourished during this time, absorbing many wandering samurai and a few lone ninja. The village experienced internal strife but eventually reorganized.
Today, Great Wave Village had a permanent population of over 8,000, with tens of thousands of transient residents. It had become a place where all sorts of people mingled. Many small samurai groups and even some small ninja groups came here to find employers and take on missions. From the perspective of the ninja world, Great Wave Village was just a gathering of misfits entertaining themselves, with limited strength. But in the mundane world of the Land of Whirlpools, Great Wave Village had a formidable reputation.
In the bustling market district of Great Wave Village, at the Water Noodle House.
"A large bowl of fish noodles! A side of seaweed, and a plate of shrimp, please." Haruto, sitting by the window, handed the menu back to the waiter and turned to look outside.
It was almost dark, and Great Wave Village was lively.
All sorts of people could be seen here. An elderly beggar knelt at the corner of the street, kowtowing to passersby. Dirty children laughed and played. Travel-worn merchants hurried by. Burly samurai loudly chatted with their friends. A woman with a vegetable basket haggled with a vendor. A drunk man staggered and bumped into someone, leading to an argument.
Haruto watched the scene outside the window with interest. Recently, he had developed a fondness for observing people.
This was partly due to the new abilities of his **True Sight Eye**. He could see the unique traits of each person. For example, he noticed that one of the children playing in the street had the trait "Water Release Ninjutsu Talent," indicating that this child from a poor, ordinary family had the potential to become a ninja.
Another example was the shirtless man carrying a shoulder pole. His trait was "Greedy for Money." Such a person could easily be bribed and might even take risks for money.
The food Haruto had ordered arrived quickly.
As he ate, he continued to observe the scene outside the window, clearly enjoying himself.
From the northern end of the street, three disguised figures walked by, speaking in low voices.
"How long until I can make contact?"
"Wait until tomorrow morning. According to the intelligence from the infiltration unit, if the informant doesn't show up by then, it means something's wrong."
"If it really doesn't work out, we can head west. There's another intelligence point there, right?"
"Why go through all that trouble? I say we just wait. The opportunity will come naturally…"
Inside the noodle house, Haruto took another bite of his noodles, slurping loudly, and turned to look out the window.
The three people talking happened to pass by the window. The woman disguised as a villager seemed to sense something and glanced inside.
"Pfft!" Haruto locked eyes with the woman and spat out his noodles, followed by a fit of coughing.