"So, did you uncover anything about the incident?"
The ANBU captain, Crane, asked one of his teammates, who had just retracted his hand and chakra from the head of one of the Shimada clan elders' corpses.
This ANBU member was an Elite Chunin from the Yamanaka clan, specializing in intel gathering, Genjutsu, and the Yamanaka clan's special Mind-Reading techniques.
Thanks to their unique mind-related techniques, the Yamanaka clan members had a special place in the ANBU.
Every time the Konoha ANBU was dispatched to a mission that needed gathering intel, the ANBU team would always have a Yamanaka clan member.
Perhaps only the Torture and Interrogation Force of Konoha had more Yamanaka clan ninjas in its ranks than the ANBU division.
"Indeed, but not all of them," replied the Yamanaka clan ANBU operative with an exhausted sigh.
Hearing this, the ANBU captain raised an eyebrow behind the mask and asked, "What do you mean by not all of them?"
The ANBU operative massaged his forehead to soothe the strain on his mind. Using mind-related techniques wasn't easy at all. Those Yin Release Jutsu consumed a lot of spiritual power, leaving the users with significant mental fatigue afterward.
Indeed, the ninjas could greatly reduce the mental strain by thoroughly mastering mind-related techniques, improving their chakra control, enhancing their spiritual power, and further developing their Yin affinity.
But for most, that required years of training.
None of them was easy to improve. Some points even depended heavily on a ninja's innate talent, for example, leveling up the Yin affinity.
While enduring the mental fatigue, the Yamanaka clan ANBU ninja explained, "That's exactly what I meant. Although I can read many superficial memories, many memories inside his mind, particularly the memories about the true nature of the deal with the Kirigakure ninjas, remain hazy to me."
"I have learned that the Shimada clan has found a medium-sized mine for the water crystal resources."
"And they had been in some kind of cooperation where they needed to provide the Kirigakure ninja with those water crystals."
"Worst, they had already transported more than 55% of the potential crystal reserves of the mine to Kirigakure via various routes."
"But I can't find any other details regarding the deal between the Kirigakure and the Shimada clan."
Hearing this, the ANBU captain's expression hardened behind his mask.
Water crystals were costly and rare resources that could significantly boost the training efficiency of water affinity development.
It allowed ninjas with water affinity to develop their affinity faster, greatly increasing their mastery of the water element nature transformation and water control.
In short, they would reach their potential faster, at least when it came to developing their water affinity to the limit.
In very rare cases, it would even help the ninja break through their limits and reach new heights in water release ninjutsu.
If the ninjas could bear the cost of using hundreds of water crystals, even those with negligible affinity to the water element could elevate their Water Release Ninjutsu proficiency to the full-fledged Jonin level (LV4 in Seimei's system's rating).
Of course, no ninja was stupid enough to waste money like that. The village wouldn't allow either. And most clans, except for clans like Senju and Uchiha, didn't have the capital to purchase many water crystals.
Now, the ANBU captain was learning that over 55% of this precious resource had been smuggled out of the Land of Fire and fell into their enemy, Kirigakure's hands.
He truly wanted to grab the soul of the Shimada clan leader and give him a proper thrashing.
What a damn bastard!
A traitorous fellow through and through.
But what's done was done.
Now, he and Konoha needed intel. They needed more intel about the true goal of Kirigakure.
And the reason why the Shimada clan colluded with them.
After all, if they wanted to resist and not betray the Land of Fire, there were numerous ways to send a secret message to Konoha or Daimyo.
So, the ANBU captain asked, "Is there no way you can learn more about their motives from this elder's brain?"
The Yamanaka clan ANBU member shook his head with regret.
He said, "It's not that easy."
"The elder has a special seal in his mind, hiding most of the crucial information under the wrap."
"Although the seal is not very sophisticated, my mastery of the EyeMind Reading Technique isn't high enough to penetrate the defensive barrier safely."
"If I try to force my way, the seal will destroy the target's brain and wipe out all the memories from the Hippocampus, the memory center of the brain."
"Only the clan leader and the Yamanaka clan's direct lineage have more powerful mind-reading techniques, Yin Release proficiency, and seal mastery to undo the seal and read the memories of this elder without losing much information."
"We should deliver this body to the Torture and Interrogation Force as soon as possible."
"The more time we waste, the fewer leads we will get."
The ANBU captain Crane nodded solemnly. "That's all we could do now."
"Store the bodies with intact heads in the sealing scrolls to preserve them."
"Once we collect everything from the Shimada clan, we will head straight to Konoha."
"Understood, captain," replied the Yamanaka clan ANBU member.
After a few moments, the ANBU captain discussed everything he found with Uchiha Hiroshi and Senju Tatsuya.
Both of them also agreed to pack up as soon as possible and return to Konoha.
So, they had also issued similar commands.
On the other side, Seimei had already finished treating everyone. All of the heavily injured Konoha ninjas were out of danger. Of course, some of them still needed to visit the Konoha Hospital after they returned to the village.
He had also collected the remains of the deceased Konoha ninjas and put them inside separate storage scrolls and handed them over to the ANBU members.
Their remains would be delivered to their immediate families, so they could receive proper funerals. Their names would be engraved on the Memorial Stone of Konoha.
They deserved that.
After all, everyone who had died for Konoha was a hero who deserved respect.
Two hours later, all the remaining Konoha ninjas, including Seimei, had packed up and were ready to leave.
This had been one tiresome operation.
The middle-aged ninja who squealed like a pig during treatment was standing beside Seimei and murmured, "Ready to leave?"
Seimei nodded, "I am."
"But before that, let me do something."
"Do what?" asked the middle-aged ninja curiously.
Seimei stayed silent for a moment before saying, "I will send the deceased off properly."
The civilians who had died because of the actions of their clan leader deserve a proper send-off. So do the ninjas who have died by my hands.
Let the fire burn your bodies to ashes and return to the earth.
May your souls find rest and be born again to live happy and peaceful lives.
Seimei gathered fire chakra in his throat and unleashed his Jutsu.
Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame
A torrent of flame came out of Seimei's mouth. The flames traveled in a straight path in a thin line before gradually expanding into a fan-shaped formation. The sea of flames quickly traveled tens of meters and engulfed the entire ruined area of the Shimada clan.
Buildings burned. Trees burned. And the bodies of the ninjas and civilians burned, too.
The yellow-white fire burned the area spanning several hundred meters, creating a mesmerizing, radiant glow under the cloudy sky.
The fire burned with such intensity that even the Konoha ninjas standing several tens of meters away could feel its scorching heat.
It wouldn't take long before everything, including every corpse in the Shimada clan grounds, turned into ashes.
But they couldn't wait to witness this.
The middle-aged ninja patted Seimei's shoulder and said, "Let's go."
Seimei turned his head from the burning fire and looked at the middle-aged ninja.
He took a deep breath and replied with a faint smile, "Yeah, let's return to our home."
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