Chapter 179
2-in-1-chapter
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"Found her!"
The Iwagakure shinobi crouching on the ground opened his eyes, his weary face lighting up with renewed energy. "Three kilometers ahead. The target hasn't moved and appears to be resting." From Iwagakure, they had pursued her across nearly half the Land of Earth. Now, with less than a hundred kilometers left before crossing the border, they had finally caught up.
Looking back on the chase, everyone couldn't help but feel a deep respect for the strength of the one they pursued.
This was an elite hunting squad from Iwagakure, specialized in tracking missions. They had carried out many such operations before, but never had they encountered such a difficult opponent. Their quarry had escaped all the way to the border before being located. It was no wonder people called her the walking shrine maiden—though for now, that was still only a suspicion. There was no definitive proof that the person they were pursuing was the legendary spy, or even that she was truly from Konoha.
Everything would be confirmed only after her capture.
Upon hearing his subordinate's report, Bun'ya did not show excitement. Instead, he turned toward another shinobi. "What about you, Kabachi? Anything to report?"
"No sign of a scent trail being split. The target should be the real one, not a shadow clone. But it's still possible the target has some technique that conceals her presence. If her methods surpass mine, it's possible we've been deceived." A swarm of bees hovered quietly around Kabachi as he spoke.
"Kabachi, you're being overly cautious again," one of the sensory-nin muttered.
"I've never met anyone who could fool both my sensing and your tracking."
"Caution never hurts. Remaining humble and alert prevents us from making the kind of mistakes born of arrogance. Our clan once paid dearly for its pride. That lesson should never be forgotten."
His constant lecturing left the others with headaches. Still, they could understand why the man called Kabachi of the Kamimizu clan was so meticulous.
The Kamimizu were once famous insect-users, known throughout the shinobi world and mentioned alongside Konoha's Aburame clan. Both were ancient lineages dating back to the Warring States era. Yet their fates could not have been more different.
During the Second Great Ninja War, the Kamimizu clan had volunteered to serve as Iwagakure's vanguard in their assault on Konoha. In response, the Aburame clan took the field to counter them. The two ancient insect-using clans clashed in a battle that even the Warring States period had never seen. The fight was fierce, and in the end, the Kamimizu were defeated.
That defeat caused their standing in Iwagakure to collapse. Too many of their elite shinobi died on the front lines, leaving the clan without successors. Year after year, they declined further. By now, they were in a state similar to—or perhaps worse than—the Kurama clan of Konoha.
After all, the Kurama clan's unstable inherited kekkei genkai had reemerged. Once Kurama Yakumo grew to maturity, her clan's revival was only a matter of time.
The Kamimizu, however, had no such hope. It was as if their vitality had been drained away in that war. Each new generation was weaker than the last. Kabachi and a handful of others were the only ones still capable of upholding the clan's name, but the younger generation showed no promise at all.
"Enough, Kabachi. If the target's skills exceed ours, then there's nothing we can do about it. Our job is to act within our limits. Since we've confirmed it's the real target, proceed according to the original plan."
Bun'ya cut off Kabachi's rambling without rebuke. He understood the Kamimizu's decline and did not blame him for talking too much. He simply gave the order to move.
For shinobi, a distance of three kilometers was nothing. Without splitting their forces, the entire unit advanced at full speed in a straight line toward the target's position, guided by the sensory-nin.
Excluding Kurotsuchi and Rinba, Bun'ya's unit numbered thirteen in total, himself included.
In other words, Bun'ya commanded three complete elite squads. Shinobi squads usually operated in teams of three, but most missions also had a higher-ranking leader overseeing them—forming an effective four-person team. All three of these units were composed of genuine elites.
Aside from Bun'ya, six of the twelve squad members were Jōnin. Counting Bun'ya and Rinba, they had eight Jōnin-level shinobi in total, including Kabachi, who possessed secret techniques of his own.
Such a large deployment could only mean one thing—their target was suspected to be the walking shrine maiden.
Otherwise, they would never have mobilized so many high-ranking shinobi for a single spy.
"Rinba, stay alert," Bun'ya warned as the distance quickly closed.
"Don't worry. I haven't forgotten my assignment," Rinba answered, her tone more serious than before. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Kurotsuchi. Her mission was to protect Kurotsuchi, and nothing more. Whether Bun'ya's operation succeeded or failed was irrelevant to her. Her only duty was to bring Kurotsuchi back unharmed.
Kurotsuchi did not catch their exchange.
She was nervous, her small face tense as she gripped a kunai tightly in her hand. The effort made the veins on the back of her hand stand out. This was her first true mission. Although her grandfather had once taken her, Deidara, and Akatsuchi on bandit-hunting expeditions for training, this was different.
Back then, their opponents had been mere bandits and thieves—ordinary people who had never even refined chakra. Against her, Deidara, and Akatsuchi, they had stood no chance. Even so, the first time she saw blood, she had felt nauseated for two days.
But this was nothing like that.
Now they were facing a spy who had infiltrated Iwagakure, stolen classified information, and nearly escaped successfully—a formidable opponent by any measure.
Whether she was truly the legendary walking shrine maiden or not, Doctor Shiso was certainly no ordinary person.
"Be careful."
Kabachi's low warning broke the silence.
Everyone stopped at once. Rinba seized Kurotsuchi by the collar, halting her as well.
"Explosive tags."
The low hum of bees filled the air as they hovered above the ground ahead, about fifty or sixty of them forming three faint lines that perfectly blocked Bun'ya and his squad's path.
Kurotsuchi knew those were not ordinary bees. They were a special breed cultivated by the Kamizuru clan. It was said that the clan had developed many varieties, each with its own unique abilities. Because of that diversity, however, most Kamizuru shinobi could only master and raise a few common types in their lifetime.
Kamizuru Kabachi glanced at Bun'ya. When Bun'ya gave a nod, Kabachi picked up a small stone from the ground and tossed it toward the area where the bees hovered. Instantly, an explosion erupted—the result of a well-concealed explosive tag. Before the detonation, the bees had already returned to Kabachi's side, deftly avoiding the blast.
The explosion served as the signal.
The sensory-type shinobi closed his eyes and activated his perception technique. "Captain Bun'ya, the target is on the move—southeast direction, moving fast."
Bun'ya gave no reply. Instead, he mimicked Kabachi's earlier motion, picking up a few more stones and throwing them toward the spots where he remembered seeing the bees hover. A chain of explosions echoed through the air. The other Iwa-nin followed suit, swiftly clearing all the remaining explosive tags.
Ninjutsu consumed chakra.
Unless necessary, no one would waste chakra on techniques when taijutsu could finish the fight.
Even shuriken and kunai had to be conserved. The stones used to trigger the explosive tags were picked straight from the ground. This was how most shinobi lived—using whatever means they could to survive and keep fighting in this harsh world.
"Uncle Bun'ya, we…"
Kurotsuchi began to speak, her tone tinged with impatience.
The constant reports from the sensory ninja that the target was getting farther away only deepened her anxiety. She feared Doctor Shiso might escape.
"Don't worry. She won't get away—someone's already following her," Bun'ya said in a low voice.
Kurotsuchi's words caught in her throat. Only then did she notice that, without her realizing it, four members of the team were missing. The quick-witted girl understood at once that her worry had been unnecessary. In fact, her needless questions had only risked hindering the mission.
She said nothing more and fell silent.
Bun'ya gave no further explanation. With a single hand gesture, two of the smaller units slipped away in formation.
Kurotsuchi and Rin'ya followed quietly at the rear of the column.
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