Chapter 224: A Rich Haul
"W-What kind of joke is this!" the rogue-nin couldn't help but cry out, looking in disbelief at the dozens of clones that had appeared before his eyes in unison.
If it were in the past, seeing so many pretty young girls in front of him, he probably would have already rushed up with a lewd smile, wanting to have a good time for a few nights.
But now, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his heart completely cold.
Uran simply couldn't imagine that he had used all his strength, and had even betrayed his most loyal little brother, paying all these prices to achieve this, yet he had only killed a single clone.
And it was only one of dozens of clones.
When had his skills degenerated so badly? Had the decadent and pampered life really corroded his body to this extent? Now he couldn't even wield his sword properly!
And the opponent's real body, where was it?
"You don't have to be dejected..." At this moment, a pink-haired girl who was holding the person in charge of the underground bounty station said with a light laugh from amidst the crowd. "My clone has about the strength of a Tokubetsu Jonin. For you to be able to take one out is already very impressive!"
So that was the Konoha ninja's real body. As the main body, she was actually very easy to distinguish from her clones: the clones' expressions were indifferent and cold, while the original's smile was warmer and sunnier.
It was just that behind that sunny smile, her clear, cold, and sharp presence made him shudder.
She is definitely a master! The kind that is unbelievably strong...
The real Sakura continued, "However, there are still about a hundred clones here. Will you choose a one-on-one, or a group beatdown?"
She smiled sweetly.
"...Or, will you surrender without a fight?"
Uran's face was pale. A one-on-one? A group beatdown? He didn't know what kind of meme that was, but he knew very well that this time there was no young boy to block a blade for him, so he couldn't even beat a single clone!
If he continued to fight, what awaited him was only destruction!
"Ah!" he shouted loudly, turned, and fled.
Is this a children's fight? Haruno Sakura shook her head. Without a suitable environment to temper oneself, even a strong ninja would become like this after a few years of a decadent life. This person, judging by his skills, was at least a Tokubetsu Jonin before his defection, yet here he was, using the moves of a street thug. He had truly fallen to the extreme.
Did he think that by shouting loudly to scare others, he could take the opportunity to escape?
How boring.
There were still dozens of clones inside the building. Where could Uran possibly escape to?
What's more, she had an even simpler way to deal with him.
Sakura had no more time to play with him. She formed hand seals.
"Ice Style: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"
The butterfly dual swords carried by the clone had been infused with pure Ice Style chakra by her. Both the nature and shape transformations had been taken to a relatively deep level, which was why they were so hard and invincible.
And right now, the ice blade that Uran was holding had become his final flaw.
SWISH—
Using the ice blade as a Body Flicker medium, Haruno Sakura instantly appeared behind him!
In just an instant, an ice blade radiating a cold light was pressed against the rogue-nin's neck.
Uran was covered in sweat. The horror on his face could not be suppressed. He raised his hands, trembling, and dropped his weapon.
After so many years, he had changed from the Jonin who would not bat an eye even if Mount Tai were to collapse before him, to the homeless dog he was today, living in constant fear...
With the strongest fighter of the bounty station announcing his surrender, this mission had also basically come to an end.
Sakura tied up these key figures and then sent a signal, letting Ibiki and Yūichi and the others come over.
"How can there be so many people!" The moment he saw the densely packed figures tied up by Sakura on the ground, Yūichi cried out.
He shook his head and said, "It was probably a misjudgment of the intelligence. This kind of mission shouldn't have been given to a ninja who is being promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin. The difficulty is too great. Well, you're an exception, Haruno Sakura."
Haruno Sakura pouted and didn't say much on this topic, but instead introduced the completion of the mission.
"The head of the corpse disposal department, the head of the intelligence department, and the general manager are all here," she said, pointing to the few people who were sitting on the hall floor with their heads down in dejection. "The others are not in this base. Oh right, I also found a rogue-nin with good skills. He might also have some status, so I captured him as well."
She jutted her chin, signaling for Yūichi to look at a tall ninja in the corner who was being watched by an ice clone.
"Morino Ibiki, I'll have to trouble your interrogation squad to interrogate these small fry first. We won't be taking these people back to Konoha. We can just let the nearby Anbu organizations and the government deal with them. We only need to bring these few key figures back to Konoha."
"Understood," Ibiki nodded and called for his subordinates to begin. He used Earth Style to construct a temporary interrogation room and then lifted one of the unlucky fellows by his feet and walked in.
Watching the interrogation squad begin their task, Haruno Sakura turned to Yūichi and said, "I haven't touched the materials and other things inside. Come with me and take a look. I'll have my clones stay here to maintain order."
First was the most important confidential data room. In front of Yūichi, Sakura stored an entire cabinet full of books into a sealing scroll. The content inside was mostly intelligence on various ninja. Perhaps there was even content about herself, but she was too lazy to flip through the thousands of books.
Take it back to Konoha and give it to the Intelligence Division.
After the materials on the surface were cleared, they still had to check for hidden compartments. This was very simple: for Haruno Sakura, whose Water Style was already at a masterful level, she just needed to use a small trick—she directly enveloped the place with Water Style. As long as there was a gap, the water could seep in, and Sakura would be able to sense its existence. No matter how deep or how hidden the compartment was, it could not escape such a search.
This time, they found many good things from the hidden compartments in the various corners of the room: the bank account and password of the underground bounty station; a safe full of cash and various valuables and documents; and top-secret intelligence hidden in the deepest part. When they opened it, it was actually related to some Kage-level powerhouses, and even Jinchuriki and Tailed Beasts, but it was unknown if it was true or false.
Murder and arson for a golden belt; the ancients did not deceive me... Haruno Sakura muttered to herself, looking at the harvest before her.
As expected of the only underground bounty station in this vicinity. The difficulty of the mission had indeed exceeded the standard.
If she had pocketed the money stored here, perhaps she could have lived a comfortable life as a rich woman for the rest of her life. It was just a pity that she was no longer very interested in that kind of ordinary person's life, having witnessed the power of chakra.
No matter how rich you were in this world, it was very easy to die an unnatural death. It was not like her previous life, where you could do whatever you wanted with money...
Haruno Sakura shook her head, packed up all these things, and put them into another special scroll.
She turned her head and found that Yūichi, after seeing that astronomical sum of money, was also a little out of his wits, and his eyes were still a little dazed. The life of a civilian ninja was more mundane. They did not have the same desire for power as a front-line ninja. On the contrary, the daily necessities of life occupied a larger proportion of their lives, so their thoughts were also different.
Sakura pushed Yūichi and found that he was looking at her with a complicated expression. After a while, he was suddenly startled and his eyes regained their clarity.
Haruno Sakura didn't know what the other party was thinking. After tidying up this place, she led Yūichi to the next location.
"Next, we're going to the morgue," she said, leading the way in front.
"Isn't this the direction of the toilet?" Yūichi asked with a frown, looking at the sign for the toilet ahead.
Haruno Sakura covered her nose and said muffledly, "That's right. They built the morgue inside the toilet. The smell of the toilet and the smell of the corpses mix together. No one would be willing to distinguish this smell, so it can cover up the smell of the morgue. And it's not strange for people to come and go in the toilet. A clever idea, isn't it?"
"I really wish their ideas were a little dumber..." the civilian ninja following behind her muttered.
"Alright, hold your nose. This part is the smelliest. It won't be so bad once we're inside the morgue."
She led Yūichi into the men's toilet. The long-unseen layout even made her a little nostalgic...
And then she found that Yūichi was looking at her with a strange expression, as if wondering why a girl would be so familiar with a men's bathroom?
"Ahem, this way," she quickly changed the subject and pointed to the inconspicuous mark of a hidden door on the wall.
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