The bounty ninjas recruited for these missions vary widely in reliability; some are good, some are not.
They can be used as cannon fodder, but those who survive in the underworld aren't fools.
To handle these types, you need someone experienced.
"Looks like you're from the Sand Village," the bald strongman said gravely.
Many ninjas use poison, but those most skilled in it are definitely from the Sand Village.
To poison them so silently, it must have been a high-level ninja from the Sand Village.
"You don't need to know that much. All you need to know is that if you don't take the next antidote within an hour and a half, you'll die of organ failure," Ishido said indifferently.
"Then how do we know we'll survive after helping you?" the bald strongman demanded.
"This is your only chance to live."
Faced with Ishido's answer, the rogue ninjas fell silent.
They had no choice but to comply.
"Remember, the target is currently at the hotel next to the casino. We'll help distract the patrols. You have fifty-nine minutes left."
After saying this, Ishido dropped a box, and with Baki, instantly disappeared from the wall.
"Brother! What do we do?!" someone asked the bald strongman.
"What else can we do? Just follow orders," the strongman replied, looking at the stack of Explosive Tags revealed inside the opened box.
...
...
"It's begun," Qingshui said to the person inside the room, watching the patrol team chase after Ishido's Shadow Clones in the street.
"Excellent. We'll meet Ishido and the others in the south of the city. Qingshui, use your Ninjutsu to scout from the air. Your attack signal will be the cue for our assault!" Kurokawa said excitedly.
"Understood."
Qingshui said no more. He rushed towards Kurokawa, who was in a low stance, and stepped on his palm. Both of them simultaneously channeled Chakra through their feet and hands, generating a temporary thrust.
Using the Wind Rush Technique to reduce air resistance and increase thrust, he easily soared over a hundred meters into the sky.
His clothes quickly transformed, becoming a Sand Eagle draped over Qingshui's back. He soared through the air, using the thrust from manipulating air currents to ascend even higher.
With his binoculars, Qingshui could easily observe every corner of Horocastle below.
Inside the hotel.
Several rogue ninjas quietly infiltrated and found Tsunade's room. They punctured the paper window and blew in poisonous smoke through a bamboo tube.
Tsunade, lying on the bed, suddenly opened her eyes and looked towards the door.
Is it debt collectors again?
Tsunade reluctantly pressed her left hand to her chest, activating the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to forcibly expel the inhaled toxins from her body.
As long as there was no bleeding, she could still use Medical Ninjutsu.
"Let's go for it!"
The people outside the room sensed something amiss inside. They forcefully broke through the door and threw Exploding Kunai inside.
Tsunade frowned.
This doesn't look like debt collection...
*"Heavenly Foot!"*
With a stomp of her foot, the ground beneath Tsunade instantly shattered, causing the floorboards to fly up and block the Exploding Kunai.
*"Boom!"*
Flames instantly erupted from the second floor of the hotel, visible to Qingshui flying in the sky, and also attracting the attention of ninjas stationed at the outpost in the west of the city.
Qingshui descended slightly, concentrating fully to gather information from the hotel.
"Did we get her?" the man with the scarred face asked, holding a low-quality Ninja Blade, his voice filled with doubt.
"No! We didn't!"
The strongman turned around in panic, but a fist met his large face, instantly knocking him unconscious.
"Hey! You guys..."
Tsunade's body trembled slightly as she saw the blood flowing from the strong man's nose, and she turned her back.
"It's... it's Lady Tsunade from Konoha Village!"
The scarred man was first surprised, then delighted, and he flexibly slid towards Tsunade.
"Lady Tsunade! We've been poisoned and forced to come and assassinate you! Please, help us detoxify!"
It was known throughout the Ninja World that Tsunade's medical and detoxification abilities were second to none.
Tsunade sighed helplessly.
"How long have you been poisoned?"
"Less than an hour."
"Then there's still hope. Wipe the blood off them and carry them downstairs."
Since the poisoning time was short, there was no need for surgery or bloodshed. With Tsunade's ability, she could expel the toxins from their bodies with her eyes closed.
So she really does have hemophobia?
In the sky, Qingshui showed a satisfied expression, turning his head to look in the direction of the stronghold.
Did the Konoha ninja know Tsunade was here?
Did they know Tsunade had hemophobia?
Tsunade's importance was far beyond what a mere logistics warehouse could compare to, even if Horocastle's logistics warehouse was definitely larger than the other strongholds.
But it didn't matter.
Since Tsunade had hemophobia, once a fight broke out, the Jonin-level experts on his side wouldn't be easily subdued by Tsunade.
Tsunade could only watch the battle unfold, powerless.
That was enough.
Qingshui changed direction, flying towards the Konoha storage stronghold at the west side liquor store in the city.
Mid-flight, Qingshui saw several ninja dressed in Konoha Anbu uniforms leaping across rooftops, heading towards Tsunade's location.
"Good thing Sand Eagle has color-changing camouflage, plus enough altitude and the cover of night. That's why I wasn't discovered."
These Konoha Anbu should be quite strong.
After putting some distance between himself and them, Big Ivan was summoned by Qingshui in mid-air. Under the manipulation of Chakra Threads, it combined with Qingshui in modules, finally transforming into a tall Puppet with wings on its back, circling in the sky and dropping Rockets trailing flames.
A sea of fire instantly engulfed the storage stronghold.
"Go!"
Kurokawa and the others, who had been ambushed nearby, launched a fierce assault simultaneously.
The wind howled, and the flames surged.
In an instant, Tsunade was alerted.
"What is this?!"
Tsunade watched out the window, her fists clenching audibly, but her expression was complex.
"Lady Tsunade!"
The scarred man lay on the wooden bed, looking at Tsunade with anticipation.
He was truly afraid that Tsunade would go to support the Konoha ninja, disregarding their lives.
"Minato, the stronghold is under attack, we..."
A burly Konoha Anbu said to the young captain in front of him.
"Lady Tsunade's situation is far more important than the stronghold!"
Minato Namikaze, who had been promoted to Jonin and Anbu squad leader at the age of fourteen, said in a deep voice.
As Jiraiya's disciple, a direct descendant of the Hokage in the new generation, and with the added bonus of his Anbu status, Minato Namikaze had gained access to many important secrets he couldn't have known before after being promoted to Jonin.
It was precisely because of this that the person he was most worried about at this moment was Tsunade.
If the enemy's attack on the stronghold was merely a diversion to assassinate Tsunade, that would be the most dangerous situation.
That absolutely could not be allowed to happen!
Otherwise, neither Master Jiraiya nor Kushina would forgive him.
I wonder if I can write the next chapter before midnight...
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