Chapter 119: Hoshikawa 's Interrogation of a Kunoichi
"It's about time. To be safe, we'll take turns on watch, just like last night," Tsunade said, looking at the sky and making the arrangements. "Hoshikawa and Kurenai will take the first half of the night, and Rin and I will take the second."
"Understood." Hoshikawa and the other two replied in unison.
"Rin, let's go get some sleep," Tsunade said, standing up and walking toward another tent. Rin quickly followed.
Hoshikawa hadn't had to stand guard when he was doing missions with Tsunade before, as they had no clients. Now that they were protecting civilians like Eijirō, standing watch was a necessity. After all, traps weren't foolproof.
"Are you going to sleep?" Hoshikawa said, patting his leg. "I can handle the watch alone."
"Aren't you going to sleep?" Kurenai countered.
"I'm not tired," Hoshikawa said, pointing to his forehead. "Besides, I was planning to spend the time training my Yin Seal anyway."
The first stage of the Yin Seal was to accumulate chakra. This required a long period of refining chakra and sending it into the seal on his forehead.
"All right, then," Kurenai said, her lips pressed together, her face slightly flushed.
Hoshikawa got up and laid a blanket on the ground. Kurenai looked at him and then rested her head on his lap. She closed her eyes, her face growing even redder. Although she had done this last night, she still felt shy.
Hoshikawa reached out and gently rubbed her head, a smile on his face.
The night deepened. He continued to refine chakra while paying attention to the traps he had set. Some time later, Tsunade and Rin emerged from their tent. Hoshikawa stopped training and woke Kurenai.
"You're quite the gentleman, kid," Tsunade said with a light laugh.
At her teasing, Kurenai lowered her head, not daring to speak to her.
"Then we're off to sleep, Sensei." Hoshikawa , with his thick skin, pulled Kurenai along and entered their tent.
"Good... good night." Kurenai pulled out her sleeping bag and zipped herself in, closing her eyes and avoiding looking at Hoshikawa . The shyness she felt still hadn't faded.
Hoshikawa smiled and took out his own sleeping bag. The night passed without incident.
After breakfast, the seven of them continued on their journey. Upon entering the Land of Grass, they soon came upon a vast, endless grassland. It was Kurenai's first time seeing something like this, and she couldn't help but gasp in awe. Rin was also very curious, looking all around.
But their excitement soon faded. All they saw was grass, and after a while, their eyes even started to turn green. After walking for three hours, the grassland finally came to an end. What came into view was an abandoned village.
"There are ninja here," Tsunade said, taking two steps to stand beside Hoshikawa .
Hoshikawa 's heart stirred. He clapped his hands and used the Chakra Diffusion Jutsu. Inside the village's houses, eight ninjas were hiding. From their chakra signatures, he could tell there were two Chūnin and six Genin.
A C-rank mission and they still ran into this many ninja? Hoshikawa 's mouth twitched. Had Tsunade's luck completely drained him dry?
"How did they dare to ambush us?" Hoshikawa asked, confused.
"It's normal for ninjas from the Land of Grass not to recognize me," Tsunade said casually. While she was famous, not everyone had seen her in person. Besides the Five Great Nations and some smaller villages that participated in the previous great ninja war, like Amegakure, most ninjas had only heard her name. She wasn't wearing a jōnin vest or a Konoha forehead protector. The ninjas from the Land of Grass wouldn't in their wildest dreams think that one of the Legendary Sannin would be so bored as to take a C-rank mission.
"You two handle them," Tsunade said nonchalantly. With two Chūnin and six Genin, she didn't even feel the urge to step in.
"Okay." Hoshikawa nodded slightly. The ninjas from the smaller villages were not to be underestimated. He even thought Kurenai and Rin could handle them.
"Kurenai, let's go into the village and check things out," Hoshikawa said after thinking for a moment.
"All right." Kurenai noticed his look and, her heart racing, walked to his side.
"There are four ninjas on the left and four on the right. Prepare for battle," Hoshikawa whispered before walking toward the village. Kurenai's expression remained calm, but she was already preparing her chakra, ready to act. She was both a little nervous and excited. This was her first time on an outdoor mission and her first life-or-death battle.
Upon reaching the village entrance, Hoshikawa stopped.
Body Flicker Technique! His body suddenly accelerated, leaving a blur behind. Kurenai saw this and immediately unleashed her ninjutsu. Hoshikawa had gone right, so she aimed left.
Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu! Kurenai leaned back and exhaled a stream of water. The stream moved rapidly, forming a roaring water dragon in the air.
"Duck!" a startled cry went up.
The water dragon descended from the sky, crashing into the ground. With a loud boom, water splashed everywhere, houses collapsed, and four embarrassed-looking figures were revealed. Two of the genin were too slow to get away and were swept away by the current, sliding for more than ten meters on the ground before crashing headfirst, dizzy and confused.
As Kurenai was making her hand signs, a scream echoed from the right. Hoshikawa appeared out of thin air in front of the nearest young man, his Lightning-Fire Blade piercing his body without hesitation. Blood sprayed everywhere as the blade went clean through him. The young man didn't even have time to see who killed him before he fell.
"Damn it!" The middle-aged man wearing a Kusagakure forehead protector realized they had messed with the wrong people. There was no time to think. He quickly made a series of hand signs.
Fire Release: Lantern of the Phantom Demon! Ghost-like lanterns formed around him and flew toward Hoshikawa . The two young men behind him reacted as well, throwing a handful of kunai.
Konoha Style: Dance of the Crescent Moon! Hoshikawa created two shadow clones, and they, with their Lightning-Fire Blades, deflected the kunai in an instant. The moment sparks flew, they were already in front of the two young men.
Hoshikawa , the original, stood still and extended his right hand. Lightning chakra quickly gathered, and several arrow-shaped white bolts of lightning shot from his palm, precisely hitting the ghost-like lanterns.
Body Flicker Technique! Hoshikawa 's right hand twisted, and he drew his Lightning-Fire Blade. The middle-aged man saw a flash of light before Hoshikawa appeared above him. In a moment of crisis, he instinctively tried to raise his hands, but he was horrified to find he couldn't move.
Konoha Style: Willow! In the air, sword shadows danced like an illusion, filling the middle-aged man's vision. Hoshikawa 's body moved, and the Lightning-Fire Blade tore through the air. A cold glint flashed. The Lightning-Fire Blade pierced the middle-aged man's neck.
"You..." The middle-aged man said one word as blood gushed from his neck. He fell backward, entering an eternal slumber. Hoshikawa dismissed his two shadow clones. They had dealt with the two genin even faster than he had.
Hoshikawa turned to Kurenai's side. Of the four ninjas from the Land of Grass, only the strongest female chūnin was still fighting, but she was in a very dangerous position. Just then, the battle took a turn. The female chūnin threw a smoke bomb, enveloping herself and the nearby houses in a cloud of smoke.
Kurenai immediately became alert. But Hoshikawa 's eyebrows shot up. He used the Body Flicker Technique, as the female chūnin wasn't trying to ambush them. She was trying to escape. She rushed out of the smoke at top speed, dashing away. But the next second, a figure appeared out of thin air in front of her.
"Get out of my way!" The female chūnin said furiously when she saw Hoshikawa .
Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death! Hoshikawa clapped his hands. The female chūnin who was running suddenly froze. She instinctively looked down and saw her legs wrapped in two vines.
"Ah!" In her moment of shock, the female chūnin's body was lifted by the vines. She was slammed into a tree behind her, and more branches and vines emerged, binding her tightly.
"You bastard! Let me go!" The female chūnin struggled and screamed.
In the original story, Kurenai had used Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death on Itachi Uchiha, but it was deflected. However, this female chūnin was not Itachi. She didn't even realize she was under a genjutsu.
Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death was one of the few genjutsu that allowed the target to remain conscious. It was often used for interrogation. Hoshikawa figured that since he had captured a ninja from the Land of Grass, he might as well ask about Karin and her mother. Even if he didn't, he still needed to know why they ambushed them.
"They tricked us! Damn it!" Kurenai walked over, looking annoyed.
"Most ninjas don't have any morals," Hoshikawa said, rubbing her head. "If you can win, you fight. If you can't, you run. That's the correct choice."
"I know!" Kurenai said playfully, sticking her tongue out.
"Go tell Sensei what happened. I'll interrogate her," Hoshikawa said, looking at the female chūnin. From his perspective, the tree wasn't there; she was just standing in place, struggling as if she were having a seizure.
"Okay." Kurenai turned and walked toward Tsunade. Her and Hoshikawa 's battle had naturally attracted their attention. Rin had wanted to help, but Tsunade stopped her, as her role was a medical ninja, not to participate in combat.
Hoshikawa walked up to the female chūnin. He raised his hand, and a dazzling lightning light enveloped his palm.
"Why did you attack us?" Hoshikawa asked.
"Kusagakure will kill you!" The female chūnin said bravely.
"Kusagakure?" Hoshikawa couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like you don't understand your situation."
He waved his hand, and the lightning shot out, landing on the female chūnin's body.
"Aah! Aah! Aah!" The female chūnin screamed. Her hair stood on end, her skin turned black, and her body trembled uncontrollably. Soon, she rolled her eyes and started drooling and crying.
"Do you want to do that again?" Hoshikawa withdrew his hand and asked.
"I'll talk!" The female chūnin finally gave in, stuttering as she explained the reason. It had nothing to do with Eijirō. They simply wanted to rob them after seeing that there were only three genin in their group. Just as Tsunade had said, the ninjas from the Land of Grass hadn't recognized her.
"Is there a red-haired woman in your village? The one who can heal injuries and restore chakra with a bite?" Hoshikawa asked.
"How do you know?" The female chūnin asked, surprised.
"Where is she?" Hoshikawa raised his hand.
"She went with Lord Shun's team to the Land of Waterfalls for a mission," the female chūnin said, her body trembling as she answered honestly.
Hoshikawa asked her a few more questions before raising his sword and ending her life. He had already killed people before during his B-rank missions with Tsunade, so he didn't feel much about it. In the ninja world, if you don't kill people, they will kill you. He had no psychological burden.
......
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