Chương 358: CH_9.43 (358)

When Takuma and Campbell returned with the Third Squad in tow, Barbary was alone in the courtyard, peacefully reading a book. The guards who were watching them were stunned when they dumped the injured squad members on the floor. Fukoji and the injured genin, who had helped bring the others back, stood there, fearful and gloomy.

"Get an iryō-nin for them," Takuma told one of the guards, who hastily ran out to get one.

"Has he not arrived?" asked Campbell as he sat down, asking about Kumagoro.

"He was here before; we had a lovely chat. He went off to apprehend their boss." Barbary jutted his chin out at the Third Squad.

"The Division Head? Won't Kumagoro try to cover his tracks?" asked Takuma, standing a few paces away from the table in case the prisoners tried to escape.

"It does allow him to earn some goodwill." Barbary glanced at Takuma.

"We will be keeping Jōnin Onikuma Kumagoro out of this entire matter. Form your report accordingly. I'll be reviewing it personally before it goes to the captain... Jōnin Kumagoro will be meeting him soon." Aburame Seinpachi was their ANBU Captain. Takuma was silent for a moment before nodding.

"I understand." He could guess that ANBU would leverage this situation to get something out of Kumagoro. He was no stranger to such deals, having done plenty of them at Narcotics Taskforce. However, his position was different this time. Previously, he was the one making the decisions; here, he received the orders after the decisions were made for him—and that certainly made him feel differently about it.

"Gather all the evidence you need," Barbary continued, "we will be—" An explosion thundered throughout the base as they felt the wind rip apart from shock. All three ANBU-nin looked up in the sky to see a dark dot flying through the air that looked like it was coming down right towards them. Takuma immediately jumped back just in time before a blur hit the ground, sending dirt everywhere with a shock that knocked the table with refreshments.

The dust cleared and Kumagoro, with charcoal-coated skin, sneered down at a broken and bleeding Second Division Head lying down in a small crater. He cracked his neck and breathed out as his skin returned to normal as the Earth Release ninjutsu ended. Takuma glanced up at the sky and thought about the height they had fallen from. He looked at Kumagoro and wondered what ninjutsu he was using because the height was enough to shatter more than a few bones of even the most durable shinobi.

From the looks of it, the Division Head wasn't in a great situation, while the jōnin didn't have a tear on his casual tank top.

"Call for an iryō-nin," Kumagoro ordered one of the guards.

"Already did," sighed Barbary as he dusted the dirt off his clothes. Kumagoro looked around the courtyard and his eyes fell upon the Third Squad. Takuma's breathing hitched when he felt a heavy pressure bore down on him. It caught him off guard; for a second, he couldn't breathe properly, his instincts screaming that he was facing a lethal threat.

The Third Squad genin's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fainted while Fukoji heaved noisily on all fours as though something was trying to push him to the ground. He looked at Campbell and Babrary, but both of them seemed unbothered.

"Breathe, Ratel. Focus on your breathing," said Babrary in a calm and soothing voice.

"He's just exerting his chakra. Good, just like that. Now, circulate your chakra through your body. You'll feel fine right away." He followed the advice and felt the weight lift off his shoulders, making breathing easier. Kumagoro removed his eyes from the Third Squad and restrained his chakra. As he walked towards Barbary, he stared down Takuma, whose back was soaked through thanks to the man's chakra. Even though there was no pressure, his perception had already changed.

He had been in the company of many jōnin, but not one of them intended to kill him—but that couldn't be said about Kumagoro. At that moment, Takuma appreciated that he was covered with a mask and cloak—blowing up the Frost jōnin had made him think himself to be much stronger than he actually was.

"I hope this is enough," said Kumagoro.

"We would appreciate it if you could lend us some men to escort our prisoners back home," said Barbary.

"You'll have them." Takuma stood there as Barbary had a merry chat with Kumagoro, still reeling from what he had experienced. ——— Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.. Campbell looked around the record room at three different Ratels—one original and two water clones—pulling records from the shelves to seal them into storage scrolls. There were three more clones in another room doing the same thing.

Campbell didn't know many people invested in clones due to the high chakra requirements, but even those who did didn't use them as liberally as Ratel did.

"Are you alright? You look tired," he asked. They took off their masks because they were alone. All three's skin was pale, and they looked like they had been pulling consecutive all-nighters.

"I'm just a little tired. Don't worry about it," answered one. Campbell couldn't tell which one was real.

"How much would this help with the squad funding?" asked another.

"You heard about that?" The personnel movement in and out of Campbell Squad had seen two experienced members transfer out of the unit altogether. Because of the lack of numbers, the squad were forced to make do with limited numbers until Kestrel and Ratel arrived, leading to a reduction in funding that was diverted to another squad. Simply put, they needed to produce results to claw that loss back.

"Yes, I think this will help. And you'll get a portion of it to continue working on this case."

"Continue working on the case?" asked the third.

"Are you doing this on purpose?" Campbell asked, looking at identical triplets.

"Not intentionally," replied all three simultaneously. Campbell sighed.

"Anyway, this deal is far from over. You have to get all the information about every contract those idiots took on. It's also our responsibility to track down the agency that worked as the middleman for contracts. You're looking at a couple more months of active work—perhaps a year—before you can effectively put this behind you." All of them sighed in unison.

"What's going to happen to Jōnin Kumagoro?"

"That's up to what he and the captain come up with. If you're worried about whether he'll escape scot-free, don't worry, because that won't happen." Campbell guessed that Ratel wasn't happy about that discussion; even if they were to believe Kumagoro's claim that he was unaware of the assassinations, all of it still had happened under his leadership.

"But it's better not to hope for something serious that permanently damages him. He's a jōnin commander with an excellent track record."

"I understand. As long as we get the most out of it," said Ratel with a cool expression. Another one of them stopped halfway through sealing a scroll and looked at him.

"Can I ask you something? It's not related to work or kenjutsu." He had a severe expression on his face.

"Sure, can't guarantee if I'll answer," said Campbell. He wasn't a fan of personnel questions.

"That thing Jōnin Kumagoro did..." Campbell's expression softened, and he exhaled when he realised what Ratel was concerned about. He assumed Ratel was still reeling from the effects of having felt the brunt of a jōnin's chakra.

"... How do I do it?"

"Pardon?" asked Campbell, surprised.

"I want to learn how to do that. It seems like a great intimidation tool to deter combat if used correctly." Campbell was speechless. Most people would fear an unknown danger and instinctually try to distance themselves from it, but here he was, someone who wanted to harness it for personal use so soon after witnessing it.

"It's a manifestation of bloodlust or killing intent through chakra. It's not that hard to do. You need to push out a good amount of chakra and have enough of a heavy bloodlust or sharp killing intent while infusing said chakra. Don't use it during battle, though. It's terribly inefficient for the amount of chakra it takes—that's why only jōnin use it because they generally have the chakra to spare." He looked at the clones before him and thought about the ones in the other room.

Evidently, Ratel had the chakra to spare.

"In your case, don't use it against someone who you know can fight you. I'll show you how to do it when we return home."

"Thank you, I look forward to it." If nothing else, the boy's reaction certainly told Campbell a lot about his newest team member. ———. The situation's aftermath was a matter of gossip in the Hidden Leaf's political circles.

The news of the Onikuma postponing the date of their succession and Onikuma Kumagoro extending his duty as the jōnin commander of Maizuru Quarters for another three years to implement the changes he had proposed made people talk, as the extension of duty didn't feel like an equal trade to delaying his succession as clan head. Rumour mills speculated that he had a falling out with the current head of the Onikuma clan, causing the postponement.

Of course, no one knew that the change was caused by a settlement between Kumagoro and ANBU, who had mandated him to fix all the problems with Maizuru Quarters, which prevented him from returning home. In exchange for keeping the illegal assassination squad a secret and protecting their reputation, the Onikuma clan now owed ANBU a favour.

In the end, Kumagoro got the better deal as by the time he would become the clan head, he would have another feather in his belt of contribution, ending his career as the jōnin commander at a high. However, not all was well. Just before he met with ANBU, Kumagoro had sent his men to shutter the Kanaoka agencies. Most of them listened and immediately went underground, including the ones that worked with Third Squad on assassination contracts.

While Third Squad members gave up the information about their targets, the middlemen were the only ones who held the information regarding the clients. The assassination targets themselves represented a problem as a quarter of them were active Leaf shinobi while another quarter were important civilians, many of whom had connections with the Fire Daimyo's court. In those cases, it became imperative to find who ordered the assassination as they were a matter of national security.

And that duty fell upon the Campbell Squad—which meant it was Takuma a. k. a. Ratel's responsibility. The trash mail case, which had surprisingly become too big, attracted attention towards the unit. When the other squads saw a rookie in charge, they tried to poach the case by going to Barbary and claiming that it was too much for a rookie.

Since Campbell Squad was low on funding, and seeing that the matter had become complex with the missing middlemen, they argued that their squads were better equipped to handle the situation. Barbary called Ratel to see what he thought.

"I can handle this better than these useless vultures," he replied in the presence of the other two squad leaders. Both turned their heads towards him, equal parts derisive and enraged. Barbary laughed before replying, "It's yours, but you understand there'll be consequences if you fail, right?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Great, I'm looking forward to how you handle this." And just like that, two months passed.