Chương 412: CH_11.9 (412)

It was the fifth day of Takuma's stay at the border outpost, and things weren't looking good for Tokubetsu Jōnin Fujita. Even though they knew someone had replaced the patrol reports, there was no proof of wrongdoing. The only evidence was the testimonies of shinobi who were on the patrol, but that couldn't be taken as concrete evidence, no matter how many shinobi confirmed their patrols to be different.

Even if someone did find an original report, it would still be viewed with suspicion because the legitimacy lay with the fake "official" reports filed in the archives. The higher-ups would make their decision on the basis of his report, and unless he blatantly lied, there was no way to dress up the situation in Fujita's favour. All he could do was to soften the blow.

"ANBU-nin!" Takuma, who was observing the warehouses, turned back to see Hyouma running towards him. Other than the meeting with the investigation party, the second-in-command hadn't taken a single step out of the way. That much was expected; who would risk it with ANBU breathing down their necks? It was a problem for Takuma because he needed something to lure Hyouma into making a mistake that would give him justification to pursue a line of investigation to reveal secrets.

"What is it, Chūnin Hyouma?" he asked.

"An Earth-aligned courier group just passed the border. It's the first in the past few days," Hyouma said while he lit a cigarette. The man was either a true addict with zero self-control, or he was nervous and wanted to soothe his nerves.

"Why share this information with me, Chūnin Hyouma?" Takuma asked despite knowing what the man wanted. His heart began to beat as he felt the opportunity was in front of him. Hyouma was about to make a mistake.

"I don't wish for anything bad to happen to them, but perhaps it would be wise to follow them just in case. There is a possibility that the bandits may show up. It would be big if you're able to catch them. Would that help in easing the pressure on Tokubetsu Jōnin Fujita?" The look of hope and sincerity in Hyouma's eyes as he asked the question could be seen as sickening when he was praying for his boss's downfall, but it was only funny to Takuma.

"Yes, it would help if we caught the bandits. Did you stop them?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't busy with other responsibilities at the time of their arrival at the outpost. I came here to inform you as soon as my subordinates informed me." Hyouma took out a half-page of paper alongside a local map.

"I have their destination. If you hurry now and follow the path I've marked on this map, you can catch up to them within fifteen to twenty minutes."

"This is great work, Chūnin Hyouma. I will leave promptly," Takuma said while being as animated as possible so his "intentions" were clear through his mask.

"I will go inform Tokubetsu Jōnin Fujita immediately and set up a support team to follow you. They'll catch up to you as soon as possible," Hyouma said, throwing his cigarette on the floor. It was a trap.

"Thank you for the information. I'll be off," Takuma said before moving away with the Body Flicker Jutsu. He didn't hang around to see if Hyouma would actually alert Fujita or if he would gather a support team. None of that was going to happen. All of this was an attempt to get rid of him. During their late-night meeting, Renjiro had mentioned that the ANBU report could trump whatever the investigation party submitted.

Hyouma clearly didn't like that and was now trying to eliminate that report by getting him taken care of. Takuma didn't mind. The moment he had pulled the knife from the evidence bag, he wanted those bandits more than anything. As long as he had those agents in his custody, he couldn't care less what happened to the outpost. ———. It took roughly fifteen minutes for Takuma to reach the trio of couriers who had stopped by the roadside to rest under tree shade.

He carefully positioned himself across the road from them to observe them and their surroundings, waiting for the bandits to show up.

"I'm going to take a leak," said a courier as he stood up to head deeper into the woods. A minute later, Takuma's eyes widened, and he immediately weaved hand seals for Earth Release: Earth Tremor Sense Jutsu. There was a real possibility that the ROOT agents disguised as bandits were hiding, and the courier who had gone to take relief himself was in danger. The numerous murders had created tension between the two countries and their respective hidden villages.

Just one other murder could shatter the delicate balance between them. Perhaps that was ROOT's objective—to plunge the Hidden Leaf into chaos and take advantage of its moment of weakness. He had to ensure that no more innocent couriers died. As the information from the jutsu returned to him, Takuma chuckled. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

"Clever bastards," he muttered under his breath while slowly standing up. The courier who had gone to take a leak was now somehow sneaking behind him. His eyes caught the eyes of another courier, most probably a sensory-nin, who had sensed his presence as he was following them. He thought he would be ambushed while he was distracted by the couriers, but he didn't think he would be ambushed by the couriers themselves.

The sensory-nin made no suspicious movements and even averted his eyes naturally, as though he hadn't seen Takuma, probably in an attempt to ensure that his teammate's surprise attack wouldn't be foiled. Takuma weaved hand seals and sank into the ground two seconds before the agent behind him threw a kunai to stop him from escaping, but missed as the kunai struck a tree trunk. The sensory-nin froze up for half a second with trembling eyes as his mind caught up with his senses.

He turned around to push his teammate away at the last second before two arms that shot out from the ground could drag him down to hell. As Takuma emerged from the ground, he was instantly surrounded by two ROOT agents. It was dangerous to be surrounded from both sides, but he stayed put because he wanted to assess the situation. He was instantly attacked by both sides. He ducked under a sword that ripped through the cargo box behind him.

The second agent also stabbed his sword at him, but he deflected it with a kunai and rolled away to put some distance between them. The agents were well-trained and didn't give him any room to breathe. The sensory-nin closed the distance with a quick step while swinging his sword as he closed in. Takuma met it with his kunai, but the humming blade cut clean through the knife's metal. Kenjutsu, he noted—the quick delivery at the start of the fight indicated confidence and proficiency.

He stepped in the opposite direction of the blade's flow and kicked the agent in the knee before shoving him away with both hands. There was no time as the other agent charged in with a swift sword dance. Each individual strike connected seamlessly, but Takuma kept moving, ensuring the blade never reached him. The agent favoured his left leg—injury, perhaps, but one that spoke of combat experience rather than weakness. Iryōjutsu could heal multitudes, but there were still things that couldn't be fixed completely.

Or perhaps this was purely psychological; an injury that was left untreated for a while and took root in the mind over time. Takuma glanced towards the edge of the road that cut through a forest. The third agent who tried to ambush him was weaving hand seals for a ninjutsu. He was too far away for him to stop him, so he just had to ensure the ninjutsu didn't reach him. ———. The agent completed the Fire Release: Flaming Spear and aimed it at his target. The target was moving freely while avoiding a sword dance.

He just needed a second of a clear shot to strike the target down.' There—' The target moved away from his teammate, giving him enough space to launch where his teammate would receive minimal damage. But just as he was about to launch the spear, the target shifted with alarming agility, putting the teammate between them. The agent clicked his tongue and re-focused his aim, but the target never stepped into a clear position.

There were split-second opportunities where he could have been hit, but the agent's teammate was always in the damage radius. It didn't take a genius to see that the target had deliberately planned his movements to ensure there was never a clear shot. The ability to do so while actively dodging another agent was difficult, to say the least. He glanced at the fire spear. The flames were becoming unstable. The fire was consuming the chakra, pouring into it as fuel.

It had already lost nearly half of its destructive capabilities and would explode in his face when there wasn't enough chakra to keep the flames bound together. He safely disarmed his jutsu and drew his sword. He had not just wasted chakra, but wasted an opportunity where he could've been pressuring the target with his teammate instead of just standing around and ultimately doing nothing. ———.

Takuma noticed that the agent had dismantled his jutsu and immediately took a giant leap back, now that he didn't need to hold the other agent "hostage" to keep himself safe. He has bad aim, he thought—the agent hadn't moved once from his spot. It would've been difficult to avoid the fire spear if the agent had moved to compensate for his movements, but the agent stayed put with his feet planted. It could mean he wasn't confident with his aim. Takuma related heavily to his enemy.

Until very recently, he had a bad aim as well. He glanced at his three opponents. All of them had swords. That had to change because he worked the best when he could get up close and personal. He weaved hand seals, and a bubbling orb of water, the size of a baseball, formed in his palm. He pointed the orb at one of the agents as they tried to surround him. A chain gushed out of the orb and wrapped itself around the agent's sword before he could react.

He threw the orb into the ground, anchoring the chain to that point. Water Release: Flowing Chain Binding It was one of the C-rank utility ninjutsu he had learned on the suggestion from Tapir, ANBU's Master Instructor. The jutsu could create chains that could be held or anchored to any spot. The chains were surprisingly strong for a C-rank jutsu. The lower the number of chains, the stronger they were.

Takuma threw an explosive tag at the agent, who had no choice but to leave his chained-up sword and jump out of the blast radius.

'Alright, let's get to work.' ———. The agent jumped away before the explosion could get him. Two seconds later, he heard another explosion. He gazed to verify his teammate's position through the unsettled dust from the explosion. The target rushed through the dust at him. Evidently, this was why he'd had his sword taken; he was clearly the intended target for a follow-up. The agent crossed his arm as the fist crashed into his arm. Sound caught in his throat as he felt the force travel up his arm.

It was too powerful. Within a few seconds, they exchanged over a dozen blows. The target was quick on his feet and agile with his movements, making it difficult to dodge his blows, but the agent managed to block almost everything—and that was a mistake. The agent felt his left knee tremble. He had been hit there twice with such force that he was feeling it. He didn't doubt his own durability; the target was simply too physically strong.

"Taijutsu adept; physically str—" Feeling that the target was going to be a tough opponent, he opened his mouth to share information when the target suddenly attacked. The agent once again crossed his arms to eat a blow and immediately counterattacked. The first struck his arms, and just as he was about to counter, a force—incomparable to before— penetrated through his guard and an aggressive burst of chakra crashed into his body. It was an augmentation. His left knee almost gave as he stumbled back.

It felt as though no strength was left in his body as he took a few more steps back to put some distance. But there was no way an ANBU operative was going to give him a chance like that. The target closed the distance in the blink with his fist already cocked back. The agent could only watch as it closed in on his face.