Chương 4: I think she looks more like a ghost than a human.

"Well then, I'll leave it to you all."

Located in the largest and most central building in the town, in the magnificent hall on the top floor of the castle tower, the mayor, dressed in fine clothes, sat in the main seat, looking down at the three ninjas below.

His face, slightly gaunt from working day and night, was full of arrogance.

Because of their status, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio from Konoha were extremely humble, bowing respectfully and replying, "Leave it to us, sir."

"Hehehe~ Then I look forward to seeing how the Konoha ninja perform."

"Ha!" the three responded in unison.

"By the way, besides eliminating the bandits in the surrounding area as soon as possible, there is another request I would like to ask of the three of you. It will not go through your village's commission hall; consider it a private transaction between us."

Upon hearing this, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio looked up and exchanged glances. Immediately, the leader of the Nara clan stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Sir, what kind of mission is it?"

"For the three of you, this should just be a minor inconvenience," the mayor said with a smile.

"The bandit suppression missions I issued in Konoha come with generous commissions that would attract even the Jonin of Konoha to compete for them. You have a Jonin leading the team, right?"

Although it was a question, it was a certainty.

Beside the mayor, the trained samurai guards scanned the three of them with sharp, piercing eyes, trying to find the Jonin.

However, it is difficult to judge a ninja's strength from their appearance.

However, as a highly skilled samurai, he had his own way of judging, using aura to find the one with the strongest killing intent.

But none of the three men aroused his sense of crisis, and he couldn't help but let out a disdainful and arrogant snort.

The three members of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio exchanged glances, and the Nara family member spoke again: "Yes, sir, I am a Jonin." This revealed their identity.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio, as a team, can achieve a synergy greater than the sum of its parts through long-term cooperation. The strength of the three is almost equal. If one of them is not strong enough, he or she will easily drag the team down and become a fatal link in the Ino-Shika-Cho battle formation, which will naturally lead to the disbandment of the team.

"That makes things simpler. It won't be any more troublesome than the bandit suppression mission." The town mayor, with a smiling tiger and a cold glint in his eyes, said in a cold voice, "Recently, the townspeople have reported that a particularly troublesome ninja has arrived. She's a girl, about twelve years old, and short and stout. Not only is she a voracious eater, but most importantly, she doesn't pay her bills. Instead, she gives them a large amount of explosive tags."

Upon hearing this, the three members of the group, Ino-Shika-Cho, exchanged bewildered glances, feeling as if Knife had just pulled a fart and opened their eyes to something new.

In a sense, she is indeed a troublesome and eccentric person, but as a twelve-year-old girl, she is probably not a very capable one.

"If this continues..." If it continues, it will affect his tax revenue. Some troublemakers have already given him explosive tags as tax money, which is very annoying.

After a brief pause, the mayor continued in a cold voice, "You, just take care of her."

In a secluded guesthouse on the edge of town, Jieluo leaned against the window, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"interesting..."

A small hand covered the right eye, and on the fingertips, a strand of hair extended into the void, crossing half the town and reaching the castle tower of the lord. Under the eaves of the top floor of the castle tower, a pure black butterfly, no more than a finger's length, gracefully and gently fluttered its wings, floating and dancing silently like a ghost in the night.

On its abdomen, a scarlet eyeball rotated coldly and eerily, watching the people in the room.

"Sir, we accept this mission."

The sound of their conversation transformed into invisible sound waves, rippling through the air. The ripples gently swept across the pure black butterflies in the night sky, and the vibrations of the sound traveled along the strands of hair, translating into the content of the conversation in Jieluo's mind.

Dark Secret Technique: Hell Butterfly Art The butterflies that travel between the human world and Soul Society in Bleach serve as messengers, guiding and delivering messages for the Shinigami.

Yura looked up towards the direction of the castle tower. The dark socket in her right eye was sinister and terrifying. In the distance, a scarlet eye moved and its gaze fell on the blond-haired youth, Yamanaka.

It seems he was unaware of Jieluo's presence.

However, to be on the safe side, the gaze should only be glanced at briefly to avoid the body instinctively sensing the gaze.

"However, sir, this involves fighting ninjas, and we cannot determine the ninjas' ranks and origins. The ninjas are beyond reason, and we cannot view the target with the eyes of a child. The difficulty of this mission is at least A-rank." Since it is a private transaction, it has nothing to do with Konoha's reputation. A shrewd and cunning glint flashed in the Nara family's eyes.

In short, pay more.

"Hehehe..." The mayor chuckled softly before saying, "Bring her head here!"

The Nara clan member bowed, his eyes cold, and said, "I guarantee with the reputation of Konoha that I will absolutely complete the mission."

His scarlet eyes darted around, scanning the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the samurai, and the mayor as if they were looking at dead men.

The town mayor waved for the guests to leave.

After the three responded with enthusiastic "ha!", they followed the maid waiting outside to take their leave.

The butterfly returned as it fluttered under the night sky, gently landing on Jieluo's fingertips.

Looking at yourself is quite peculiar and interesting; it can be used as a mirror.

With a flick of the fingertip, the Hell Butterfly fluttered its wings and took flight, landing in Jieluo's eye socket. It then burrowed back into its socket, its hair disappearing along her face, and her eyeball returned to its original position.

Jie Luo rubbed her eyes. The cool moonlight shone down, draping over her body and making her skin glow. She stretched and yawned, then rolled out of the window and collapsed onto the bed.

The next day, early in the morning, the three members of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio left the town and sat on the top of the city wall. Yura watched their figures disappear into the distance.

As dusk fell, the three blood-stained figures returned, looking relaxed and chatting happily.

The C-level bandit suppression mission was completed easily.

Pick the softest persimmon first, no problem.

Jieluo watched the three figures return from the top of the city wall. He did not follow them, as they were just some wandering samurai who could be easily slaughtered by human-powered tanks. He could not find out any information about them.

The next day, the three members of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio began to secretly gather information about Yura in the town.

Based on the list of clues provided by the town mayor, people who had been in contact with Jieluo were located.

Most of them were restaurant owners, who quickly located Jieluo's residence based on intelligence.

Jieluo sat atop the city wall, her back to the town, humming a song softly, her small feet dangling gently in the air, seemingly oblivious to the actions of the three.

"Strange..." Pineapple Head frowned as he looked at the information compiled in his notebook.

"What's so strange? Does the other side have a large number of explosive tags?" Akimichi asked vaguely, holding a pig's trotter in her hand.

The mountain dweller beside him gave him a look of utter disbelief and sighed softly.

"No..." Nara shook his head, frowning as he said, "That's not the reason. What I find strange is that, apart from those who had direct contact with the target, most of the others said they had never seen the target and had no recollection of it at all. That's very strange."

"Smart people tend to overthink things," the blond-haired man chuckled.

"Maybe he's just being paranoid. The target probably used illusion magic to erase his own existence; he might be on some secret mission."

Looking at the blond guy with an expression that said, "You're not that smart either," Pineapple Head took a deep breath and explained, "If we were on a classified mission, we wouldn't be eating a big meal so openly to cover our tracks, nor would we cast illusions on the boss, let alone give him explosive tags when we pay the bill."

Nara patted the notebook in his hand and said, "I can't even piece together the target's movements in the town. Apart from knowing where he eats and sleeps, I have no idea what he does at other times. With so many eyes watching in the town, this is incredibly unbelievable. He's like a ghost, appearing and disappearing without a trace!"

The blond-haired man chuckled and asked, "Why make it so complicated? We've already located the address, so why don't we just go to the hotel and find the target?"

"No..." The Nara family member shook his head, saying cautiously, "This matter is strange, not typical of ninjas. The other party's unbridled behavior exudes a powerful and fearless confidence. I've only ever seen a ninja like that in the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. Even the most arrogant ninjas have a cautious streak. Just the methods this person has displayed prove that he is an extremely skilled ninja, definitely not a 12-year-old brat! Don't be careless!"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't compare some random ninja from who-knows-where to Lord Hashirama," the fat man said.

"I'm sorry..." Nara said, "Perhaps I'm overthinking it. Just to be on the safe side, we still need to gather more information about our targets."

Closing his notebook, Nara said, "This is the last clue. Xiaozhu Women's Clothing, some people say that the store manager also possesses explosive tags."

After saying that, the three of them instantly left and headed to the women's clothing store.

Upon entering, she began asking questions. Seeing that he was a formidable adult ninja, the shopkeeper, filled in with fear, spilled her beans.

Upon closer inquiry, most of the information was repetitive, and all that was known was the other party's appearance; nothing else was known.

It's just...

toothache.

Do you know her name?

The shop manager shook her head.

Nara grinned, then thought for a moment and asked in a different way: "You said she's a ninja, did you see her use any kind of ninjutsu? Did she glare at you, or make any hand seals? Do you remember any hand seals?"

Based on a unified summary of intelligence from multiple sources, the target's pair of scarlet eyes may be some kind of illusionary eyes.

"Yes, yes!" the shop manager readily agreed, saying, "Just like that, with a flick of my finger, a two-pound wooden crate flies up in a flash!"

The three looked at each other, and the Nara family member said, "What do you think?"

"That's right," the fat man said in a muffled voice, "It's the technique of the Sand Village's secret unit, the puppeteers, using chakra threads to manipulate blades."

Although the ninja world has entered a period of peace, going abroad on missions inevitably leads to conflicts with ninjas from other countries, resulting in numerous battles and the acquisition of ninjutsu intelligence.

The blond-haired man muttered, "Illusion and puppets, what kind of ninjutsu combination is that? It's completely useless."

She couldn't understand, but the shopkeeper's eyes lit up and she said, "By the way, Ninja-sama, if you weren't a tailor, you probably wouldn't have noticed some of the details."

Nara's eyes narrowed, and he said, "What details? Tell me in detail."

"She..." The shopkeeper swallowed hard, lowering her voice nervously as she said, "Although I only met her once, she left a very deep impression on me. Not only did she walk so lightly and silently, but even when she was barefoot, her feet wouldn't get dusty. Moreover, she dressed like a dead person; only a tailor and a funeral home mortician could tell. She even asked me if she looked like a human or a ghost. I think she looked more like a ghost than a human! She was definitely some kind of monster!"

The three of them stared at the shop manager in silence, their eyes asking, "Do you believe me or not?"

Under that gaze, the shop manager's face fell, and she said, "I have nothing else to say."

The Nara family nodded, then decisively led their group away.

"Wait!" the shopkeeper exclaimed urgently, "Ninja sir, do you need explosive tags or not?!"

Nara turned around and asked with interest, "Of course I want them. How much? Just a few will do."

"A total of 109 sheets." The shopkeeper smiled and said, "3000 taels each."

Nara turned around decisively, and the two followed. The blond-haired man gave the shopkeeper a mocking glance.

With a long face, the shop manager hurriedly called out, "Wait! 2500!"

The three of them kept walking.

"2000!" The store manager raised her voice!

The three of them didn't turn their heads back.

"1000!!!" the shop manager screamed, her voice almost cracking.

The three of them stood on the threshold.

This might be the last chance in my life.

With tears welling up in her eyes and a sense of exhaustion, the shop manager calmly said, "500 is my final limit."

The three stopped, turned around, and with the same grin on their faces, said, "Deal."

Looking at that smile, the shop manager felt a moment of disorientation, and couldn't help but recall the girl's faint smile. That girl... she was a ghost! Absolutely a ghost!

After leaving the women's clothing store, the three exchanged a knowing glance and headed straight for the hotel.

In the streets and alleys surrounding the hotel, under the cover of the buildings, the ninjas watched the old hotel. The three-story hotel stood silently, like a ferocious beast waiting to devour its prey.

"How's it going, Futa?"

"She's not here, so I can't sense any chakra fluctuations," the blond-haired man shook his head.

Did we come up empty-handed?

"Let's go in."

They led the way into the hotel and asked the kind old woman who ran the hotel.

"Excuse me, ma'am, has the 12-year-old girl with red eyes checked out?"

The elderly woman at the front desk adjusted her reading glasses, carefully examined the three of them, then calmly closed her eyes without saying a word.

Seeing this, Nara took out a wad of cash and placed it on the counter.

"Please accept this small token of my appreciation."

The old woman opened her eyes, glanced at the money, then closed them again, completely ignoring it.

The blond-haired man stepped forward and said with a fake, kind smile, "Grandma, we are ninjas from Konoha, the strongest ninja village in the ninja world. We are good people."

"There are no good ninjas." The old woman said with her eyes closed, "No matter which village you're from, this old woman knows nothing about you."

The three men froze, their eyes flashing with anger, tinged with arrogance and contempt. The fat man said, "Old man, don't force me to take action."

"Heh..." The old woman chuckled softly and leaned back in her chair, completely unresisting.

"Come on, Fuuta," Nara said coldly.

The blond-haired man nodded, sneered, and quickly formed hand seals before suddenly leaning forward and grabbing the man's head with a palm strike.

"Old woman! Let me see your brain!"

The old woman struggled violently and painfully as both her feet left the ground.

After a while, leaving the unconscious old woman behind, the blond-haired man said with amusement, "I saw her face. She's quite cute. The target didn't check out, and this old woman doesn't know her whereabouts. She's only seen her a few times. She's very elusive. Maybe she just left temporarily. The room is 306. Hopefully, she can leave some clues."

"Let's go!" Nara shouted coldly. The three of them went upstairs and arrived at the door of 306. They opened the paper door, and the next second, their bodies suddenly turned cold, and they froze on the spot, their pupils dilating and contracting violently.

The room was covered with countless explosive tags, which were plastered all over the walls, ceiling, floor, and even the beds and chairs. There were at least tens of thousands of them.

An explosion of this size of detonator would be enough to blow the hotel and even the surrounding buildings away.

"Scatter!!!" With a shrill, almost hoarse shout, without needing any prompting, the three moved in perfect unison, becoming afterimages in a flash. In less than a second, they scattered in a panic, running for their lives, crashing through the hotel wall with a thud. Amidst flying splinters, they were suspended in mid-air with nowhere to hold on. Their chests heaved with adrenaline, their rapid, heaving breaths sounding like bellows. A hint of madness appeared in their three pairs of eyes.

Is it too late to escape?!

Hearing the wind seem to slow down, the ninjas' experience told them that it was too late! Absolutely too late!

A profound despair surfaced in his eyes, and the flashback of his death seemed to flicker wildly before his eyes.

The next instant, the three landed, flashing and leaping across the low rooftops of the houses, retreating a hundred meters away in a flash. They then formed a triangular shape, leaning against each other, panting heavily, and gazing at the quietly towering hotel in front of them.

There was no explosion; a long silence followed.

His body was trembling and weak, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, hitting the tile with a loud thud.

a long time...

"I've been tricked..." Nara muttered to himself, his face grim.

The blond-haired man behind him suddenly knelt down, smashing the tile in front of him with a powerful punch, and roaring incessantly.

"hateful--!!!"

The fat man took out a piece of roasted meat and silently tore into it, trying to ease his fear. He said in a low voice, "Three years of peace have somewhat dulled our guard. This time, we've really run into a guy with a twisted sense of humor."

Nara took a deep breath and said, "No, he's not a guy with a twisted sense of humor, but a rather formidable opponent. He's already discovered us and has probably escaped safely by now."

A look of resentment flashed across the faces of the blond-haired man and the fat man. Then, the blond-haired man, his face filled with murderous intent, said, "Is that all?"

"Without any clues, how can we pursue them? Given how persistent they are, they definitely won't leave any trace." Nara glanced deeply at the inn, then turned and said, "Let's go. The mission won't be a failure; the target has already left town."

A forced attempt to save face with a summary.

"Damn it!" He slammed another punch into the tile. After his impotent rage, the blond-haired man got up and left.

Upon hearing the noise and checking the situation, the homeowner, who had damaged the roof, was furious but dared not speak out when he saw the ninjas frolicking on his roof.

On the city wall, Jie Luo yawned, rested his chin on his hands, and swung his little feet leisurely in mid-air.

As long as chakra is not refined, it is almost the same as having no chakra. This is the ninja's breathing concealment technique, which is especially useful for ninjas like Yura who have low chakra levels.

Jieluo hummed a song softly, the strands of hair in her hands dancing nimbly between her fingertips as she played with the string. As she entertained herself, the sun set and the moon rose. She tilted her head back, raised her hands, and aligned the intricately patterned string between her fingers with the moon. The pattern of the Jade Wheel of Kowloon overlapped with the moon, and she quietly gazed at the lonely full moon.

The cool moonlight bathed her whole body, as if she were holding the moon firmly in her palm.

At the same moment, under the same moonlight, a middle-aged man dressed in crimson Sengoku ninja armor, with a head full of spiky hair, stood deep in the mountains, a huge fan stuck in his back. He looked up at the moon, his crimson Sharingan eyes spinning rapidly, gradually transforming into the dazzling Eternal Kaleidoscope. He suddenly raised one hand, pointing it domineeringly at the moon, as if he wanted to grab it in his palm.

Jie Luo gently closed her eyes, seemingly lost in thought, and suddenly chuckled softly.

murmured softly...

Do you want to dance too?

next day At the gate beneath the city wall, three ninjas in low spirits embarked on their journey back to the village.

With a long lifespan and the patience to learn, Jie Luo opened his eyes and calmly watched the three small figures gradually disappear into the distance, a bloodthirsty yet gentle smile curving his lips.

"It's my turn."

She rose, as if walking in mid-air, her small hands behind her back, skipping lightly like an elf, gracefully moving forward along the silk threads.