"From the mont I appeared before you, you never stopped watching . You wondered how a Genin could return unscathed, and why my performance was always so... convenient."
"That is why you hinted to Naoto to keep pestering until I agreed to join the squad. It's why you kept by your side for every mission phase, forcing to act as your support during every primary assault."
"Tell —are you satisfied with the result?"
Sato Yoshisuke wanted to scream, to refute the cold logic, but the venom had claid his nervous system.
He didn't even have the strength to form a syllable. It was only in these final seconds that the clarity of the dying—the uikōrendo—washed over him.
"You're right... I was suspicious. You were gone from the village for so long and yet you survived. I had to know... are you still a ninja of Takigakure?"
"You shouldn't have doubted that," Shisui said, stepping closer. "I am a Taki ninja for now, and I will be for a long ti to co."
"So you shouldn't have questioned my loyalty to the village. You should have questioned who I am."
Yoshisuke never heard that last sentence. Though his fingers still gripped his kunai with the phantom intent of a final strike, Shisui had calculated his expiration to the second.
By the ti Shisui stood over him, Yoshisuke was already a corpse, eyes wide and staring into a void he couldn't escape.
In truth, with Shisui's strength, he could have removed Yoshisuke without a sound. But doing so would have left too many loose ends unless he slaughtered the entire squad.
And he couldn't have that. These people were his entry ticket into Takigakure; they were his future "villagers." It would be a waste to kill them all.
He had considered using his insects to control Yoshisuke's mind, but found it impossible. The man's strength was diocre, but his will was iron-clad—he was a ninja infected by a specific kind of "ideological poison" that made him immune to subtle subversion.
The battle concluded fully a few minutes later.
Yuki finally brought down Little Bug, though he sustained several deep gashes in the process. Harusa, bleeding from three wounds, managed to drive her blade through Red Butterfly's heart. Naoto stood amidst a pile of twenty guards, drenched in blood and trembling.
When the three of them rushed to the ruins to support their Captain, they found a grim tableau:
Black Scorpion lay decapitated in a pool of gore. Sato Yoshisuke knelt nearby, a short blade buried in his chest, his other hand still clutching a kunai. His sightless eyes were turned toward the sky.
And Shisui? He was slumped against a crumbling wall, drenched in sweat and gasping for air, looking every bit the victim of the paralytic poison.
"CAPTAIN!" Yuki lunged forward, but there was no pulse to find. Tears began to stream down his face.
Harusa bit her lip so hard it bled, silent tears tracking through the gri on her cheeks. Having seen comrades die before, her resolve held, though her spirit cracked.
Naoto stood paralyzed, his kunai shaking in his hand. He looked at the wreckage, the bodies, and the burgeoning dawn.
His heart felt hollow. "Is this it? Is this what it ans to be a ninja? Is this the path we chose?"
Nearby, the City Lord was frantic, clawing through Black Scorpion's clothes with blood-stained hands. "The antidote! Where is it?! Where is the antidote?!"
One day later, before the City Lord's Mansion.
Harusa, Yuki, Naoto, and Shisui stood before a fresh grave. Within it lay the remains of Sato Yoshisuke.
With this final farewell, the mission was technically over. They prepared to return to Takigakure. The fat City Lord, now humbled to the point of groveling, stood by to see them off, accompanied by the "real" Steward Matsumoto—Shisui's new puppet.
The Lord handed over a heavy pouch of coins. "The agreed-upon reward... and a little extra... a token for Yoshisuke-kun's family."
Harusa took it without a word.
"If you ever pass this way again, please, consider yourselves guests," the Lord bowed low. No one answered him.
As they prepared to depart, a carriage pulled up. Ida Ryuji hopped down; his caravan had shrunk significantly, but he seed in good spirits.
"Noble Ninja!" he called out. "I heard the mission was a success? Congratulations!"
Harusa gave a stiff nod, showing no joy. Seeing the somber mood and the missing mber, Ryuji realized his blunder imdiately. "Oh... my apologies. I didn't know... please, accept my condolences."
He hesitated, then spoke again. "Actually, I have a request. I'm heading toward the Land of Earth next. The roads are long and crawling with bandits. Might I hire you for protection? I'll pay well."
Harusa and Yuki were about to decline when Naoto spoke up. "We'll take it."
Harusa looked at him in shock. "Naoto, our squad is broken. And the village forbids private contracts without authorization."
"The Captain has a wife and two children back ho," Naoto said, his voice flat but firm. "Taki isn't a Great Village. There are no pensions. Our share of this mission won't last them three years."
Naoto's motivation was simple: he wanted to provide for his fallen leader's family. The destination was close—only a seven-day round trip.
If Shisui took the official mission report and the rewards back to the village first, the rest of them could finish this job and it wouldn't technically count as a violation of the "squad" rules.
He turned to Ryuji. "How much?"
Ryuji's eyes lit up. "Twice the rate of a standard C-rank! No, three tis!"
"Deal," Naoto said.
Harusa started to argue, but then sighed. She understood. Doing sothing was better than doing nothing. It was a way to process the grief.
Shisui watched from the side, a silent observer. Naoto's choice was exactly as he had predicted.
It seed his talkative, sunny friend was finally growing up through the forge of life and death.
When people like Naoto find an obsession, their rate of growth multiplies; eventually, even their chakra takes on a sharp, specific edge defined by their will.
For now, Naoto was still wandering in the fog of his own growth. Shisui observed him like a scientist watching a fascinating experint in chakra evolution.
Naoto turned to him, handing over the mission docunts and a portion of the coin.
"Takigawa-san, I'm leaving the rest to you."
"Don't worry," Shisui promised, taking the items. "I'll see it done."
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