Several minutes later, Seii, Touma, and Haneda were hiding behind dense foliage and rocks to avoid the eight unknown Shinobi's detection.
They were lurking in the shadows to watch what these suspicious individuals were doing so close to the site, where several people and rchants disappeared all of a sudden.
Seii even used the Chakra Isolation Seal to prevent any sort of chakra leak from their bodies.
As long as they didn't use any high-tier Jutsu with intense chakra fluctuations, even if these eight ninjas had sensor-nin among them, they wouldn't be able to detect or perceive Seii and his two friends' chakra.
They hid for several minutes and observed the unidentified ninjas, but they still couldn't figure out what the heck was going on.
Haneda couldn't help but ask, "We have been observing them for a few minutes, but we still can't figure out what's going on."
"Should we just attack and capture them?"
Seii shook his head. He understood Haneda's impatience.
They had a mission to do. They couldn't afford to waste ti investigating the purpose of these suspicious individuals.
Taking action to subdue them seed like the most efficient approach.
But they couldn't do it.
They were still not sure whether these individuals were ninjas from an independent ninja clan hired by so noble of the Land of Fire or rogue ninjas.
If they were rogue ninjas, it was fine to be a bit heavy-handed. But if they were independent ninjas hired by nobles, assaulting them could lead to a serious shitstorm.
Seii expressed his thoughts to both Touma and Haneda, who understood the implications of taking actions without confirming their identities.
Touma was confused, so he simply decided to ask, "So, what do we do now?"
Haneda hesitated a bit. "Should we go there and try to probe their identities?"
Seii nodded, "Yes, that's the only option. If they attack us first, we can capture them without bearing any responsibilities. Anyway, with our strength, subduing them will be an easy job."
"If they don't cooperate, we can knock them out and let Touma use Sharingan Genjutsu to make them confess the truth."
"Let's see if these guys have any leads related to our mission."
Touma nodded.
Haneda also looked resolute. "Okay, let's go with this plan."
As they made up their minds, they canceled the Chakra Isolation Seal and stepped out of their hiding spots before walking toward the eight ninjas in front of them.
They walked in openly, crushing dry twigs under their feet and making sharp snapping sounds, which drew the attention of the eight unidentified ninjas toward them.
anwhile, the eight individuals, who suddenly heard the sound of twigs snapping and feet hitting the rocky surface, snapped their heads toward the three figures approaching them.
"What? Where did they co from? I didn't sense them at all." One Chunin-level ninja from the group muttered in surprise as he looked at the approaching figures.
It was not only him who was surprised.
The other seven ninjas, including the two Jonin-level ninjas, also beca tense.
One Jonin-level ninja asked the Chunin who had just spoken, "Hito, they were hiding so close to us. Did you really not sense them? Your sensory perception can cover at least 500 ters, right?"
Hito, the Chunin and sensor-nin of this group, smiled wryly and replied, "No leader. I didn't sense a thing."
The leader shook his head and responded, "It doesn't matter."
Although the leader was a bit tense at first when Seii and his friends appeared all of a sudden, he didn't dwell on it.
Seeing the opponent in front of him was only three children, who hadn't even hit their teenage years, his tensed nerves cald down.
"Hahaha…to think I almost got a jumpscare because of three kids. How embarrassing." The leader chuckled as he regained his cool.
The other seven also cald down.
After all, it was just three kids. They had chakra, sure. But how powerful could a bunch of random kids be?
Chunin-level?
Perhaps.
Even that was pushing it, as the kids looked like they hadn't even hit puberty yet.
One unidentified Chunin-level ninja chuckled. "Phew…the suddenness of their arrival almost scared . It turns out, it's three children who still drink their mommy's milk."
Another chid in, "Right. And look at that emblem on the left side of the t-shirt of the cold-faced boy. Isn't that the Uchiha clan's symbol?"
"It turns out that these brats are from Konoha."
Another random, unidentified Chunin joined the fray, "Hahaha…this Uchiha brat looks so good. If we can capture him, I bet he will sell for at least a few hundred thousand Ryo."
The unidentified ninjas kept bantering among themselves, not taking Seii, Haneda, and Touma seriously at all.
On the other side, Touma could no longer take the insults at all.
Touma was angry. "You bastards, you dare to sully the na of Uchiha?"
"You dared to call a brat? Do I look like a harmless child to you?"
Hearing this, the Shinobi on the other side laughed even louder.
The other Jonin, who was the vice-captain of the group, laughed and said, "Hahaha…did you hear that? The brat is angry."
One Chunin-level ninja flattered him, "Haha…I heard, vice-captain. I wonder if this brat's Sharingan will pop up or evolve due to sheer anger."
Hito, the sensor-nin, smiled aningfully. "That would be good. We will get a pair of Sharingan then. I heard they fetch good money in the black market."
Another said, "Yes. We didn't score a good bounty for a long ti. It's about ti we cash in."
Hearing their conversation, Seii fell into deep thought.
I see. So, they have dealings with the black market, huh?
Bounty hunters, perhaps?
No. Just because they trash-talked about selling us on the black market doesn't an they are professional bounty hunters.
They can still be from an independent ninja clan or rogue ninjas.
However, it doesn't matter anymore.
They are clearly after our bodies…cough cough…I an, after us.
They clearly plan to capture us, turn us into slaves, and sell us.
In that case, there is no longer any need to hold back.
They recognize that we are from Konoha, and yet they dare to think about kidnapping us.
So, it was them who started the conflict first, right?
Kekekekeke…
Jie jie jie…
While Seii was lost in his thoughts, Touma was nearly seething with anger.
Touma's chest heaved as he brought out the ninja sword from his bracelet's storage seal.
Grabbing the handle of his short sword tightly, Touma was about to charge forward, "You little pieces of shit…"
But before he could move forward, Seii put his hand on his left shoulder and stopped him. "Calm down, Touma."
Uchiha Touma growled in a low voice, "Calm down? How can I calm down? They have insulted the dignity of Uchiha. They are brazenly talking about stealing my Sharingan."
"They are treating like a child."
Seii tilted his head innocently and asked, "But aren't you a child?"
Touma nearly jumped, "What? Why are you siding with them?"
Seii blinked his bright, blue eyes and asked, "But isn't it a fact that you're a child?"
Touma was speechless. Yes, he was technically still a child. But that wasn't the point. It was about his dignity. DIGNITY!!
Touma clenched his left hand into a fist and said, "Seii, my friend. I'm a ninja from Konoha, and they're insulting our ho. We should…"
Seii interjected, "But you are not, though."
Touma exclaid in disbelief, "What?"
Seii smiled warmly while ntally stabbing him with his words, "I an, none of us have graduated from the academy and gotten our official IDs. So, we aren't the official ninjas of Konoha, right?"
"At most, we are trainees."
anwhile, the eight unidentified ninjas watched Seii and Touma bicker with amusent.
After a few seconds, one of the Chunin-level ninja suddenly exclaid, "Snow-white hair. Crystal-blue eyes. The Uchiha brat called him Seii…"
"Hey boss, isn't that white-haired brat Senju Seii, the one with a 25 million Ryo bounty?"
Another Chunin beside him exclaid in shock, "What? Is he that powerful?"
The Jonin, whom the Chunin called boss, scrutinized Seii and clarified, "No. The reason for his high bounty is his identity, not his strength."
"He's the son of Konoha's current Hokage, Senju Tobirama. I heard his skills rivaled Chunin-level ninjas three years ago. But that's probably just Konoha shalessly overglorifying their future generations."
"But there's no need to worry. We have eight people here. Once we kill him and present his head to claim the bounty, we will be swimming in money. No one can guess our identities in the black market, anyway."
"After all, we are not fools like that Kakuzu guy, are we?"
While the leader of the group of unidentified ninjas was lost daydreaming about the 25 million Ryo bounty, he suddenly heard Seii questioning them with a voice filled with confusion and mild amusent.
"Bounty? What bounty?"
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