Hagoromo Estate.
Rumble!
Bang!
Clang!
Facing the massive storm of wind blades released by the Hagoromo defenses, the invading enemies were well-prepared. Three of them simultaneously perford a combined Fire Style jutsu, overwhelming the wind and pushing toward the Hagoromo high-ranking officials.
Puff!
An elder of the Hagoromo clan attempted to counter with ninjutsu, but a kunai bypassed his reinforced inner armor and pierced through his chest.
"Heh. I know the Hagoromo clan's ninjutsu is powerful, and you have techniques specifically to counter Fire Style. But... being a ninja is an experience-based profession. No matter how much chakra you have or how strong your jutsu are, without combat experience, you are rely lambs for the slaughter."
The assassin, wearing a Hidden Rain Village headband, pulled out the kunai with a cold sneer.
Thud!
The Hagoromo elder spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed, dead.
As famous nobles in the Land of Fire, the Hagoromo certainly had defenses, but the enemy had spent considerable effort to dismantle them. They knew how to handle the clan's high chakra volu and destructive power: they targeted the clan's fatal weakness—their lack of real-world combat experience compared to village ninjas who regularly executed life-or-death missions.
If the elite combat forces of the Hagoromo hadn't been lured away for negotiations, they might have been able to support each other. But... there are no "ifs" in war.
"Elder!"
Swoosh! Swoosh!
All across the Hagoromo estate, unknown ninja forces struck simultaneously. Seeing the high-ranking guardian ninjas fall, the clansn's eyes turned red with rage.
Splatter!
Blood blossoms wilted across the grounds. mbers of the Hagoromo clan fell one by one, and the hired guards followed suit. The leader of the raid looked over the field of corpses, his eyes gleaming with a manic excitent.
"There are still ten little ones undergoing the trial in the Valley of the Resting Wind. Should we ambush them, or just charge straight in? Forget it, let's ambush. It wouldn't be good to lose too many more n."
The leader looked at his remaining squad and made a quick judgnt.
"How interesting. I didn't expect an accidental harvest."
After the group left, a figure erged from the darkness. Looking at the corpses on the ground, he licked his lips.
On the road to the Valley of the Resting Wind.
Swoosh!
Hagoromo Ken squeezed every drop of chakra from his body, using the tailwinds to propel himself forward at top speed. The gold-rimd glasses on his nose were shattered, his suit was soaked in blood, and a steady stream of red flowed from a cut on his forehead.
"Damn it... damn that Gato."
He regretted it now. He regretted not believing in the strength of the Konoha team when Tonbo Tobitake suggested upgrading the mission rank. But there was no ti for regrets. Now, his only goal was to reach the Konoha ninjas and tell them to take the clan's heirs and run.
Since Gato dared to use such thods, the high-ranking clansn who went to negotiate were likely already dead. His only hope was that Konoha could protect the survivors.
Behind him, four figures pursued him relentlessly. They wore gas masks, looking at Hagoromo Ken with cruel indifference.
Back at the research site, Tonbo Tobitake suddenly stopped his movents. He began packing everything away with clinical efficiency.
"Eh? Captain, why are you packing up?" Inuzuka Kairo asked.
Tonbo sighed. "No choice. Our mission paynt is about to go up in smoke."
The worries he had earlier had finally materialized.
Poof!
Before Kairo could say another word, Tonbo vanished from the spot.
"Why would the Captain say that? Does the Hagoromo clan dare to withhold paynt?" Kairo was confused. This wasn't a foreign land; in the Land of Fire, almost no noble dared to stiff a Konoha bill.
Abura Shenra turned to Hyuga Ren. "The Captain must have discovered sothing. Prepare for battle. Pull everyone back first."
Ren nodded, his veins bulging. "Eight o'clock... nine o'clock..."
As Ren called out the coordinates, Kairo and Shenra moved to haul the ten juniors back.
"What's going on? I still have stamina! Why are you pulling back?"
"Yeah! I just started getting a feel for the wind nature! This is going to ruin my progress!"
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"
The ten Hagoromo youths, still full of energy, were indignant at being dragged back so abruptly.
"Shut up and stay put," Shenra commanded. Countless black insects sward out from his body, forming a dark, buzzing cloud around them. The sight terrified the juniors into silence, though they secretly planned to file a complaint later. How dare Konoha threaten their employers?
On the cliff edge of the Valley.
Hagoromo Ken's leg had been pierced by a large senbon. Enduring the agony, he tried to limp into the valley.
"Heh. So this is the Valley of the Resting Wind? Thinking of asking those Konoha brats for help? How naive. Even if they knew, they'd just die alongside you at the hands of us four Rain brothers," the leader of the pursuing ninjas sneered.
He looked into the valley with disdain. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out three senbon to finish off Hagoromo Ken.
Zip! Zip!
Thud! Thud!
Clang!
"What?!"
The Rain captain sensed danger. He flicked the senbon ant for Ken to block a kunai aid at his own throat. However, his three teammates weren't so lucky. All three were struck through the throat simultaneously—instant kills.
"Who's there?!"
The Rain captain slamd several smoke bombs onto the ground. Within seconds, the thick smoke was dispersed by the valley winds, but he had already vanished. He reappeared behind a large rock, heart racing as he surveyed the area. His three companions lay dead.
He broke into a cold sweat. He had been a hair's breadth away from death. Who was this?
"Hey. Weren't you asking who I am? Why did you run so fast?"
Tonbo Tobitake appeared right beside him, smiling pleasantly.
Swish!
The Rain ninja's reflexes were sharp; he stabbed a kunai toward Tonbo.
Thud!
"Let's see what happened."
Tonbo was intimately familiar with the techniques of the Hidden Rain. In an instant, he severed the tendons in the man's limbs, pinned him to the rock wall by his throat, and pressed a hand to his forehead.
The Psychic Tunnel erged.
Countless mories, like droplets in a great river, flowed through the void. Tonbo skimd through them rapidly, his nine years of experience allowing him to find the key points in seconds.
"I see. An assassination mission to cooperate with others and wipe out the Hagoromo clan."
Through the mories, the full picture beca clear. The "strength" the Hagoromo clan relied on—their gear and rcenaries—had been systematically dismantled through targeted sabotage. Not only was their intelligence leaked, but several "hired" guards were actually spies who turned on them at the critical mont. The Hagoromo were overwheld and slaughtered.
Crack!
Tonbo twisted the man's neck, killing him instantly. He brought the body over to the other three, used his Mind Reading Technique to verify the intel once more, and then pulled out a specialized storage scroll. Four "Corpse" kanji appeared in the center of the scroll as he sealed the bodies inside.
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