Chapter 60 – Caught!!

Thud!

Raito retracted his hand from the back of Dosu’s head, letting him fall on the ground. Hearing what Dosu had said just now, gears turned in Raito’s head.

Shikamaru who had been listening to the information Dosu had been giving, had a frown on his face. With hand crossed, he stood in deep thought. “So the new hidden village, Otogakure, is one of the Sannin’s, Orochimaru’s base.”

“Mm.” Raito looked at the fallen Dosu and nodded. Due to his skill, [Lie] and experiences from the T&I department, Raito felt that whatever Dosu had said was not false.

Shikamaru rubbed his head in distress. A former missing-nin, who was also a Sannin, in the village, was not in any way a piece of good news. And to top it off, that former Sannin had done something to the only Uchiha in the village.

“We should inform the old man as soon as possible,” Raito mumbled taking out a rope.

“… Hokage-sama may already know about this.” Shikamaru voiced out his thoughts. From what he learned from his father, Shikaku, Shikamaru learned that the village heads would already know about things like this. While most of these cases would end before they can bloom, there were few which would pass like this one, the reason being that the enemy would either be very powerful to control or if the enemy had great control over the Intel.

“Maybe… Well, let’s bring him to the tower first.” Raito kneeled, grabbing Dosu.

“But-” Just as Shikamaru was thinking about how troublesome it would be to bring someone, captured, he saw Dosu disappearing into thin air.

“How could I forget about that?” Shikamaru felt his face twitching madly. Something like inventory was truly a unique technique. Even if he wanted to remember it, he would only remember it for storing non-living things purposes. In these past months, Shikamaru had only seen Raito storing a living human in the inventory twice.

Raito nodded, thinking about his mind-controlling technique. What he had done to Dosu right now was a technique that he got from T&I department called, ‘[Mind Fogging]’. While [Mind Fogging] is considered a basic level technique, it is nonetheless the most vital technique for the newcomers in the T&I department. This technique allows the user to suppress his target’s mind and enter him or her in a hallucinogenic state. But this technique has a big drawback, the user of this technique cannot question the target, requiring a partner to question the suspect.

Standing up and turning back, Raito saw Shikamaru looking at him weirdly.

“What?” Raito questioned.

“Nothing.” Shikamaru sighed then turned his head. It was such a headache to be with common sense defying person.

Shikamaru decided not to think about it anymore. So, he turned his head and looked towards another small cave made by Raito, where Ino was interrogating Kin.

Inside the small cave, there was a table and a couple of chairs.

Kin sat on the chair but her eyes were staring at the void, in front, with her blank looking eyes whereas Ino was resting her head on the table, looking asleep.

It was the result of Ino’s ‘[Mind Body Switch]’, using which she had invaded Kin’s body and mind. In Ino’s viewpoint, she was looking at Kin’s life with her point of view.

Ino’s [Mind Body Switch] allowed her to enter the target body and control them but the technique itself didn’t allow her to read her target’s memory. For that, the Yamanaka clan had another jutsu named, [Mind Memory Flow], allowing the user to suppress the target and read their memory like a video. Ino could not only see but also hear the people talking around Kin and as well as hear Kin’s own thoughts.

[Mind Memory Flow] is the modified and lower version of the [Psycho Mind Transmission]. By using [Psycho Mind Transmission], the user can extract information even if the target has forgotten it or has had it blocked using a special method whereas [Mind Memory Flow] cannot. The advanced version required the user to not only have a high degree of chakra pool as well as control but also more detail knowledge regarding mind structure, its foundation and of course, the emotions.

While [Mind Memory Flow] was a slow method of gaining information, it harvested the most information, if the jutsu user was capable. Just before, Ino wanted to dive into Dosu and Zaku’s mind but she was thoroughly rejected by them. While Dosu had thoroughly rejected her using a seal placed on his mind which even Raito was unable to do anything about, Zaku had a one streak mind with lots of holes in his memory, which made Ino feel like someone had tried memory manipulation on him.

Raito who had entered the cave saw Ino’s sleeping form, he had the sudden urge to pull her cheeks and brush her hair. Controlling his desires, Raito pulled a chair and opted to read a book to increase his skill level.

After Ino was done with weaving through her memories, ‘Kin’ closed her eyes then fell on the ground, small breaths escaping from her mouth indicating that she was still alive.

“What’s wrong with this girl?” Ino groaned, massaging her temples. She looked down at Kin with a disgusted expression before turning back where she saw Raito.

“Raito!” Ino immediately stood up and formed a small smile on her face. “What are you doing here?”

“Nothing. Just waiting for…” Raito looked at Ino then his eyes roamed around, locking into Kin. “Intel.”

“Raito?” Shikamaru walked in the cave but after looking at Ino with a happy expression, he awkwardly scratched his head, turned to face Raito.

“Hmph.” Ino snorted then sat on the chair then started sharing what she had gathered from Kin.

“Kin, orphan, fifteen this year. Originally from a small village in the ‘Land of Earth’. She and her friends were captured at the age of ten and going to be sold as a slave before Orochimaru rescued them.”

“After they were rescued, Orochimaru gave them a chance to get stronger. In the three years following the rescue by Orochimaru, Kin and many of her villagers trained hard, trying to prove themselves. But in the process, many died due to the harsh training environment and…”

Ino suddenly turned quiet as Raito and Shikamaru looked at her.

“Jealousy. The competition in the village was so bad that everyone tried to restrain each other. An incident like that made Kin realize that she had to keep herself low-key. Most of her memories are about training and surviving each day. But even with all the training she did, Kin was only average within the members in the hideout.”

“Hideout? Not the sound village?” Shikamaru voiced his thoughts.

“Mm, she was indeed in a hideout in the ‘Land of Earth’ but where it actually is she has no idea.” Ino showed a helpless expression as she threw her hand upwards.

“…”

“Just two years before, when the ‘Otogakure’ was formed, Kin and many were brought to the hidden village with the sole purpose of completing missions and creating fame for the village, which then helped in establishing the village.”

“Ino, Stop.” Raito stood up raising his head which startled Ino for a bit.

Raito looked at Kin then asked, “Does she know anything about the curse mark or something important?”

Ino shook her head and answered, “She only knows that the curse mark will make the user stronger and the only one who could make the curse marks is Orochimaru. Everyone in Otogakure was training for getting that cursed seal.”

“So… she knows nothing.” Raito sighed then tied up Kin before tossing her in the inventory.

“Most of her memories were of…” Ino sighed thinking about it. The world outside the village was much more dangerous than she had ever thought.

Shikamaru stretched then yawned loudly. “Why do we have to go through all this trouble?”

Raito slapped Shikamaru’s back and rolled his eyes. “It’s a mission and you know it.”

Shikamaru glared resentfully at Raito then followed him back where Shino, Akamaru, and Sasuke were recovering.

Walking outside, Raito could see Shino standing and moving his arms, trying various different Taijutsu positions.

“That’s abnormal.” Ino looked enviably, remembering her own healing period a few months before. Even with Raito’s abnormal healing technique, it took her a couple of days to fully heal from fractures.

“Not really. Aburame clan can heal themselves quickly as long as their hive remains.” Shikamaru answered looking at Shino then back at Ino.

“As long as he can get to the tower.” Raito looked at the unconscious Sasuke and said with a dark tone.

Ino and Shikamaru looked at each other in concern for Raito.

“Raito!” Chōji's loud voice made everyone turn their head and look over.

Chōji stood in front of a grill, fanning the flames and turning the sticks. The smell of the chicken and vegetables smeared in sauce stimulated the nose of whoever smelt it. With few skewers in his hand, Chōji waved, letting everyone have one.

Taking out an ice pack, Raito placed it on Sasuke’s forehead after checking his temperature.

“You are carrying something like that too?” Shikamaru raised his eyebrows. It seems like Raito’s inventory held a bit of everything.

“Yeah,” Raito replied in short, focusing on his stat screen.

“…So troublesome.” Shikamaru looked at Sasuke then at everyone.

Raito who was checking on Sasuke, frowned, then looked towards the tower.

“Naruto and Kiba are taking too long,” Raito commented.

Understanding the meaning behind Raito’s words, Hinata nodded then quickly activated her Byakugan.

“Naruto-kun is fighting alongside Kiba-san against shinobis from Amegakure.” Hinata immediately went into alert mode, hurriedly standing up.

“Hinata.” Raito frowned looking at Hinata. She was always brain-dead when it came to matters about Naruto.

Ignoring her, Raito used ‘[Chakra Sense]’ to find more about the enemy ninjas.

“Two shinobis from Amegakure… one person is using something like the shadow clone… no, its water clone while another person is using earth techniques. I can't find the third member of the team.” Raito frowned. While he could search the area in detail and look for the third member, Raito was short on time.

After finding the details using ‘[Observe]’, Raito stood up, ready to go and with him, pretty much everyone else.

“Raito,” Chōji called Raito and pointed at Sasuke.

Raito quickly turned to face Shino and asked. “Can you bring him along?”

“Mn.” Shino who was beside Sasuke nodded then carried him. With most of the injuries recovered, Shino could do pretty much everything except breaking the bones once again. Along with Sasuke, Shino was also giving Akamaru a lift, as the little dog was still injured.

While Raito tried reconnecting the bones, it would take a ninken specialist to fully heal Akamaru.

Raito nodded then turned around to face everyone and started explaining. “Naruto is trying to match numbers with this Ame shinobi but unlike his shadow clones, his opponent is using water clone, which takes a lot less chakra. And while Kiba is there… trying to help Naruto, he is being pinned by the earth user.”

Raito turned to face the tower and said, “There are no other enemies around in a straight line. Just follow me.”

Everyone gave a nod then with a burst of chakra, disappeared from their spot.

In a relatively open area, just a few kilometers away from the tower, Naruto and Kiba were facing the Ame shinobis.

While one of them was spanning water clones and injuring them from time to time, mostly focused on Naruto and his clones, the another Ame-Genin was using earth techniques to deal heavy damage to Kiba and Naruto and at the same time restricting the two but mostly focusing on Kiba.

Naruto with his dwindling number of clones held kunai in his hand, attacking the Ame shinobi. Even so, the way Naruto looked right now talked about his condition. His hair wet with mud and patches of dirt on his clothes, cuts on his clothes and skin, and the blood dripping out.

Comparing with the Ame-Genin he was fighting, who still had no wounds on his bodies and still had time to tease Naruto, it could be seen that Naruto was not faring well.

“Just give up the scroll.” The Ame shinobi clone jumped clashing with the Naruto’s clone. It got destroyed by Naruto but the water clone reformed, slashing and destroying the clone.

“Argh, what’s happening?” Naruto looked at the water clones around him. The fight has been going for a long time but the result was not positive. With each clone destroyed, he was losing chakra whereas his opponent seems to have not lost much of chakra even if his clones were destroyed.

“Come out and fight with me fairly,” Naruto shouted while remaining vigilant.

“Fair?” the Ame shinobi laughed, covering his face like an evil maniac then took out his kunai. “You want fair?”

“I’ll give you a fair death.” With a loud shout, all Ame shinobi’s clone jumped targeting Naruto.

“Take this.” “[Wind release – Great breakthrough]”

Torrent of wind surrounded Naruto then exploded outwards destroying everything near him.

The Ame-Genin and his clones lay struck on the trees and rock around, some dissolving into a puddle of water while some turned into a gooey black mud.

Kiba kept a distance from Naruto knowing about his wind techniques. Fighting with the earth user, Kiba was able to keep up with him but without Akamaru, his fighting power was nearly cut by half.

As the wind died down, Naruto looked at his surroundings for the Ame shinobi. A small but victorious smile appearing on his face, Naruto clenched his fist and shouted in low voice, “Take that.”

Swish!

Naruto, who was cheering just now, felt his mind frozen as he turned around to face a sickle stopped in front of him. Between him and the sickle, Kiba stood holding the sickle with his bare hands. The jagged teeth of the sickle cutting into his flesh, dripping red blood.

“Heh.” The Ame-Genin laughed, jumping back into the puddle of water.

“My hand!” Kiba looked at the wound and cursed. Kiba tried moving and clenching his hand but it didn’t.

“Kiba!?” Naruto grabbed Kiba and jumped using chakra, dodging from the rocks coming their way.

“Kiba, what happened!?” Feeling Kiba trembling, Naruto asked in worry.

“That sickle was poisoned. Damn it!” Kiba answered with gritted teeth. Clearly, he hadn’t expected this situation, otherwise, he would have not touched the sickle bare hands.

“[Earth Prison]” The rocks around Kiba and Naruto transformed into shackles and binding them.

Naruto and Kiba were caught off guard and now they had to pay the price. The shackles made up of rocks were so hard that even with Naruto’s chakra enhancement it was impossible to break it.

The water remnants form the jutsu and puddles hovered into air transforming into sharp needles. “[Water Needle]”

“Damn.” Kiba struggled, looking at the water needles, ready to rain down. He remembered the ice needles made by the Haku on the bridge a few months back.

Naruto who was struggling looked at Kiba then looked at the water needles in front of him. An unwillingness born from within as chakra started seeping into his tenketsu.

“Definitely not… going to…” Nobody noticed it as Naruto’s eye turned from blue to red.

“Argh!” Naruto’s muscle bulged as he struggled, making cracks on the earthen shackles. With a sudden burst of raw chakra the earth shackles broke down and the Ame-Genins were thrown back.

Seeing the chance in front of him, Naruto quickly destroyed the shackles around Kiba and jumped into the bushes, trying to run away.

“No, you don’t.” The Earth user Ame-Genin hurriedly stood up and made a hand seal, covering Naruto and Kiba with even more rocks, capable of totally restraining them.

“Argh!” The treatment given to Naruto this time wasn’t a bit gentle. His skin was scrapped by the rocks, making various injuries in his body.

The session stopped as the Ame-Genin walked in front of Naruto. Removing his face mask, he grabbed Naruto’s hair in a rough manner and asked, “Where is the scroll?”

“Heh, Ptui.” Naruto spat at the Ame-Genin’s face then he took a big breath in.

Kiba who was unable to move also took a deep breath in.

Seeing them taking deep breaths, the Ame Genin who had taken off his mask hurriedly wore it back, looking at his teammate who was holding the shackles jutsu.

Naruto smiled then bit his lips, “Baka, ‘[Wind Release: Clone Explosion]’.”

Both ‘Kiba’ and ‘Naruto’ started swelling and instantly reached the maximum size, giving bright light off.

“Shit!”

‘Kiba’ and ‘Naruto’ exploded and with them, a huge force also erupted. The devastating power of wind spread in all directions, destroying everything around them as well as tens of meters around.

The real Naruto and Kiba had already made a switch with Naruto’s transformed clones and were now hiding at the treetops, looking at the scene below, recovering from the fight earlier.

“We got them,” Naruto whispered. His one hand still grabbing onto Kiba’s shoulder.

“They are still there,” Kiba commented, drawing Naruto’s attention.

In the rolling dust settled down, there were two figures covered by an earth wall. The surrounding area gave the marks of destruction but the earth wall in front of the two Ame-Genin only had several cracks. It stood tall and proud, fulfilling its job, protecting the two from the wind-clone bomb.

It was unexpected by Naruto but the two of the Ame-Genins had got off with just a little bit of injury and nothing more.

“Damn.” Naruto cursed for his lack of thinking. Last time when he had sparred with Raito, Raito had also used the same tactic then defeated him. At that time, Kakashi-sensei had told him what his mistakes were and how he should have done in this type of situation.

“Ahh!” Kiba screamed making Naruto turn back and at the same time taking out his kunai, ready for attack.

There was another Ame-Genin with tall and burly physique, bandages covering most of his face and a face mask like the other Ame-Genins, standing behind Kiba. His kunai had lodged into Kiba's shoulder as blood escaped from the entry wound.

“I have finally confirmed that you two are not clones.” The burly Ame-Genin smiled then teased with his kunai before taking it out of Kiba’s shoulder, making Kiba cry out in more pain.

As the kunai was pulled, blood spurted out dying Kiba's jacket red. Kiba would have probably dodged that attack if not for poison but alas, he could only glare at the Ame-Genin in anger, right now.

Naruto’s face twisted in anger as he lowered his center of gravity, ready to attack.

“How?” Kiba asked but the Ame Genin was now focused at Naruto.

“Move and I will kill your friend.” The burly Ame Genin had one hand on Kiba’s shoulder, his finger digging into the wound while his other hand, held kunai pointing on Kiba’s carotid artery.