socalfunplaces Chapter 366 Retaliation
Chapter 366 Retaliation
Chapter 366 Retaliation
Silently looked up at him.
Promise me.
Chi Quan looked at her.
"it is good."
Silent stared into his eyes for three seconds, as if judging how much credit this "good" was worth.
"I'll accept your 'okay.' If you get out of bed again, I'll take your knife away."
Chi Quan's expression changed.
Jingyin noticed the change in his eyes.
"Scared?"
"I'm not afraid."
"Then why did your eyes change?"
"Because you don't carry a knife."
"I'll take it for you." Shizune picked up the first-aid kit and stood up. "Remember that."
she left.
Kagura waited for her at the door for a moment, and the two left together. Before the door closed, Kagura glanced back at Izumi.
"Hisai said that your other half of the bloodline is unlike any known bloodline. I've seen many strange things, from Kirigakure to Kumogakure, from Sunagakure to Iwagakure. I don't recognize this half of yours. But it doesn't seem to be from outside. It's like it's always been inside you, just suppressed by someone in some way."
Chi Quan looked at her.
"Kagura-san, do you believe in things that are 'born'?"
Kagura thought for a moment.
"Believe. Some things aren't learned or inherited; they're etched into your bones from the moment you're born. For example..."
"Like what?"
Kagura shook her head before she could finish speaking.
"Once Jiujing is feeling better, let him undergo another thorough examination. Perhaps the answer lies with him."
"Say it," she said, closing the door and leaving.
When the news reached Konoha, Shikamaru was writing the third version of his report in the Hokage Building.
Tsunade slammed a blood-soaked intelligence report in front of him. The handwriting on the paper was crooked and blurred in some places by the blood, but the general content could still be made out—"Western border of the Land of Fire, Kushida Village, 23 people, limited to 48 hours, Izumi alone in exchange for the whole village."
Shikamaru picked up the newsletter, read it, and put it down.
Who wrote it?
"The Allied Forces." Tsunade's fist was still pressed on the table, her knuckles white. "The remnants of the Lightning, Wind, and Earth Kingdoms. Their ambush failed last time, so this time they've resorted to underhanded tactics."
Shikamaru leaned back in his chair, staring at the unlit light on the ceiling.
They thought Chi Quan would go.
"They're betting he'll go," Tsunade said. "The news has already spread. Kushida Village may be small, but it's close to the main road to the western border, and there are many merchant caravans coming and going. The whole Land of Fire will know in less than half a day."
"Does Chi Quan know?"
"Shizune said he saw the intelligence while changing his bandages; it was Kiba who brought it in." Tsunade sat down and loosened her coat collar a little. "That big mouth of Kiba."
Shikamaru shook his head.
"Even if Ya doesn't say anything, he'll find out. It hasn't been as cold in Luo lately, and Helian's side has been quiet for two days, which has made him even more vigilant."
Tsunade lit a cigarette, took a drag, and the smoke she exhaled spread between the two of them.
What do you think he will do?
Shikamaru didn't answer immediately. He recalled the look in Ikezumi's eyes when she asked him for that outfit last night in the hospital room—it wasn't impulsive, it was calculating. Ikezumi was never one to be driven by emotions.
"He won't go to Kushida Village."
Tsunade paused for a moment, her fingers holding the cigarette still.
"Are you so sure?"
"His trip to Kushida Village was exactly what the Allied Forces planned. They didn't want a hostage exchange; they wanted him to leave Konoha's protective barrier and the medical department's perimeter, to go to a place where they could set a trap beforehand. Those twenty-three people in Kushida Village were bait from the very beginning."
Tsunade flicked the cigarette ash into the empty teacup on the table.
"If you don't go, those twenty-three people will die."
"Ikezumi won't let them die." Shikamaru sat up straight. "But he won't go to his death. He'll do it another way."
Tsunade looked at him for a while, then put out her cigarette.
"You're helping him come up with a solution."
"I don't need your help." Shikamaru stood up and walked to the window. "He's already made up his mind."
Outside the window, the roof of the medical ward gleamed grayish-white in the afternoon light. Shikamaru noticed that the curtains of the rightmost ward on the third floor were slightly ajar, so he couldn't see who was inside, but he knew that Izumi was standing there.
Ikezumi did not go to Kushida Village.
That afternoon, after the news broke, he changed into his dark-colored clothes in the hospital room. His left arm was still in a sling, but the sleeves of his jacket were wide enough that it wasn't very noticeable from the outside. He tucked the knife behind his waist, concealing it with the hem of his jacket. Just then, Shizune pushed open the door to deliver medicine, and upon seeing his attire, she nearly dropped the medicine tray.
Where are you going?
"Toilet."
"You don't need to dress like this in the restroom."
Chi Quan didn't answer and walked past her. Jingyin reached out to stop him, but he stepped aside, his movement slow but just enough for her to miss. Jingyin stomped her foot in anger, turned around and chased after him, but there was no one left in the corridor.
She ran to the stairwell, looked down, but saw no one. She looked up, but saw no one either.
Chi Quan neither went upstairs nor downstairs.
He went into the empty storage room next door.
He climbed out of the storage room window, stepped onto the first-floor awning, and jumped onto the path behind the medical department. The whole process took less than ten seconds. His left arm didn't move, but the movement pulled at the wound on his abdomen, causing him to frown, but he didn't stop.
The path leads to the back door of the medical department. Exiting through the back door and passing through a small grove of trees, one reaches the western wall of Konoha. There are ANBU patrols on the wall, but Chi Quan knows the changing of the guard schedule all too well. He's been staying at the medical department for days, and every night he wakes up to hear footsteps on the wall. He's memorized when the shifts change, when they cross over, and when there are any gaps in the patrol schedule.
He waited for four minutes under the wall.
The moment the two members of the Dark Guard passed each other, he flipped over.
No one noticed.
Forty li northeast of Kushida Village, outside the western border, lies the Allied Forces' temporary camp.
The ninjas from the three countries gathered together, their tents all different in style. The black canvas tents from the Land of Lightning were the sturdiest, the earthen-yellow tents from the Land of Wind were scattered around, and the gray tents from the Land of Earth were pitched at the very back, resembling a cluster of mounds. In the middle of the camp, a fire burned, and a large pot sat on top of it. The contents of the pot were unclear, but the fumes emanating from it were a mixture of herbs and rust.
A scarred ninja from the Land of Lightning sat by a fire, sharpening a short sword. The sound of the blade striking the whetstone was harsh and monotonous.
"That spring isn't coming," said a female ninja from the Land of Wind beside him. Her voice was hoarse, as if her throat had been sanded. "Half of the forty-eight hours have passed, and there's been no movement from Konoha."
"He'll come." The scarred man didn't stop what he was doing. "With this kind of person, if you mess with the people around him, he'll definitely come."
"He's not that kind of person," the female ninja shook her head. "I checked. Ichi Izumi's file in Konoha—not his mission record, but his psychological evaluation—concluded that he has high independence, low social dependence, and is not suitable for traditional hostage exchange strategies."
The scarred man finally stopped and glanced at her.
Speak like a human.
"What I mean is, arresting twenty-three people isn't enough for him. He's not the kind of person who would walk into a trap for twenty-three strangers."
The scarred man sheathed his dagger, stood up, walked to the edge of the camp, and looked toward Kushida Village.
The village was far away and out of sight; all that could be seen was that the sky in that direction was a bit darker than elsewhere, as if someone had smeared a layer of gray on the sky.
"Then catch more."
The female ninja frowned: "It's no use arresting them again. If he doesn't care about twenty-three people, he won't care about fifty or a hundred."
He's not a saint, he's a ninja.
"Even ninjas have humanity."
"His humanity isn't in crowded places," the female ninja said, "but in his squad."
The scarred man turned around.
"You mean the people who arrested him?"
"Shikamaru, Kiba, that kid from the Hyuga clan, or Shizune," the female ninja said. "Just grab any one of them, and he'll come right away. I promise."
The scarred man remained silent for a moment.
"We can't get into Konoha Village. After the last ambush, Konoha's western barrier was reinforced with two layers, so even birds flying over it are swept away by the chakra net."
"No need to go into Konoha." The female ninja stood up, brushing the dust off her pants. "Wait for them to come out. Ikezumi's injuries haven't healed yet; he can't stay in the medical ward forever. Konoha will send people out to investigate Kushida Village. As long as someone comes out..."
She didn't finish her sentence.
A muffled thud came from the rear of the camp; it wasn't an explosion, but the sound of someone being struck hard and falling to the ground. The scarred man and the female ninja turned around simultaneously, their hands on their weapons.
Then they saw a person.
He stood under the large oak tree behind the camp, dressed in dark clothes, his left arm in a sling, a sheathed knife in his right hand. His face was half-obscured by the shadows, but the scarred man recognized the eyes—the eyes of Chi Quan. He had seen them in intelligence photos from the last operation; the real person was even colder than the photograph.
"You—" The scarred man's voice caught in his throat.
Chi Quan didn't speak to him.
He drew his sword from behind his waist, but didn't unsheathe it, using it as a club. The first Chunin from the Land of Lightning who rushed at him was struck in the back of the head and fell to the ground. The second one lunged from the left, but Izumi dodged to the side, the scabbard piercing the man's ribs. The man staggered back two steps, kneeling on the ground, unable to get up.
The third was a Jonin from the Land of Wind, wielding a pair of kunai and moving swiftly. Izumi was even faster—not in terms of physical speed, but in terms of reaction speed. The man had barely raised his hand when Izumi had already taken a half-step to the right, the kunai grazing past his ear. Izumi's scabbard struck his wrist, knocking the kunai from his hand. A second blow struck the back of his knee, sending him crashing to his knees. A third blow struck the back of his neck, sending him face-first into the mud.
It took less than ten seconds.
The scarred man finally drew his knife and charged towards Chi Quan.
Chi Quan watched his movements but didn't move.
When the scarred man was within three steps, Chi Quan suddenly took a step forward, the scabbard sliding across the outside of the man's forearm and tapping the inside of his elbow. The scarred man's entire right arm went numb, and he almost dropped the knife. He gritted his teeth and gripped it, reaching for Chi Quan's collar with his left hand. Instead of retreating, Chi Quan advanced, his shoulder slamming into the man's chest, the scabbard held horizontally against his throat.
The scarred man was forced back three steps by the impact, his back hitting a tree.
Chi Quan's scabbard pressed against his Adam's apple, not too hard, just enough to make him breathless.
"Where are the people from Kushida Village?" Izumi's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.
The scarred man stared at him without saying a word.
Chi Quan raised the scabbard half an inch.
"In the depression to the east," the female ninja's voice came from the side. Her weapon was still tucked into her belt, and her hands were raised to her sides, indicating no resistance. "Twenty-three, all alive. We only captured them, we didn't kill them. We were just kidding when we said we'd kill them."
Chi Quan glanced at her, but didn't remove the scabbard from the scarred man's Adam's apple.
"Whose idea was this?"
"Him." The female ninja gestured towards the scarred man with her chin. "The Land of Lightning's plan. We, the Land of Wind, disagree, but he has the final say."
.
Chi Quan sheathed his sword. The scarred man slid down the tree and sat down, coughing while clutching his throat.
Chi Quan turned around and looked at the female ninja.
How many people are there in total?
The female ninja hesitated for a moment.
"Originally forty-seven. Eight were killed in the last ambush, leaving thirty-nine, distributed across three camps. This is the main camp, with twelve men. There are two smaller camps to the east and north, responsible for guarding the hostages and logistics."
Chi Quan counted the people lying on the ground. He had taken down six people since he came in, plus the scarred man and the female ninja, making a total of eight.
Four others are not present.
"What about the other four?"
"patrol."
Chi Quan nodded.
"Take me to the hostages."
The female ninja looked at him, as if trying to determine if it was a trap.
Chi Quan waited for her for a second.
"Take me there, and I'll let you go."
I don't believe it.
"You don't have to believe me," Chi Quan said, "but if you don't take me with you, you'll collapse right now."
The female ninja glanced at her companions lying scattered on the ground, then at the bandage sling over Chi Quan's left arm. There was no blood on the bandage, but she knew that beneath it lay a penetrating wound from a week ago. This man, with that kind of injury, had sneaked into their main camp alone and taken down six men with a scabbard that hadn't even been drawn.
She swallowed hard.
"Come with me."
In the low-lying area to the east, twenty-three villagers from Kushida Village were imprisoned in three makeshift cellars constructed using earth-shaking techniques.
The cellar wasn't deep, but it was covered with a thick layer of earth. There was no ladder, and if someone fell in, they couldn't climb back up. Chi Quan walked to the edge of the cellar and looked down. It was dark and he couldn't see clearly, but he could hear people talking quietly down there, and a child crying.
"Loosen the rope," Ikezumi said to the female ninja.
The female ninja ordered someone to bring ropes and lower them into the cellar. One by one, the villagers climbed up. One old man, who had difficulty walking, was helped up from below by a young man. Chi Quan stood by and watched, his knife already sheathed in his waistband, his right hand hanging at his side, his fingers slightly curled.
After the last villager came up, Chi Quan said something to the female ninja.
"You can leave now."
The female ninja was stunned.
"real?"
"Really. But before you leave, please pass on a message to the Allied Forces."
"What did you say?"
Chi Quan looked at her.
"If you arrest twenty-three people, I'll arrest twenty-three of you. If you arrest a hundred next time, I'll arrest a hundred of you. If you kill one, I'll kill one. If you kill two, I'll kill two. Chi Quan doesn't need to show his face; his knife will do the deed."
The female ninja broke out in a cold sweat on her back.
She recalled the sentence on the psychological evaluation report—"High independence, low social dependence." At the time, she thought it meant that this person wouldn't take risks for others. Now she understood that it meant this person wouldn't play by other people's rules.
He doesn't take the hostage exchange route.
He chose the path of reciprocal retaliation.
As Chi Quan led twenty-three villagers toward Konoha, news from the Allied Forces' northern camp reached the main camp.