"Understood, Captain!"
The three reached an agreement. Their right hands slipped into their ninja tool pouches, planning to deal with the guards not far away as quickly as possible.
But then, an abrupt sound of footsteps rang out behind them. At the same time, a surprised, teasing voice followed.
"Huh? So Iwagakure ninjas can use Lightning release?"
As that voice sounded, the three who were about to force their way into the palace and abduct Kazahana Koyuki instantly felt their hair stand on end. Their bodies tensed as a bone chilling sensation wrapped around their hearts at the same time.
"Who's there?"
Almost simultaneously, the three spun around, without the slightest hesitation pulling out kunai and shuriken and hurling them toward the direction where the voice had just come from.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
However, all of their kunai and shuriken struck nothing.
There was no one there.
"What's going on?"
The tension on their faces froze for a moment.
Whoosh!
And right at that moment, the tanned ANBU squad captain sensed a subtle disturbance in the airflow around him.
The corner of his eye flicked backward. Sure enough, a figure was standing there.
The next instant, violent Lightning Release chakra slithered around his body like a swimming snake. With terrifying speed, he twisted around and threw a punch straight at his opponent.
This was a secret technique of Kumogakure. Lightning Chakra Mode.
Even though he had just said that Lightning Release ninjutsu was forbidden, this was no time to worry about that.
It was just that he had only grasped a bit of the surface of this technique.
Reaching the level of the Third or Fourth Raikage was extremely difficult, but even so, he was still faster than an ordinary jonin.
That was why he was able to react first in that split second.
Yet in front of the person behind him, he was still too slow.
Before his punch could land, the other party had already reached out and grabbed his head.
"Interesting. Wearing an Iwagakure forehead protector, yet using Kumogakure's techniques?"
Seal markings spread out from the palm. The Lightning Release chakra that had been surging around the ANBU captain instantly vanished.
Before his fist could fall, his entire body was frozen in place.
"Captain!"
The other two reacted a bit slower than their captain, but only by half a beat.
When they saw their captain inexplicably restrained, they gripped their kunai and stabbed at Aoba from different angles at the same time.
Trying to rescue their captain.
In close quarters combat, there was usually little time to perform ninjutsu.
What was more, in their view, Aoba only had two hands. One hand was already holding their captain. There was no way he could block the attacks from both of them at once.
Unless he let the captain go.
But the outcome disappointed them.
Because the clash happened so suddenly, they still did not know who their opponent was.
The sound of chains clattering rang in their ears. Two chains knocked the kunai out of their hands and at the same time swiftly wrapped around their bodies.
That suffocating sensation, like being coiled by a python—
"Adamantine Sealing Chains! You're Shirakumo Aoba?"
Feeling the chakra in his body being sealed, the Cloud ninja who had earlier been responsible for interrogating intelligence finally got a clear look at Aoba's face and recognized who he was fighting.
"Aren't you supposed to be in Konoha, carrying out the Hokage succession ceremony right now?"
After recognizing Aoba, disbelief filled all three of their faces. This was intelligence personally given to them by the Raikage.
'Is that intelligence fake too?'
"Compared to that, I'm more surprised why you're here."
Aoba did not answer. Light flowed through his eyes, and a faint layer of pale blue chakra instantly covered the hand that was gripping the Kumogakure ANBU captain's head.
At this moment, the ANBU captain's face had already gone blank, his eyes rolling upward, whites showing.
"Bastard, what are you doing to our captain?"
Seeing their captain like this, the other two Cloud ANBU revealed expressions of fear.
"!"
After fully obtaining all of the ANBU captain's memories, Aoba's expression completely cooled.
"Using a fake identity to hire the Grass Village to steal the power of the Land of Snow, while secretly having ANBU pose as Iwagakure ninjas to abduct Koyuki, at the same time framing two villages. Kumogakure, you really planned this well."
"Th… then what kind of jutsu is this?"
The Cloud ninja who had handled intelligence interrogation earlier was completely stunned now. Their plan had been laid bare in an instant.
"Heh!"
Looking at the fear on their faces, Aoba had no intention of explaining anything. The strength in his hand increased slightly.
BOOM!
The next instant, the head in his hand exploded outright.
Blood splashed everywhere, yet not a single drop landed on Aoba. All of it was blown away by an invisible repulsive force.
It splattered across the faces of the remaining two, while the headless corpse, blood spurting out with wet sounds, stood right in front of them.
Such a horrifying scene made their whole bodies shake. The fear in their eyes instantly turned into uncontrollable rage.
"Captain!"
Kumogakure had always valued comrades and despised traitors. Now, witnessing with their own eyes the captain who had once treated them with such favor die before them, they completely forgot their fear.
"You bastard… URGH!"
However, before their curses could even leave their mouths, the chains wrapped around them directly pierced through their hearts.
At the same time, Aoba's scornful voice reached their ears.
"The ones outside will be coming to keep you company very soon!"
Their vision had already begun to blur, but the words ringing in their ears made their bodies tremble violently once more.
"URGH… BASTARD… HHH…"
Clearly trying to say some harsh words or curses, only to have blood well up in their throats and block them.
Their bodies trembled even more violently.
They knew that once captured, their fate was death no matter what. But not even having the chance for a final bit of trash talk made it unbearably stifling.
It was like in a 5v5 game, where your own skill is not bad at all, yet you get spawn camped by a cheater. On top of that, the other side keeps saying things like "taking disciples," while you are stuck because your input method is bugged and cannot even curse their entire family. That feeling of helplessness.
Carrying endless frustration, the two of them finally died with their eyes open.
"Lord Aoba… may I ask what happened? Is there anything you need our help with?"
After Aoba effortlessly dealt with the three Kumogakure ninjas, a guard from the Land of Snow walked up nervously and spoke with some hesitation.
He could not help hesitating. That headless corpse was still standing there, blood gushing out.
What was more, they had no idea what had happened at all.
This was truly killing without batting an eye.
It was only because nearly everyone present knew Aoba that chaos had not broken out.
"These people infiltrated the Land of Snow in secret, trying to abduct Koyuki…"
"What?"
Aoba intended to give a brief explanation, but before he could finish, the guard beside him who had been meek just moments ago instantly changed expression.
"Then is the daimyo in danger right now? We must go protect the daimyo immediately!"
Aoba reached out and pressed a hand on his shoulder, saying somewhat speechlessly, "I'll handle it. Just arrange for people to clean up the scene."
As he spoke, he used a sealing scroll to store away the two relatively intact corpses. As for the headless one, just looking at it made him uncomfortable, so he did not bother.
As for these bodies, he was taking them back for Samui and Mabui to see.
Kumogakure's actions this time were unexpected, yet also within reason.
After all, he was about to make a move against them. He could not exactly forbid them from striking back.
It was just that he was not very broad minded and was a bit angry, so he acted a little more ruthlessly.
As for what to do next, Kumogakure was such a big place. How to handle things in detail might as well depend first on the attitude of the two Hokage secretaries.
After all, it was their hometown. As a boss, he naturally had to show consideration for his subordinates.
They probably would not want…
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