Chapter 247: Surprise Attack
"So, after disappearing for a few months, we've found traces of the Akatsuki in the Land of Sand?" Sakura asked.
The pink-haired girl held her hot tea in both hands. Her lively eyes sparkled in the steam rising from the cup as she looked eagerly at the man in front of her.
This was an izakaya in a large city in the Land of Wind. The three members of Squad 14 were currently sitting cross-legged around a low tea table in the shop.
Shino, who was sitting opposite Sakura, had a scroll spread out in his hands. It was the latest mission report. He raised his eyelids, glanced at Sakura, and said, "That's right. But the problem isn't that simple."
Shino's expression was not as relaxed or cheerful as the girl's. After reading the entire scroll, he actually felt a heavy weight in his heart.
What a bother...
He glanced at Sakura, who was completely oblivious to the situation, and Terumi, who was a complete rookie. The man, who was approaching thirty, let out a Shikamaru-style sigh.
It was said that they had discovered an outer member of the Akatsuki, but in fact... Kakashi's genjutsu hadn't been able to get much information. The man's brain had been placed under a sealing jutsu by the Akatsuki, making it impossible for him to leak information to the outside world.
Kakashi and Hyuga Hotaru had personally led a team to escort the man back to Konoha and handed him over to the Yamanaka clan, in an attempt to dig out the intelligence buried deep in his mind.
But an accident had happened.
The scroll that had been urgently sent to Shino's hands mentioned what had happened next—the sealing jutsu set by the Akatsuki was much more advanced than Konoha had imagined. When the Yamanaka clan's secret jutsu had delved deep into the spy's head to probe for information, it had accidentally triggered the jutsu.
As a result, the man's head was destroyed on the spot by the sealing jutsu. Even the Yamanaka clan member who was casting the secret jutsu was affected and had suffered serious mental damage.
Then, the sealing jutsu had also sent the contents of the last scene the spy had seen, in the form of some long-range ninjutsu, to a distant place.
"So in reality, we only know that he is a subordinate of 'Sasori' from the Akatsuki, and that he might have companions here," Shino said, taking a small sip of the sake on the table and shaking his head. "We don't know anything else..."
"This operation can be said to have alerted the enemy. The Akatsuki already knows that we've captured one of their subordinates. The intelligence obtained from his mind may not be effective anymore."
"See for yourselves," he said, putting down his sake cup and handing the scroll on the table to Haruno Sakura.
Sakura took the scroll and quickly read it. Having read hundreds of millions of words of web novels in her previous life, she had mastered the skill of reading ten lines at a glance. She quickly skipped the meaningless parts of the text and her gaze fell on the most crucial parts.
As she read, the bright smile in her eyes gradually faded, and her expression became grave and serious.
"So, we must, before 'Sasori' moves his intelligence personnel and department..." Sakura said faintly, her eyelids lowered, "act first and capture all of them!"
"Yes. We can't wait for Kakashi and Hyuga Hotaru to get back here," Shino said, holding the sake cup to his lips and staring at the ice ninja in front of him. "Sakura, you listen up. Squad 2 is not here. Among the Anbu squads currently carrying out missions in the Land of Wind, our Squad 14 is the highest-ranking and also the strongest..."
"Captain, I understand what you mean. We are the only ones who have the best chance of completing this mission," Sakura interjected.
Shino nodded and drained the sake in his cup in one gulp.
"Right now, you are the only one among us who has the confidence to face a 'Kage'-level opponent head-on!" Shino said in a deep voice, putting his cup down heavily on the table. "Once we encounter a member of the 'Akatsuki' in the mission, only you can cover our retreat. This is why the mission can only be given to us."
At this moment, a waiter came over with a tray to serve the food. The grave look on Shino's face instantly disappeared. He glanced at the waiter and said with a smile, "This is also why I chose to eat here!"
His smile was hearty, but with a deeper meaning.
The first thing he had done after receiving the intelligence was to bring the team here directly, without even leaving time for an explanation.
Obviously, it was not for a meal.
Haruno Sakura smiled knowingly. Her smile had a bit more coldness than Shino's heartiness, and she said with a hidden meaning, "Hn, the food is served quickly, and the main course is also very delicious. The captain has good taste. This is indeed a good choice..."
Her beautiful, gem-like eyes gradually became sharp. Her gaze inadvertently swept past Shino's shoulder and glanced at the other people in the shop.
That's right. The other people here all had the faint feeling of chakra.
They were not ordinary people... but Sasori's subordinates, spies who were gathering intelligence for him!
This was based on the intelligence obtained from interrogating that man on the scroll. And this place was precisely one of Sasori's intelligence strongholds!
"Then we should also start eating," Terumi said with a faint smile on her face. Her hands were clasped in front of her chest, and her words also had a hidden meaning.
By this time, she had also finished reading the scroll that Shino had handed her and knew why he had brought them here.
—Before the enemy found out that their intelligence had been leaked and had withdrawn from here, they would take down this stronghold first!
The three of them's gazes met in mid-air for an instant, and they nodded almost imperceptibly.
This lunch for Squad 14... the main course was precisely these spies who were disguised as izakaya staff!
The instant the waiter put down the food...
A sudden change occurred!
"Do it!" the male waiter suddenly roared. Under the cover of the tray, he had, at some point, drawn a kunai. At the same time as he shouted, his figure shot up!
With a single leap, in a flash, the cold edge of the kunai was already approaching Shino!
Shino was neither alarmed nor angry. The corners of his mouth curled up in a half-smile. The opponent was, after all, just a spy responsible for gathering intelligence. His skills were naturally no threat to him, who was at the elite Jonin level.
What's more, he had expected this in his heart.
Shino immediately took a step back, dodging the kunai.
He had originally been sitting cross-legged on a soft cushion. With this one retreat, his body straightened up, and his nimble and tall figure instantly loomed over the ambushing waiter.
"You're not poisoned?" The Konoha ninja seemed to be completely unaffected by the poison hidden in the sake. His still-agile skills left the ambusher astonished!
"Hmph!" Shino sneered, and with a fierce kick from his left leg, he sent the table flying.
BANG—!
The fierce heavy kick stirred up a whistling wind. It sent the low table, along with the newly served dishes, smashing into the waiter's body. The surging force mercilessly sent him flying several dozen meters away, destroying all the tables and wooden railings in his path. Finally, he hit the wall, making a dull, loud sound.
The waiter's body then went limp and fell to the ground, unable to rise again.
Shino didn't even look at him. His eyes darted around. The instant he had kicked the waiter, his cold gaze had already turned to the other people in the shop.
At the same time as the waiter had launched his attack—
The customers sitting in the corners of the shop, the waiters coming and going, and the bartender behind the bar had all dropped their disguises, drawn their weapons, and were rushing towards them!
And on the other side, Sakura's movements were just as fast.
At the same time as the waiter had launched his surprise attack, the ninjutsu in her hand had already completed its hand seals.
"Water Style... uh, a ninjutsu I came up with on the spot, so Haruno Sakura hasn't thought of a name for it yet!"
Sakura suddenly spat out the tea she had been holding in her mouth. Under her chakra control, the green tea liquid turned into two water snakes, which went around the waiter that Shino was dealing with, their target the enemies who were stirring restlessly not far away.
The jade-green long snakes shot out from the girl's palm like sharp arrows, cutting through the air with a sharp whistle, and rushed towards the enemy with an unstoppable force!
"Don't kill them!" Seeing that Sakura's ninjutsu seemed to have the intention of opening a few holes in the enemy, Shino quickly reminded her.
"Hn!" Haruno Sakura nodded. Her slender fingers flew like butterflies, instantly changing the hand seals, and the ninjutsu also changed with agility. The water snakes, which had originally been aimed at their vital points, now shook their heads and changed direction. The sharp teeth in their mouths also retracted, and their movements changed from pouncing to coiling.
Swish, swish— The water snakes' movements were extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, they had shuttled across the battlefield, and from under the feet of the unsuspecting enemies, they had coiled up, instantly binding them tightly.
In an instant, all the enemies in front of her were controlled by Sakura.
To prevent them from biting their tongues to commit suicide or biting a poison pouch in their mouths or something, Sakura had also controlled the snakes' heads to specifically jam their mouths, and with a pull and a tug, she had dislocated the enemies' jaws.
By the way, the inspiration for this posture came from Kakuzu's tentacles...
Terumi Yūzuki had not been idle either. The genjutsu she had been brewing in her hands was cast, stunning an enemy not far to the side who was about to release a ninjutsu. Then, Shino had followed up with a fire jutsu. After a roar, the remaining fish that had escaped the net were also dealt with, and the world was thoroughly quieted down.
In just a few short seconds, this spy stronghold disguised as an izakaya had been completely cleaned out by the three of them.
To use Squad 14's combat power to deal with this group of rogue-nin and spies who were not proficient in combat was complete overkill.
Haruno Sakura had only just cast a small ninjutsu. It didn't even count as a warm-up, and the battle was already over. She was still a little unsatisfied.
Next was to use the water snakes to knock out these beaten-down enemies, tie them up in a bundle, and hang them upside down from the ceiling.
Preparing to interrogate them one by one with genjutsu.
Just as Terumi was about to cast the jutsu, someone suddenly woke up.
"Ugh..." The waiter who had been kicked unconscious by Shino woke up with a groan. He had been woken up by the rough movements of Sakura's ninjutsu. He struggled to open his eyes, and the figure of the person standing in front of him gradually became clear from a blur.
"You..." he groaned weakly. He quickly understood his situation and asked, unwilling to give up, "Why... weren't you poisoned?"
The three members of Squad 14 looked at each other. The corner of Sakura's mouth curled into a faint arc.
This person... to be able to wake up so quickly, he's probably the strongest among them. Then let's pry his mouth open first and get some intelligence!
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