Natsuhi was a ninja of considerable skill and had been on missions outside the village before. She had some understanding of mission ranks. But the one in her hand was an S-Rank mission, and its content was a single, simple sentence: "Assassinate the Mizukage."
"This Mizukage... isn't he one of the leaders of the Five Great Ninja Villages?" she asked, looking at him in shock.
But Kusuo was perfectly calm. "The very same. Is there a problem?"
Natsuhi was taken aback for a moment, then nodded. "Rest assured, Lord Kusuo. Whatever mission you give me, I will complete it seriously." She pounded her chest a few times.
Seeing her earnest expression, Kusuo's eyes tightened. He could feel that the original power of the "Star" within her was continuously weakening. This was because its power source had been completely removed. But at this moment, she hadn't noticed this abnormality at all. Kusuo didn't say anything. He knew that if she became too reliant on that power, it would not be a good thing for her. Natsuhi's talent was immense; just by cultivating the "Star's" power, she had become an outstanding kunoichi in her village, even leading a coup. All of this pointed to her strength.
"Is there anyone you need to say goodbye to before you leave?" Kusuo knew that as a mother, she might have some last words for her child.
To his surprise, she shook her head. "No need, Lord Kusuo. We can leave now."
This surprised him a bit, but he nodded and led the way out. "Let's go."
After leaving the village, the two of them leaped through the trees for a while before leaving the area. Just before they left, Natsuhi looked back one last time at the Hidden Star Village. Although she had left on missions before, those had all been against the village's rules. Most of her time had been spent within its borders. This was, in a sense, the first time she was officially leaving.
The two of them traveled in silence. After a while, they reached the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water.
"Wait," Kusuo's body suddenly stopped.
"What is it, Lord Kusuo?" Natsuhi immediately looked around, her expression serious.
Just as she was about to activate the Mysterious Peacock Method, Kusuo stopped her. "Don't make a move yet." He planned for her to use that power during the fight with the Mizukage. After all, she didn't yet realize that once her power was gone, it couldn't be replenished.
"Yes, Lord Kusuo," she said and sat down on the ground. Kusuo's travel speed was very fast. Even for Natsuhi, keeping up had been a strain.
"Don't sit down yet. We're being followed."
Hearing this, she was surprised. "How? I didn't detect any enemies nearby."
Kusuo wasn't surprised by her words. The opponent's stealth skills were very good. Even he hadn't spotted them with his naked eye, but with his Transparent World.
"Lord Kusuo, can you tell me how you figured out their location?" At this point, she could only attribute it to his vast experience.
But Kusuo just smiled faintly. "You don't need to guess something like this. When you're out in the world, you must ensure your information is absolutely certain before acting on anything."
His words made her feel a bit ashamed. "But we just left the village not long ago, and we're at the border now. How could they have set up an ambush for us here?" she asked, still confused.
What she didn't know was that the team ambushing them had been sent by Orochimaru. After his last plan failed, he had naturally learned of the events in the Star Village. His first move was to try and retrieve the jutsu he had given them. But he never expected to run into such a tough opponent this time. A team like this, against Kusuo, was just asking to be wiped out.
Kusuo could clearly sense that the team hiding in the shadows had already split into two squads. He knew without thinking that one was for a feint, while the other would attack from the front.
"They can't wait any longer. Since they're ready to make a move, we should prepare to engage."
-------
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