Chapter 126: Hunting Moment
Nourished by Natural Energy year-round, Haruko's five senses were already far beyond those of an ordinary person.
Coupled with the " Wind Release: Detection Wind' he used in secret, the conversation of those Hidden Grass Village Ninjas reached Haruko's ears without missing a single word.
'That person?...Could it be Karin?"
In Hidden Grass Village, combining the keyword 'injured' with the fact that she could be treated as'strategic material, " there was no other possibility.
'If Konoha found out that an orphan of the Uzumaki Clan, their ally, was wandering outside and suffering abuse... and with Lady Tsunade returning to the village for the finals, her grandmother was also from the Uzumaki Clan..."
Recalling the information about that red-haired girl, an idea to legitimately retaliate against Hidden Grass Village popped into Haruko's mind.
...
After submitting the consent forms, the three of them received the Heaven Scroll.
At the entrance to the Forest of Death, many examinees did not rush to disperse after receiving their scrolls.
They were all observing—observing which way Haruko's group would go, so they could head in the opposite direction and not get too close.
Unfortunately, their plans were about to fall through.
'Follow me."
Haruko picked a gate at random, then immediately turned back once the crowd dispersed. He took a slightly circuitous route, following the three Hidden Grass Village Ninjas from a distance until they chose their entrance.
'Hana, memorize the scent of those three."
'Are you sure?" Hana looked down at the scroll in her hand. 'Our target should be the Earth Scroll."
'That entrance over there. We'll enter from there." Haruko didn't answer directly, instead pointing in a direction. 'Once we're in, Hana, you're in charge of tracking. Just leave it to me once you find them."
Hana nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
Although Izumi was completely ignored, she didn't raise any objections—they had to fight someone anyway, so why not them?
...
'The exam begins!"
As the gates at each entrance opened with a roar, the group turned into blurs and darted into the dense forest, rushing toward the direction of those Hidden Grass Village Ninjas.
'Hana, it's up to you."
'Understood!"
In less than five minutes, Gaimaru let out a howl.
'Awoo!"
Hana sniffed. 'They're just ahead. About... five hundred meters away. They seem to be moving toward the central tower."
'Got it." Haruko drew his ninja sword from the scroll. 'Thanks, Hana."
As Haruko quickened his pace, the two girls were left behind in the blink of an eye.
Ignoring the shouts behind him, Haruko caught up to the three rapidly moving Hidden Grass Village Ninjas in an instant.
Without a moment's hesitation, Haruko lunged at them.
It seemed that the intense killing intent stimulated their instincts, and the three Hidden Grass Village Ninjas turned around abruptly.
The moment they saw who it was, their faces turned pale.
'Why is that guy here?!"
'Need you ask? We've been targeted, run!"
Haruko didn't answer. He simply poured all his Chakra into his feet to use the Body Flicker Technique, while simultaneously coating his blade with Chakra.
'Breath of Thunder: First Form: Thunderclap and Flash."
The thunderous assault made the three feel as if their eyes had blurred, and Haruko was already behind them.
One of them was struck by the ninja sword wreathed in Lightning Release Chakra and sent flying, leaving a circular crater in a tree.
'Cough... cough, cough..." He spat out a mouthful of blood. Even though it was delivered with the back of the blade, the strike had still broken several of his ribs.
'We surrender! The scroll is yours!" the Hidden Grass Village Ninja screamed, pulling a scroll from his chest and throwing it in front of Haruko. He then dropped to his knees and began kowtowing frantically. 'Please, we were just following orders! We really didn't mean it that day at the shop!"
They were indeed clever and immediately realized Haruko's intentions.
But Haruko had no intention of stopping, and he didn't even glance at the scroll.
'Breath of Wind: First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter."
The assault, accompanied by wind blades and shockwaves, left spiral marks on the ground and sent another person flying.
'Damn it! What exactly do you want?!"
Realizing that Haruko didn't intend to let them go, the last remaining one prepared to counterattack—
'Breath of Water: Fourth Form: Striking Tide."
But it was meaningless in the face of Haruko's tidal assault. He was struck several times, covered in bruises, and unable to rise again.
It wasn't until Haruko had tied all three of them up that Hana and Izumi arrived. Seeing the finished battle, their eyes were somewhat dazed.
'What the... it's a Heaven Scroll..." Izumi picked up the scroll from the ground. 'Haruko, you..."
Seeing the expressionless smile on Haruko's face, Izumi swallowed the rest of her sentence.
'Ah~ sorry, I misread it." Haruko gave a perfunctory reply and picked up the three of them. 'You two rest for a bit. I'm going to have a little... heart-to-heart with these three."
'Help! Spare us! We gave you the scroll, can't we just withdraw from the exam!..."
The two girls watched helplessly as the Hidden Grass Village Ninjas were dragged into the small woods by Haruko, just like three pigs being dragged into a slaughterhouse.
...
'Alright, I'll ask, and you'll answer. If you say one word of nonsense..."
Swish—
A flash of white light, and a hand fell to the ground—the very same one that had thrown the bowl at Teuchi.
'Aaaaaah!"
Fresh blood spurted out with every pulse, and a pig-like scream echoed through the woods.
'Too noisy!" Haruko picked up the hand and shoved it directly into the Ninja's mouth.'Shh—!"
Using torture before even asking a question left the other two pale and trembling uncontrollably.
'W-we'll talk. C-can you... p-please, l-let us go?" the older Hidden Grass Village Ninja stammered.
'Hmm... I said I didn't want to hear any nonsense, didn't I?"
Watching Haruko raise his butcher's blade again and approach step by step, the Hidden Grass Village Ninja struggled desperately, the binding wire digging into his flesh and drawing blood.
But it was meaningless.
Swish—
This time, it was a foot.
"!~~~~"
The Ninja bit his teeth together desperately, not daring to make a sound for fear that Haruko would shove that into his mouth too.
'Oh, right, let me tell you some good news."
Haruko walked over to the Ninja with the severed hand, who had already turned pale from blood loss and was losing consciousness.
'You see, I am Lady Tsunade's disciple~ I can even use a bit of Medical Ninjutsu."
A green light appeared on Haruko's hand, and the bleeding stopped after a short while.
Mystical Palm Technique—Lady Tsunade hadn't forbidden high-level Medical Ninjutsu, only restricted the level of offensive Ninjutsu.
'As long as I don't want you to die, you can stay awake and watch yourself get sliced into mince meat. How about that? Happy? This is a very rare experience."
A foul, pungent odor made Haruko frown. He turned to look, and the last remaining, intact Hidden Grass Village Ninja had wet his pants, yet he was still gritting his teeth.
'Tsk, tsk, tsk, should I praise you or laugh at you? Forget it..."
Haruko leaned down and stopped the bleeding for the other person as well.
'We've been chatting for so long and haven't even gotten to the point. Now pay attention, first question: where is the team leader who was with you?"
...
An hour later, Haruko finally emerged from the small woods.
The smell of blood on his body made even Izumi frown, while Hana had covered her nose and hidden far away half an hour ago.
'Oh my~ sorry, it took a little longer than expected."
Seeing the expressions on the two girls, Haruko silently performed hand seals and used Water Release to start washing his body.
'Are you done?" Hana walked over, pinching her nose.
The three Gaimaru were huddled behind her, their tails tucked between their legs, not daring to look up at Haruko.
'Let's go, let's find the Earth Scroll." Haruko shook the water from his hair, looking refreshed. 'The sooner we finish, the sooner we can get some sleep. There are so many mosquitoes in this forest."
Hana and Izumi exchanged glances and silently followed behind.
They didn't ask why Haruko had done that. In the world of Ninjas, such things were not uncommon, and there was no need to explain anything.
They only remembered one thing: you can mess with anyone in the future, but never mess with Haruko, and definitely don't go causing trouble at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop.
Behind them, the wind blew the ashes deep into the forest, leaving no traces behind.
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