At the Drop of a Hat

Once Xu Yue understood why the Root members had come, many things fell into place.

No matter how incompetent Hidden Mist was, news that a Jinchuriki had left the village might leak, but what they had gone out to do would still be fairly confidential.

This was probably the work of Reincarnators from Hidden Mist. Perhaps they had sold information about Utakata’s movements to a Konoha Reincarnator team, which had then found a way to leak it.

With Danzo’s personality, he probably wished he could storm into other villages and seize their Jinchuriki. Now that he had suddenly received information about a Jinchuriki from another village, wouldn’t he be thrilled to send people searching?

He would never care about peace. He was a typical hawk, perhaps even hoping the Land of Water would start a war over this so he could take advantage of its internal turmoil.

Only a few Root members had appeared for now, but if they managed to stall them, Xu Yue would not have been surprised even if Danzo himself showed up.

Seeing that those people had already recognized him, Xu Yue was not afraid of them exposing his identity.

Root members, who placed missions above all else, could all be treated as machines and tools.

As someone whose status in both the Anbu and Root was second only to Danzo’s, Xu Yue was not someone they could defy.

Unless Danzo had specifically sent them to target him, there was nothing to worry about.

"Are you friends from Konoha’s Anbu? I am a merchant with legitimate travel documents. You have an obligation to protect our interests."

With a friendly smile, Xu Yue cheerfully handed over the documents.

The Root squad captain stiffly accepted them and examined them.

How could something Xu Yue had personally stamped possibly be fake?

"They are indeed legitimate documents, but why did you not hire Konoha shinobi?"

They needed to cooperate with Xu Yue, but Danzo’s mission took higher priority: stall the Six-Tails Jinchuriki!

So while they did not expose Xu Yue’s identity, they had no intention of letting the matter go.

Ideally, they could keep stalling until Lord Danzo arrived.

Under normal circumstances, they would not have minded attacking the moment they met.

Although a Jinchuriki was powerful, as long as he did not go all out from the start, the strength of their group was enough to keep him occupied and buy time.

But now that this lord had expressed his dissatisfaction, they could only brace themselves and try a verbal approach.

Otherwise, if things really turned hostile, who knew which side this lord would help? If he intervened, there would be no possibility of stalling for time!

Perhaps his strength was not much greater than that of a tailed-beast Jinchuriki, but the terrifying speed of the Flying Thunder God was enough to give him the opportunity to end the battle quickly.

This harmonious exchange made Utakata beside them sigh with emotion.

"Your Konoha Anbu are really civilized. If it were ours, they would have attacked the moment they disagreed, without even asking a question. Since that is the case, I will tell you. I only came here to relax and accepted a simple mission. There is nothing sinis—"

Lava Release: Scorching River Rock Technique

Several enormous dark-red fireballs suddenly shot out from the forest, hurtling straight toward the Root members.

The Root members were startled and quickly scattered.

Even so, the violent explosions caused by the dark-red fireballs kicked up dust and smoke, shrouding the surrounding area.

Utakata reacted quickly, creating a bubble around Xu Yue to shield him from the shockwaves and impact.

The others were not so fortunate.

One genin was even burned on the arm by splashing lava, letting out a miserable scream.

Then, a seductive blue figure wearing a patterned mask leaped out and landed before the caravan. Looking at the Root members who had escaped her attack in disarray despite their considerable strength, she gave Utakata a pleasant but grave warning.

"I saw many squads like theirs along the way. They were probably cast out in a net specifically to find you. There should be reinforcements behind them meant to deal with you. Hurry and leave!"

Seeing the sudden attack, Xu Yue could not help feeling that the people of Hidden Mist really were hot-tempered enough to start fighting at the slightest disagreement.

Lava Release, along with that seductive figure—this was the future Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi.

"Hmph, Hidden Mist Anbu."

"So you really are up to something."

"In that case, stay here!"

If Xu Yue had acted, those Root members would truly have had a headache.

But now that someone else had suddenly appeared, even if she used troublesome Lava Release, it was no longer a major concern.

Their courage immediately rose.

Although the newcomer was powerful, she was not impossible to fight!

But just as that thought flashed through their minds, a sharp pain spreading across their bodies filled all three of them with horror.

What was this?

Was the smoke poisonous?!

Beneath the cover of dust and thick smoke kicked up by the opening Lava Release attack, Mei Terumi had already deployed the invisible, deadly Boil Release.

It simmered around them like frogs in warm water before suddenly intensifying!

In an instant, the capable Root squad members lost much of their fighting strength.

Although they fled in disarray, dense corrosive wounds had appeared across their bodies.

Since the Lava Release had originally struck where the enemy stood, and the Boil Release’s range had been deliberately compressed to increase its power, Xu Yue’s side was barely affected.

After understanding what Mei Terumi meant, Utakata and the other jonin whose combat strength had not been impaired did not waste the opportunity before them.

They both attacked at once, beating the drowning dogs.

Acidic Bubble Stream

Corpse Bone Pulse Ten Finger Bullet

The successive attacks drove the Root members into a miserable state.

Their overall strength had already been greatly inferior. They could have used the caravan as a burden and fought guerrilla-style to restrain their opponents somewhat, but now that they had lost the initiative, they had no chance at all.

Within moments, Mei Terumi and Utakata, two Kage-level powerhouses, easily dealt with them.

"My goods! Don’t leave my goods behind!"

Only after the Root members had been swiftly dealt with did Xu Yue remind them to watch his cargo, as though he were merely an ordinary person whose slower reactions could not keep up with shinobi.

Every Root member bore Danzo’s mark, and Xu Yue had no intention of saving them.

They had nearly ruined his plans. It was already merciful enough that he had not dealt with them personally.

If they had shown any intention of exposing his identity earlier, he would have directly greeted them with Tsukuyomi…

"And you still only care about your goods. You have no idea how much trouble you’ve caused."

After resolving the immediate problem, Mei Terumi looked at Xu Yue. Her beautiful eyes, uncovered by her mask, were filled with resentment.

If not for this greedy merchant, if not for his petty greed, how could they have attracted so much trouble?

First, conflict had erupted between the village and the shinobi clans, leading to clashes at sea. Now, because of the Jinchuriki he had abducted, they had directly come into conflict with Konoha.

Damn it, he was practically a walking disaster…

The two updates are done. That’s all for today.

Don’t always think of dirty things… There really wasn’t anything like that, okay? It was other trivial matters. Things at work and home collided all at once—it was ridiculous…