Konoha's Mission Master

Tsunade has been away from Konoha for more than half a year, and she has completely lost her ninja's cautious instincts. It should be said that her personality is originally rough but meticulous, but now, in her indulgent mode, Tsunade only has the rough side.

"Tsunade, why do you think the enemy kidnapped Shizune?"

Jiraiya spoke very quickly and continued asking questions.

"It's the inheritance of medical ninjutsu," Tsunade replied.

Kato Shizune is currently at the Genin level and does not possess any of Konoha's secrets. Apart from her own medical ninjutsu inheritance, she really cannot think of any reason why the enemy would kidnap her.

"Okay." Jiraiya nodded.

At this moment, Tsunade's expression was somewhat strange. In her view, this was an inescapable fate. Just when she thought she had escaped her fate and could mock the Grim Reaper, that irresistible fate descended once again.

"Fate, is it Shizune who's going to be taken away this time?"

Tsunade muttered to herself.

"I'll team up with Yakumo and head east from the hot spring resort. Tsunade and Rina Uzumaki will team up and head west from the hot spring resort. We'll exchange information via the communication frog at 6 PM." Jiraiya quickly gave the specific details of the mission.

Rina Uzumaki and Jiraiya both possess sensory abilities, making this pairing seem reasonable. However, Jiraiya's true plan was to lure Tsunade away so that he could help Yakumo find Shizune.

"I believe that human will can overcome fate, and that destiny exists to be broken...!"

Before setting off, Yakumo comforted Tsunade.

"Indeed, he truly lives up to his reputation as my disciple..."

Jiraiya suddenly clapped his hands forcefully.

"Destiny will be shattered by our iron fists... This is the resolve that heroes of the ninja world should have!"

Jiraiya took out a square notebook and began recording his heroic tales. At the same time, he quickly got up, and the four of them left the inn in less than a minute.

They immediately separated and ran in different directions.

The Silent Rescue Project has officially begun!

Five minutes later, outside the hot spring town.

Yakumo bit his finger and quickly formed hand seals.

"bump."

White mist rose...

Milkball, with a piece of meat in its mouth, looked completely bewildered and surprised.

"Meow?"

(This is not my working hours.)

"Work overtime."

Yakumo removed the piece of meat from Naiball's mouth and placed the silent, close-fitting underwear under Naiball's nose.

"Let's have an extra meal tonight and find the owner of this outfit."

Yakumo reached out and stroked Naiqiu's round belly, then smiled and gave the order.

"Meow~"

Milkball cried out softly, as if venting its dissatisfaction, but its limbs quickly became longer and more powerful, its muscles bulged, and its height increased at an extremely fast speed.

The black and white stripes became more distinct, and in a few breaths it transformed from a plump big cat into a lithe and powerful female leopard.

shuh~

Yakumo rubbed his eyes.

"What exactly is a milk ball?"

"Your summoned beast... is truly amazing."

Jiraiya clicked his tongue in amazement. With his keen eyesight, he could naturally see that the changes in the milk ball were not due to ninjutsu like transformation techniques, but rather a fundamental change in its physical nature.

"Meow...meow...woof~"

Milkball quickly moved its limbs and began to run at full speed, leaving black afterimages in its wake, and then, like a cannonball leaving the shell, it quickly splashed out.

The surrounding scenery rushed past, lush and green.

In the blink of an eye, the hot spring town had disappeared from the horizon, and the number of passersby in the direction the two were running began to dwindle, while the road became narrow and rugged.

Two hours later, the air around them became even hotter. They were gradually approaching the volcanic area of ​​the Land of Hot Water, which was full of all kinds of caves, some of which even had golden lava flowing through them. The danger level was extremely high, and people were often buried by lava. The air was filled with the smell of sulfur.

But there is another rare item here called warm jade. As the name suggests, warm jade is warm all year round and can even help the wearer resist the cold. It is the most popular personal item among nobles and the powerful, and its price is naturally very high.

Because of the warmth of jade, many jade miners emerged. They took precautions and ensured sufficient food and drinking water, digging for jade in various caves. Most of these people were buried in the caves, and only a very few lucky ones succeeded in finding the jade and lived a life of abundance.

Every year, countless jade hunters die in the search for warm jade, yet this does not deter impoverished people from their pursuit of it.

Along the way, Yakumo and Jiraiya encountered many jade seekers wearing protective suits. They were thin and severely dehydrated, and more or less showed signs of heavy metal poisoning, like wandering ghosts in a cave. Only their eyes revealed a strong desire, like a blazing, inextinguishable flame.

"Speed ​​up," Jiraiya said.

"it is good."

Finally, Milkball stopped. Even after half an hour of running, its breathing remained steady, its front paws gripped the ground tightly, and its beastly eyes stared ahead warily.

In front of the two was a pitch-black passage.

The smell of sulfur was even stronger here, and the passage kept spewing heat waves and sparks. This was the deepest part of the volcanic area. The two had encountered flowing golden lava several times on their way here, and this place was hundreds of meters underground.

Yakumo forms hand seals.

"The fluctuations of the heart."

A few seconds later, Yakumo opened his eyes. He sensed Shizune's chakra ahead, as well as nearly a hundred very strange chakra fluctuations, the strongest of which were equivalent to elite Jonin.

The good news is that Shizune is still alive; the bad news is that the enemy is far more numerous than Yakumo imagined, and this deep underground area is not suitable for combat at all, as it could easily cause the cavern to collapse.

"Since Jingyin is in front, she should be out of danger."

In the perception of the fluctuations of the heart, Shizune's chakra fluctuations, though somewhat dim, were very stable and did not look like she was injured at all.

"That's good. Prepare for battle."

Jiraiya formed hand seals and sent his shadow clone to Mount Myōboku.

He heeded Yakumo's advice and used his shadow clones to gather natural energy in advance.

Yakumo drew his twin swords and gripped them tightly in both hands.

"Be careful."

The strangeness revealed by this kidnapping made Yakumo even more cautious. The fact that the enemy did not take Shizune away from the Land of Hot Water, but instead went into the dangerous volcanic area to hide was already highly suspicious. Most importantly, the enemy's strange chakra fluctuations were something Yakumo had never seen before.

"Be careful," Jiraiya warned.

“I understand,” Yakumo replied.

"Earth Release: Hardening Technique." Yakumo formed hand seals.

Yakumo's perfect-level Hardening Technique is already a very considerable defense. With the physical strength of an ordinary person, even if Yakumo's body is hit, no blood will flow.

"I'll go first, you follow behind, and when you encounter the enemy, don't hold back!"

“Okay.” Yakumo and Jiraiya stepped into the passage.

Milkball shook its body and transformed back into a round, fat cat, striding proudly ahead to lead the way for Yakumo and Jiraiya.

The passage was very dark. Even with Yakumo's eyesight, he could only see about twenty meters ahead. Beyond that, it was completely dark. Jiraiya summoned the two sages, Fukasaku and Shima, and simultaneously released his shadow clones.

Instantly, I entered immortal mode.

The two began to speed up.

PS: Requesting monthly votes

Chapter 139 The Undying Evil God, the Blood-Robed Priest

"Huhuhu..."

Yakumo took out a gas mask and put it on his face, while handing a second mask to Jiraiya. Although Sage Mode has stronger resistance, it cannot be exposed to extremely high concentrations of sulfur vapor for a long time. No one could have imagined that the black passage was actually the entrance to a maze, rugged and winding.

"We're almost there..." Yakumo said softly.

The air inside the cave not only smelled strongly of burning sulfur, but also had a strong, unmistakable stench of blood, like a battlefield where hundreds of thousands had died, yet it also felt extremely eerie.

A few meters away from the two, the wall was covered with layers of dried blood plasma, like a wild and disorderly painting by cave dwellers in ancient times, with a triangle inside a circle that could be vaguely seen.

Yakumo was very familiar with this, and with this bloody ritual style, he instantly knew who the enemy he needed to face was.

“Praise be to you, Lord Jashin,” Yakumo whispered.

"What?" Jiraiya asked, puzzled.

"Wait... During the battle, never let the enemy get your blood. If you are accidentally taken, never let him enter the ritual circle and swallow the blood, otherwise you and he will be tightly bound together."

"What's the use of the link?" Jiraiya asked.

"If he gets hurt, you will get hurt too...and they are immortal."

Jiraiya paused for a moment, then nodded.

"It sounds like this enemy is going to be a tough one..."

“It’s not a big problem,” Yakumo replied.

The two people and the cat continued forward, and the blood plasma around them became more and more abundant. The walls, the roof, and even the ground were covered with a thick layer of bloody slime, but this slime did not evaporate due to the high temperature.

A dozen minutes later, Milkball released the summoning spell.

What came into view was a spacious altar, the ground covered with viscous blood and patterns of triangles within circles, making it look like a secret meeting place of a cult or a church where sacrifices were performed, and the environment even seemed somewhat gloomy.

Who are you people?!

Yakumo and Jiraiya immediately alerted the enemy.

The most striking feature of that person was their pair of red eyes, not Sharingan, but an eerie blood red, as if blood were flowing inside their eyeballs. They were draped in a blood-red robe, revealing only their pale, bloodless face.

As he questioned them, pairs of blood-red eyes opened in the dim underground, and an eerie aura gradually spread and gathered.

“Shizune is over there…” Yakumo pointed to the corner of the altar, where Shizune was bound to a stone pillar with hemp rope, her eyes closed as if she were in silence, or like a sacrifice waiting to be offered on the altar.

Several girls were bound to the stone pillars in the same way around Shizune. They slept peacefully, but their breathing was barely audible, which could not be considered as living. Their limbs and bodies were extremely withered and thin, and their abdomens were swollen as if they were pregnant with demons. Blue veins covered their entire abdomens, sucking the life force of the mother.