Bab 51: Actor
Walking along the forest-side road, Shinsuke ordered his team into a diamond formation to protect the envoy. He led from the front, assigning Yami to the right, Kurenai to the left, and Asuma to guard the rear.
"This is an A-rank mission, so stay alert at all times. If you have any doubts or see anything suspicious, report to me immediately," Shinsuke instructed before they departed from Konoha.
After traveling for several hours without incident, Yami glanced toward the woman walking in the center of their formation. Her expression was cold, and the energy radiating from her was oppressive. Two bodyguards flanked her on either side, their faces equally serious.
The woman had exchanged only a few words with Shinsuke and showed no interest in speaking with anyone else. No one was bothered by this, though. As shinobi, unnecessary conversation during a mission could be distracting.
The group wasn't exactly talkative either, except for Asuma, who occasionally felt bored and exchanged a few words with Kurenai. Despite the occasional chatter, neither of them lowered their guard.
Yami, on the other hand, was lost in his thoughts, analyzing the woman using his soul perception.
'What is this energy I'm seeing?' Yami's eyes glowed faintly as he observed the strange energy leaking from her and dispersing into the air. 'This isn't chakra or spiritual energy.'
Though he couldn't see chakra with his soul perception, Yami had analyzed enough people to gauge someone's strength based on their soul power. Typically, the stronger a person's chakra or spiritual energy, the brighter their soul would appear.
But what he sensed from this woman was bottomless. Aside from Kurama, Yami had never encountered such strong soul power. Even Sarutobi, who was considered the strongest due to his age and experience, couldn't compare.
'Could this be... natural energy?!'
Yami had never seen someone use natural energy before, so he wasn't sure what it looked like through soul perception. But if this was natural energy, why hadn't she turned to stone yet?
There were no visible signs of Sage Mode. No matter how perfect someone's Sage Mode was, they couldn't completely hide the characteristic markings. Even Hashirama had them when he absorbed natural energy. But this woman didn't have any of those signs.
'If it's not Sage Mode, then what is it?' After thinking for a while, Yami considered, 'Could she be like Jugo and naturally absorb natural energy due to her special body?'
He remembered how Orochimaru had used Jugo's fluids to create the cursed seal, allowing others to absorb natural energy. Could she have a similar ability?
But Yami quickly dismissed the thought. The woman didn't exhibit Jugo's irritated behavior, a side effect of his ability to absorb natural energy. She must be different.
'I guess this mission will be more interesting than I thought. There's much to gain here.'
Just then, Yami paused briefly, narrowing his eyes before smiling and continuing as if nothing had happened.
The group continued walking for a while when suddenly, two figures jumped out from small pools of water on either side of the road.
"Haha, got you!"
"The money will be ours!"
They shouted as they attacked simultaneously with swords.
"Watch out!"
Everything happened in a split second. Taken by surprise, Kurenai froze for a moment, her eyes wide as she watched the sword descending toward her head.
"Damn it!"
Yami, who had been prepared, quickly threw a kunai at the attacker.
The ninja clicked his tongue and had to parry the kunai, unwilling to risk a fatal injury in exchange for killing a genin. That brief pause was enough for Kurenai to regain her composure and retreat with a quick leap.
However, Yami's decision to help Kurenai left him exposed to the second enemy.
"Stupid kid," the man sneered as he slashed with his sword.
"Agh!" Yami winced as the blade sliced through his arm. Fortunately, he had jumped back, so the wound wasn't too deep.
Before the enemy could follow up, Yami noticed a figure rapidly approaching. In an instant, Asuma appeared beside the attacker and slashed with his kunai.
Clicking his tongue, the man abandoned his pursuit of Yami and exchanged rapid blows with Asuma before retreating to gain distance.
"Nakawa, these guys aren't easy to deal with. Let's retreat for now," the man called out.
"Okay, brother!" the other responded.
Just as they were about to flee, Shinsuke's voice rang out.
"Who said you could leave whenever you want?"
Forming a series of hand seals, Shinsuke slapped the ground, causing the earth beneath the two attackers to turn into mud, trapping them as they began to sink.
"Shit."
The more they struggled, the faster they sank.
Their brief distraction was all the team needed. In an instant, Kurenai cast a genjutsu on the man nearest her, while Asuma formed hand seals, took a deep breath, and released a powerful jutsu.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Asuma's Wind Style jutsu blasted forward, tearing through the air with a powerful force. The enemy caught in the genjutsu barely had time to react before he was slammed by the gust, sending him tumbling back, his body colliding with a tree trunk. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.
The second enemy tried to escape from the sinking mud by pulling out a kunai and stabbing it into the ground to drag himself free. But Shinsuke was faster, his eyes narrowing as he formed another set of hand seals.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears!"
The ground beneath the enemy rippled, and sharp stone spikes erupted from the earth, surrounding him and cutting off any hope of escape. He froze, eyes wide with fear as the spear-like stones hovered dangerously close to his body.
"You have two choices," Shinsuke said calmly. "Resist and die, or surrender and have a chance."
The man hesitated, glancing at his unconscious comrade and the deadly spikes around him. After a moment of tense silence, he sighed in defeat, dropped his kunai, and raised his hands in surrender.
"Kurenai, secure him," Shinsuke ordered.
Kurenai swiftly moved forward, binding the man's hands with steel wire and securing the restraints with a tight knot. Asuma approached the unconscious attacker and did the same.
Yami observed the scene, pressing his hand against the shallow wound on his arm but making no move to assist. Everything was already under control.
Kurenai noticed Yami's injury, her brow furrowing. "How's your arm?"
"It's fine. Just a scratch. I've had worse."
Kurenai hesitated for a moment before slowly approaching him. "Are you sure? Is your injury bad?"
Yami glanced at her briefly. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine. It's just a small injury." His eyes twitched slightly as he winced from the pain.
"You're in pain! Let me take a look," Kurenai insisted, reaching out.
Yami quickly pulled his arm away before she could get close. "I said I can handle this on my own."
Kurenai's hand hung in the air as she stiffened at his response.
Shinsuke walked over and asked, "Are you alright, kid?"
"Yeah," Yami replied with a nod. "Just give me a minute to deal with this."
Though he nodded in agreement, inwardly Yami narrowed his eyes. 'There's no way he didn't notice such a cheap trick. So why didn't he warn his students?'
Puzzled, Yami considered a possibility. 'Could he have done that intentionally to train them? Or was he trying to gauge the envoy's reaction?'
He couldn't be sure of Shinsuke's thoughts. His soul perception could only show emotions, and Shinsuke was calm and confident, as if everything was under control.
Yami watched as Shinsuke approached the envoy and her two bodyguards, assuring them that the situation was handled. Yami couldn't help but notice that the woman remained completely unfazed by the attack, showing no concern for her own safety. The more he observed, the more intrigued he became.
Her cold, distant gaze never wavered, even as her bodyguards remained vigilant, scanning the forest for additional threats. It was almost as if the ambush had been of no consequence to her.
'What are you hiding?' Yami wondered.
After a moment, Yami tore his sleeve and placed a hand over his wound. Green chakra flowed through his palm, slowly healing the injury.
"Whoa, I didn't know you knew medical ninjutsu. That's amazing," Kurenai commented, clearly impressed.
Yami merely glanced at her, continuing to heal himself in silence.
Kurenai felt awkward, but she understood why Yami was being distant. After all, she had shown open hostility toward him before the mission.
"Hey, look... I want to apologize for how I acted earlier," Kurenai said softly. "And thank you for helping me out during the fight."
'Apology, guilt, gratitude…' Yami sensed her conflicting emotions and inwardly smiled. 'Got you.'
Yami had been aware of the two ninjas hiding in the water pools; his soul perception had been active the entire time. But he pretended not to notice for several reasons.
First, by saving Kurenai at the cost of a minor 'injury,' he demonstrated that he was willing to 'sacrifice' himself for the team, which would leave a positive impression.
Second, and more importantly, he wanted Kurenai to soften her hostility toward him and feel indebted to him. This way, he could learn something about Genjutsu from her.
When Yami first arrived in this world, he tested his talent in all fields and found that Genjutsu was his weakest area, followed by Taijutsu. But things had changed. Absorbing souls had rapidly increased his spiritual energy, and now he felt confident that he could master Genjutsu.
'Even though Kurenai can't compare to the Uchiha clan, she will become one of the best after they're gone. Learning a thing or two from her has its merits,' he mused.
Ending his thoughts, Yami glanced at Kurenai and smiled awkwardly at her praise.
"Well, I used to work at the hospital before the Hokage started sending me on missions. So, it's not that impressive. There are plenty of people better at medical ninjutsu than me back at the hospital."
"Still, it's impressive..." Kurenai insisted.
Recognizing her intent to reconcile, Yami softened his attitude and engaged her in conversation. Occasionally, he praised her Genjutsu and subtly hinted at his interest in learning it.
Meanwhile, after finishing his conversation with the envoy, Shinsuke approached the two captured ninjas.
"Now," he said with a threatening tone, "why don't you tell me who sent you and why you attacked us?"
*****
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