—Alright, guide us, —ordered Miyuki.

  The man gave an uncomfortable smile before responding:—Okay... but could you at least release me a bit?

  —No, —Miyuki replied without hesitation, casting a gnce at Akihiro.

  Akihiro nodded silently. With a swift motion, he maniputed the seal, releasing a small portion of his chakra.—I’ve reduced the effect of the seal. Now you can use some of your chakra, —he expined calmly.

  Miyuki approached the man and coldly warned him:—You can move and use your chakra, but if you try to escape, Akihiro will break your bones. Understood?

  To emphasize her words, Akihiro made a slight demonstration. Renjiro barely had time to react when intense pain shot through his body. He felt his muscles tense as if caught in a vise, and the cracking of his bones made him gasp.

  Renjiro pced a hand over his chest, trying to catch his breath.—Alright, I get it... I won’t try anything, —he said, a trace of resentment in his voice.

  Miyuki observed him coldly and gave a slight nod.—Start.

  Renjiro slowly turned on his heels.—Follow me... it’s not too far from here.

  The group ventured into the forest, moving cautiously, aware that Konoha’s hunting team could be nearby. The st thing they wanted was to face the ninjas of the Leaf.

  Renjiro led the way, with Miyuki closely behind him, her vigint eyes scanning the surroundings. Aiko was next, followed by Kosetsu, with Hiroshi and Akihiro protecting the Medical Ninja from any potential ambush.

  —We’ve arrived, —Renjiro said, suddenly stopping. He quickly approached one of the countless trees and unearthed something from the ground.—Here’s what you wanted, —he remarked, tossing the scroll toward Miyuki.

  Miyuki caught it in mid-air and carefully examined it. It didn’t take her more than a few minutes to verify its authenticity.—It’s what we were looking for. You’re no longer of use to us, Akihiro, —she said, her tone cold and direct.

  Without saying a word, Akihiro activated the Fuinjutsu. In an instant, he crushed Renjiro’s bones and organs, killing him immediately.

  Without uttering a word, Aiko activated an earth jutsu, quickly burying and destroying the body.

  —What now? —Akihiro asked, gncing around.

  —We’re not delivering the scroll, —she replied.—If anyone asks, we’ll just say we didn’t find the target.

  Everyone nodded; none of them had genuine loyalty to the vilge. In fact, there were very few ninjas who truly felt committed to it. It wasn’t like Konoha or the other major nations, which had sophisticated methods of brainwashing their ninjas. The methods of this vilge were simple, so none of them cared about lying or betraying the vilge as long as it wasn’t something too direct.

  —Let’s go, the ninjas of the Leaf can’t be far, —she said as she started moving. The rest of the group followed, erasing their tracks as they went.

  A few hours ter, a group of ninjas in animal masks arrived.

  —Is this the pce? —one of them asked.

  Another nodded and pointed to the ground. The man immediately struck the indicated area and found Renjiro’s body.—The target is dead, the scroll is lost, —he said simply.

  One of them took out a scroll and stored the body in it.—We can’t do anything more, let’s go, —he said, as they retreated from the location.

  Everyone nodded and left immediately.