Chapter 36: If You’re Not Afraid Of Death, Come On
Shanzhong Jiali said he had to make some arrangements and left Kurozaru outside the Tenshu Castle to stay in contact with the Hippopotamus Squad at any time.
Yoru followed him into the Tenshu Castle to help Shanzhong Jiali with some secret preparations.
Shanzhong Jiali found a Uzumaki Guardian Ninja and drank and talked with this Guardian Ninja until late at night.
Once the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja’s guard was down, Shanzhong Jiali used the Mind Body Switch Technique to control this Guardian Ninja.
Under Shanzhong Jiali’s control, the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja disappeared into the depths of the Tenshu Castle.
Yoru stayed by Shanzhong Jiali’s side the whole time.
The Yamanaka Clan’s Mind Body Switch Technique was very powerful, able to completely control another Jonin.
Half an hour later, Shanzhong Jiali recovered his senses.
“I’ll go take a look first. You shouldn’t wander around the Tenshu Castle. Wait for me to come back and find you.”
After Shanzhong Jiali disappeared, Yoru saw no one around, took out the scroll Yuka Uzumaki had given him, and read it.
After being busy for so long, he finally had the chance to look at the scroll.
The Contract Seal and Summoning Jutsu—one for signing the contract, the other for summoning the Summoning Beast.
After memorizing the hand seals and Chakra circulation method, Yoru silently rehearsed it in his mind.
Then, he pressed his hand seal onto the Contract Scroll.
He formed hand seals to summon, and a small Egret appeared before him.
Yoru handed the scroll to the Egret and then dismissed the summoning.
He hoped Yuka Uzumaki could escape from the Land of Waves.
Half an hour later, Shanzhong Jiali returned.
“Let’s go! I’ve completely taken control of the Tenshu Castle. Time to close the net!”
Yoru disguised himself as Shanzhong Jiali’s subordinate, walking through the Daimyo’s Tenshu Castle.
High walls divided the Tenshu Castle into various areas.
Main Hall area, civil officials area, general area, inner chambers area, garden area, and so on.
Various two- and three-story wooden structures stood tall, the Daimyo’s wealth astonishing.
Entering the depths of the Tenshu Castle, Shanzhong Jiali arrived outside the courtyard with the inner treasury plaque.
This was where the Daimyo’s wealth was hidden, one of the most heavily guarded places in the Tenshu Castle.
“Lord Jiali!”
Greetings from the Samurai around them rang out.
Shanzhong Jiali nodded and continued walking inward.
At the entrance to the Underground Treasury, Shanzhong Jiali checked around, then turned to leave.
As he half-turned, he suddenly turned back: “Hm? No good! Someone’s entered the Underground Treasury!”
The surrounding Samurai looked at Shanzhong Jiali in shock, then at the Underground Treasury entrance.
“Lord Jiali! We just changed shifts and don’t know anything.”
Shanzhong Jiali hurriedly asked: “Where’s the key?”
The Daimyo had one key, the treasury guards had one key—both keys together were needed to open the treasury.
The Samurai rushed into a nearby building and found the key guard bound by a Sealing Jutsu.
“Alert! Sound the alarm! Someone infiltrated the treasury!”
A shrill alarm echoed over the Tenshu Castle.
Everyone who heard the alarm felt a pang of panic.
Shanzhong Jiali directly took out a large number of Exploding Tags and stuck them on the treasury door.
Yoru felt a twinge of envy—so wealthy, at least 15 Exploding Tags.
The Exploding Tags exploded with a boom, shattering the treasury door.
In the thick smoke, a figure tried to rush out.
Shanzhong Jiali and Yoru both leaped up.
One from the left, one from the right, they killed the person who rushed out.
Shanzhong Jiali couldn’t help but glance extra at Yoru—this Anbu was good, proficient in Body Flicker Technique and Sword Technique.
As the thick smoke cleared, the thief’s figure appeared.
A Kunai was stuck in his left side, a Ninja Sword in his right side.
More crucially, his clothes bore the Uzumaki Clan Crest!
The Samurai Captain shouted in shock: “What? Uzumaki Guardian Ninja stealing from within? Robbing the Daimyo’s treasury?”
This Guardian Ninja spat blood, looking at Shanzhong Jiali with shocked eyes.
He tremblingly raised his hand, pointing at Shanzhong Jiali.
Before he could speak, Yoru moved again.
A Kunai swept across, slitting this Uzumaki Guardian Ninja’s throat.
Shanzhong Jiali had used the Mind Body Switch Technique to control this Uzumaki Guardian Ninja by exploiting his trust.
Now, the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja couldn’t clear his name even if he had a mouth.
Shanzhong Jiali had learned the village’s true attitude from Kurozaru and mercilessly set up the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja.
Escorted by Guardian Ninja and Samurai, the Daimyo arrived at the treasury courtyard.
Seeing the blasted-open treasury door and the dead Uzumaki Guardian Ninja, the Daimyo couldn’t help but move two steps toward the Konoha Guardian Ninja side.
His voice carried confusion and terror as he asked: “What happened!”
Shanzhong Jiali said: “Daimyo! The Uzumaki Guardian Ninja stole from your treasury! I discovered and killed him!”
The Daimyo stared blankly at the corpse, then immediately turned to the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja Captain:
“I’ve heard these past few days that you want to rebuild Hidden Whirlpool Village. Are you using my treasury to fund your rebuilding of Hidden Whirlpool Village?”
“No!” The Uzumaki Guardian Ninja Captain hurriedly said:
“I absolutely have no such intention!
Completing missions is a ninja’s top priority. If we don’t adhere to this principle, who would commission missions from us after rebuilding Hidden Whirlpool Village?”
No matter how the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja Captain explained, the Daimyo no longer believed him.
The Daimyo said to the Konoha Guardian Ninja: “Please have the Konoha side take action! Capture the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja!”
The Uzumaki Guardian Ninja Captain knew further explanation was futile—he couldn’t die here.
He threw down a Smoke Bomb, and several Uzumaki Guardian Ninja quickly departed.
Shanzhong Jiali made arrangements: “Three Guardian Ninja stay by the Daimyo’s side without leaving. I’ll go pursue!”
Yoru hurriedly followed.
Shanzhong Jiali’s speed wasn’t fast, trailing far behind, hoping to follow the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja to find the Uzumaki Remnants.
Soon, the Hippopotamus Squad Leader brought Anbu who also caught up.
Yoru vaguely felt something was off—why were the Uzumaki Guardian Ninja continuously leaping across rooftops?
Shouldn’t they be sneaking away?
The two pursued all the way out of the city.
Just as they jumped down from the wall, Yoru spotted a large number of Mist Ninja to the side.
With such a commotion, the Mist Ninja had noticed the anomaly and chased out of the city.
A Long Spear Egret flew over, dropping a scroll from the air.
The Uzumaki Guardian Ninja Captain shouted from afar: “Didn’t you want the Elder’s Sealed Scroll? Come on then—if you’re not afraid to die! I may die, but before I do, I’ll take you all down with me!”
There were too many Mist Ninja, far outnumbering the Konoha side. The Mist Ninja had two squads, while the Konoha side had only one.
The Mist Ninja replaced Konoha as the main pursuit force. The three sides raced across the wilderness.
The Land of Waves had few large mountains, unable to block oceanic moisture flows, so rainfall was scarce. Apart from some green lands by the seaside, there were vast expanses of Gobi Desert.
After leaving Kyoto, the Whirlpool Ninja turned and charged into the uninhabited Gobi Desert.
Several Uzumaki Guardian Ninja raced madly across the Gobi as if their lives depended on it.
The Mist Ninja and Konoha were different—they had many people and had to consider supplies.
“Are there enough Ration Pills?”
“Is there enough water?”
The captains tallied supplies.
For the Konoha Anbu, the current problem was the Mist Ninja—the seal scroll of the Uzumaki Elder must not fall into Mist Ninja hands.
