Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 29 The Death of the Squad Leader

"Ever since I appeared before you, you've been secretly observing me. You've been wondering why a low-ranking ninja can return unscathed, and why my actions are always perfectly timed."

"That's why you hinted to Naoto to keep bothering me until I agreed to join the team. After that, you always took me with you whenever we were assigned a mission, making me assist you as the main attacker."

"So, are you satisfied with the result?"

Sato Yoshisuke wanted to argue, but the poison had already spread throughout his body, and he didn't even have the strength to speak.

Only on his deathbed did he experience a brief moment of lucidity before passing away.

"Yes, I do have doubts about you. I doubt you, surviving after being away from the village for so long. Are you still a ninja of Takigakure?"

"You shouldn't have doubted this question," Shisei Aburame said as she walked up to him. "I'm currently a Takigakure ninja, and I will be for a long time to come."

"So you shouldn't doubt my identity as Takigakure, you should doubt my identity."

Unfortunately, Yoshisuke Sato couldn't hear the last sentence.

Although he still held the kunai tightly in his hand, preparing for his final blow before dying, Aburame Shisei had already calculated his timing. By the time he reached him, he had already become a corpse with his eyes wide open in death.

In fact, with Aburame Shisei's strength, he could have easily taken care of Captain Sato without anyone noticing.

But that would leave too many openings, unless he were to send everyone to their deaths.

But how can that be allowed?

These people are his credentials to enter Takigakure Village, and they may become his villagers in the future. Wouldn't it be a waste to kill them all?

As for controlling Sato Yoshisuke with insects, he had considered it, but found it completely impossible. This ninja, though not particularly strong, possessed an excessively strong will; his mind was poisoned by some kind of willpower.

The battle ended completely a few minutes later.

You Shu finally defeated the little insect, but he himself was seriously injured. After sustaining three wounds, Chun Cao plunged her dagger into Hong Die's heart. Zhi Ren was covered in blood, with more than twenty corpses of the garrison soldiers lying at his feet.

When the three of them rushed to the abandoned house in the backyard of the city lord's mansion to provide assistance, this was the scene they saw:

The black scorpion was decapitated and lay in a pool of blood.

Sato Kichisuke knelt to one side, a short sword stuck in his chest, his other hand tightly gripping a kunai. His head was tilted back, his eyes empty and lifeless.

Aburame Shisei slumped against the wall, sweat dripping from his head, panting heavily, as if he had been poisoned.

"Captain!" A tree rushed over, but Sato Yoshisuke was already dead. Tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.

Chuncao kept her mouth tightly shut, tears silently streaming down her face. Having experienced the death of her companion, she was much more resilient than the other two.

Naoto stood there silently, his hand trembling as he gripped the kunai. He looked at the captain's corpse, at the mess on the ground, and at the gradually brightening sky.

His heart felt empty, and his eyes gradually became lost: "Is this what it means to be a ninja? Is this the path we've been pursuing?"

Another city lord rushed over like a madman, ignoring the bloodstains all over his body, and frantically searched through the black scorpion's corpse.

"The antidote! The antidote! Where's the antidote?!"

-

One day later, in front of the city lord's mansion.

Haruka, Yuuki, Naoto, and Shisei Aburame stood before a grave containing the remains of Yoshisuke Sato.

And this is where he rests in peace.

After bidding farewell today, the group considered their mission complete and prepared to return to Takigakure Village.

The fat lord personally saw him off, followed by the real butler Matsumoto—or rather, Aburame Shisei's new puppet.

The city lord handed over a heavy money bag: "This is the agreed reward, and... a little extra token of my appreciation. Please pass it on to Mr. Yoshisuke's family."

Chuncao silently accepted it.

"If you happen to pass by in the future, please be sure to come and visit us," the city lord said, bowing respectfully to the point of humility.

Unfortunately, no one answered him.

Just as the caravan was preparing to depart, another carriage arrived. Ryuji Ida jumped down from the carriage; his caravan was noticeably smaller, but he seemed to be in good spirits.

"Fellow ninjas!" he said, walking quickly over. "I heard you've completed your mission? Congratulations!"

Chuncao nodded reluctantly, her face showing no joy whatsoever.

Seeing the expressions on the other people's faces, and noticing that one person seemed to be missing from the group, Ryuji Ida immediately realized he had said the wrong thing and quickly corrected himself, saying, "I'm sorry, Ninja-sama, I didn't know this had happened. Please accept my condolences."

"However, I have a favor to ask. I am about to travel to the Land of Earth, a long journey fraught with bandits. I wonder if it would be possible to hire you all to escort me for the journey? The payment is negotiable."

Chuncao and Youshu exchanged a glance, about to refuse, when Zhiren suddenly spoke up: "We'll accept."

Chuncao looked at him in surprise: "Naoto, our team isn't complete right now. Besides, taking on missions privately is forbidden in the village."

"The captain has a wife and two children at home. Our village isn't a major ninja village, so we don't provide compensation. The reward for this mission, when divided among everyone, won't be enough for them to live on for three years."

Naoto didn't have any extraneous thoughts; his idea was simple: he just wanted to earn more money for the captain's family.

Moreover, the destination of this escort is very close, and the round trip can be completed in about seven days, with no danger along the way.

They could have simply let Takikawa take their mission application and rewards back to the village; that way, it wouldn't have been considered a violation of regulations.

He looked at Ryuji Ida: "How much do you want to pay?"

Ryuji Ida's eyes lit up: "Twice the rate of a regular C-level escort mission! No, three times!"

"Deal," Naoto said.

Chuncao wanted to say something more, but in the end she just sighed. She understood Zhiren's feelings—doing something was better than doing nothing. At least, in this way, they could save more money for the captain's family.

Aburame Shisei stood quietly to the side, watching. Naoto's choice was exactly the same as he had predicted.

It seems that his sunny and talkative friend has also begun to grow up after experiencing several life-or-death situations.

People like them, once they have an obsession in their hearts, will become stronger at an exponential rate, and eventually even their chakra will be imbued with the sharpness unique to their spirit.

However, his will is probably still in a stage of confusion and exploration.

Aburame Shisei observed and watched silently, perhaps considering it an experiment to explore chakra.

Just then, Naoto turned to look at him and handed him the task application and some money.

"Takikawa-nii, I'm leaving the rest to you."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely get it done." He accepted the two items and readily agreed.