klisemfg Chapter 697 Back
Chapter 697 Back
He leaped back onto the eagle puppet's back and began low-altitude flight, following the trail of the Cloud Hidden Division. His goal was clear: to track down this Cloud Hidden Division and then find a way to retrieve the S-level intelligence from them.
With the insight of his Sharingan, Zhang Hai began flying low, following the movement trajectory of the Hidden Cloud Division. His sharp gaze swept across everything below, not missing a single clue.
After tracking them for a while, Zhang Hai discovered that the direction of this Cloud Hidden Division's movements seemed to be heading towards a bustling town in the Land of Hot Water. A thought struck him; he knew there must be a gold exchange there.
He had the eagle puppet land at a secluded spot on the outskirts of town, then put the puppet away, donned a mask, and blended into the town.
The town was bustling with activity, filled with the sounds of people and vehicles. Various vendors' cries and shouts rose and fell, creating a vibrant scene. Zhang Hai weaved through the crowd and quickly found the town's gold exchange.
The gold exchange was a place specifically for issuing and accepting bounty missions, and also an important source of information and money for ninjas. Zhang Hai entered the gold exchange and found it bustling with people, a mix of various ninjas, the atmosphere noisy and tense.
He walked to the counter and tapped on the table. A clerk with a blank expression looked up and asked, "What do you need?"
"I'm going to issue a bounty," Zhang Hai said in a deep voice.
The staff member handed him a form. "Please fill it out."
Zhang Hai took the form and wrote "Kakuzu" in the "Target Person" column. In the "Mission Requirements" column, he wrote: [Bounty on Kakuzu, meet me in Kirigakure]. In the "Reward" column, he wrote an astonishing figure and paid a substantial deposit.
The staff member's eyes flashed with surprise when they saw the task Zhang Hai had filled out. Offering a bounty on a ninja of Kakuzu's caliber was already extremely rare. Moreover, the task requirement was "meet up" rather than "kill," which was unheard of.
"Are you sure you want to post this task?" the staff member asked.
"Confirmed," Zhang Hai said in a deep voice. "Release it as soon as possible."
The staff member nodded and put away the forms and deposit.
Zhang Hai knew that Kakuzu, as a member of Akatsuki, was powerful and elusive. Finding him and getting him to come to Kirigakure to join him would be extremely difficult. But he had no other choice. He needed a powerful ally who could help him fight against the Anbu of Kumogakure. And Kakuzu was undoubtedly the best candidate.
He left the gold exchange, summoned his eagle puppet again, leaped onto its back, and sped off towards Kirigakure. He knew that Kakuzu's whereabouts were unpredictable, and even if the mission was issued, it would take some time to find him. He had to get to Kirigakure as soon as possible and wait for Kakuzu's arrival.
The eagle puppet flew at high speed through the air, quickly leaving the Land of Hot Water and entering the Land of Water. The Land of Water is an island nation surrounded by the ocean, with a humid climate and a perpetually thick fog in the air.
When Zhang Hai reached the edge of Kirigakure, he found the environment here to be completely different from Konoha. A thick fog perpetually hung in the air, making visibility extremely low even during the day. Rivers and lakes were everywhere, their surfaces as calm as mirrors, reflecting the hazy fog and creating an atmosphere that was both mysterious and serene.
He had the eagle puppet land in a secluded woodland, then put the puppet away, put on the mask, and walked into a small village on the edge of Kirigakure.
The villagers were simply dressed and lived peacefully. Zhang Hai stopped at a food stall and ordered a bowl of noodles. He casually sat down with a young man and asked, as if speaking casually, "Brother, I want to go to Wuyin Village, but I don't know how to get there from here?"
The young man visibly stiffened upon hearing the words "Hidden Mist Village." He glanced at Zhang Hai, his eyes filled with wariness and fear, and refused to answer.
"Brother, I was just asking for directions, you don't need to be so nervous, do you?" Zhang Hai said gently.
The man simply lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, "I don't know."
Zhang Hai's heart sank. He knew that Kirigakure had always been hostile to outsiders, and most of the villagers were wary of them. Getting information out of them would probably not be an easy task.
Without another word, a red light flashed in his eyes, and his Sharingan activated instantly. He cast a genjutsu on the man.
"Draw a map of Kirigakure Village, and all the routes leading to the village," Zhang Hai commanded within the illusion.
The man's eyes glazed over, and the chopsticks in his hand fell to the ground. He picked up a pen and paper from the table and began sketching rapidly on the paper. Soon, a detailed map of Kirigakure Village appeared before Zhang Hai, clearly marking all the routes leading to the village, as well as some important geographical landmarks.
Zhang Hai withdrew his illusion, and the man suddenly snapped back to reality, a hint of confusion in his eyes. He looked at the map in his hand, then at Zhang Hai, seemingly not understanding why he had drawn these things.
Zhang Hai ignored the man's question, picked up the map, and prepared to leave. However, just as he stepped out of the food stall, he suddenly heard a whooshing sound!
"Whoosh!"
A faint whooshing sound rang out, and a slender silver needle shot out from the side toward the back of Zhang Hai's neck like lightning!
Zhang Hai was startled and instinctively dodged to the side. The silver needle grazed his neck and embedded itself in the wall behind him.
He turned around abruptly and saw a long-haired woman in a dark kimono jumping down from a tree not far away. She held several thin needles in her hand, her eyes cold and filled with murderous intent.
The woman didn't speak, but waved her arm again, and dozens of thin needles shot towards Zhang Hai like a rainstorm!
Zhang Hai's Sharingan activated instantly, clearly capturing the trajectory of each fine needle. His figure flickered, weaving through the gaps between the needles like a ghost, easily dodging all the attacks.
However, just as he dodged the last needle, he discovered that the needles that had shot into the wall quickly turned into drops of cold water upon contact with the wall, then seeped into the wall and disappeared.
"This is..." Zhang Hai's heart skipped a beat. The fine needles turning into water droplets—this peculiar ninjutsu instantly reminded him of someone—the Ice Release ninja, Haku!
Could this woman be Bai's companion? Or a member of Bai's family? Zhang Hai was filled with questions. He knew that Ice Release was an extremely rare bloodline limit, mastered by only a select few. And Bai's Ice Release was even more refined and masterful.
He looked at the long-haired woman before him, a hint of seriousness in his eyes. He knew he might be in trouble.