Chapter 51: Pain Feels Threatened
Hearing this, the scarred leader laughed out loud, tears of mirth even streaming from his eyes.
"Brothers, did you hear that? This guy actually wants to let us go! He's letting us go! I'm so grateful. I'm shaking in my boots."
The men around him laughed too. Though they were cautious, they didn't mind a good laugh when the numerical advantage was so overwhelmingly in their favor that the gap seemed unbridgeable.
The scarred man snorted coldly. "Don't think that just because you killed a dozen ninja you can take us all on. The gap between us and those guys is like night and day."
Takahashi didn't speak. A layer of golden, glowing armor materialized over his body. The golden light shone brightly in the dark forest. This was a new technique he had developed recently: Light Energy Armor.
It could refract most light, and the intense glare would make it impossible for his opponents to keep their eyes open. In battle, a single moment of blindness could cost them their lives.
Takahashi transformed the Kusanagi Sword into a long spear. He had used the sword many times, but it never felt quite right. It wasn't until he changed it into a spear that he felt much more comfortable.
In his mind, he believed in the principle that longer reach meant greater strength. Being able to attack while allowing the spear to extend freely made it both an offensive and defensive weapon.
Following his usual combat habits, he preferred to take out the weaker opponents first; he didn't want to be stabbed in the back by some low-level trash.
He shot into the enemy formation once more, and this time, he was no longer holding back. The mercenaries watched as their companions fell one by one, dying tragically under his spear. Even some of the Chunin didn't have the power to resist and were instantly cut down, their bodies shattered.
Before long, only about a dozen of them were left standing on the field, and every one of them bore wounds. Their eyes were full of disbelief as they looked at Takahashi, as if they were seeing a ghost.
The scarred leader's injuries were the lightest, but his eyes held the most horror, because he had been fortunate—or unfortunate—enough to have witnessed the original "Konoha's Yellow Flash," Namikaze Minato.
Seeing Takahashi now awakened a deep, dusty memory from many years ago.
"Konoha's Shining Light... the one who spares those who surrender... right?" he stammered.
Hearing this, Takahashi was taken aback, suddenly remembering the peculiar rule from Namikaze Minato's time: enemies could abandon their mission upon seeing him and retreat without being pursued.
He thought about it carefully. This seemed like a good idea. It would save him a lot of trouble and keep his hands from being stained with so much blood. So, he simply agreed.
"That's right. So, do you surrender, or do you continue to fight me to the death?"
The remaining Jonin looked at each other, then uniformly dropped their weapons. No matter how good the money was, you had to be alive to spend it. The reason they had become rogue-nin and mercenaries in the first place was because they were afraid of death and sought easier lives. How could they not cherish a chance to survive now?
The others had never seen Namikaze Minato before and didn't know the feeling of being dominated by that fear, but the scarred leader's legs were weak now, and he walked away slower than the rest.
Stopping not far away, he glanced back at Takahashi's figure, his eyes complex.
He understood clearly that this guy wasn't the original Namikaze Minato, but he was even stronger and his attacks were more ruthless and cruel.
He could see a flicker of sorrow in Takahashi's eyes, but beneath that, his strikes were steady and merciless. What a terrifying man, he thought. He can completely restrain himself, balancing his own will and his goals.
He smiled self-deprecatingly. "It seems we can't accept any more missions against Konoha, even if we're killed for refusing."
As the leader of this group, the scarred man had no choice but to return to Amegakure, the Village Hidden in the Rain. The place was perpetually rainy, and Nagato sensed his arrival the moment he stepped into the village.
He came to the hidden base and half-knelt on the ground, looking up at Nagato.
"The mission... failed. Konoha has produced a new, immensely talented ninja. He single-handedly wiped out our entire team. His speed is extreme, a golden flash, very similar to the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, whom I encountered before. But his strength is greater, and his methods are more ruthless. You'll have to hire someone else for this mission."
Nagato didn't speak, he only sighed. He had sought out these men himself, and they had still failed. The spy he had planted in Konoha had been active for two years. He didn't know how much valuable information the man had been about to bring; it was like a mystery box.
But at the most critical moment, his connection had been severed. As a result, he had spent a fortune to hire people for the rescue, and now they had all been wiped out.
If it weren't for the fact that his core members all had their own missions, he wouldn't have needed to resort to these mercenaries.
Nagato remained silent. The scarred man stood up and turned to leave quietly. But before he could take a few steps, Konan made her move. Countless sheets of paper shot out, slicing cleanly through the man's neck. His head fell to the floor instantly. Konan wrapped it in paper and carried it away. The whole process was smooth and efficient, without the slightest hesitation, clearly the work of a veteran.
Still, Nagato was puzzled. Konoha's Shining Light? What kind of ninja is this? And even more talented than the Fourth Hokage? What kind of monstrous character was this?
If this ninja was allowed to grow, in a few years, wouldn't Konoha have another Kage-level powerhouse, perhaps even surpassing the previous one?
That would pose an enormous obstacle to their plan to capture the Nine-Tails. Such a thing absolutely could not be allowed to happen. Their plans would have to be moved up.
Konan returned after disposing of the body. She looked tenderly at Nagato and asked softly, "Should we send some people to infiltrate Konoha? We still have some candidates."
But Nagato shook his head helplessly. "Forget it. After this incident, Konoha will definitely be more vigilant against us. The ninja we cultivate are not easy to come by. We shouldn't waste them there. We will advance the timeline for capturing the Tailed Beasts."
Konan frowned. "Should we inform... the others about this in advance? We haven't even located the Three-Tails yet."
The "others" Konan referred to was Obito, but she didn't mention him directly, afraid it would upset Nagato.
Nagato considered it and sighed. "The Three-Tails is indeed a problem. Let's capture the other Tailed Beasts first and see if we can use their chakra to force a connection. The chakra of the Tailed Beasts should be compatible; after all, they were all one being originally. If we can form the statue in advance... then we can capture it directly later."
Konan asked again, "Then which Tailed Beast should we capture first?"
Nagato's eyes turned cold. He thought carefully, as if making a firm decision. "We start with the One-Tail. We start with Sunagakure."
(End of this chapter)
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