Chapter 273 : Mission Begins!!

"Kurenai Yūhi, why did you say that the Wood Release ninja is going to be in trouble? Aren't you going to invite that ninja?"

Genya saw Kurenai Yūhi about to leave, his eyes flickered for a moment, and in his youthful voice, he stopped her and asked.

Kurenai Yūhi!

Suddenly, he wanted to see how Kurenai Yūhi viewed the higher-ups of Konoha, and also understand how a Konoha Jonin felt about the village. 

Kurenai Yūhi could represent certain people or groups.

"There's a large laboratory in the village that studies Wood Release. They used children for experiments before. Now that the Wood Release ninja is here, I'm afraid..." Kurenai Yūhi responded instinctively, but halfway through, she seemed to realize something was off, and her words trailed off. 

"You're still young. I hope you never have to understand this."

"Is that so?" Genya blinked, not continuing the conversation.

However, he had learned something about Kurenai Yūhi. No matter what happens in the future, it seemed that Kurenai Yūhi didn't have much regard for the higher-ups of Konoha, or even the Sarutobi clan!

There was even some resentment!

That's why Kurenai Yūhi's words seemed a bit reckless, though it could also be because she was still young.

"Alright... it's time for us to leave. Little brother, go home now!" Kurenai Yūhi patted Genya's head before getting up and, with a cool gesture, disappeared.

Might Guy and Kakashi also followed, but as they left, Kakashi glanced at Genya. With Genya's current intellect and mindset, Kakashi thought there was more to his question than met the eye.

As for the deeper meaning, he wasn't sure.

"Genya-sama, what are we doing next?" Hikari watched as the group disappeared from view, tightening her small hand as she asked again.

She knew the three were going to capture her brother, so she couldn't help but feel worried. However, Genya had reassured her multiple times, and she chose not to voice the rest of her concerns.

"Even if the Wood Release ninja is captured, they'll only be brought back to Konoha!" Genya noticed Hikari's worry and gently reassured her once again.

Hikari only had her brother, the two of them depending on each other, so it was only natural for her to be worried!

"Let's go back and rest."

In the forest, Kakashi and his team had already traveled a fair distance.

Their figures moved swiftly through the trees.

"Yūhi, you said a bit too much earlier!" Kakashi spoke up while moving forward, reminding Yūhi Kurenai.

As a ninja, one must never say too much. 

Earlier, Yūhi had acted as if she had misspoken but ended up mentioning the Konoha Laboratory, especially the part about using children for experiments!

Clearly, she had said more than she should have.

"Eh? I didn't pay attention earlier, but yeah, I did say too much!" Yūhi didn't mind and continued swiftly moving through the forest. 

"But I wasn't wrong. Recently, the Konoha Laboratory has been causing quite a stir, and several children have gone missing, particularly in areas managed by the Sarutobi Police Force!"

Yūhi's tone became heavy at the mention of the children.

In fact, Kakashi was right; she had intentionally spoken about it. 

The Konoha Laboratory was growing more reckless, and the missing children were obviously connected to it.

She felt sorrow for the children who had gone missing.

The reason she had mentioned it in front of Genya was partly because he was the leader of the Uchiha Police Force, a person with some influence.

Additionally, the areas under the Uchiha Police Force's protection were peaceful and secure, which made her trust him.

One more thing, the only clan left that can oppose the higher-ups of Konoha and reveal their secrets might be the Uchiha clan.

Even if other clans' ninjas haven't bowed to the Sarutobi clan, they act like they don't see what the Sarutobi clan has been doing.

If they had any passion for justice, the Sarutobi Police Force wouldn't be able to control half of Konoha's security.

If the Sarutobi clan controlled the entire Police Force, some ninjas might not have cared, but now with the division into two sides, comparing both Police Forces, it's clear who has more popular support.

"Unfortunately, Sarutobi Hiruzen is Hokage, so the Police Force can't be replaced!"

Kakashi looked at the current expression of Yuhi Kurenai, and guessed her thoughts. He sighed and didn't say anything further.

Kurenai didn't dwell on the topic, instead, she directly asked, "Where can we find the Wood Release ninja? Finding one person in the ninja world is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"We'll go to the Bounty Station. Wood Release ninja often go there. We might find him there!" Kakashi thought for a moment and gave the order.

After confirming the location, the three of them didn't say another word and headed in that direction.

Time passed little by little.

One day, seven days, fifteen days...

Kakashi and the others wandered around the Bounty Station, but they heard no news about the Wood Release ninja.

It seemed...

The Wood Release ninja knew someone was looking for him and had hidden himself.

Three months passed like this, with Kakashi and the others continuing to explore the area around the Bounty Station, hoping to find some clues about the Wood Release ninja!

Perhaps Konoha was serious about capturing the Wood Release ninja. Seeing Kakashi had no new information, they sent another dozen or so ninjas to help search!

"Kakashi, do you think that person is hiding?" Might Guy was resting lazily in a tree. 

This was the only route to the Bounty Station, but no one had heard anything about the Wood Release ninja.

It made them a little bored, and they even thought about going after him, but still had no direction.

"Do you think the Wood Release ninja changed his appearance to trade?" Kurenai frowned. 

She only knew that the person could use Wood Release and wore a wooden bull mask, but had no other information!

Waiting at the Bounty Station was like searching for a needle in a haystack!

Even Kurenai began to doubt that the Wood Release ninja had passed by them, but she hadn't recognized him.

"It should be fine!" Kakashi shook his head and glanced at his ninja dog, Pakkun, who was standing beside him.

Even if the human eye can make mistakes, Pakkun had sniffed the scent of Hayashi, and if Hayashi had really been to the Bounty Station, Pakkun would have smelled him.

Kakashi believed that maybe Hayashi had realized he was being hunted and had hidden himself.

As they had been scouting around the Bounty Station, they had already encountered ninjas from other villages a few times, but all they did was exchange smiles and no further words!

Their goal must have been the same as theirs—Hayashi!

"If the Wood Release ninja doesn't show up, we can't just stay here forever, right?" Might Guy started to complain. 

"Staying here like this means I'm losing my training time! At this rate, those annoying kids will surpass me in no time!"

"The Third Hokage won't let us return, so we have to stay here and keep working on the mission!" Kakashi replied helplessly. He thought the village was too obsessed with the Wood Release ninja.

Did they really believe a Wood Release ninja could help them research the First Hokage's cells?

"Other people sent by the Third Hokage haven't had any success either, so all we can do is wait!" Kurenai said, somewhat speechless. But now, she was the one with the most stable mindset.

"There's a smell of blood. Someone's here to turn in a mission!" While they were complaining, Pakkun suddenly sniffed something and looked into the distance. "This scent seems... familiar."

Everyone immediately became serious and looked in the direction Pakkun indicated.

In the distance, they saw a figure approaching on the road, wearing an ox-headed mask. He was dragging a straw mat behind him, on top of which lay a barely conscious person.

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