Escape From Konoha

Chapter 245: 238: Target

Chapter 238: Target

The moment after the explosion, the inhabitants of the mansion were jolted awake. The raging fire spread to the surroundings. Such a terrifying scene caused even the guards' first instinct were to flee.

Despite the impending danger, one guard, driven by duty, headed promptly to the well. Armed with a wooden barrel, he gathered water and rushed towards the fire, attempting to quench the relentless flames.

However, the raging fire proved to be unstoppable, scurrying around with the wind, voraciously devouring everything in its path.

A fire of this extent was clearly man-made at this time. It would be impossible for a naturally occurring fire to become so fierce within such a short period. Moreover, in a place as important as the daimyo's mansion, even the servants working late into the night wouldn't dare make such a careless error.

Besides, Dark Bull and Red Shadow knew exactly what caused the initial explosion. It was the sound of an exploding tag detonating.

The root cause of the fire was someone using a explosive tags to ignite a flammable area inside the daimyo's mansion. This had caused the fire to spread greatly in an instant, becoming uncontrollable.

This premeditated attack was undoubtedly troublesome , especially at the critical moment of thei expansion plan. It needed to be dealt with as quick as possible.

"Leave this to me, and go protect the daimyo," Dark Bull said.

If something unexpected happened to the Daimyo, the plan would be shelved for a few more years. Moreover, the daimyo's sons were far mediocre. The Land of Demons didn't need such passive leaders. They needed someone ambitious.

Red Shadow, understanding the gravity of the situation, nodded and was prepared to leave when his body suddenly froze. He looked gloomily towards a certain direction.

"What's wrong?" Dark Bull asked quickly when he saw Red Shadow's expression change.

"My shadow clone disappeared,"

Red Shadow reveal, prompted concern from Dark Bull as well.

The shadow clone jutsu was different from general cloning jutsus, and also slightly different from it. Shadow clone, a type of physical clone with an independent consciousness from the main body and a certain resistance to blows determined by the user.

If a shadow clone was actively or passively released, the memories experienced were fed back to the main body. Therefore, shadow clones were often key for intelligence gathering.

The jutsu was originally developed by Konoha's Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, for espionage purposes. Typically only Chunin and Jonin are able to use such an advanced jutsu.

As a hidden agent placed inside the a foreign country, Red Shadow had naturally learned this convenient jutsu. When contacting Dark Bull, he created a shadow clone to protect the princess.

The dispelling of his shadow clone wasn't voluntary, but the result of an enemy attack. This meant that she likely faced danger. It was why Red Shadow became gloomy.

Dark Bull understood this and decisively changed his previous decision, saying to Red Shadow, "I'll handle the Bear Daimyo. You go rescue the princess. Be careful.... any ninja who could defeat your clone should be highly skilled."

Red Shadow nodded and disappeared from the spot. Drawing on the memory transmitted during the shadow clone's release, Red Shadow could deduce the direction which the enemy fled after abducting the princess.

Watching Red Shadow leave, even Dark Bull's usually simple and honest face revealed a hint of helplessness. He sighed, muttering to himself, "That princess really is troublesome. Is this the burdenof being a beauty?"

It was understandable, as he thought about it. A woman with a 65 million ryo bounty on the black market was a rare high-value target and she was one of the few designated as 'alive'. Any bounty hunter who completed the bounty alone would be set for life, able to live leisurely without working ever again.

"No wonder the Daimyo tasked Red Shadow with her protection. Failing to fetch a good price for such an important 'treasure' would be a waste of her value."

The lives of nobles were clearly not as beautiful as imagined. A mix of glamor, greediness and ugliness.

In essence, the assault on the daimyo's mansion stemmed from trincess, elucidating Dark Bull's description of her as "troublesome."

Failure to rescue the princess would jeopardize Red Shadow's standing with the Bear Daimyo. For Red Shadow, the princess's safety was intricately tied to his vital mission, surpassing even his own life.

Dark Bull believed Red Shadow was capable of handling things there, so he proceeded towards the Bear Country Daimyo with a sense of assurance.

The imperative was clear – The mustn't be lost, and the reputation of the Land of Bears was equally at stake.

...

"That foolish princess!"

During the pursuit, Red Shadow muttered curses under his breath more than once. Sure enough, the woman did hinder his mission efficiency, even causing him unnecessary troubles.

Relying solely on her beautiful appearance, she had been relentlessly being attacked by bounty hunters.. No matter when, bounty hunters who are desperate for money prove to be extremely challenging.

Despite the Land of Demon's deployment of a secret team in the market, its vast size and connections with daimyos and nobles around the world created an intricate network impossible to dismantle completely.

No amount of yelling and cursing could change the fact that the foolish princess had been kidnapped again. Failing to retrieve the woman would undoubtedly complicate matters on his end.

"In that direction?"

Although the footprints on the road were subtle, Red Shadow keenly traced them.

This was already outside the capital of the Land of Bears, with the city in the background bustling due to the sudden fire.

The Bear Daimyo must be furious, not only because his mansion was attacked but also because his 'cherished' daughter had been kidnapped again.

Hence, Red Shadow's immediate task was rescuing her as soon as possible.

Dark.

The wind howled, carrying a deluge of dust that struck Red Shadow's body and face.

It was desolate, heavily desertified wilderness.

The Land of Bears, a small resource-scarce nation with minimal vegetation, featured with deserts close to the Land of Wind. A circular canyon surrounded the country, enclosing its territory. The canyon serving as the barrier was known as Fog Valley.

Legend has it that in ancient wars, the Land of Bears didn't cremate corpses but randomly discarded them at the valley's bottom. Those corpses had mixed with something which formed a poisonous mist inside the valley.

Red Shadow now chased towards the direction south of Fog Valley. The path lead to the desert boundary with the Land of Wind.

The wind intensified..

Red Shadow, relentlessly pursuing the enemy for three consecutive hours, felt a slight irritation in his heart, even though he wasnt tired physically.

As he went further, the enemy's footprints grew weaker, obscured by the relentless wind and shifting sands.

For a long time, Red Shadow had to remain still to carefully scan the faint traces left by the enemy to pinpoint their location.

There were also numerous cunningly set traps.

The bounty hunter who had kidnapped the princess wasn't working alone, it was an organized group.

In the market, bounty hunters weren't merely soly; there existed multiple hunter group. Confronting such groups made chasing them a difficult task.

"Disappeared?"

Red Shadow pondered as he continued the pursuit into a place nearly indiscernible, drawing nearer to the border of the Land of Wind.

The footprints had completely disappeared.

Squatting down, Red Shadow inspected the silver-like fine sand illuminated by the moonlight, a frown creasing his face.

The sand behind him began to ripple.

Two black-clad ninjas, their faces concealed by masks, jumped out suddenly, holding sharp swords, they swung at Red Shadow from behind.

The swords sliced through the air, seemingly piercing Red Shadow's form.

"!?"

The masked ninjas stared in disbelief, as if witnessing an extraordinary spectacle. The sword seemed to hit, yet Red Shadow remained untouched, as if a phantom had absorbed the blows.

Such strange ninjutsu shoced the attackers.

Pfft! Pfft!

Both bodies were crumpled, and the two attackers yelled in pain. In the their back, a Kunai was stabbed.

They fell on the sandy ground, lying there gasping for breath in pain, their dying posture failing to elicit Red Shadow's sympathy.

"Where is the woman?"

Red Shadow crouched in front of one attacker with a Kunai in his hand as he asked.

The attacker faltered but didn't speak.

"Then go to hell,"

Red Shadow said, quickly swiping the Kunai across the attacker's throat.

Blood splattered on the sand.

The other attacker trembled.

Red Shadow's indifferent expression in harvesting lives was indeed intimidating; he offered no room for hesitation.

"I know the human body vital points well. The extent of your wont is painful but not fatal. The Kunai in your back won't kill you... unless you choose not to answer my questions,"

Red Shadow's face obscured in shadows, his eyes cold and emotionless.

While he wasn't a professional interrogator, he understood that in the face of pain and death, most succumb. Especially these profit-driven and greesy bounty hunters.

While some may possess strong wills, but many of them, when confronted with death and pain, they are no different from ordinary people.

Now, he just wasnted to increase the fear gripping the attacker's heart.

.....

Close to a sand dune, Red Shadow stood at the entrance of the cave and took a deep look inside, only to see an endless darkness.

The danger hidden inside and the number of enemies were unknown.

Even Red Shadow would not treat his own life as a joke. He stretched out his hand and touched the stone wall of the sand dune, immediately, his whole body merged into the stone wall, walking unimpeded within the stone structures.

It was more convenient than earth release stealth jutsus, one of his Kekkei Genkai abilities. And sneaking into the sand dune this way proved an unexpected method for the enemy.

In the sand dune, only the sound of wind and the blowing sand prevailed, the enemy remained unseen, but there were various traps were scattered around.

Fortunately, he hadn't approached from the front; otherwise, even he wouldn't have been able to infiltrate this place unscathed.

It was indeed careful to use so many traps to prevent anyone from attempting to save the princess.

But there were no traces of the enemy. Did they simply go out to meet with their employer?

'No, need to be careful,' Red Shadow thought to himself.

Instead of rushing to rescue the princess, he continued to move among the stone walls of the dune. After ensuring there were no signs of the enemy, Red Shadow became convinced of his judgment.

The bounty hunters who kidnapped her had indeed gone to meet their employers.

He meeded to retrieve her as soon as possible.

Compared to eliminating the hunters, Red Shadow felt that bringing the princess back to the Land of Bears as soon as possible was far more important. For now, he'll let these them go temporarily.

Finding the room where the princess was kept, he found her on the ground leaning against the cold wall. Her fine clothing was fairly neat, but there was some dust on her face, and a tired look showing the hardships she must have endured on the road.

Hearing approaching footsteps, Shukichii's body trembled slightly. She raised her head and saw a familiar figure approaching her.

"Uh...uh..."

Because a cloth was stuffed in her mouth, she could only make such a whimpering sound, her eyes appearing flustered and excited.

Although Red Shadow really wanted to scold this troublesome princess, but after careful consideration, he realized it wasn't her fault for being taken away by bounty hunters.

Moreover, even if he didn't like her much, she was the daughter of a Daimyo. So, he calmed down and avoided getting angry.

A heart like still water was the most important state of mind for a ninja. Be calm at all times.

Red Shadow checked carefully, and there were no traps around her. Were those bounty hunters overconfident or too careless?

Walking up to the princess and squatting down, Red Shadow extended his hand towards her, removing the cloth from her mouth.

"Ninja-sama, get out of here!"

"Huh?"

Hearing her shout, Red Shadow was momentarily taken aback, then realized something. He extended his hand and tore off the outer layer of clothing in front of her.

A large number of exploding tahs were attached to her inner garment, and they burned at an extremely fast speed.

Red Shadow's pupils suddenly constricted.

Without much thought, he instinctively reached out and removed the exploding tags attached to her inner garment.

Beyond the hill, a figure stood on the sand. Clad in a tight black ninja outfit with a masked face, only a pair of cold eyes exposed. The corners of the mouth under the mask seemed to be wriggling.

Boom!

Accompanied by a violent explosion, the sand dunes in front were momentarily obliterated.

Numerous fragments of earth and rocks scattered in all directions, and terrifying explosive flames erupted.

The night turned into day instantly, the fiery red light raising the surrounding air temperature.

After a slight delay, the strong wind generated by the explosion spread more fiercely, and the fireworks from the explosion underwent a terrifying sublimation, further expanding and swallowing the sand.

The exploding tahs originally placed on the princess's body was a decoy mechanism. At the moment of explosion, it would detonate along with other mechanisms in the dune.

No matter how powerful a ninja was, facing such a scene would be inevitably overwhelming.

The human body can't compete with the super-destruction of the exploding tags.

The black-clothed ninja confirmed this and then seemed to sense something, his brows furrowing slightly.

Chakra wings extended like a peacock spreading its tail.

These wings fluttered in the air, and the black-clothed ninja effortlessly soared into the sky, focusing sharp, cold eyes on the center of the sea of fire.

"Interesting. In this case, not only was the hostage protected, but the hostage isn't dead."

If he confronted Red Shadow head-on, he wouldn't be his opponent. The black ninja was certain of this.

In the center of the sea of flames, most of Red Shadow's body burned, his clothes ragged like a roadside beggar, blood flowed from his head to his eyes. And everything in from of him appeared strangely red.

Behind him lay the princess's body.

Only a small part of her clothes were burned, and her once neat black hair was now disheveled and covered in dust. Overall, she remained unharmed.

The black-clad ninja was naturally surprised at this sight.

"Even in the face of the great horror of death you still persisted. it really is nice being a ninja loyal to your Lord. Wouldn't it have been better for you to just die in the explosion?"

The words of rhe attacker were mere whispers, unheard by rhe two below.

"Ninja-sama... your body..."

Shukichi gasped in horror, almost convinced Red Shadow was dead.

Having escaped the catastrophe, she saw the young man standing desperately in front of her, blocking all attacks with his body. A deep worry marred her face, and a hint of distress flickered in her eyes.

Why would Ninja-sama go to such lengths to save her? As a mere vase, she was well aware of the limited value of her existence. Someone like her wasn't worth sacrificing a life to save.

So in that situation, even if Red Shadow had abandoned her, she wouldn't have harbored resentment towards him. No, there was no reason to resent him.

As someone seen as commodity, possessing self-awareness was crucial to surviving under the protection of her father. She was accustomed to submissiveness, and resistance was futile.

This made Red Shadow's determination to protect her even to the death confusing to her. No matter how devoted one is to their duty, their life shouldn't be given up so easily.

Sometimes, giving up is the wisest choice.

'Ninja... what are they?' Shukichi was once again confused by the role of a ninja.

Red Shadow panted, attempting to keep his voice down so the enemy wouldn't realize he wasn't at the end ye5. He had been too careless. He never anticipated the enemy placing exploding tags on such an important 'treasure' like the princess. This didn't align with the typical behavior of bounty hunters.

Looking up at the black-clothed ninja in the sky, Red Shadow clenched his teeth in pain.

He now understood. The attacker's goal was never the princess but him—the guard.

Shukichi was just bait to lure him into the trap. If the target were her, placing just a few tags would be enough. But If the goal was him, the result would be different.

The mysterious figure wasn't a bounty hunter at all. From the start, his assumption with Dark Bull was wrong.

"You're really truly tenacious, but your future comes to an end here."

The black-clothed ninja pitied his talent.

It's regrettable that such a talented ninja will die here. However, the ninja world is cruel, and killing each other was a norm.

It doesn't matter if the means are good or bod, what matters was winning.

"Not here."

Though well aware of his extreme disadvantage, Red Shadow had no intention of admitting defeat.

"Ninja-sama..."

Before the princess could finish speaking, Red Shadow quickly turned around, wrapping his left arm around her.

"Ah!"

Red Shadow's actions made her cry out instinctively, her face flushed.

While she had close contact with Red Shadow before, this ambiguous posture was a first. For the innocent princess, it was no less exciting than experiencing it for the first time, and her entire body's nerves were sensitive.

"Don't worry. You're important to me, and I will protect you even if it costs me my life."

Red Shadows's resolute words resonated in her ears, which caused her body to tremble slightly.

The wind stirred the fire, and red sparks floated in the air. Looking at Red Shadow's resolute and calm face, Shukichi felt that she had never been so fascinated by a man.

Unable to restrain herself, she reached out and hugged Red Shadow's neck tightly.

"I believe in you, Ninja-sama."

"?"

'Uh... what's wrong with her head now?'

However, it wasn't a lie to say that Red Shadow was desperately protecting this troublesome princess. If he couldn't even protect a seemingly worthless princess, how could he become the shadow behind him to eliminate all his obstacles?

Everything he was doing was for him.