Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 120 A Shadow Appears

To minimize damage, the outnumbered Konoha team opted for a rather underhanded tactic. Under Naruto's cover, Matsuri secretly slipped a drug into the water tank. They didn't know if the enemy had sensory abilities, but Naruto could easily conceal the chakra of the others. However, he couldn't hide his own chakra; there was simply too much...

With Harada's assistance, the village deliberately made the dinner sent to the "caravan" a little saltier, ensuring they would drink water afterward. These wandering ninjas genuinely didn't expect the Konoha ninjas to be so cunning, especially that one could drug the water tank with everyone in the room. So, without even checking, they drank it. Thus, in the dead of night, the room was brightly lit, and fifteen ninjas were neatly tied in a row, their eyes half-closed.

"Will you interrogate people?" Sakura felt a bit averse to the word, but among all the people in the room, she was the only one who understood human anatomy best and wasn't afraid of going too far and killing someone.

"We don't need to worry, Sakura has already helped a lot." After all, the medicine that knocked out everyone in the room was provided by Sakura out of kindness.

"Actually, I've learned a little bit..." Xin wanted to volunteer, since he was the only one who hadn't contributed much to the operation.

However, Naruto still refused him and turned to look at the door, saying, "I already said it's not necessary, our reinforcements have arrived."

Suddenly, a pair of bright red eyes appeared in the darkness, the three-tomoe pattern slowly rotating within them. At that moment, a huge disagreement arose within the harmonious team. The two Root ninjas instinctively reached for their short swords, assuming a defensive stance, while Sakura and Naruto greeted the newcomer—one with immense joy, the other already knowing what was going on.

"Sasuke-kun! I'm so glad you're alright!" Sakura was so excited that her voice was a bit loud.

Naruto reminded her, "Sakura, I know you're happy, but don't forget Sasuke has been kidnapped. We can't let anyone see him here."

Sasuke slowly walked in, casually untied the strap around his neck, and took off a black cloak. Underneath, he was wearing a set of clothes that were completely black from head to toe, covering himself up completely.

So... what's with Sasuke wearing a deep V-neck dress two and a half years later? Isn't that a very conservative style of dress?

"Hmph, you're such a big idiot, you've really taken on a good mission." After Sasuke came in, he stared intently at Naruto without looking to the side. Not content with just throwing the scroll out of the air, he had to slowly walk over to him step by step.

This quest scroll from Yin Yin is very simple. Quest objective: Arrive at Yuanba Village at dawn two days from now and burn down the village's granary.

"Does Otogakure even accept such a despicable mission?" Sakura's peaceful life in Konoha, with its weeding, cat-catching, and guarding missions, had left her completely unaware of the cruelty of this world.

“The Sound Village has suffered heavy losses recently and is short of money everywhere. This is the amount I’m giving you for this mission.” Sasuke gestured a number that couldn’t be filled with one hand.

The three were stunned by the lavish spending, while Naruto fell into deep thought.

“An A-rank mission with a specified time, and the warehouse that was burned down…” Combined with the arrival of fifteen ninjas, unusual goods, and government troops arriving tomorrow… Naruto quickly concluded, “You’re going to be the ones to take the blame.”

"what?"

Sasuke had arrived at the village ahead of schedule by traveling at full speed, and he was still completely unaware of what was happening. However, now wasn't the time for explanations; they needed to extract the information quickly. So, they brought the strongest of the ninjas bound on the ground before Sasuke. Sasuke didn't see anything wrong with helping a former comrade who was no longer part of their faction; his Sharingan flashed, only making him more confused.

"They are wandering ninjas, not a group, but a temporary organization. The other party gave this person a truckload of goods and told him to go to a designated location to meet up with a group of people to complete a mission."

"Assassinate the village chief and his family in Yuanba Village, then dump the truckload of goods in their backyard."

The problem, after many twists and turns, has returned to Harada. The granary is the most important place in the entire village, right next to the village chief's house. All the houses in this village are wooden structures; if a fire breaks out and isn't detected in time, it will inevitably spread and burn down in large numbers. This not only means taking the lives of entire families, but also destroying evidence, framing suspects, and giving no one time to react—they'll probably arrive before the fire is even completely burned.

The gazes of everyone in the room shifted to a corner where Harada and Chomei, who were also awake, sat and stood quietly, watching them. Chomei was speechless with shock at learning that someone wanted to kill his family, while Harada remained calm, showing no surprise at the outcome.

Naruto said, "Grandpa Harada, someone wants to kill you."

Harada waved his hand, "I heard you, I heard you, this old man isn't hard of hearing."

"What should we do now?"

"I am your client, shouldn't your mission include protecting me?"

"If the client conceals information or misrepresents the mission level, the ninja has the right to refuse the mission. Although the final payment will not be received, there will be no penalty for breach of contract."

Harada finally lost his temper, slamming his fist on the table in frustration. "How would I, an old man, know who's after my life? If you're going to refuse, then get out of here! I'd rather stand out here and let those soldiers arrest me."

Shanming got anxious and quickly pressed down on his father, "Dad! Don't talk nonsense! We've been honest and law-abiding all our lives, why should we be locked up in jail!"

“Yeah, why should I?” Naruto’s tone was tinged with a hint of unease, his sharp gaze seemingly capable of piercing Harada. “Why give up resisting? Is it because the one who wants you dead is the ruler of this country?”

The room fell silent instantly. The young children had not yet experienced the harsh realities of life, and their concept of those in power was too distant. The elderly, having weathered the storms of life, had long since lost their edge, their hair now white.

"Heh, young man, you are indeed very smart, but you haven't tasted the pain of being powerless."

No, he was already soaked in that pain, which was like an inescapable poison that had seeped into every corner of his soul.

“I’ve observed this village carefully. Although life is a bit hard, everyone has enough to eat, everyone is smiling, and everyone is full of hope for the future.” Naruto didn’t pick up where Harada left off, but instead spoke with a smile about the village, this treasure filled with the old man’s life’s blood. “You told me that twenty years ago, this was just a wasteland with hardly any families. Every year during the rainy season, it would flood. It was clearly suitable for farming, but it could only lie fallow. It was you who designed the Yuan Canal, it was you who led the way in shoveling mud and filling in stones, and then mobilized the nearby residents to work together. It took more than ten years to control the floods and turn this fertile land into farmland.”

“This is not just your hard work, it belongs to everyone in Yuanba Village. They came together because they believed in you, how can you just abandon it like that?”