Surging chakra pulsed.
Accompanied by the "creak" of metal grinding, the Sand Iron Greatsword condensed again, its size reduced, but the level of threat increased exponentially.
Kisame seemed to sense Kaze's killing intent, his shark skin contracting frantically. If he had scales or hairs, they would probably all be standing on end.
He subconsciously looked up, his eyes suddenly shrinking.
Damn it!
Kaze stopped flapping his wings, gazing at Hoshigaki Kisame from afar.
"Magnet Release! Sword of Kusanagi!"
Whoosh!
The solidified Sand Iron Greatsword, accompanied by arcing electricity, tore through the air, a flash of silver leaving a dazzling arc in its wake.
Boom!
Like a stone thrown into a calm lake, creating a thousand layers of waves.
Rumble—
The tip of the sword plunged directly into the ground, leaving only the hilt visible. The surrounding rocks and ground cracked layer upon layer, and a faint trace of blood could be seen in the raised pile of rocks.
"Didn't kill him, did I?" Kaze watched the gradually dissipating Sand Iron Greatsword, and the bottomless hole it left behind.
The Sand Iron slowly gathered, once again condensing into a gourd behind him.
Kaze watched quietly.
Splash—
Suddenly.
A faint but distinct splash of water was heard.
Hearing the sound, Kaze's lips curled into a smile, "I thought so. After all, he's Hoshigaki Kisame. Although he may not be fully grown yet, and hasn't obtained the crucial Samehada, he's still the man who will be called the 'Tailless Tailed Beast' in the future. His chakra inherently possesses a special nature."
Hoshigaki Kisame wasn't dead, but Kaze wasn't angry or frustrated.
Because this was the planned outcome.
When Hiruzen Sarutobi issued this urgent mission to him, he made a special statement.
He told Kaze that the information about the supplies taken away by Ito Daisuke was incomplete, only a portion that Konoha intentionally presented to the public, not the whole truth.
Having long known that there were spies in Konoha, and that some people might be tempted to defect, using this as a bargaining chip, how could the cunning Hiruzen Sarutobi not have any precautions?
This operation was a play he had arranged for Kaze, with Hiruzen Sarutobi as the director. He had selected the main characters and supporting roles, and it was up to Kaze, the only one who knew the script, to perform the play well.
He had to let the Kirigakure ninjas take away the information, but he couldn't let them take it away too easily, otherwise, the Kirigakure would definitely be suspicious of the credibility of the information.
But now it was different. The Kirigakure squad was wiped out, and only one Hoshigaki Kisame escaped with serious injuries.
The credibility immediately increased a lot.
Initially, Kaze was worried about what kind of ninjas Kirigakure would send to respond. If their strength was too weak, he wouldn't know how to let them "escape" appropriately.
But upon seeing Hoshigaki Kisame for the first time, he had already conceived how to perform this play.
Although it was a bit of a pity that he couldn't obtain Hoshigaki Kisame's body, Hoshigaki Kisame at this time hadn't fully grown yet, possessing a certain degree of specialness, but not to a high extent, limiting its value.
Simply put, the fish wasn't fat enough, so it needed to be raised first.
When Hoshigaki Kisame grew to the extent in the original story, then obtaining him would maximize the benefits.
As for now.
A Jōnin's corpse with slight specialness was of little significance to Kaze.
"The mission is complete. I wonder if the three little ones have dealt with that group of ninjas."
Kaze withdrew his gaze and flew back, the smile on his lips never fading, the corner of his eye intentionally or unintentionally sweeping across a certain place.
In a corner not far away, Hoshigaki Kisame, covered in blood, hid in the soil, watched Kaze leave, and let out a long breath.
That's right.
His escape just now was a pretense. That crisp "splash" was just to pretend that he had already escaped, hoping to dispel Kaze's intention to continue chasing him.
That sword had injured him too severely, making it difficult to even move, let alone escape.
"Is this Konoha's 'Spear of Judgment'? Too terrifying," Kisame muttered with lingering fear, tightly clutching two scrolls.
— — — — — —
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Chapter 152 The Ninja World Is Very Complex
"It seems you have all solved it, very good."
When Kaze returned, he saw the four Kirigakure corpses lying at the feet of the three little ones, as well as Sato Daisuke, who was bound and looked ashen-faced.
The Kirigakure had still reserved some strength in this operation. Of the nine-man team sent, besides Hoshigaki Kisame, the only Jōnin, the rest were all Chūnin and Genin.
In order not to leak Kirigakure's code, the four code department ninjas were personally dealt with by Hoshigaki Kisame. The remaining four ninjas were not very strong either, so Kaze was very relieved to leave them to the three little ones.
Perhaps the three little ones' current strength was only close to Chūnin, but their cooperation had been honed very well in these three months.
Yuhi Kurenai, who was skilled in using Genjutsu, could easily trap a ninja in her illusion. Then, with Asuma Sarutobi and Shisui Uchiha, it was too easy to instantly kill the ninja caught in the illusion.
As long as they repeated this method, harvesting them one by one, solving these Kirigakure ninjas who weren't outstanding in strength wasn't a big problem.
Moreover, Shisui Uchiha's speed had already begun to show its power. Even Asuma, who was skilled in Wind Release, wasn't as fast as him.
In addition, Kaze had focused on cultivating their respective special characteristics.
Strength close to Chūnin only referred to their overall strength, but each person's certain aspect was actually no weaker than a Chūnin's.
As long as they cooperated and brought out their strengths, they wouldn't be much different from Chūnin, and might even be stronger.
"Sensei Kaze, we caught this traitor!" Asuma said with indignation.
"Mm," Kaze responded, "Prepare to leave. We'll hand him over to the people who are coming to meet us later."
"Yes!"
