Chapter 6: Ignition
In the civilian residence next to the dungeon, this was a two-story wooden structure with a distinctly Japanese style.
On the table in front of Su Xiao lay a grilled fish, a bowl of rice, and a bowl of murky soup. This was the food delivered that morning, his breakfast.
For Su Xiao, these things were barely enough to fill a gap between his teeth. Fortunately, he had food stored in his inventory.
Although he had struck a deal with Terumi Mei the previous night, the first part of his main mission was not yet complete. This meant Terumi Mei had no intention of recruiting him, and would likely dispose of him after using him.
Su Xiao had no desire to be that disposable tool, so he needed to leave as soon as possible.
If Terumi Mei had shown a bit of sincerity last night, Su Xiao would have killed a few people for her to establish initial cooperation.
Unfortunately, Terumi Mei was unwilling to spend a single coin on him. In her mind, he was a prisoner, a desperate criminal trapped in Kirigakure with no way out, incapable of causing any trouble.
Cooperation requires a premise: both sides must have leverage. In Terumi Mei’s eyes, Su Xiao had none.
Too bad Terumi Mei didn’t understand Su Xiao, nor did she know just how insane he could be.
At the moment, Su Xiao appeared to be in no danger, but that wasn’t the case. Terumi Mei would definitely kill him; it was only a matter of time.
Forget about three tasks—Su Xiao wasn’t planning to do even one for Terumi Mei. Even if it meant dying here, he was the type to fight to the death when threatened. Compromise was not his style.
Surrounded on all sides—that was Su Xiao’s current situation.
Countless ninjas were around him. Fighting his way out was impossible. As for finding potential allies…
Unfortunately, Kirigakure only had the “Peace Faction” and the “War Faction.”
Because of the assassination of the Fourth Mizukage, the “War Faction” wanted to tear Su Xiao apart alive. As for the “Peace Faction,” he had already negotiated with them last night, and they couldn’t become allies.
“Bubu, afraid of dying?”
Bubu Wang, who was gnawing on a whole roasted lamb, looked up.
“Woof.”
Clearly, Bubu Wang showed no trace of fear.
“Tonight, we’re going to assassinate the ‘target.’ This is the test of how fast you can run.”
Leaning back in his chair, Su Xiao began to conserve his energy. Success or failure depended on tonight.
This situation was unavoidable. Plot characters weren’t fools; they all had their own agendas. From the start, Su Xiao was destined not to develop in Kirigakure. Fortunately, the glorious achievement of assassinating the Fourth Mizukage would benefit his future plans.
A terrible start, but as long as he survived it, Su Xiao was confident he could carry out the rest of his plan.
…
At 1:00 AM that night, Su Xiao pushed open his door.
As soon as he stepped out, Ao, who was monitoring him nearby, immediately sprang into action. Five jonin vanished into the night.
To Terumi Mei, Su Xiao was a blade—a tool to eliminate dissidents. But this blade had an unknown origin and was dangerous. It had to be disposed of after use.
Under the cover of night, Su Xiao moved between buildings, concealing his aura and trying to avoid detection.
Ao, following closely behind, removed his eyepatch. Veins bulged on one side of his face as he activated his Byakugan, constantly monitoring Su Xiao’s movements.
The direction Su Xiao was heading was the residence of a jonin, one of the targets Terumi Mei had ordered him to assassinate.
This jonin was already 69 years old, with seniority surpassing Terumi Mei’s. He had been a trusted subordinate of the Third Mizukage and later assisted the Fourth.
In Kirigakure, which had been in civil war for years, 69 was considered old age. At this point, his physical functions had declined significantly. Since he was a taijutsu-type ninja, his combat ability had deteriorated even further.
This was why Su Xiao chose him. The man’s home was on the outskirts of Kirigakure. After killing him, Su Xiao could immediately escape—this was his chance to flee the village, or at least that’s how it appeared on the surface.
As for why he would kill this target first, it would lull the watchers into a false sense of security and create chaos.
But was Su Xiao’s escape plan really that simple? Of course not.
…
Based on Su Xiao’s route, Ao guessed who he was going to assassinate.
“So that’s how it is…”
Ao sighed and quietly gave a few instructions to a jonin beside him. That jonin changed direction, heading toward Terumi Mei’s residence.
“You two, go to the village edge and tell the guards to tighten security.”
No sooner had Ao spoken than he noticed Su Xiao suddenly stop and make a sharp turn.
Ao was puzzled. The man’s intention to escape was obvious, so what was this now? And why had he been eating nonstop since earlier? Was he trying to fill his stomach before dying?
Su Xiao no longer headed toward the edge of Kirigakure. Instead, he moved toward the village center—the location of another target.
This confused Ao. Wasn’t he planning to escape? Or had he noticed something?
Su Xiao began leading Ao in circles around the village. Every time he changed direction, it was toward a target’s location.
Five minutes later, Terumi Mei rendezvoused with Ao.
“What’s going on?”
Terumi Mei had apparently been woken from sleep. She yawned as she spoke.
“That guy is acting strange. He’s been circling the village.”
“Circling? Where did he go?”
“He went to…”
After hearing Ao’s report, Terumi Mei instinctively felt something was wrong.
“He didn’t go to assassinate the target?”
“No. He usually stops near the target’s residence for a while and then leaves. Reconnaissance?”
“Possibly…”
Terumi Mei lowered her head in thought, then suddenly remembered something.
“How did he kill the other prisoners in the dungeon earlier?”
Ao paused for a few seconds before answering, “It should have been explosive tags, but he’s used them all. I checked with my Byakugan. He has nothing suspicious on him—just a sword and some fruit. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let him wander around the village.”
“Fruit… something’s off. Stop him first.”
Terumi Mei leaped into the air and rushed toward Su Xiao.
At that moment, Su Xiao was standing on a street at the edge of Kirigakure. He had been concealing his aura the whole time; otherwise, he would have been discovered by the ninjas in the village long ago.
The Kirigakure ninjas weren’t on high alert. After all, this was their village, where they lived every day. If those sleeping ninjas had been vigilant, they might have noticed Su Xiao earlier.
Su Xiao tossed away a fruit pit. This was a local Kirigakure specialty fruit, shaped like a mango. He had been eating them the entire way.
He pulled out another fruit and continued eating. He had been at it since daytime, seemingly obsessed with this somewhat bitter fruit.
If anyone picked up the pits Su Xiao had discarded, they would find small bite holes in each one, with something white visible inside.
Su Xiao was almost sick of eating, but he had to keep going. This was to evade a certain pair of all-seeing eyes.
Letting out a burp, Su Xiao dropped another pit.
Slap.
A faint footstep sounded. Terumi Mei had appeared on a nearby rooftop without warning.
“What are you trying to do?”
Terumi Mei’s gaze was hostile.
“Just scouting the enemy’s situation. No need to be nervous.”
Su Xiao took a deep breath, his powerful stomach quickly digesting the fruit he had eaten.
“What’s the purpose of dropping those pits? Never mind, it doesn’t matter. Someone has already dealt with them.”
“Is that so? Then… did you also deal with what’s inside the pits?”
At this point, Su Xiao was wearing his Gale Armor coat. He spread his arms, and dense clusters of tiny white spiders crawled out from both sleeves—at least several hundred of them.
Terumi Mei’s pupils contracted. For some reason, her heartbeat quickened.
“Lava Release: Melting Monster Technique.”
Terumi Mei formed hand seals, took a deep breath, and spewed out a massive wave of magma!
The torrent of magma surged toward Su Xiao. Although Terumi Mei only suspected him, she attacked immediately without any hesitation.
Terumi Mei’s judgment was correct, but her attack came far too late. The best choice would have been to burn Su Xiao to death in that cell, never letting him out.
Just as the magma was about to incinerate Su Xiao, he detonated the alchemy bombs.
Boom!
Flames shot into the sky. The magma spraying toward Su Xiao was blasted away. Not only did an explosion occur near him, but every location he had passed earlier also erupted.
A great fire blazed up. One-tenth of the houses in Kirigakure were shattered or set ablaze. The flames spread in an instant, and screams echoed through the night sky.