CH_150

『The Umibōzu have finally been used up…』

Though Tōji could now develop jutsu without relying on the Umibōzu for special mud.

But without undoing the 【Chakra Suppression Seal】, his chakra just couldn't keep up.

It was just that the juvenile Umibōzu, constantly drained by Tōji's relentless use, simply couldn't recover… By the time they'd weakened to a certain point, even after Tōji stopped for a few days, the Umibōzu died off one after another.

When his original jutsu was on the verge of success, even knowing this would happen, Tōji couldn't help but get impatient.

But by now, Tōji had already developed some C-rank jutsu with strong "growth potential."

Jutsu ranks mostly referred to difficulty, not power. It was just that harder jutsu tended to be more powerful…

Tōji's "new Earth Release" jutsu all took "growth potential" into account.

As long as you poured in enough chakra, the jutsu would get stronger. Similar to the 【Rasengan】—the more chakra you put in, the more powerful the sphere.

Though it was a pity, Tōji didn't plan to be so "flashy" anymore.

According to last year's estimates, the Konoha spies embedded deep in the Land of Water were about to make a big move…

『Could it be that Konoha… or rather, the Fourth's actions, made Obito—who already harbored hatred—even more insane in his revenge against Konoha?』

Tōji had always been a little dirty-minded, prone to imagining the darkest sides of human nature…

In any case, Tōji had stopped all actions that might arouse the suspicion of the Kiri-nin.

So if the Umibōzu weren't all dead yet, he'd find a place to release those unsuitable as summoning beasts.

But Tōji's estimated half-year was different from what the other Konoha spies had in mind…

They were thinking of starting operations in four or five months, plus time to investigate Kirigakure's intelligence… So they estimated about half a year before most spies would need to be activated to send the all-or-nothing intel back to the village.

But how could the Konoha spies know that they'd be discovered the moment they entered Kirigakure…

And Tōji would never have guessed his colleagues were so confident…

Even if the Konoha spies had a jōnin like Kenji who "overestimated" the Kiri-nin's detection capabilities… in reality, they still underestimated them.

…

One day, the once peaceful Lanxi Town—that nameless seaside village—became eerily silent.

Tōji, no different from any ordinary fisherman, finished his day's work at dusk and rowed home with Sweet Potato.

As he neared the shore, Tōji sensed something was wrong. Sea fog had rolled in—but sea fog was supposed to appear in the morning!

Sweet Potato let out a low, anxious whimper at Tōji…

"No way…" Tōji also guessed something major had happened.

He was still under the 【Chakra Suppression Seal】, his chakra limited. Not being a sensor-type shinobi to begin with, his sensory range now covered only his little boat… which meant all his sensory abilities were essentially useless!

Tōji considered quietly rowing back out to sea, pretending he was going to catch a few more fish.

But the Kiri-nin clearly weren't idiots…

『Looks like Kirigakure has already purged most of the Konoha spies in the Land of Water. Captain Kenji… never mind, I might not escape either!』

Tōji hadn't panicked yet. He couldn't be sure how many Kiri-nin were coming for him or what their skill level was.

By now, he'd slowed his rowing to a normal pace and was quietly gathering chakra, ready to undo the 【Chakra Suppression Seal】 at any moment.

Judging by the density of the fog, Tōji estimated he was still some distance from the hidden Kiri-nin.

"Sweet Potato—let's hope they don't like dog meat hotpot!" Tōji whispered to the dog.

"Whine…" Sweet Potato responded with a low whimper.