Escape From Konoha

Chapter 199: 195: Bug Men

There might be slow or no update this week. My eyes and hands hurt and will be taking some time off for myself to think.

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In the pouring rain of the forest, the downpour covered all the commotion, leaving only the sound of torrential rain echoing in his ears, and also the cold brought on by the rain.

Jiraiya was alone, navigating the muddy road with speed. To increase the speed of their intel gathering, he had separated from Kakashi's team. During the operation, they had planned to rendezvous every two hours at their agreed location for information exchange. However, despite spending more than a day in the Land of Rain, he hadn't detected anything out of the ordinary.

According to the information provided by Minato, a large-scale human trafficking organization operated at the border of the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire, exploiting the instability in the Land of Rain after the war for conducting the human trafficking.

Among the leads, a faint clue pointed towards Amegakure.

After searching for a day for nothing, Jiraiya considered reaching out to Kandachi, the new leader of Ame. If someone from Ame was involved in the case, Kandachi, as the current leader, would likely possess relevant knowledge. Or, perhaps he might be orchestrating events behind the scenes as well.

Jiraiya knew that his suspicions were mere guesses, and they couldn't be used as evidence. Everything about it required careful verification. Moreover, his journey to Ame wasn't solely about Minato's assigned mission He also wanted to find Nagato, Yahiko and Konan. The safety and well-being of his three missing disciples, remained a concern for Jiraiya.

As the forest neared its end, an involuntary chill caused Jiraiya to abruptly stop his progress. He narrowed his eyes as he abandoned his speed, opting for a stealthy approach instead. He silently approached a huge tree, raindrops trickling down his hair and cheeks, using the leaves and foliage to cover himself, all the while covertly observing an open space not far away. He spotted five people wearing in black hooded cloaks, standing in the rain, surrounded by thirteen lifeless bodies.

These corpses were all identifiable as ninja, with nine wearing Ame uniforms and forehead protectors, while the remaining four had Konoha Anbu uniform and strange masks with darker colors on their faces.

"These are Root ninjas!" Jiraiya's eyes widened.

Konoha Anbu and Root shared a uniform, but their mask designs was significantly different. Anbu masks primarily featured animal faces with soft and light colors, whereas Root ninja had solemn and eerie masks, not limited to the animal designs. Although he rarely interacted with Root operatives, as one of Konoha's few jonin permitted in high-level meetings, he naturally had his own means of distinguishing them.

"Why are Root here? And who could have killed them?" Jiraiya's heart was filled with doubts. Despite his reservations about the Root, these operatives were still Konoha's own. Their deaths in this foreign country disturbed him.

Realizing that anger served no purpose in the moment, he understood that these five mysterious figures were powerful, each of them ranking as top-level entities. Acting on emotion would prove unwise. He trusted his own judgment and intuition regarding the situation.

In a battle, a premature attack wouldn't suffice, he needed to bide his time, waiting when the enemy's relaxed, and then launch a surprise attack for a swift takedown.

"Ah Root are still as difficult as ever. Thankfully, they're no longer a threat."

On the clearing, one of the five cloaked figures expressed this sentiment.

Another one crouched down, retrieving a well-preserved scroll from the muddy ground. The scroll was still in a good condition despite the muck. Meaning, whatever was recorded in the scroll was quite important.

"Dispose of the bodies without leaving a trace."

"Understood."

Gathering the corpses in a pile, one of them swiftly formed seals with both hands and expelled a scorching stream from their mouth, incinerating the bodies entirely.

"Let's go. This way, we can successfully conclude our mission."

The figure holding the scroll suggested, preparing to leave, and the rest of the group raised no objections.

Observing the five people preparing to leave after clearing the battlefield, Jiraiya realized there was no time to waste. This was their most relaxed moment, but he wasn't sure if there were others that would be coming after them. Encountering others could complicate the situation.

Without hesitation, Jiraiya rushed forward like a bolt of lightning, clenched his fists, and delivered a blow from behind. There was no sensation of hitting a flesh

Instead, he fist passed through the figure's back, causing their body to burst into flames.

"Now!"

The other four surrounded him, taking out their kunai and slashing at Jiraiya mercilessly.

Jiraiya's chakra surged, allowing his arms to break free from the flames, and he clumsily dodged backward.

Pfft!

Jifaiya dodged three of the Kunai but, in the end, one sliced open his chest, and blood spurted out. He gasped for breath, his chest wound oozing blood, whether it was sweat or rain dripping down his face. If he had moved a little slower, and he might have met a more dire fate.

These people moved decisively, their actions sharp and quick, leaving no room for error.

"I thought it was just some curious mouse peeping, but it turns out to be Jiraiya-sama, one of Konoha's Sannin. I'm wondering... why are your here?."

The one holding the scroll addressed Jiraiya with a relaxed smile. His face remained obscured under the hood's shadow, leaving his appearance hidden. However, judging from his deep voice he was an adult male.

"Nothing much, just taking a stroll. But the situation seems a bit unfair." Jiraiya also laughed, seemingly not disturbed by the gravity of his current predicament.

"What do you mean?"

"Because you know me, but I have no clue who you are. Doesn't that seem rather unfair?" Jiraiya fixed his gaze on the five unknown figures before him.

"It's true that nobles always forget the commoners. We should have fought against you during Konoha's battle in the Land of Grass. But to someone of your status, Jiraiya-sama, we must have appeared insignificant. It is understandable you wouldn't recognize our voices."

The figure holding the scroll raised his hood, revealing a male face, his white and unkempt hair resembling Jiraiya's. The other four also uncovered their faces. While not familiar, their faces weren't entirely foreign.

Jiraiya saw the faces of the five people, after a brief identification, he let out a deep breath, and his eyes became more cautious.

"So it turns out to be infamous Bug Men. You're regular celebrities in the underground market."

The Bug Men were a rapidly rising bounty hunter group in the underground market, heavily involved in various shadowy activities, particularly in close cooperation with Iwagakure. They were known as "ninjas hunting ninjas" due to their unique secret jutsu, whose origins remained a mystery. This unique ability set them apart. Their mission success rate exceeded 95%, making them rarely fail a mission.

More than two years ago, during the war between Konoha and Iwagakure in the Land of Grass, Bug Men had been hired by Iwagakure multiple times to target Konoha's supply points, causing significant losses to Konoha at the time.

Naturally, Jiraiya didn't have a good impression for this mercenary group, known for their ruthless actions. A group of ruthless executioners, who only knew how to kill without any morality.

"Since you're here, does it mean you're planning on doing something bad again?"

"We take people's money and deal with their problems. This is the reputation we've built in the underworld." Bug Man smiled.

""It looks like there's way to negotiate peacefully." Jiraiya regretfully acknowledged.

"Don't speak so righteously. Ninjas from your five great nations are essentially killer groups raised by the Daimyo. There's no essential difference between you and us. If there's a difference, it is only because you're stronger, so you see yourselves as the guardians of justice."

Hearing Bug Man's ruthless words, Jiraiya prepared to respond when one of them on the opposing side began to form hand seals.

"Water Release - Water Dragon Bullet!"

A water dragon, over ten meters long, surged from the ground and charged toward Jiraiya's position.

Jiraiya continued retreating, his hands intertwining. "Earth Release - Earth Swamp!"

The five men were immediately destabilized, and the ground surrounding them transformed into a bottomless swamp, intending to swallow the bodies of the five people into it.

"If you surrender now, there's still a chance"

Before Jiraiya could finish his sentence, one of the five, pressed his palm against the swamp's surface, and transmitted chakra.

The swamp swiftly returned to solid ground.

Jiraiya's expression turned serious. He only infused his chakra and changed his jutsu..Their jutsus were too weird.

"We'll talk when you wake up from your dream. Even as a Sannin, facing the five of us together is an impossible feat."

Although Bug Man's words were arrogant, Jiraiya refrained from refuting them. Facing the five-man team, he indeed felt the pressure weighing on him. A single mistake here could lead to his defeat, and he needed to fight with serious effort.

..

While skillfully dodging the attacks of Fire Release and Water Release, he also had to pay attention to the Earth spears suddenly protruding from the ground beneath him. Jiraiya noticed their remarkable coordination, leaving him with without opportunities to retaliate.

"Fire Release - Flame Bullet!"

Finally seizing an opening, Jiraiya released a blazing fireball aimed at his enemies.

Earth Man without showing weakness conjured an earth wall to intercept the fireball.

This move was well within Jiraiya's expectations, allowing him to swiftly retreat from the sniping range of Water Release and Fire Release attacks and begin forming hand seals.

Bug Man recognized the seal sequence as the summoning jutsu seals and guessed that Jiraiya intended to summon of those giant toads to join the battle.

Summoning such a creature could indeed make their fight troublesome.

'But... you're already in my attack range' Bug Man said inwardly.

As Jiraiya formed the seals, his eyes suddenly stung.

In an instant, the previously gray and rainy surroundings changed into a vivid brightness of colors with hoarse sounds everywhere, overwhelming Jiraiya. The rain-soaked forest disappeared from view, and a bone-chilling sensation coursed through him from his eyes.

Once his vision returned to normal, the rain-drenched scene had not changed.

'Was it genjutsu? Blindfold?'

Jiraiya found himself confused by this exceedingly powerful light-based ninjutsu. However, the present situation didn't allow him to think. To counter these five people, he needed to summon the toad to turn the tide swiftly. Further delay might result in the five of them escaping.

"Summoning Jut-"

Jiraiya's ninjutsu was abruptly stopped, before his palm could touch the ground. His body froze immediately. He saw an ugly insect-like mass growing on his chest, tearing his clothes, which sent a shiver down his spine. He keenly felt his chakra being drained by this starnge, growing insect-like mass. It seemed like a giant insect with strong vitality that fed on his chakra, growing larger with each moment.

What was this? When had it infiltrated his body? Panic now gripped Jiraiya, his previously calm composure replaced with fear. He suddenly remembered. Bug Man had used a strange ninjutsu earlier, one that was similar to a blinding light, creating disorienting noise. At that time he felt a cold presence through his eyes. If there was something now inside his body, there was a high likelihood it had happened during that time.

'What the h*ll is this??!, what kind of ninjutsu?!'

Jiraiya had no inkling of the principles behind this jutsu. But he could deduce one thing. As long as he used chakra, the worm-like mass on his chest would continue to grow. And after reaching a critical point, it would likely detonate, annihilating him.

Jiraiya's face changed into a wry smile; he was truly cornered this time. Even a Sannin couldn't fight without a functioning chakra system..Without the ability to use chakra, how could he contend with five Jonin level ninjas?

"It seems Jiraiya-sama has realized the consequences of using chakra." Bug Man said leisurely, a smile gracing his lips.

With their opponent rendered powerless due to his inability to use chakra, he posed no threat whatsoever. Even if he attempted to summon, he would likely explode at that same time.

Jiraiya also understood this, so he stopped his summoning jutsu. Using the summoning jutsu would consume a huge amount of chakra, which would then become food for the growing mass, leading to his gruesome death.

"I didn't expect you to have such a despicable ninjutsu." Jiraiya forced a smile.

"How could it be despicable? This ninjutsu demands a requires a long time to prepare, making it difficult to use. Moreover, the weakness is quite obvious. Once you've experienced it, it would be difficult to catch tje same person off guard with it a second time." Bug Man sighed.

Jiraiya recognized that the strength of these five people was not solely based on their raw power but on their mysterious and unpredictable secret jutsu that could trap and kill their enemies.

Once trapped, it was basically impossible to escape.

Jiraiya understood this point; the enemy's secret jutsu relied on visual manipulation to incapacitate the enemy. As long as one shut their eyes during the jutsu's execution, they could ignore the threat of the jutsu. Since he now knew the critical weakness of the jutsu, he also knew what awaited him next.

"Then, farewell to one of the Sannin, Jiraiya-sama. You know the secret of my ninjutsu, so I can't let you leave alive. Besides, your corpse should fetch a good price." Bug Man retrieved a kunai from his pouch and swiftly slashed it toward Jiraiya's neck without any hesitation.

A brilliant flash of lightning illuminated the scene, but the kunai merely left a shallow cut on Jiraiya's neck.

Bug Man's expression remained blank, showing no reaction. The faces of the other four changed, they wanted to move forward to help.

"Don't move or I'll kill him."

A cold voice resonated through the cold air, stopping the four in their tracks.

Kakashi had appeared behind Bug Man, his sword pressed against his throat, while the three other Anbu appeared beside Jiraiya, guarding him vigilantly and keeping a close watch on the remaining members of Bug Men.

"I was careless. I didn't expect Konoha Anbu to be wandering nearby, let alone someone silently approaching from behind. You truly are a legendary, aren't you, Hatake Kakashi, White Fang's successor?" Bug Man's voice carried a hint of frustration.

Kakashi remained silent, gripping his sword firmly.

"It seems our side has the upper hand." Jiraiya with a relieved smile crossing his face as he wiped away the sweat.

Had Kakashi arrived even a moment later, he might have met his end here. Among the five enemies, Bug Man was the most powerful, and understanding the nature of his ninjutsu greatly reduced the threat he posed.

The outcome was now decided.

"Hmph!" Bug Man snorted coldly.

The other four saw Bug Man subdued, hesitation appeared over their faces. They exchanged glances and seemed to reach a silent agreement. After glaring at the Konoha ninjas, they vanished from their positions using the flicker.

Despite the swift departure of the four people, Jiraiya and the others didn't relax. With the leader of Bug Men in their custody, the four wouldn't likely let them escape so easily. The journey back to safety was far from guaranteed.

...

Inside a cave.

Jiraiya lay on the dry grass, his face twisted in pain, his eyes difficult to open, and his breaths coming in short, labored gasps. It seemed he might not survive much longer.

Kakashi and the other operatives were aware that Jiraiya was enduring pain beyond the capacity of an ordinary person.

An ugly insect-like mass clung to Jiraiya's chest, sending shivers down the spines of all who saw it. None of them had anticipated that a legendary Sannin would meet such a miserable end at the hands of a group of bounty hunters. This served as clear proof that the Bug Men were no ordinary bounty hunters.

Bug Man leaned against the cave wall, his hands and feet bound, an evil smile tugging on his lips.

"It is useless, even if you're a Sannin. Once you fall into my ninjutsu, you can do nothing but wait for your death quietly."

Kakashi paid no attention to him, taking out a scroll from Bug Man's pouch. He then handed the scroll to one of the anbu.

"Deliver this scroll to Hokage-sama for confirmation."

Kakashi implied that he wouldn't be accompanying them..These three Anbu were part of the new group, closely allied with Minato, and different from the Third Hokage's Anbu. They could be trusted.

"Captain, are you not coming with us?"

Kakashi glanced at Jiraiya, who was on the brink of unconsciousness due to the excruciating pain, and replied, "No, I'll take the leader with me to lead away any pursuers. Jiraiya-sama is seriously injured and needs immediate treatment. His life is in dangerrunless he returns to the village as soon as possible. Please."

Faced with Kakashi's solemn request, the three Anbu were deeply moved. Thy realized the Bug Men were no ordinary people, and their chase would undoubtedly hinder the return of the rescue team. If they were delayed, Jiraiya might died on the way.

In their eyes, Kakashi was willingly placing himself in grave danger to ensure the safety of his subordinates and Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin.

Originally they were unconvinced of the young Kakashi's leadership, they were now utterly convinced of his capabilities.

Jiraiya still in severe pain was unable to speak..He couldn't help but feel gratitude and remorse toward Kakashi. He never anticipated that, as a Sannin, he would one day become a burden, needing to be rescued by the village's younger generation..In his heart, he could only hope for Kakashi's safe return.

"Understood, Captain. We'll deliver this scroll to Hokage-sama with all our might, and ensure Jiraiya-sama receives the treatment he urgently needs as soon as possible." l

Hearing their reassurances, Kakashi nodded and left the cave with Bug Man securely bound. The three Anbu didn't waste a moment, carefully carrying Jiraiya on their backs as they hastened towards the Land of Fire.

...

The rain fell steadily from the sky as Kakashi arrived at a hollow tree on the border of the Land of Rain, carrying Bug Man on his back.

Inside, four people sat around a fire, illuminating the hollow. They were the same four people Kakashi had met earlier.

Seeing Kakashi enter with Bug Man, Fire Man took a bite of freshly roasted chicken leg and greeted them, "You two finally made it. We're almost done with dinner here, you've been missing out."

Kakashi efficiently cut the rope binding Bug Man, allowing him to regain his freedom.

Bug Man stretched his body, complaining, "Really, kid, you could've tied it more comfortably. My hands and feet are almost numb."

Kakashi didn't waste any time, grabbing a portion of the grilled chicken. He had gone without a meal for most of the day and was quite hungry. "So, why are you here in the Land of Rain?"

"It was part of the mission given by the leader. We were suppose to intercept Root and Ame, collecting important evidence of human trafficking, and then anonymously delivering it to the Fourth Hokage, Minato. This will increase the internal conflicts within Konoha's high-ranking officials, leaving them with little time to care about anything else." Bug Man explained.

"But doesn't it pose a risk to expose your ninjutsu? Your secret just is to deadly." Kakashi frowned.

Bug Man's secret jutsu was among the most powerful weapons they had. Even a Kage, under unfamiliar circumstances, could fall victim to those worms. Leaking such an important ability to Konoha will inevitably be bad.

Bug Man smiled and explained, "That was false information that was deliberately induced by Jiraiya. Those bugs are far more complicated than you might imagine, and much harder to counter. Konoha will have information they believe to be accurate, but they won't realize it is a deadly trap I've set."

"That's right."

"And the bugs used was an outdated model. Soon, the military will send a more advanced version, one harder to defend against. We managed to overcome Jiraiya this time, and the result will be the same the next. No changes." Bug man said confidently.

"Since you think it's fine, then do as you want."

Kakashi, satisfied with their explanation, nodded. Their group was originally a secret military unit for the Land of Demons, and only they and that other three knew the true secret of their weapons.

"Despite some deviations from the original mission, the mission's outcome is still quite good. I was initially worried about how to best use the evidence to achieve the best impact, pitting Konoha against each other. Now, with Jiraiya as a guarantee, everything will unfold naturally."

Bug Man turned to Kakashi, showing him a meaningful smile, "Congratulations in advance, Kakashi.. Rescuing a Sannin will pave a smooth path for your future in Konoha. May your journey be prosperous."

"Thank you for your kind words."

After Kakashi finished his chicken and sated his hunger, he walked out of the tree hole.

Before he oeft, Bug Man offered one last piece of advice, "Don't forget to to get some injuries. People will grow suspicious if you returned without any hamr."

Kakashi nodded silently and then vanished from the tree hole.

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