Chapter 250: Cleanup
Still groggy, Naruto blinked in confusion as Mizuki tossed the unconscious Tayuya into his arms.
"Keep your eyes open—she's a prisoner."
"Huh? Mizuki-sensei?" Naruto had only just come to and the battle was already over.
"Quit spacing out."
A bolt of lightning flashed, slamming into Mizuki's raised chakra-arm and shattering it into pieces—an arm formed purely by chakra, of course. He and Naruto remained completely unharmed.
"Seriously, take her and go back—count yourself lucky nothing happened yet."
Glancing at the ongoing battle nearby, Mizuki judged the situation with a quick scan.
"Looks like they don't need my help anymore."
Turning back, he nodded to Naruto. "I'm heading ahead. You follow as soon as you can."
…
The "two versus six" mentioned by the Mist Anbu captain was an optimistic oversimplification. The former Sound Four were clearly on a whole different level than average Leaf genin. In Curse Mark Stage Two, even a jōnin could find themselves in trouble.
And aboard the cramped deck of a warship, superior numbers didn't necessarily equate to an advantage—especially with an enemy like Kidōmaru, the spider-nin, whose jutsu all revolved around web-based traps and long-range suppression.
After negotiations failed with the Mist Anbu leader "Ken," Kidōmaru wasted no time activating Curse Mark Stage One. He summoned a giant spider, and in a horrifying move, cut open its abdomen. Out crawled a swarm of smaller spiders, spinning chakra-infused webbing and flinging it around the stunned Leaf ninja before they could react.
"Ugh! What the hell is this? Disgusting!" Inuzuka Kiba growled, trying to cut the sticky threads with his kunai. But once exposed to air, the chakra-infused threads became nearly unbreakable with ordinary weapons.
All six of them were in similar straits, tangled and immobilized. Yet the webs weren't entirely invincible. They relied on stable chakra structures—easily disrupted by Hyuga-style Gentle Fist.
Hinata, the heiress of the Hyuga clan, quickly realized this and began dismantling the webs with precise chakra strikes. With the threads disrupted, she freed herself and others nearby.
Now mobile again, Kiba teamed up with Akamaru, launching their clan's signature combo.
"Fang Over Fang!"
Two whirling cyclones slammed toward Kidōmaru, ripping a hole in the deck and sending the spider-nin crashing down into the lower hold.
Panting heavily, Kiba retreated to recover. But before he could even catch his breath—
WHACK!
Sakon and Ukon's twin whip kicks struck both Kiba and Akamaru, sending them flying.
"Seriously, Sakon—watching me get attacked without helping?" Kidōmaru groaned as he climbed back up, miraculously unharmed.
"There's no way that attack didn't hit you!"
"Oh, it did!" Kidōmaru gave a twisted smile. "Too bad it didn't matter."
"W-What?" Kiba struggled up, staring. He had hit the guy… hadn't he?
But then he noticed—small metallic fragments were falling from Kidōmaru's face, like pieces of flaking armor.
"You noticed?" Kidōmaru sneered. "This is my secret jutsu—Golden Armor Shell. You did manage to crack it. That's impressive."
He secreted a jelly-like substance from his face, forming a fresh membrane that quickly hardened into another protective shell.
"No wonder you weren't hurt… that's one hell of a jutsu."
But just as the team was sighing over their opponent's toughness, Kidōmaru's face suddenly froze.
A blur appeared behind him.
A hand gripped a shuriken—plunging it straight through his abdomen.
"Sorry to interrupt. But I think we've had enough of this boring performance."
It was Mizuki.
He'd just arrived and saw Kidōmaru acting high and mighty in front of Leaf genin. He didn't care for that.
"I'm being merciful here. You'll live. Barely. We already have one prisoner—but I don't mind having more. It won't take much effort."
With Kidōmaru subdued, Mizuki turned to Sakon.
"Should I call you 'you' or 'you two'?"
He walked up and punched Sakon square in the chest. Another body—Ukon—peeled out of his frame and collapsed.
"Oh, right. You two can't move or talk now. Just listen then."
He sealed their chakra and Curse Mark with practiced ease.
"I heard you were skilled in sealing jutsu and barrier techniques. But what a disappointment. Entering enemy territory without backup or finishing the barrier collapse? Foolish."
With the battlefield cleared, Mizuki checked on Kiba and Akamaru.
"Lucky. No critical damage. You'll recover with a few days' rest."
The Mist Anbu commander approached, eyeing the prisoners in awe.
"Mizuki-sensei… That was incredible. You defeated them so easily."
"They were just overconfident bullies—got drunk on the thrill of picking on the weak. If they'd actually used their full strength from the start, it might've taken more effort."
"…Am I one of those 'weaklings' you mentioned?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Mizuki said, extending his right hand. "Thank you for helping Konoha."
The Mist ninja grasped it firmly.
"No need to thank me. We're allies now. Isn't that right?"
…
Meanwhile…
Surrounded on all sides, Orochimaru's gaze narrowed as he looked up at Shimura Danzo, who now stood before him.
"Didn't think you'd show up personally…" Orochimaru muttered darkly.
"Whatever bond we once had is broken. You are no longer Konoha's ally, Orochimaru."
"Bond? Since when did you ever care about that, Danzo?" Orochimaru sneered.
"Think what you like. But as far as I'm concerned—anyone who isn't with me is the enemy. And I, Shimura Danzo, will eliminate every enemy of Konoha."
"Heh… You've grown bolder with your words. What gave you the confidence? Some power I left behind?"
Danzo didn't reply. Instead, he slowly peeled away the bandages covering his right eye.
"You've been gone too long. You have no idea what miracles have taken place in the village during your absence…"
To be continued...
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