In the following days, Yoruha, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura worked in pairs, taking turns protecting Tazuna as he continued building the bridge.
During this time, Zabuza had not made another appearance.
Kakashi remained with the group assigned to guard Tazuna at all times, unwilling to take any risks given that Tazuna was the main target of their mission.
Over the course of several days, Yoruha had already mastered dozens of jutsu, including fully mastering the Chidori technique.
At present, Yoruha was studying sealing techniques under Kakashi's guidance.
Even though Yoruha had previously demonstrated an incredible aptitude for learning, his current pace still left Kakashi in awe.
By now, Yoruha had acquired enough techniques to meet the criteria for an elite jonin. In terms of raw strength, he was already at the level of an elite jonin.
The only thing he lacked was practical combat experience.
Yoruha placed great importance on gaining real combat experience.
Kakashi, however, believed that Yoruha's current abilities already matched those of an elite jonin. Even with limited experience, defeating Yoruha in battle would be a formidable challenge for any elite jonin.
Several peaceful weeks passed without incident.
One day, Yoruha had just returned from training in the hills behind the house.
As he approached the entrance to Tazuna's home, he immediately sensed something was off.
Yoruha stopped at the door, his hand pausing mid-air just as he was about to push it open.
"So quiet," he muttered under his breath.
In an instant, he vanished like a ghost.
Almost simultaneously, Yoruha reappeared inside the room they had been staying in on the second floor.
He entered through the balcony, carefully channeling chakra into his feet to avoid making any noise as he stepped on the wooden floorboards.
The room was as tidy as usual. Without hesitation, Yoruha turned and headed downstairs.
The house was unnervingly silent—completely different from how it usually was.
There was no sign of Tsunami bustling around in the kitchen, nor was Inari running through the hallways.
Even Sakura, who had been in her room earlier, was nowhere to be found.
From the second floor to the first, Yoruha saw no sign of Tsunami, Inari, or Sakura.
At the dining table, Yoruha noticed a letter lying there.
After a moment of hesitation, he channeled chakra into his hands, forming golden gloves of chakra around them as a protective measure before picking up the envelope.
Opening the letter, Yoruha's expression grew grim.
"So, something really has happened. Looks like someone's deliberately set a trap for me," he murmured.
As he suspected, the letter was a ransom note.
The kidnappers had taken Sakura, Tsunami, and Inari and demanded that Yoruha meet them in the hills behind the house.
If Yoruha failed to show up before sunset, they threatened to kill all three hostages.
Without wasting any more time, Yoruha immediately made his way toward the hills.
He didn't alert Kakashi and the others.
There wasn't enough time.
As Yoruha raced toward the designated location, his expression remained heavy with thought.
"They even knew when I'd return from training. They must've been watching for a long time. Kidnapping Sakura and the others is just a ploy to keep me occupied," Yoruha reasoned silently.
"Their real goal is assassinating Tazuna. Zabuza and his team must've already appeared on Kakashi's side."
Yoruha's mind raced as he pieced everything together.
He understood perfectly. After their previous battle, Zabuza had likely realized that he couldn't defeat both Kakashi and Yoruha together.
By orchestrating this kidnapping, Zabuza aimed to delay Yoruha.
With Yoruha out of the picture, Zabuza could focus solely on Kakashi, significantly increasing his chances of successfully killing Tazuna.
If Yoruha had any allies, things would undoubtedly become easier.
Even though he was well aware of the enemy's plans, Yoruha had no choice but to follow their lead.
Unless he was willing to ignore Sakura and the others' safety—which he absolutely couldn't bring himself to do.
Soon, Yoruha arrived at the location mentioned in the letter.
Deep within the forest stood a small wooden cabin.
Inside, Sakura, Tsunami, and Inari were tied to wooden stakes, their bodies covered in numerous explosive tags.
In front of them sat three rogue ninja from Kirigakure.
Leading them was a ninja with long green hair and sharp teeth: Kurosuki Raiga, one of the rogue members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Behind him stood two other Kirigakure chunin, his subordinates.
After learning about Yoruha's near-jonin-level strength, Zabuza had enlisted the help of Raiga, another rogue ninja from Kirigakure.
Gato had paid a significant price for this arrangement, adding the equivalent of an S-rank mission fee to ensure their cooperation.
Though the cost made him grit his teeth, Gato was determined to stop the construction of the bridge and kill Tazuna at all costs.
Raiga glanced at the three hostages in front of him with indifference.
"Don't worry," he sneered. "Once that kid shows up, I'll send all of you to your deaths. Afterward, I'll even hold a grand funeral for you. Hahaha!"
Raiga let out a twisted laugh.
Sakura struggled against her bonds and shouted angrily, "You green-haired freak! You won't get away with this! Once Kakashi-sensei and Yoruha get here, they'll definitely take you down!"
Raiga laughed even louder. "Ignorant little brat! Kakashi is probably dead by now, killed by Zabuza."
"As for that Yoruha kid, I admit he's got some talent."
"But I have you three in my hands. The foolish bonds of your Konoha comrades mean he won't dare to ignore your safety."
"No matter how fast he is, he can't be faster than the explosion of these tags covering you."
"What a pity. That kid really is a genius. And yet, he's going to die here trying to save an idiotic little girl like you. What a waste."
For the past few days, Raiga and his subordinates had been carefully observing Yoruha.
They were well aware of the progress Yoruha had made in his training.
If not for taking Sakura hostage, Raiga wouldn't have been confident in his ability to kill Yoruha.
But now, with three hostages in his hands—and after observing the apparent bond between Yoruha and Sakura—Raiga was certain Yoruha wouldn't abandon her.
This was his trump card.
On top of that, he wielded the Twin Lightning Blades, Kiba.
As a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, his strength—bolstered by the Kiba blades—was on par with, if not greater than, a typical elite jonin.
With the assistance of his two chunin subordinates, Raiga couldn't imagine how he could possibly lose.
Inari, hearing Raiga's words, couldn't help but think of his father.
Wasn't this exactly how his father had died?
Recalling what Naruto had said to him that day, Inari's heart sank into despair.
"After all, there's no such thing as heroes in this world. Anyone who tries to be a hero is just a fool who's bound to die."
"They're all overconfident. People are always so overconfident."
Tears streamed down Inari's face as he muttered to himself.
That glimmer of hope he'd felt after Naruto's encouragement had been completely shattered.
Inari was utterly broken.
Tsunami's face was pale.
She understood the meaning behind Raiga's words.
She knew they were doomed.
To her, Yoruha and Sasuke were just children.
No matter how talented they were, how strong could they really be?
Kakashi was likely already entangled with another group of ninja.
And her father? He had probably been killed by the enemy's assassins.
Having already lost her husband, and now her father, Tsunami was overwhelmed by despair, unable to utter a single word.
Read Advanced Chapters at:
[email protected]/ChakraMaster