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Chapter 127: Yagyu's Original Target and the Puppet Curse
🕑 Added 2024-12-17 07:48:08 +0000 UTC"You're... Hinata Hyuga!"
Samui hadn't expected to meet anyone outside of Konoha's Fifth Hokage who could rival her own assets, especially someone so young.
As she carefully observed Hinata, who wasn't wearing the standard green flak jacket but bore the prominent Byakugan and the diamond-shaped seal on her forehead, Samui's expression changed drastically.
What alarmed her wasn't that Hinata was the heir of the Hyuga main family, nor that she was a Konoha jōnin of the same rank as herself.
It was that Hinata was a member of Team 8.
Team 8 of Konoha's 60th class had already become renowned across the ninja world. Their fame in the five great nations was greater than that of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, comparable to the legendary Sannin from the Second Ninja War.
Like the Sannin and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, all of Team 8 had attained jōnin rank. They were still young at sixteen, yet already accomplished.
In the past few years, Team 8 had completed countless missions with a 100% success rate—never failing once.
And just like the White Fang in the Second Ninja War and the Yellow Flash in the Third, directives had been issued across the five villages:
If you encounter Team 8 on a mission, you can abandon the mission and retreat without penalty.
The reason? Team 8's leader was Yagyu, the second Konoha ninja to awaken the Wood Release kekkei genkai since the First Hokage.
Hinata's presence here meant that Yagyu was likely nearby.
Realizing this, Samui immediately ceased her struggle with Hinata. She leaped back, her impressive figure trembling as she landed.
Although she possessed an alluring body, Samui was an ice-cold beauty. Her sharp, blue-green eyes scanned her surroundings and quickly spotted a man and a woman standing atop a nearby wall.
The woman, similar in age to Samui, was tall and fit, though not as endowed. The young man beside her was tall and imposing, dressed in a long black cloak, arms crossed as he looked down at her.
Whether it was his accumulated reputation or something else, just locking eyes with Yagyu from a distance made Samui's body tremble.
Her intuition warned her: if she didn't run, she would die.
But the painted, otherworldly scenery around her told Samui that she couldn't escape.
She was trapped in a genjutsu.
This illusion, so close to reality yet impossible to break by disturbing her chakra, was unlike anything Samui had ever encountered.
They weren't on the same level as Team 8 at all.
Clang!
Without hesitation, Samui tossed her short sword to the ground and raised her hands. "We surrender!"
Hinata, who had been about to attack, blinked in surprise, momentarily taken aback.
Meanwhile, Shino had already subdued Omoi, who was merely a chūnin.
Just as Hinata had swiftly taken down Karui, Omoi, with his impulsive nature, was full of openings in the eyes of a strategist like Shino.
"That looks like Samui from the Hidden Cloud Village," Kurenai remarked, recognizing the tall, stoic kunoichi with her distinctive appearance.
Yagyu, meanwhile, looked at Samui with admiration for her quick, pragmatic decision to surrender.
After sixteen years in this world, Yagyu had finally encountered his first target.
Before the game system had awakened, Yagyu's initial goal was simply to build connections by befriending the main nine from the Academy. He'd planned to use his knowledge of future events to survive long enough to secure a good position by the time the events of Boruto began and, in the end, to marry a beautiful, well-endowed woman from the cast.
Samui had been his first choice.
As a civilian, he'd known that even if he won over Hinata's favor, he wouldn't be able to marry a noble clan's daughter.
Tsunade was out of the question.
Setting aside the high-profile options, Yagyu had decided on a lower-profile target with fewer scenes but one who left a strong impression: Samui.
However, after awakening the game system, Yagyu's plans for his life had changed entirely.
Seeing Samui again now, he couldn't help feeling nostalgic.
Without the game system, he likely wouldn't have been able to match the battle-hardened kunoichi.
The world was truly unforgiving to civilians!
While he mused, Yagyu moved swiftly, forming a hand seal.
Green vines sprouted from the ground, binding Samui's legs and rapidly absorbing a large portion of her chakra.
Though her chakra was draining quickly, Samui kept her expression neutral, but internally, she was shocked.
So, this is Wood Release?
Just being restrained drains chakra. That's so broken!
Remaining calm, Samui spoke. "You're here on a mission to assassinate Lord Takeshita, aren't you? He's not here—what you saw was just a shadow clone, Omoi."
"Shadow Clone Technique—Release!" Omoi, restrained and grimacing, muttered the release command.
Instantly, the mission target within the mansion vanished in a puff of white smoke.
"I never expected the Hidden Cloud to master the jutsu of other villages as thoroughly as the Grass Village," Yagyu remarked, suddenly appearing in front of Samui. At his towering height of 188 cm, he looked down at the 169 cm Samui with a slight smile. "Do you want to live?"
"Yes."
"Why? Aren't you afraid of being punished when you return?"
"If the enemy is you, we won't be punished," Samui replied calmly, her voice steady and emotionless. "This country is just one of the smaller neighbors of the Land of Lightning. It's so insignificant that it isn't even noted on most maps of the ninja world. This is only an A-rank protection mission, but the risk now is far beyond A-rank. Our client isn't worth our lives."
"Konoha and the Hidden Cloud aren't allies. That's not enough."
Yagyu shook his head. "If we were just a regular Konoha team, you'd never let us go."
"We'll hand over our client and even help you kill him," Samui replied, breaking all the typical codes of ninja conduct. "Afterward, we'll help your client win this war in secret."
Kurenai and Hinata were taken aback, reassessing Samui. This woman wasn't only cold on the outside; she was cold to the core.
While they could kill to complete missions, they would never stoop to betray a client.
Their training had ingrained the belief that a ninja must obey orders and remain a tool for the mission above all else.
Even rogue ninjas rarely crossed such lines.
The best example was Zabuza. Although he could have killed Gato and taken his immense wealth, he chose to work for him instead.
Samui's words were almost unfathomable.
But Yagyu appreciated her pragmatism, nodding approvingly. "Alright, I accept."
As he spoke, Yagyu raised a hand and touched Samui's forehead.
A black seal glowing faintly red appeared on her forehead before slowly fading away.
He then performed another hand seal, placing his hand on Samui's forehead once more.
Hinata and Kurenai, both well-versed in sealing techniques thanks to their training with Karin, recognized the seal this time as the Uzumaki clan's memory-sealing jutsu.
However, they couldn't identify the first seal.
In fact, not even Karin would recognize it.
It was the Puppet Curse, a technique Hiruko had secretly placed on Kakashi Hatake during the Third Ninja War.
When Yagyu activated the Puppet Curse, Samui would become his puppet.
For now, it was unbreakable. Not even Konoha, with its full knowledge of Uzumaki sealing arts, could undo it.
