area51novel Chapter 213 Ninja Monk
Chapter 213 Ninja Monk
The Chunin and higher-ranking ninjas of Konoha Village received an emergency summons from the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.
All the ninjas responded to the call and gathered on the rooftop platform of the Hokage Building, including Boruto.
Once all the summoned ninjas had arrived, Tsunade led a figure dressed in the traditional attire of a ninja monk from the Land of Fire slowly up to the rooftop platform of the Hokage Building.
Tsunade's face was very solemn, and she announced to the ninjas present in a low voice: "Just recently, the Fire Temple was attacked by the Akatsuki."
Then, she glanced at the monk standing to the side, signaling him to continue recounting the details of the incident.
The ninja monk stepped forward and continued the Hokage's words: "I wasn't there when I was sent out on patrol, but when I returned, the Fire Temple was in chaos, with signs of destruction everywhere, and the other ninja monks..." His voice gradually lowered, and he found it difficult to continue.
The ninja monk paused for a moment, then described the appearance of those people: "One of them was carrying a huge, blood-red scythe..."
As Boruto listened to the ninja monk's description of the Akatsuki members who attacked the Fire Temple, he immediately knew that the Akatsuki member wielding the blood-red scythe was undoubtedly Hidan, and that his partner must be Kakuzu.
After recounting the details of the attack, the ninja monk nodded slightly to Tsunade, indicating that he had conveyed all the necessary information.
Tsunade's gaze swept over the ninjas in front of her, and she said seriously, "That's all for now."
He then continued, "Does anyone have any questions or need to add any information?"
In the queue, Sarutobi Asuma raised his hand to signal, and Tsunade noticed his movement and nodded to indicate that he could speak.
After receiving Tsunade's approval, Asuma asked in a deep voice, "At the Fire Temple, how is Jiraiya, one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, doing now?"
Upon hearing Asuma's question, Tsunade's expression turned somber. She lowered her head slightly and turned her gaze to the Fire Temple monks standing behind her.
The ninja monk spoke sorrowfully, "Master Jiraiya was killed by the enemy in that attack..."
When Sarutobi Asuma heard the ninja monk announce the death of Jiraiya, an incredulous expression appeared on his face. He thought to himself: Even Jiraiya was defeated by the Akatsuki... How is that possible!
Asuma had fought alongside Chiriku as a member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, and knew Chiriku's strength was extraordinary, so he found it hard to accept this fact.
Tsunade's voice echoed on the rooftop of the Hokage Building. Her gaze swept over every ninja, and she shouted, "Even if it costs Konoha's prestige, our most important task is to protect the safety of the Land of Fire. We must not allow those guys to continue to act recklessly."
Tsunade then turned to Boruto, her gaze questioning, and asked directly, "Boruto, based on this ninja monk's description, you should be very familiar with this opponent, right? Do you have any clues or thoughts about their purpose in attacking the Fire Temple?"
Boruto pondered for a moment, then answered confidently, "Yes, if I'm not mistaken, based on their actions, their next plan should be to head to the underground gold exchange."
Boruto turned to the ninja monk and asked, "I want to know if Master Jiraiya was ever wanted by the black market, and if his name appeared on the list of underground gold exchange shops?"
The ninja monk nodded in confirmation of Boruto's question and slowly said, "Indeed, Master Jiraiya has a bounty on the black market, with a reward of thirty million ryo." Then, as if suddenly remembering something important, the ninja monk added, "By the way, after the attack, those people took Master Jiraiya's body away."
Upon hearing the ninja monk's words, Tsunade frowned. The underground gold exchange involved complex forces and many unknown secrets. Nevertheless, she resolutely said, "Now that we have confirmed that Akatsuki's next target is the underground gold exchange, we must take action and get there before them. We cannot allow them to run rampant in the Land of Fire. We must stop them from leaving!"
Although that's what Tsunade said, in practice, it faced numerous difficulties. The underground gold exchange shops were extremely well-hidden, and according to intelligence, they were not located in one place but were distributed in multiple locations. As a result, accurately predicting which gold exchange shop Akatsuki members would appear in was undoubtedly a difficult task, and they could only search separately.
Tsunade gestured for Boruto to step forward and briefly introduce the abilities and characteristics of the two Akatsuki members. She knew that Boruto's understanding of Hidan and Kakuzu would help reduce the risks in battle and thus avoid unnecessary casualties.
With all preparations complete and the ninjas having gathered information about the enemy, Tsunade gave her final instructions to all the ninjas: "You must find Hidan and Kakuzu. If possible, try to capture them alive, but if you cannot, then execute them on the spot."
Then Tsunade waved her hand and commanded, "Go! Disperse!"
The numerous ninjas who had gathered on the Hokage Building immediately dispersed according to their assigned tasks, heading towards the locations of various known underground gold exchange shops.
......
Boruto strode quickly through the woods outside Konoha Village, his figure moving swiftly amidst the swaying shadows. Suddenly, he noticed Asuma and Shikamaru following closely behind, so he slowed down to allow Asuma's team to keep up.
As Boruto and Asuma walked side by side, their steps in sync, Boruto turned to Asuma and asked, "Asuma-sensei, as far as I know, your mission search area doesn't include this direction, does it?"
Asuma gave a calm smile as he answered Boruto's question: "I just had a gut feeling that following you in this direction would give me a high chance of finding the Akatsuki, so my team swapped search areas with them."
Boruto looked at Asuma: "You and Master Jiriku of the Fire Temple must have been old acquaintances, right? Because you were very emotional when you received the news of Master Jiriku's death."
Asuma nodded slightly, a look of reminiscence crossing his face: "Yes, he and I were once comrades-in-arms, when I left Konoha to join the Twelve Guardian Ninja in order to protect the Daimyo of the Land of Fire."
Boruto nodded slightly and continued, "There are five gold exchange shops in the Land of Fire, and we are heading to the one closest to the Temple of Fire." That place... is also where I died once.
......
After moving quickly for a while, Boruto and his companions were close to the location of their target underground gold exchange, and they could sense that their destination was not far away.
Boruto suddenly raised his arm and gestured backward to stop them from advancing.
Shikamaru remained highly alert. He lowered his voice and asked Boruto, "What's wrong, Boruto? Have you noticed anything unusual?" His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.
Boruto nodded and replied to Shikamaru, "Yes, I've already located them using my sensory abilities. They're just ahead, about a mile from where we are now."
Upon hearing Boruto's news, Shikamaru's voice carried a hint of heaviness: "So, we're finally going to have to face off against the Akatsuki?"
......
Hidan complained as he carried Jiraiya's corpse on his back, "Ugh, this is such a hassle. Is it really necessary to carry this corpse around like this?"
Kakuzu's voice was cold, reminding Hidan: "Don't forget why we're here in the first place."
A shadowy glint flashed in Hidan's eyes: "Ah, of course I haven't forgotten. We've been preparing for this for a long time, Kakuzu-nii."
Ever since Hidan escaped from the brink of death with Kakuzu's help, he regards Kakuzu, who did not abandon him, as his most important partner.
At this moment, Kakuzu, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped.
Hidan, who was following closely behind, also stopped. He looked up at Kakuzu and asked in a questioning tone, "What's wrong, Kakuzu-nii? Is something wrong?"
Hidan gripped his Bloodstained Three-Month Scythe tightly, his sharp gaze sweeping across the bushes not far away, his body tense.
Hidan noticed that Kakuzu's shadow unusually extended into the bushes, clearly indicating that the two of them had been attacked.
Shikamaru, who had already bound Kakuzu with the Shadow Imitation Technique, looked at a large tree in the distance and said, "It's up to you now, Boruto."
Under Shikamaru's watchful gaze, a figure suddenly appeared and launched an attack on Hidan, kicking him away. Hidan didn't even have time to react before being struck by the sudden force.
However, when Hidan was knocked away and turned into smoke, the "corpse" of Jiraiya, which he had been carrying on his back, suddenly started to move.
Master Jiraiya's "corpse" suddenly awoke from its stillness, holding a black spear in his hand. He aimed the spearhead at Boruto's back and launched an attack, but Boruto easily dodged the thrust.
Seeing that his sneak attack had failed, Hidan quickly adjusted his tactics, retreating rapidly to create distance between himself and Boruto.
Hidan brought the black spear to his lips, licked it with his tongue, and said menacingly, "Long time no see, Boruto."
......