Chapter 458: The Pursuit Team
The Konoha Detention Facility, originally known as the Special Interrogation Center for High-Risk Criminals, had been scaled down and renamed the Konoha Maximum Security Penitentiary in recent years due to the relative peace in the shinobi world and the declining number of high-risk prisoners.
The penitentiary housed only a small number of inmates, but every single one of them was a vicious thug—either a brutal murderer or a rogue ninja who had leaked critical village secrets.
Because these individuals were highly dangerous and constantly restless, plotting breakouts at every turn, the penitentiary was located outside the village walls, nestled deep within a mountain forest about a mile from the main gates. Konoha permanently stationed an elite Jonin there to oversee security.
Masahiko completely failed to understand this reasoning. They're all scum who deserve to die anyway, yet the village wastes active manpower to watch over them? What's the point? Tobirama and Orochimaru are gone, so it's not like we need live experimental materials...
"Is this the place? The gate guards are just two Chunin..." Masahiko muttered under his breath. "Knock them out it is."
Thud! Thud!
The heavy sounds of bodies hitting the dirt echoed in succession. Facing the lightning-fast ambush of the Great Ancestor, the two Chunin didn't even have time to react before decisively losing consciousness.
"Yo, the people inside have pretty quick reflexes." Masahiko adjusted his collar and pushed the heavy doors open, stepping inside.
At this moment, Masahiko's attire was exceptionally unique. He was wearing a set of pure 'night-infiltration gear'—black top, black pants, with a square piece of black cloth masking his face. Even his hair had been altered via Transformation Jutsu to match the pitch black.
When such a dark, indistinct figure strode straight into the maximum security penitentiary, the stationed guards surrounded him in an instant. Facing a 'black-clad masked intruder', the guards weren't naive enough to demand 'Who are you?'; they directly launched an aggressive assault, intending to pin Masahiko down.
Right at that moment, feathers suddenly began to drift down from the ceiling. One after another, the Konoha guards collapsed to the floor with a series of thuds, falling into a deep, unyielding slumber.
"Genjutsu: Temple of Nirvana Jutsu!"
Deep within the prison blocks, the Sound Four were currently in the middle of scheming their next breakout.
"The Genjutsu of that old guard captain is far too powerful," Jirobo said with lingering dread. Every single time they tried to break out, he was always the very first one to get neutralized. "Tayuya, if only your flute were still here."
Tayuya shot him a scathing glare: "How on earth could the Konoha ninjas leave a weapon with me, you absolute idiot."
"We must accelerate our pace. Lord Orochimaru harbors no use for useless trash," Kidomaru said with a trace of deep anxiety. "We have already been locked up for over five months. If we still fail to escape..."
At this point, a collective shudder ran through the four of them. They fundamentally couldn't imagine how they would survive if they were truly cast aside by Orochimaru.
"How about... we exploit the raw power of those two brothers?" Jirobo suggested hesitantly.
"The Fujin and Raijin brothers?" Tayuya knit her brows. "What earthly use do those two complete morons have?"
"It is exactly because they are morons that they are effortless to control," Sakon interjected, while Ukon supplemented from his shoulder: "Perhaps we can give it a try. The monstrous physical strength of those brothers is exceptionally formidable."
"Fine, then next time—eh? Feathers?"
The four of them froze simultaneously. Kidomaru instantly grew ecstatic: "It's a Genjutsu from a mole hidden within Konoha! Lord Orochimaru hasn't abandoned us, he sent someone to break us out!"
"I absolutely loathe Genjutsu..." Jirobo muttered a single line before collapsing to the floor with a heavy thud.
"That complete idiot... But that intruder actually dared to launch a direct, brute-force frontal assault?" Tayuya muttered to herself.
A sea of unconscious Konoha guards littered the entryway of the penitentiary.
Only a single sixty-year-old man with curly black hair remained standing directly in front of Masahiko. It was a familiar face—Kurenai's father, Shinku Yuhi.
"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!" As the final line of defense for the penitentiary, Shinku Yuhi's raw mastery of Genjutsu was leagues above even Kurenai's. However, the absolute instant he wove his hand seals with a highly solemn countenance, he discovered that he was the one pinned firmly against a massive tree...
"A Genjutsu reversal? Someone from the Uchiha clan? At this age... are you Hoshino Uchiha? No, you're a boy, you're Sasuke Uchiha! Why on earth are you attacking the maximum security penitentiary?!"
Masahiko let out a chuckle: "Take a wild guess at who I am."
"Regardless of who you are, I—"
"Go to sleep, little baby." Masahiko raised his eyebrows. Two branches sprouted from the Genjutsu tree binding Shinku, covering his eyes, while another branch gently patted the crown of his head, mimicking a parent rocking a toddler to sleep...
Shinku Yuhi: "...So it's the Senior."
He decisively 'lost consciousness' and went limp.
Masahiko smiled, stepping past him into the depths of the prison blocks. Passing one cell after another, he quickly located the Sound Four.
"Only one fat kid passed out, your Genjutsu resistance is pretty decent across the board. Tayuya, catch your flute!" With a flick of his wrist, Masahiko produced a flute from his storage space and hurled it over.
Tayuya raised her hand to catch it cleanly: "To think it's a child... Were you sent by Lord Orochimaru?"
"Cut the mindless chatter, follow me out right now!"
Tayuya knit her brows slightly as her flute notes rang out, snapping Jirobo back to consciousness. "Masking your face, to the point where even we aren't allowed to know your true identity?"
Masahiko extended both hands forward, effortlessly bending the solid steel cell bars apart to carve out a gap wide enough for a human to pass through. He repeated impassively: "Cut the mindless chatter, follow me out right now!"
The four of them exchanged a bewildered look.
Simultaneously, at the Hokage Office.
Obito had 'urgently' summoned Naruto and the rest of the children—a total of fifteen.
"There is an active mission that you will execute as a joint squad. The rank is assigned as an A-rank. A prison breakout just occurred at the maximum security penitentiary. Four of Orochimaru's subordinates were broken out by a mole hidden within Konoha. The fifteen of you will be solely responsible for tracking and capturing them!"
"Ohh!" Naruto possessed the fastest reaction speed. "An A-rank mission! Let's move!"
"Hold on a second, Naruto," Shikamaru intervened with a face full of absolute helplessness, blocking his path. "Lord Hokage, if only we are deploying, what about Asuma-sensei and the others?"
Obito nodded: "Only you. This is a highly exceptional Chunin Exam. Those who manifest spectacular performance during this pursuit mission shall be officially promoted to Chunin!"
"For real?!" Naruto, Lee, Kiba, and the others instantly grew incredibly ecstatic.
The five who had already achieved Chunin status remained perfectly composed, but Obito's very next sentence stripped them of their composure as well: "If the pursuit ends in absolute failure, the existing Chunin within the squad shall be stripped of their rank and demoted back to Genin."
Sasuke knit his brows slightly. Although he refused to admit it aloud, being a Chunin while Naruto remained a Genin... felt exceptionally satisfying. He automatically became dead serious.
"Fifteen people jointly pursuing the Sound Four? Who will serve as the captain?"
"Shikamaru will serve as the Captain, while Neji and Sasuke will serve as the Vice-Captains! Move out!"
"Hey! Why does that bastard Sasuke get to—"
"Because I'm a Chunin, you absolute moron."
"Dammit..."
"Stop bickering, Naruto," Shikamaru interrupted with a heavy sigh, looking at Obito's demeanor. He instinctively felt that this matter was anything but simple. "What is the direction of pursuit? Exactly how long ago did they break out?"
"The breakout occurred just moments ago. The direction is toward the northwest. Exactly how you track them down is for you to figure out yourselves!"
"Leave it to the Fat Cat, its nose is exceptionally sharp," Tenten piped up.
The white ball of flesh resting behind her let out a heavy snore upon hearing this, indicating it had absolutely no intention of moving a single muscle.
"Then leave it to Akamaru!"
"Woof woof!" Akamaru barked in response.
With coordinates exchanged, the group filed out of the room in rapid succession.
"Actually... my parasitic insects could also—"
Obito sighed helplessly: "Shino Aburame, you're the only one left in the room, hurry up and catch up!"
Shino's body stiffened completely as he looked to his left and right: "Why does no one ever think to call my name..."
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