hotmtlnovel Chapter 78 Ghostly Rumors, Impersonator Master
Chapter 78 Ghostly Rumors, Impersonator Master
Chapter 78 Ghostly Rumors, Impersonator Master
Sosuke ate his bread and talked about his business.
"Because of the appreciation of the Fire Country's paper money, many chambers of commerce and gangs are now on the verge of bankruptcy."
"They borrowed a lot of money in the early stages of the war to exchange for gold and silver, and now the repayment amount is more than 30% higher."
"Therefore, some people have had ulterior motives, counterfeiting our purified water in an attempt to make a fortune to pay off their debts."
"The Uchiha Police Force has received several complaints that wounds have worsened after using medicine certified by the force. Captain Sōji is very angry."
"Therefore, we need to clean house."
"Have you found the source?" Kaori asked.
"The location has been found. It's on the edge of the village, near the Death Forest, in an abandoned textile factory. That's Black Tooth Gang territory."
"An abandoned textile factory?" Kaori remembered something. "There are rumors that the place is haunted. It's said that people who go in inexplicably want to commit suicide."
"Oh?" Sosuke was skeptical of such rumors.
"In the world of ninjas, there are no ghosts. There are only people who pretend to be ghosts. However, the fact that they dare to make a haunted place their territory suggests that the Black Tooth Gang is not simple."
"Kaori, your mission is to come in with me, destroy the counterfeit water purifier, and bring back the master who can make the counterfeit water purifier."
Sosuke was curious about his master, whom he had never met.
Although the functionality cannot be replicated, according to Jiro Takaya, the counterfeit water purifier looks almost identical to the genuine product, making it difficult for ordinary customers to distinguish.
Sosuke was curious about the person who could do such a thing.
"Is it just the two of us?" Kaori asked.
"Wearing a mask isn't suitable for this kind of infiltration mission. The other side is just an ordinary gang; the two of us are enough."
late at night.
An abandoned industrial area on the edge of Konoha.
Most of the streetlights here are broken, with only a few dim lights barely hanging on.
Sosuke pulled down the hood of his cloak, covering the left side of his face.
Beneath the blindfold, he sensed the snake writhing its body.
In the vision of the left eye, the world is overlapping.
Those were outlines of varying shades of gray, and clusters of red fireballs floating in the darkness.
That's heat, that's life.
"One, at the corner of the wall."
Sosuke lowered his voice.
"Two people were on the second-floor windowsill, holding crossbows. Their chakra reserves were very low; they were either ordinary people or thugs who had just refined their chakra."
Kaori Uzuki, standing beside him, was surprised.
She glanced at Sosuke's eye patch.
What's under that eye patch? The whites of your eyes?
Aside from the White Eye, it seems there is no other type of eye capable of this level of probing.
"Let's go."
The two silently scaled the wall.
Sosuke's Body Flicker Technique was so refined that he landed without making a sound.
"Those two on the second floor are yours."
Sosuke pointed upwards.
"I'll go and take care of the sentry post on the first floor."
Kaori nodded, her figure transforming into a blur as she swiftly climbed up the water pipe.
Sosuke's left eye suddenly darted around. His gaze pierced through the thick red brick wall.
Behind that wall, a pale red glow was slowly moving. Those were patrolmen.
Sosuke slid two shuriken from his sleeve, steel wire wrapped between his fingers.
He shot two shuriken at an odd, obtuse angle toward the iron gate on the side.
"Second Greatsword - Revolving Blade".
The shuriken struck the iron gate, making a clanging sound.
The red figure behind the wall was indeed attracted and quickly walked over.
The instant the other person stepped out of the corner, Sousuke's finger snapped shut. The wire instantly tightened.
Snap. The Achilles tendon in the ankle was severed.
The patrolman fell forward.
Sosuke had already appeared behind him, his left hand tightly covering his mouth, while his right hand held a silver needle coated with anesthetic, which he accurately pierced into the other's cervical vertebrae.
His movements were swift and decisive, no longer showing the panic he had felt that night when he fought the wandering samurai.
"The first one."
His left eye was constantly moving.
The snake seemed to be enjoying the hunting atmosphere, its tongue flicking excitedly in its eye sockets.
This "inhuman" assistance gave Sosuke a godlike first-mover advantage.
His snake eyes already possess such an advantage; if it were the Byakugan—no wonder the Hyuga clan is known as the most powerful clan in Konoha.
Those who possess the Byakugan have abilities far surpassing those of ordinary ninjas, whether in direct combat, reconnaissance, or assassination.
Just then, Kaori's figure fell from the second floor.
"Boss, the second floor is taken care of. Those guys are definitely from the Black Tooth Gang."
Sousuke nodded.
"Go in."
Push open the rusty iron gate.
"Squeak—"
The sound echoed in the empty workshop.
Inside the workshop, dozens of old-fashioned textile machines were arranged side by side.
The white cloth covering the area was already covered in mold, and a dozen or so rope loops hung from it. The rope loops swayed slightly in the draft.
"Boss, look over there."
Kaori pointed to the depths of the workshop. There was a fire there.
"Glug glug ...
The sound of liquid being heated and churning.
Sosuke and Kaori walked through the swaying rope loops and arrived at the end of the workshop.
This area has been cleared out into a clean space.
A few dim oil lamps hung on the pillar.
A huge iron pot sat on a charcoal fire, bubbling with a murky, lime-smelling liquid.
Several burly men with black teeth tattoos were stirring the pot with wooden sticks in their hands.
"Hurry! This batch of goods needs to be delivered to Tiger Head on the black market tomorrow."
A voice rang out from the shadows.
"The security forces have been cracking down hard lately, so we need to find a new place. These substandard lime diluted with water—as long as the color is right, those ronin desperate to save their lives won't be able to tell the difference."
Sosuke stopped in the shadows and looked at the owner of the voice.
It was a thin man wearing a white coat.
He was squatting by the pot, holding a bottle in his hand, dripping a blue powder into the pot.
As the powder was added, the pot of lime water gradually turned into a transparent color with a hint of bluish hue.
It looks almost exactly the same as the purified water sold by Takaya Shokai.
This is the master of imitation.
"This is indeed their factory."
Sosuke observed those burly men.
Each of them carried a long sword, clearly indicating they weren't ninjas, but rather gangsters trained in some martial arts.
But that formula maker, that thin man, had chakra flowing within him, though not very powerful.
"Should we kill them?" Kaori asked in a low voice.
"No." Sosuke looked at the formulator. He was interested in this person.
He took out two shuriken.
"Second Greatsword - Revolving Blade".
Whoosh. The shuriken flew out of his hand, tracing an uncanny angle.
They cut the rope holding the oil lamp.
*Slap. Slap.*
The oil lamp fell to the ground, and the flame instantly licked at the pile of flammable cotton wool beside it. Thick smoke billowed up.
"Who?!"
The burly men of the Black Tooth Gang instantly became alert and drew their knives.
"Enemy attack! From behind!"
Sousuke moved. He activated the Body Flicker Technique.
His figure appeared and disappeared in the thick smoke. He was very cautious, remembering Genzo's teachings: even if the opponent was an ordinary person, he must constantly change and conceal his position.
"Kaori, harvest." Sosuke coldly gave the order.
"Yes, boss."
With her long purple hair flying in the wind, Kaori bumped into the crowd.
Her knife was incredibly fast. There were no unnecessary movements; each cut landed on the throat or heart.
This is the ruthlessness of the Konoha-ryu swordsmanship.
To these ordinary gangsters, she was a killing machine.
Screams.
Sosuke stood on high ground, his snake-like eyes fixed on the formular who was trying to escape.
With a slight movement of his left hand, a steel wire precisely wrapped around the man's ankle.
"fall."
Sosuke pulled hard. The man screamed and fell heavily to the ground.
In less than two minutes, the gang members standing in the workshop were gone.
Sosuke fell from the roof beam and walked up to the trembling formulator.
The man looked at Sosuke.
"Ghost—you are a ghost—"
He was rambling incoherently, and his crotch was already soaked.
"I'm not a ghost, I'm your future creditor."
Sosuke crouched down, looking at the churning fake medicine.
"What did you use to mix the limewater to this color?"
The man trembled as he pulled a packet of blue powder from his pocket.
"It's—it's the ash of indigo root, plus—plus a little bit of firefly sap—"
"Very creative."
Sosuke stood up.
"Kaori, take him with you. Let's go."
Kaori walked over and wiped the blood off the blade.
Before the formulator could speak, a round of applause suddenly erupted from the second-floor corridor of the workshop.
*Slap.* *Slap.* *Slap.*
A young man dressed in a neat suit and bow tie, leaning on a walking stick, appeared there.
He didn't look like a gangster; he looked more like a well-educated gentleman. He had a polite smile on his face.
"A brilliant infiltration."
The young man looked down at the massacre scene below, his tone indifferent.
"Mr. Sousuke of the Takaya Chamber of Commerce, I have long admired your name."