Naruto: The Teaching System - 254

Chapter 254: Bounty of Sixty-Five Million Ryō

"I understand. I'll leave immediately." Sawada nodded.

"Good. I'll feel much better with you escorting him back. Asuma will take over as deputy field commander." After Sawada agreed, Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief. After all, without Sawada, transporting the Jinchūriki back to the village would be nearly impossible.

Sawada naturally had no objections to Kakashi's decision. Asuma Sarutobi wasn't weak. At a young age, he'd become one of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi, was proficient in Wind Release and Fire Release, and was an elite jōnin.

Without hesitation, Sawada headed straight to where Rōshi was being held. This return journey would have to be done with a small squad at most. The front lines currently had no extra shinobi. This was also the best arrangement. A team too large would become a target instead. At that point, they'd have to look after others. Better to simply bring a squad back to Konoha.

Arriving at Rōshi's prison location, Asuma was smoking outside the tent. Seeing Sawada approach, his gaze fixed on him.

"What's wrong?" Sawada was startled, then checked around but found nothing unusual.

"Nothing. Just be careful on your way back to the village." Asuma slowly exhaled smoke.

Sawada scratched his head, somewhat puzzled, but still nodded.

Entering the tent, he saw the now-awake Rōshi sitting cross-legged on the ground, surrounded by a sealed cage. Hearing footsteps, Rōshi raised his head. "What? You're taking me to Konoha?"

"Yeah. After all, your Third Tsuchikage's army has already reached our doorstep." Sawada said flatly, casually opening the cage's outer seal and walking in.

Under his Yin Release enhancement, these seals now only served to alert the sealing squad. After all, even if Sawada was the Hokage's disciple, proper precautions were still necessary.

"Let's go." Seeing this, Rōshi stood up.

"Wait. Yusuke." Sawada called toward the tent entrance. Hearing his voice, Yusuke slowly walked in.

Seeing the handcuffs Yusuke brought, Rōshi spoke. "Is this really necessary? I can't use even a bit of chakra right now."

"Just in case." Sawada completely ignored the meaning in Rōshi's words and directly cuffed Rōshi's hands with Yusuke's shackles. Instantly, as the handcuffs locked, layers of runes spread.

"You—" Before he could finish, Rōshi passed out.

Muta had just pulled open the tent flap. Seeing the scene before him, he wasn't surprised and placed the large jar behind him. This was Sawada's plan. Rōshi would spend the rest of the journey in Muta's jar.

After everything was ready, Sawada finally said, "All right, let's depart. For the rest of the journey, the main mission is to prioritize returning to the village."

"Yes!" Muta and Yusuke exchanged glances and nodded in response.

Hidden Rain Village

Another Akatsuki organization meeting was convened.

"Oh my, the Four-Tails is being taken back to Konoha," White Zetsu, resembling a Venus flytrap, spoke.

All Akatsuki members looked toward Pain's figure.

"Kakuzu, Kisame—you two go bring him back." Pain, who had been keeping his eyes closed, finally opened them after a while, looking at Kakuzu and Kisame.

"Remember to be cautious. At this stage, we cannot let anyone discover our existence."

"Hmph." Kisame's mouth curved into a smile, which served as his agreement.

"No problem. I also need to visit the bounty station as soon as possible." Kakuzu glanced at Kisame and answered. "We'll meet up in the Land of Fire."

"Okay, got it." Kisame nodded in response.

"Dismissed!" Seeing this, Pain spoke directly.

They had smoothly passed through the Land of Rivers and entered the Land of Fire's border. Yusuke and Muta's expressions finally calmed down, but...

Sawada's expression was grave as he continuously leaped between giant trees. Ever since crossing the Land of Rivers border, he'd felt an uneasy sensation.

Thinking of this, Sawada stopped his steps, halting atop a large tree. Yusuke and Muta, following immediately behind, stopped and looked at Sawada with puzzled expressions.

"Let's rest briefly. After this, we won't stop again. We'll go full speed back to Konoha." As Sawada spoke, he adjusted the bandages on his wrists.

"Yes!" Seeing this, Yusuke and Muta nodded and began resting in place.

Sawada's gaze swept across the surrounding giant trees, his brow tightly furrowed. The heavy snow had stopped, leaving only pristine white snowfields. Everything around seemed normal.

However...

"Since you're here, just come out directly." Sawada suddenly spoke. Hearing this, Yusuke and Muta immediately stood up, vigilantly looking around.

No one responded. Only the rustling sound of accumulated snow falling from trees.

"What? You want me to make the first move?" As Sawada spoke, chakra condensed around him, an invisible shockwave spreading outward.

"So, how did you notice us?" A tall figure quietly appeared, revealing a mouth full of shark-like teeth, the bandage-wrapped Samehada resting on his shoulder.

Sawada didn't answer, turning his head to look elsewhere. Kakuzu's figure had already appeared there, his eerie green eyes gazing at Sawada. Or rather, he was looking at Sawada's head.

"Bounty of sixty-five million ryō, Kisame. Be careful not to damage the corpse." Kakuzu looked at the distant Kisame.

"Oh? That high?" Hearing Kakuzu's words, Kisame grinned, looking at Sawada's figure with surprise.

"Yeah. After all, a certain country issued an additional ten million ryō—stackable." Kakuzu nodded. As for which country, it wasn't hard to guess at all.

"Sawada-sama!" Yusuke said with a serious expression. She'd never felt such an aura from any shinobi. That sense of unease emanating from them told her these two people were definitely dangerous.

"Muta, Yusuke—you two go first. I'll follow close behind." Sawada looked at Kakuzu and Kisame, giving instructions to Yusuke and Muta.

"But—" Yusuke still wanted to say something, but Muta beside her patted her shoulder.

"Let's go first." Cold sweat streamed down Muta's face, his legs trembling slightly. His instincts desperately warned him, urging him to leave.

After speaking, Muta pulled Yusuke and rapidly departed.

The next moment, a figure wearing a black cloak with red clouds printed on it appeared before Muta, who was preparing to leave.

"Well, I can't let you two leave!" Kisame smirked, revealing shark-like teeth, raising the massive Samehada in his hand, and smashing it down toward the two.

Sawada's eyes turned cold. The next moment, he appeared directly in front of Kisame, then, with a spinning kick, directly kicked toward Samehada.

Kisame, who had been showing a ferocious smile, froze upon seeing this scene, his entire body flying backward.