A stone house, nearly a ruin.
The stone walls were mottled, covered in cracks large and small.
Sunlight leaked through the gaps, forming long, slender beams of light.
Half the roof had collapsed, revealing a murky gray sky.
Rainwater dripped through the broken tiles, splashing into shallow pits in the muddy ground.
The air was thick with the musty smell of dampness, mingled with a faint, sickly sweetness.
The smell of blood.
Deep inside the stone house, a crude stone bed sat against the wall.
On it lay a powerfully built dark-skinned man, his bare upper body covered in corded muscles, a body that should have exuded strength, yet now lay utterly still.
Because a massive lump occupied most of his chest.
The lump was grotesquely shaped, like some twisted spider, its eight legs radiating outward and burrowing deep into his flesh.
Its surface was a sickly blue-black, with bulging veins that throbbed faintly with each breath, as though it were a living creature.
“Karai, hang in there!” Amai knelt by the stone bed, gripping his comrade’s hand tightly, his voice trembling with barely contained emotion.
“The greatest medical ninja, Lady Tsunade, is here!
You’ll be fine, do you hear me?
You’ll be fine!” Karai didn’t respond.
His eyes were half-open, his pupils unfocused, and his lips cracked and pale.
Only the spider-shaped lump on his chest rose and fell faintly, like a silent sneer.
Tsunade stood beside the bed, looking down at the lump.
She didn’t immediately begin treatment.
She simply observed it.
Her golden hair slipped from her shoulders, a few strands falling across her chest.
Her expression was calm, but there wasn’t the slightest trace of drunkenness in her eyes.
Souji stood at the doorway, his blind cane resting at his side.
Beneath the black cloth, his Six Eyes quietly observed everything.
That lump…
His Six Eyes could see even more.
Inside the lump, countless tiny chakra signatures writhed.
They were so small that they were practically bacterial in size, like innumerable tiny insects crawling about and multiplying.
They fed on chakra.
Every bit they devoured made them grow a little before they continued feeding.
Karai’s chakra pathways had already been eroded until they were riddled with holes.
Tsunade reached out, placing her hand above the lump.
Pale green medical chakra overflowed from her palm, gradually seeping into the grotesque lump.
Gradually, her brows knitted together slightly.
Then she withdrew her hand and turned toward the Fourth Raikage.
“You said your people seized the Land of Cedar’s secret arts?” Her voice was calm, but her tone carried a hint of scrutiny.
The Fourth Raikage stood in the doorway, his towering frame nearly blocking half the entrance.
His white cloak fluttered in the breeze, while his broad chest and corded muscles gleamed with a bronze luster beneath the sunlight.
He nodded.
Tsunade let out a scoff.
“I didn’t expect the Land of Cedar to have someone capable of using a secret art like this.
A technique like this isn’t something an ordinary small country could come up with.” The Fourth Raikage looked at her, his gaze calm.
“They weren’t Hidden Cedar Village shinobi.” “Oh?” “They were mercenaries hired by Hidden Cedar Village.
The Shinobi Assassins.” The air inside the stone house seemed to freeze for an instant.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
“The Shinobi Assassins?
That mercenary group famous throughout the shinobi world for hunting shinobi?” The Fourth Raikage didn’t answer, but his silence was answer enough.
Tsunade laughed.
Her smile held undisguised mockery.
“Fourth Raikage, you people never change.
Still acting like bandits, I see.
Looks like it finally blew up in your face, didn’t it?” The Fourth Raikage’s brow twitched.
Amai sprang to his feet, his face flushed red.
“What do you know?!
We did this for the village…” “Amai.” The Fourth Raikage’s deep voice cut him off.
Then he looked at Tsunade, his gaze calm.
“Call it whatever you want.” Tsunade folded her arms and leaned lazily against the stone wall.
“Am I wrong, though?
The Land of Lightning’s reputation in the shinobi world.
Do I really have to spell it out?
Konoha’s Byakugan.
The Hyuga Clan’s main family heiress.
It hasn’t even been that many years since you people nearly kidnapped her!” Her tone was light, but every word was as sharp as a blade.
“The sealing techniques of the Land of Whirlpools.
Hidden Waterfall Village’s Hero’s Water.
What haven’t you people tried to get your hands on?
Hidden Cloud has coveted the secret arts of nearly every nation in the shinobi world.
If that’s not robbery, what is?” The Fourth Raikage didn’t argue.
He simply looked at her, his gaze as calm as still water.
“Done?” Tsunade arched an eyebrow.
“If you’re done, then save him.” The Fourth Raikage’s deep voice remained steady, carrying the authority he was born with, yet showing remarkable restraint.
Tsunade stared at him for two seconds before suddenly laughing.
“Interesting.” She turned back to the stone bed and looked once more at the spider-shaped lump.
“The Shinobi Assassins’ secret art…” she murmured.
“No wonder you couldn’t handle it.” Amai hurried over nervously.
“Lady Tsunade, can you save him?” Tsunade didn’t answer.
She reached out again.
This time, it wasn’t merely a diagnosis, but a far more thorough examination.
Pale green medical chakra continued to seep into the lump, and her brows gradually furrowed more deeply.
After a long while, she withdrew her hand and looked at the Fourth Raikage.
“How much do you know about this jutsu?” “Not much,” the Fourth Raikage said in a deep voice.
“All we know is that the lump explodes.” “Explodes?” “After he was struck by the technique, we immediately sealed his chakra in an attempt to stop it from spreading, but it didn’t work.” The Fourth Raikage’s gaze fell on the lump on Karai’s chest.
“Especially once the victim uses ninjutsu, the lump expands rapidly.” “We saw it with our own eyes.
Nīrui used ninjutsu, and in an instant, the lump swelled and exploded.” “As for Karai…
if we hadn’t stopped him in time, he might have…” Hearing this, Tsunade nodded thoughtfully.
“So it really is one of those.” As she spoke, she straightened up and looked toward Souji.
“Kid, do you know what this is?” Souji was slightly startled.
He hadn’t expected Tsunade to suddenly ask him, but his Six Eyes had indeed allowed him to see something.
“It’s a type of insect.” His voice was cool and calm.
“They’re extremely small, roughly the size of bacteria.
After invading the human body, they feed on chakra.” As he spoke, he looked toward the lump on Karai’s chest.
“In the end, they gather in the chest and form something like this.
But it isn’t a single lump.
It’s an aggregation of countless bugs.” Amai’s face instantly turned pale.
Tsunade, however, smiled knowingly.
This kid’s eyes were even more terrifying than the Byakugan’s ability to see through things.
She then turned to the Fourth Raikage.
“He’s right.
They’re known as Explosive Bugs.
This should be the Shinobi Assassins’ signature secret art.” “Explosive Bugs…” The Fourth Raikage repeated the name.
“That’s right.
They’re a type of insect that invades the body and feeds on chakra.” “The Aburame Clan of Konoha once cultivated this species.
At first, they were only the size of bacteria, making them virtually impossible to detect when they invaded the human body.” “But their survival rate was far too low, the cost of cultivation was too high, and their practical applications were too limited.
So the Aburame Clan eventually abandoned them.” As she spoke, Tsunade pointed at the lump on Karai’s chest.
“However, once they’ve grown to this stage inside a person’s body, the victim is as good as dead.” The Fourth Raikage’s expression darkened.
“Can you save him?” Tsunade didn’t answer immediately.
She looked at Karai, then at the Fourth Raikage, before suddenly smiling.
“Come to think of it, Fourth Raikage…
haven’t you noticed yet?” “Noticed what?” “You’ve been infested too.” The Fourth Raikage’s pupils contracted slightly.
Amai cried out in shock.
“What?!” Tsunade folded her arms, her tone calm.
“Not just you.
The one who keeps shouting beside you has it too.” Amai’s face went completely pale.
He instinctively looked down at his chest and frantically pulled open his collar.
But there was nothing there.