The battle was far too intense for Inaba Hyuga to pay attention to anything else, so he didn’t notice the changes occurring in his Byakugan.
Of course, even if he had, he wouldn’t have known what the missing catalyst was.
He could only focus on the battle at hand!
Approximately twenty minutes after the breakthrough began, they finally breached their way to a temporary warehouse near the docks.
“It’s right in here!” The puppeteer immediately pointed out the destination!
The target was right before them, but the guarding Kirigakure ninja had also visibly increased in number!
The commanding Kirigakure Jonin had a grim expression.
“Damn it!
How did they find this place?
We clearly relocated the supplies first thing this morning!” At this moment, Pakura offered of her own accord, “We’ll hold off the Kirigakure forces.
Go on in by yourself, kid!” This surprised Inaba slightly.
She was actually willing to let him act alone?
Did she really trust him that much?
The battle was tense and the situation was changing by the second.
Inaba didn’t have time to ponder why Pakura was being so bold.
With the target right in front of him, he had no reason to refuse.
“Thanks.” Expressing his gratitude, he dove into the warehouse.
Outside, Pakura and the puppeteer hid within their teammate’s sandstorm, putting up a fierce defense to block the encroaching Kirigakure ninja.
“Lady Pakura, why did you let that kid go in alone?” This was a question many wanted to ask, but in the end, only the straightforward puppeteer voiced it.
Pakura smiled.
“I just want to see if his only goal really is completing the mission.” “What do you mean?” Jiromaru was puzzled.
Pakura didn’t answer.
She simply wanted to run a test.
Because she sensed an aura from Inaba Hyuga that was very similar to her own.
An aura of someone who didn’t fit into their own village!
Outcast shinobi often shared certain similarities and sensitivities.
It turned out that Pakura’s judgment was entirely correct!
Upon entering the warehouse, Inaba didn’t immediately start destroying things.
First, he swept his Byakugan over all the crates, then grabbed the common supplies like Ration Pills and ninja tools stacked on top and tossed them aside.
The thrown crates crashed to the floor, shattering and scattering their contents everywhere, but Inaba didn’t care at all.
He quickly found what he was looking for.
Prying open a small crate at the very bottom, he found a neatly stacked pile of exquisite scrolls.
There was a Chakra reaction!
Opening one, as expected, they were all Ninjutsu scrolls!
Most were not of a very high rank, and there were no exceptionally rare high-level Ninjutsu.
They were likely sent by Kirigakure to support the front lines, intended as rewards for ninja who performed well.
Without a second thought, Inaba stuffed the scrolls into his clothing.
This course of action was undoubtedly contrary to the requirements of their mission!
What Konoha wanted was simply to burn everything to the ground!
Because the Ninjutsu shipped to the front lines as rewards were generally not deep Kinjutsu.
To the Konoha higher-ups, these scrolls had little value; bringing them back would be slightly meaningful, but not by much.
At the same time, carrying these scrolls could introduce additional risks, such as being tracked or located.
Therefore, direct destruction was the safest approach.
However, all of that was only from Konoha’s perspective!
To Inaba Hyuga personally, the value of these items was immense!
As a member of the Branch House—especially one unwilling to beg on his knees or grovel to the Head House, and who was now unfortunately disliked and excluded by the Konoha leadership—Inaba’s avenues for acquiring and learning Ninjutsu were far too scarce.
These things were unimportant to the village, but they were crucial to him!
This would become his leverage to prevent the village and the Head House from manipulating him in the future!
Caught between the mission requirements and personal gain, Inaba chose the latter without the slightest hesitation!
He pocketed most of the scrolls.
Only then did he locate the crate of Explosive Tags, using Kirigakure’s own Explosive Tags to cover most of the warehouse.
Finally, he used Fire Style to ignite all the Explosive Tags and vanished with a Body Flicker!
“Go!!” The moment he emerged, he shouted to urge everyone to retreat.
Providing cover outside, Pakura had been silently keeping track of the time.
Realizing that Inaba had spent more time than necessary in the warehouse, the corners of her mouth curved slightly upward.
Casting a subtle glance at Inaba’s visibly stuffed flak jacket, she gave a meaningful smile but said nothing.
“Go!!
Let’s get out of here!” Pakura seconded Inaba’s call and quickly led her people away.
Less than two breaths after they left, a violent explosion resounded behind them.
The entire warehouse was blown to bits, even its roof blasted into the sky!
Watching this scene, the guarding Kirigakure ninja all wore expressions of despair, their will to fight instantly shattered.
Jiromaru looked back.
Even as he ran, he didn’t forget to let out a wild whoop to further needle the Kirigakure ninja’s nerves.
“Woohoo!!
Awesome!!
Up to heaven they go!!” Although he had contributed the least to this fight, it didn’t stop him from shouting the loudest.
“Damn it!
If our Seven Ninja Swordsmen were still here, how could we let these Sunagakure bastards run amok like this?!” A Kirigakure ninja pounded the ground in fury.
Another Jonin’s face was grim as he muttered through gritted teeth, “Sunagakure!
I will make you pay back this debt a hundredfold!!” Kirigakure did not know that destroying the warehouse was a mission assigned by Konoha.
Because the attacks of Pakura, the puppeteer, and the sandstorm-wielding ninja were so iconic, they naturally laid the blame squarely on Sunagakure’s shoulders.
The Kirigakure commander was probably still scratching his head.
*Does Sunagakure have some kind of mental illness?
We’re fighting Konoha in the Land of Fire just fine, so why the hell did you suddenly send people to interfere?!* If Tomoe were here, he would probably marvel once again: *Inaba Hyuga, is this also part of your calculations?* Indeed, this was one of Inaba Hyuga’s calculations this time around.
By executing the frontal assault alongside Pakura’s squad, most of Kirigakure’s post-battle hatred would naturally be focused on Sunagakure.
Though it couldn’t completely guarantee dragging Sunagakure into the conflict, as long as it made Kirigakure paranoid, it was a net win either way.
However, this scheme wasn’t particularly brilliant.
Probably only a fool like Jiromaru, who was still whooping along the way, failed to see through it.
Over time, Pakura would definitely realize it.
That was why, after they left, Inaba suddenly and silently tossed a scroll to Pakura.
“What is this?
Where did you get it?” Pakura asked casually as she caught it, pretending not to know about his little stunt in the warehouse.
“A Wind Style Ninjutsu scroll.
I was lucky enough to find it on the battlefield just now.
You guys probably need it more, so it’s yours.” Inaba lied through his teeth.
*Finding a perfectly preserved, unopened Ninjutsu scroll on the battlefield?
Like hell I’d believe you, kid!* Pakura pretended to be ignorant of Inaba’s hidden agenda.
With a flick of her hand, she silently stowed it away.
“I’ll take your word for it then.
Thanks, kid.” Pakura didn’t expose him; the two shared a tacit understanding.
Even the thoughts running through their minds at this moment were remarkably similar.
Pakura felt that this kid had clearly been wronged in Konoha.
Perhaps she could win him over in the future, or at the very least, recruit him as a spy or informant.
Meanwhile, Inaba was thinking: *This foolish woman is bound to be sold out by Sunagakure sooner or later.
It’s good to build some rapport.
If there’s an opportunity to save her in the future, maybe we can chart a path forward together.* Outcast shinobi were mostly similar and sensitive.
It remained to be seen who would win over whom, who would be the handler, and who would be underneath.