Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 138 Action

"Lord Jinlun, the infiltration has been successful."

The red-eyed Uchiha silently pushed open the door and instantly subdued the guards playing good cop/bad cop and the so-called "teacher." A seven or eight-year-old girl emerged from among the bewildered children, and in the blink of an eye, she transformed into an adult male, frightening the children into shrinking back inside.

[Very good, proceed as planned.]

Naruto didn't have time to comfort the children; after leaving a mark on the door, he immediately left. His task was to apply the Flying Thunder God Seal to the rooms with children, since one clone's chakra couldn't handle transporting so many children; he had to use multiple clones together. While Naruto was busy, the Uchiha members of the group were violently rummaging through the minds of the captured individuals, quickly uncovering more sordid and disgusting deeds and tragic histories. Even these people had been trapped here since childhood; they were no longer even aware of the oppressive nature of their concentration camp-like existence.

The atmosphere within the infiltration team was heavy, but the mission was not yet over.

"Take on these people's identities first and investigate around. Our primary task is to find the list of participants and rescue as many victims as possible. When the time is right, I will create chaos that forces them to flee, and then we will take advantage of the chaos to evacuate. If we encounter any combat, try to use Earth Release and Lightning Release."

"Yes."

It has to be said that when it comes to intelligence gathering and infiltration, the Uchiha are still the best. In the current ninja world, the Uchiha are practically extinct; even ordinary ninjas don't think to avoid being seen anymore, let alone ordinary people. The Uchiha are on their way to the core, while the Senju are searching for those who might still be salvageable, throwing ornaments bearing the Flying Thunder God symbol into these rooms and cages. Naruto isn't cut out for intelligence gathering; he's doing his second job, and is inevitably drawn to a chakra source hidden deeper within.

The building is dug very deep underground. The auction house is only the first underground level, they are on the third underground level, and the chakra source is on the sixth underground level. It is covered by a powerful seal, and even the super senses cannot penetrate the walls to see what is inside. They can only sense that the chakra seems to be constantly leaking out.

It was a chakra with remarkably strong vitality, and it even had a somewhat familiar scent.

Naruto inexplicably felt he had to go in and check the situation, but there were too many obstacles leading to the underground, so he decided to choose an easier way.

They simply disappeared down there.

It's true that ordinary ninjas can't silently penetrate dozens of meters underground and move freely through hard rock structures. But Naruto is no ordinary ninja.

During his extended period in Sage Mode, he gradually discovered two phenomena that shouldn't have occurred in him.

One type is that he can hide in anything in nature at will, without causing any disturbance. Even the best sensory ninjas find him through his chakra, not by the noise he makes while hiding.

The other is more like an extension of his skillful use of natural chakra. He discovered that with enough chakra, he could even move mountains, stop rivers from flowing, and control large areas of substances that already exist in nature! He was no longer confined to the products of chakra nature transformation. Therefore, he would also use this ability to create chaos that would make everyone want to escape.

Perhaps because the auction was approaching, the newly purchased children weren't given much attention. The infiltration team thus successfully spent the night and, taking advantage of the reduced number of people around under the cover of night, quickly made their way through the third and fourth floors. However, they still hadn't found anyone who knew the list, so they turned their attention to the fifth floor.

This was a very important auction day, and many managers from the fifth floor would be out and about. To avoid giving themselves away, they only switched identities with two people. These two were already of quite high rank, knew the names of many attendees, and one of them even had partial memories of the ledgers—the ledgers of shady dealings! This was a major breakthrough. Taking advantage of the fact that most people were out entertaining VIPs, the Uchiha infiltrated the fifth floor and, after a localized battle, finally obtained some substantial evidence.

The cabinet full of accounts was truly horrifying, but they had no time for sentimentality. Naruto immediately seized all the inventory sealed in the warehouse, while the Uchiha frantically copied the portion stored outside. Exhausted both physically and mentally, they refused to stop even at their limit, and were basically all forcibly thrown back to base by Naruto. With the most important task completed, the Senju were also sent to various locations in the city, ready to provide backup at any time. Naruto's clone also perfectly completed its mission and disappeared.

As night falls again, an unprecedented attack is about to begin.

“Sasuke, the chakra reaction from the day before yesterday hasn’t weakened at all, and its intensity was highest in the auction area.” Even though she was already dressed in her night clothes and crouching on the roof, Karin was still feeling uneasy. “That person is very likely the guardian of this area. We can’t possibly defeat him.”

Sasuke glanced at her silently, then lowered his head to wipe his sword again. "If you haven't thought it through, then don't go. It's just a matter of getting closer to track them down."

Karin's heart pounded even harder. She immediately declared that she would go, she would definitely go, and she would absolutely not let them down. It was truly a wonder that Sasuke could say such a thing even knowing that the other person was a sensory type. Getting too close to follow them would be tantamount to suicide, wouldn't it? Although Sasuke was difficult to get along with, he was handsome, good-looking, and compassionate.

He's probably the most normal person Orochimaru has ever met; it would be a shame for him to die here. It's just a matter of sensing each other while carefully concealing the chakra of two people, right? It'll definitely work, absolutely!

The two, believing they had blended silently into the darkness, were completely unaware that the window next door was open, its two reflective surfaces gleaming brightly in the night. When they arrived at their designated spot, the three temporary teammates found themselves awkwardly staring at each other in the moonlight.

“…Kabuto, don’t stop me.” Sasuke was the first to speak, his tone quite impolite.

Kabuto, also dressed in black, smiled and said, "Lord Orochimaru said that in non-emergency situations, your authority is second only to his. I don't think it's an emergency right now."

Karin sensed the underlying meaning in the conversation and asked, somewhat surprised, "You also agree to the operation?"

"After all, they are precious members of the Uzumaki royal family. Wouldn't it be great if we could bring them back for Lord Orochimaru?"

The three of them reached a consensus using various excuses. With the addition of Kabuto Yakushi, the troublesome part of getting people away was also fully resolved. They believed that someone with more connections than the two young men would find a way to transport them, thus eliminating their last worry.

As their gaze focused on the carriage that had set off in the middle of the night, a sudden change occurred. A deep rumble accompanied by tremors occurred simultaneously, and they could even see a three-story building in the distance shaking.

earthquake!