Chapter 79 (Patreon)

On Day 45, Sarutobi Asuma was laid to rest.

His funeral brought grief to many of Konoha’s older generation.

Only a few years had passed since they had watched the Third Hokage die. None of them had expected that, before their own lives came to an end, the Third’s last surviving son would follow him into the grave.

However, for most people, that sadness lasted only a day.

Asuma’s death had shaken Konoha’s shinobi, but it had little effect on the village’s ordinary residents. Many civilians had only heard that a jōnin had fallen in battle. Most did not even know that Sarutobi Asuma was the Third Hokage’s son.

Time could gradually wash away the sorrow of those who had only known him from a distance.

It could not ease the guilt tormenting Nara Shikamaru.

Just as he had after failing to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke and seeing his comrades injured, Shikamaru once again found himself consumed by hatred for his own weakness.

He woke from nightmares every night.

Whenever his eyes opened in the darkness, the image of Asuma’s death would return to him, followed by Mihawk’s final words at the funeral.

The man who would one day become Konoha’s foremost strategist and serve as the Seventh Hokage’s most trusted adviser seemed to have finally reached a decision.

Every day, Shikamaru sat cross-legged with his hands forming the familiar frame of his thinking pose.

For the first time in his life, he pushed his mind to its absolute limit.

He was creating a plan for revenge.

At 12:15 a.m., inside the bedroom of the Nerona residence, Mihawk’s eyes suddenly opened.

A cold gleam flashed through them, instantly driving away the last traces of sleep.

Hinata was resting peacefully in his arms.

Mihawk gently loosened his hold on her without making a sound. He slipped out of bed, walked barefoot from the room, and silently crossed the living room.

A moment later, he appeared on the roof of the dojo.

Dressed only in a light sleeping robe, Mihawk looked towards the figure standing beneath the moonlight.

Shikamaru was wearing his chūnin flak jacket.

“Have you made your decision?” Mihawk asked quietly.

“Yeah.”

An expression rarely seen on Shikamaru’s face had replaced his usual laziness.

“I’m going to avenge Asuma.”

He lowered his head towards Mihawk and spoke with complete sincerity.

“Mihawk… I need your help.”

Mihawk raised a hand and placed it on Shikamaru’s shoulder.

That simple gesture was enough to give him an answer.

“When are we leaving?”

“Not yet.”

For the first time since Asuma’s death, a faint smile appeared on Shikamaru’s face. Some of his former confidence had finally returned.

“I’ll explain the plan first.”

“No. Tell us on the way.”

Mihawk raised a hand to stop him, then turned his gaze towards the Hokage Building.

“The Fifth Hokage will never approve of this. Once she learns what we’re planning, she’ll stop us.”

He looked back at Shikamaru.

“Go and wake Ino and Chōji. I’ll wake Hinata and contact Shino.”

“We leave the village tonight.”

“You can explain the plan once we’re on the road.”

Shikamaru nodded firmly.

“Right.”

In the next instant, he vanished from the roof with the Body Flicker Technique.

Mihawk jumped down and returned to the bedroom, only to find Hinata already awake.

She sat against the headboard in her thin sleeping robe. Silver moonlight entered through the window, illuminating her figure and creating an almost dreamlike scene.

Mihawk walked over and gently ran a hand through her hair.

“I woke up the moment you let go of me,” Hinata said as she leaned into his arms.

She glanced towards the window.

“That was Shikamaru, wasn’t it?”

Mihawk nodded, slowly combing his fingers through her long hair.

“Go and wash up. I’ll pack what we need, then we’ll leave and find Shino.”

“Okay.”

Hinata did not ask where they were going in the middle of the night.

However, after nodding obediently, she quickly shook her head.

“Mihawk-kun should wash and change first. I’ll pack everything.”

Her voice was soft, but her decision was firm.

Preparing Mihawk’s supplies had always been Hinata’s responsibility.

She knew he could be careless about everyday necessities and was worried he might forget something important. It was one of the few matters on which she had always refused to compromise.

Mihawk did not argue.

He took a black kimono from the nearby hanger and entered the bathroom.

Before long, the sound of running water could be heard from inside.

After washing quickly, Mihawk emerged dressed in the black kimono and removed his sword from the wall.

By then, Hinata had almost finished packing.

She entered the bathroom to wash and change while Mihawk checked their equipment.

Seven or eight minutes later, the two stepped outside.

Mihawk locked the wooden door behind them.

A moment later, both disappeared with the Body Flicker Technique.

At 1:12 a.m., six figures gathered near Konoha’s main gate for a brief meeting.

Mihawk, Hinata, and Shino stood together with Shikamaru, Ino, and Chōji.

Before Shikamaru could begin speaking, Mihawk took command.

“We’ll go to the place where Asuma-sensei was killed first.”

He looked towards Shino.

“Have your kikaichū search the area. They may still be able to find the enemy’s scent or chakra traces.”

Mihawk then turned towards Shikamaru.

“You can explain the battle plan while we travel.”

“Right.”

Shikamaru nodded.

That was exactly what he had intended to suggest.

The six shinobi activated the Body Flicker Technique and swiftly passed through the sensory barrier surrounding Konoha.

Their departure had almost certainly been detected by the Barrier Team, whose members watched over the village in shifts both day and night.

Neither Team 8 nor Team 10 cared.

By leaving the village without permission to hunt down the Akatsuki’s Immortal Duo and avenge Sarutobi Asuma, they had already violated Konoha’s regulations.

If they failed to return alive, punishment would no longer matter.

Even if they returned victorious, they could be stripped of their status as shinobi or forbidden from ever receiving another promotion.

Team 10 did not care about that either.

Even if the village immediately dispatched a pursuit unit, it would already be too late to catch them.

After several hours of travelling, the six reached the Fire Temple at around seven in the morning.

Shikamaru led Team 8 to the place where Sarutobi Asuma had fought his final battle.

Hundreds of tiny black kikaichū emerged from beneath Shino’s clothes and spread out across the ground.

They crawled in every direction, searching for any scent or trace left behind by Hidan and Kakuzu.

After a while, Shino shook his head.

“The rain washed everything away.”

His kikaichū returned to him.

“They can’t find a usable scent or chakra trace.”

Mihawk and the others were not surprised.

They had come here in the hope of discovering the Immortal Duo’s exact location, but Shikamaru had already prepared another method in case Shino’s insects found nothing.

“One of them is an extremely experienced shinobi,” Shikamaru said calmly. “Before they left, he said that we would meet again.”

His eyes narrowed.

“They attacked the Fire Temple to claim the bounty on Chiriku, one of the former Twelve Guardian Ninja.”

“That means they’ll continue travelling towards a bounty station.”

Shikamaru turned in the direction of the nearest known black-market exchange point.

“We’ll follow the most likely route and track them from there.”

The other five nodded.

In the next instant, all six figures disappeared from the mountain.