Naruto: Did i Just Get Reincarnated as Gojo?

Chapter 156: Stand Up! Stitches-Covered Old Man!

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"Surrender!"

"Let me go, you damn brutes!"

Baki's security detail swarmed, capturing the ninja who'd attacked Gojo Kaigetsu. He wore a Yugakure headband and seemed ordinary.

Baki smirked. Everything was proceeding according to plan.

That Zetsu had arrived, and this bounty ninja a cheap mercenary from Yugakure, hired as a distraction.

Security, always tightest immediately after an assassination attempt, would eventually loosen. That moment of vulnerability that's when the Akatsuki would strike.

Their agreed-upon time wasn't during the journey, or the speech, but rather the return trip.

The vast desert would be his stage.

Tsunade, having given chase, arrived at the scene.

She glanced at the captured ninja and then at Baki.

"What happened? How did a Chūnin-level mercenary infiltrate the ceremony?" Her voice was cold, laced with suspicion.

"There are always oversights. And he caught us off guard. We've been traveling for days," Baki replied calmly, unfazed by Tsunade's presence.

As the War Hawks' leader, he had to project an image of strength.

"Sunagakure's security truly impressive," Tsunade said sarcastically.

She recalled Gojo Kaigetsu's assessment of Sunagakure: Konoha's peace-loving ninja and Sunagakure's peace-loving ninja shared a common enemy—Sunagakure's warmongers.

In other words ninja like Rasa and Pakura were potential allies. But Baki? He was an enemy.

"What about this assassin?" she asked, gesturing towards the captured ninja.

"Execute him here? Or perhaps you'd prefer to handle him? We could also take him back to Suna and interrogate him," Baki offered, feigning generosity.

"A ninja like this he's likely just a mercenary from the underground exchange. Interrogation is pointless. He won't reveal his employer."

"He's a ninja, after all. Hand him over to Suna. Perhaps he can be put to use," Tsunade said, her initial urge to kill him fading. He'd dared attack Gojo Kaigetsu.

But she'd seen the changes along the trade route.

Ninjas, used for creation, are valuable tools.

Gojo Kaigetsu's words echoed in her mind.

She wouldn't waste him. Send him to the experimental farms along the trade route, let him redeem himself through labor.

Baki, his eyes gleaming, was surprised by Tsunade's restraint.

He gestured to his subordinates. "Take him away. We'll handle the evacuation. You attend to your own matters." With that, he vanished with his men.

The ceremony ended early.

The time for his deal with Black Zetsu was approaching. He had to prepare.

Rasa had to die.

Baki arrived at a pre-determined location along the return route. Dozens of ninja, his most loyal subordinates, emerged from the shadows.

"Everything in place?" he asked, his back to them.