Chapter 417: , Escape in Progress

"What's wrong with you, kid!"

The Chunin captain questioned the Genin, his eyes still carrying a trace of vigilance.

"S-sorry, Captain."

"I didn't tie my belt properly just now."

"I tripped."

The Genin scratched his head and said sheepishly; the large red mark on his head seemed to prove he wasn't lying.

Seeing this, the Chunin breathed a sigh of relief and didn't say anything more.

He just pointed backward, frowning to signal this clumsy subordinate to return to his position.

The Genin reached the back of the Chunin in a few steps; time ticked by, and everything seemed perfectly normal.

"Whew!!!"

Finally, a shrill whistle reached everyone's ears.

Immediately, the Chunin captain's face showed relief, and he turned to give a wink to the Genin behind him.

Subsequently, the two of them withdrew from here one after the other.

Almost at the same time, another squad of Mist Ninja took over their original positions to continue guarding and watching.

Ninjas are human too, and it's inevitable that gaps in guarding will occur due to eating or drinking.

Therefore, the Mist Ninja responsible for guarding Kurotsuchi naturally had to rotate.

Two squads, eight ninjas, one squad in the open and one in the dark—this was the number of guards responsible for Kurotsuchi.

Every twelve hours, signaled by a whistle, the two shifts would rotate.

At this moment, it was clearly time for the shift change.

After the shift change ended, the four ninjas in the Mist Ninja squad gathered together; clearly, the tension from before was gone, and they were chatting and laughing with each other.

Only, among the four, the ninja with a clear red mark on his face seemed preoccupied and did not take the initiative to talk to his teammates.

Seeing this, a flash of doubt crossed the Chunin's eyes; he familiarly patted the Genin on the shoulder and began to ask him.

"You guy, what's wrong with you today?"

Hearing this, the Genin showed a troubled expression, as if there was something difficult to say.

"What exactly is it?"

Seeing this, the Chunin captain's expression became even more suspicious, and he pressed the Genin further.

"I..."

"Captain, could you come with me alone? I have something to discuss with you."

The Genin's tone was very hesitant.

Seeing this situation, the Chunin captain subconsciously thought the Genin had some difficulty; as partners who had been through life and death together, he had no reason not to grant such a small request.

So the Chunin captain nodded, gave a wink to the other two in the squad, and then followed the Genin as they walked to one side.

After winding through the village, the Genin led the Chunin captain into an empty alley.

"Kid, you can say what you need to now."

The Chunin captain asked again, patiently, his eyes filled with a bit of inquiry.

"Captain, actually I..."

The Genin wore a pained expression, speaking while moving closer to the Chunin captain.

A strange feeling flashed through the Chunin's heart; he always felt something was off. He was just about to distance himself from the Genin, but suddenly...

The Genin opposite him suddenly had a fierce look in his eyes; he unceremoniously raised his hand and struck the Chunin's neck with a palm.

This move was not only extremely fast, but the action was also incredibly sharp and fierce, catching the Chunin off guard.

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, the Chunin's body collapsed limply to the ground.

At the same time, because of the contact, the Transformation Technique on the Genin also dissipated, revealing her original appearance.

Kurotsuchi looked at the unconscious Chunin, a look of hesitation appearing on her face, but in the end, she didn't deliver a fatal blow.

She used some straw from nearby to bury the Chunin's body for concealment, then put her hands together and used the Transformation Technique again to turn into the Chunin's appearance.

After checking a few times and finding no flaws, Kurotsuchi, now disguised as the Chunin, put on a calm face and walked out of the alley.

As she walked, Kurotsuchi adjusted her mindset, suppressing her excitement, trying to keep her mood as calm as possible.

Previously, she had seized the opportunity when the Genin passed the edge of the house to use the Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu to knock out the Genin with lightning speed and bury him under the soil.

Then she immediately used the Transformation Technique to turn into the Genin's appearance and stood up to reveal herself.

This process took no more than three seconds in total, which could be considered Kurotsuchi breaking her own limits under extreme pressure.

After succeeding, the next step was to disguise herself as the Genin and wait for the opportunity to retreat.

Kurotsuchi was very patient and didn't run away immediately.

For one, from the perspective of the Genin's identity, retreating without cause during a mission would arouse suspicion...

For another, there were other Mist Ninja in the village; acting in the village as a Genin, she would likely be exposed if she encountered other Mist Ninja's inspections.

Through many days of observation, Kurotsuchi keenly sensed the shift change time of these Mist Ninja, so she waited patiently until the shift change to retreat calmly.

Afterward, she used this opportunity to trick the Chunin captain, knock him out, and use the Transformation Technique to obtain his identity.

Up to this point, the possibility of Kurotsuchi escaping this village had greatly increased!

Disguised as the Chunin captain, Kurotsuchi returned to the place where she had parted ways with the squad members; at this moment, the two Genin were still waiting there.

Seeing that only the captain had returned, one Genin frowned and asked the captain.

"Captain, what happened to that guy?"

Hearing this, the captain looked grave, did not speak, and just shook his head faintly.

"Don't ask. You two go ahead and rest on your own."

"I have other business."

Kurotsuchi said with a grave expression, her tone carrying a hint of command.

It must be said that Kurotsuchi's acting skills were quite good; at least the two Genin before her did not notice any flaws at all.

Hearing this, the two Genin looked at each other, nodded sensibly, and chose to leave separately.

Watching her two "subordinates" leave, Kurotsuchi breathed a sigh of relief again in her heart.

She forcibly suppressed the excitement in her heart, picked a direction, and walked away slowly with a calm face.

Along the way, she encountered many "villagers." She knew in her heart that these "villagers" were just disguises for the Mist Ninja; everyone here was actually a bona fide Mist Ninja.

Kurotsuchi kept warning herself in her heart not to show any flaws.

On the road through the village toward freedom, Mist Ninja kept greeting her, to which she responded with a smile one by one, and no one stopped her.

Finally, she followed the main road to the entrance of the village.