19 Chapter 19: Devour a Elite Jonin?

After devouring these targets, Sato buried the weapons that fell from them and returned to the hotel in the town as if nothing had happened.

Shino, who had returned to the hotel room early, saw Sato coming back but did not notice anything unusual about him.

If Sato had killed someone, Shino's insects would have detected the scent of blood on his body.

Even someone with stronger perception could have sensed the murderous aura on Sato if he had killed someone.

But Sato hadn't killed anyone; he had simply swallowed his targets alive without spilling any blood.

As a result, there was no trace of blood or any indication of murderous intent on his body.

It was a perfect crime.

...

The next day, Team 8 didn't return to Konoha until the afternoon.

It was understandable since they were rarely given the chance to go on a trip, and they didn't have any acquaintances to take care of. After a night of drinking, Kurenai went to soak in the hot springs and slept until noon the next day.

Being intoxicated, she naturally didn't realize that one of her students had become richer than her just by going on a short mission.

Although Sato didn't encounter any strong enemies during the mission, he still achieved amazing results.

Especially in terms of wealth, he went from being poor to being rich overnight.

Although a large portion of the money couldn't be accessed immediately, he had enough cash on hand to buy several storage scrolls, explosive tags, and military ration pills.

With the storage scrolls, he could deposit the money for safekeeping and retrieve it when he returned to the village for the next mission.

Therefore, Sato was in a very happy mood at the moment.

Perhaps it was due to the recent transfer.

A few days after returning to Konoha, Kurenai didn't continue assigning Team 8 C-level missions. Instead, they returned to the usual D-level missions.

Team 8 didn't complain either; they were already satisfied just being able to leave the village.

On this day, after finishing training with Hinata and teaching medical ninjutsu, Sato separated from her on the street and headed towards a ninja shop to buy the storage scroll he had been dreaming of.

On the way, Sato saw a figure whom he recognized at a glance, even though it was their first meeting.

Gray hair, wearing a bamboo hat, dark skin, and that sword...

Wasn't this Tazuna?

Was the first C-level mission of Team 7, the Land of Waves arc, finally happening?

Thinking of this, Sato couldn't wait to find Kurenai and ask her to intercept Team 7's escort mission.

But in the next moment, Sato calmed himself down.

I can't do this alone; otherwise, it will be difficult to explain to Kurenai.

Without a reasonable explanation, Kurenai, who had just led Team 8 to complete their first C-level mission, wouldn't be able to lead them on another C-level mission so soon.

Even if someone else led them, such as Kurenai, if there wasn't a valid explanation, the Third Hokage might not assign Team 8 the mission to escort.

Therefore, intercepting Team 7's mission in a fair and honest manner was not possible.

Unless... there was another way.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Sato's gaze turned determined.

He wanted to eliminate Team 7!

Although he could endure it for a while, it would be difficult to explain once the Third Hokage passed away.

But the living were more valuable than the dead.

Living elite Jōnin were hard to come by.

Konoha had quite a few elite Jōnin, but Sato couldn't devour them.

There were many elite Jōnin outside, but it was difficult for Sato to come across one.

And if he didn't eliminate them, they would become the few elite Jōnin wandering outside in the original Naruto storyline.

If he devoured them and didn't eliminate them, Sato would not only gain a second Chakra Nature Transformation but also a second bloodline limit, as well as Kirigakure's Water Style ninjutsu and Haku's Ice Release bloodline limit.

At that point, Sato, possessing two bloodline limits and two Chakra Nature Transformations, would become a true elite Jōnin.

He would be a formidable force, even among the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Unless he encountered a Kage-level powerhouse, elite Jōnin were the strongest shinobi, capable of accomplishing many tasks.

With that level of strength, it would be easier for him to infiltrate tombs on his own.

Thinking of this, Sato became even more determined.

So, he put on his sunglasses, activated the Genjutsu hypnosis on Tazuna from a distance.

In an instant, Tazuna, who was about to go to the Hokage building, paused for a moment, his expression momentarily dull beneath the bamboo hat.

But soon, his expression returned to normal, and instead of heading to the Hokage building, he left the bustling street and entered an empty alley.

"Answer my questions truthfully, no matter what I ask."

Sato also walked into the alley, taking advantage of no one's attention. He once again injected Yin Release Chakra into Tazuna's mind, strengthening the Sharingan's hypnosis:

"Are you here in Konoha to entrust a mission?"

"Yes, I was being hunted by a ninja hired by Gatō in the Land of Fire, and I wanted to come to Konoha to entrust a mission and have a ninja escort me back to the Land of Waves," Tazuna replied in a daze.

"Have you already entrusted the mission?"

"Not yet. I was about to go to the Hokage building to find out the mission's level and cost."

"Very well. You don't need to entrust the mission anymore, and forget that you were being pursued to Konoha by ninjas. You came to Konoha to retrieve someone, and that person is me."

"Yes... I wasn't being pursued to Konoha. I came to retrieve someone..."

Tazuna repeated Sato's words blankly.

"Go ahead and apply for the leaving-the-village permit. I'll find you later."

After completing the final hypnosis, Sato vanished from the alley in an instant. He then requested three days off from Kurenai.

The reason he gave was that he had a sudden inspiration and wanted to study a combination ninjutsu carefully.

Hearing this, Kurenai readily approved the request but asked him to demonstrate the technique once he had completed practicing it.

Sato readily agreed.

After obtaining a few days off, Sato went to the ninja shop to buy some storage scrolls, explosive tags, and military ration pills.

Upon returning home, he stored all the equipment in the scroll and headed to a deserted alley. Using the Transformation Technique, he transformed into a child carrying a cage and went to meet Zabuza.

On the way, Sato bought a wind chime from a small stall.

After meeting up with Tazuna, who had already obtained the leaving-the-village permit, the two of them proceeded smoothly through Konoha.

From start to finish, the two Chunin guards at the gate didn't notice anything amiss.

Unbeknownst to them, their minds had been invaded by Yin Release Chakra, falling into the illusion activated by Sato through the wind chime.

Aside from Sharingan-based illusions, there were many other types of illusions in the world.

Among them was sound-based illusion.

For example, Tayuya, who fought against the sound four, used her flute to activate her illusions.

In reality, all illusions were a manifestation of Chakra.

As long as one's Yin Release Chakra was powerful enough and they possessed skill in illusions, anything could be used to trigger illusions.

Sato, having devoured the strongest illusion master in the ninja world and being guided by Jōnin-level illusion experts from Konoha, had already mastered this technique.

His method of navigating through Konoha was inspired by Uchiha Itachi's actions.

Knowing that Konoha had an enchantment, Itachi effortlessly brought Kisame into the village with just a single glance.

Now, Sato could also leave the village openly.