440 Learning Ninjutsu in a Glance

After staying in the Divine Tree cultivation room for quite a while.

Victor's little secretary reminded him, "Victor-sama, let me help you back to rest."

Victor tapped his cane lightly against the floor, turned to leave, then suddenly realized the surroundings were terrifyingly quiet.

"Wait! Why is it so quiet?"

The secretary smiled and reminded him, "Not really. You were the one who forbade company staff from entering the Divine Tree cultivation room. It being quiet here is perfectly normal…"

Victor shook his head. Something still felt wrong.

Suddenly, as his thoughts snapped into place, Victor turned and looked at the smiling secretary.

"It's you!"

The secretary, flustered, pointed at herself with slender fingers.

"Me? I didn't do anything…"

Victor had already put some distance between himself and his secretary.

"You almost never call me 'sama'—you usually call me 'President'!"

"Who exactly are you?!"

"You're a ninja from Konoha, aren't you? I didn't expect you to actually sneak in here!"

"Too bad you came in alive today, but you're not leaving alive!"

As he spoke, Victor had already finished forming hand seals.

"Fire Style: Great Blazing Flower!"

"Whoosh!"

A high-temperature fireball spewed from Victor's mouth and flew toward the secretary.

At this point, Shinju couldn't be bothered to pretend anymore and, with a single "swish," reverted from the secretary back to his true appearance.

Victor: …

He was done for.

Even though he had modified his body and gained some strength, compared to Konoha's legendary Sixth Hokage, he really didn't even come close.

Seriously, do Hokage of Konoha not have paperwork to handle?

Why is he running to the Land of Valleys every single day?!

How was he supposed to fight that?!

Thinking this, Victor flipped his palm and grabbed the scroll the superior had given him.

He hadn't expected that the scroll, just recently issued to him, would immediately need to be used.

Across from him, Shinju noticed Victor's changing expression and asked cheerfully,

"Looks like you don't want to fight me. How about you surrender of your own will, then tell me everything you know?"

Victor looked troubled.

He had joined the organization purely for his own sake; he didn't have much loyalty.

If Shinju really would spare his life, he could live as a traitor…

Just as Victor was seriously considering it.

Not far away, at the top of the Divine Tree, the gigantic flower bud unfurled another petal.

With just one glance, Victor's expression changed again.

If he became a traitor, he would never get to eat the fruit of the Divine Tree, and the organization would hunt him down…

Maybe he could stall for time now, wait for the Divine Tree to bear fruit, eat the fruit himself, gain power, and maybe even turn the tables!

The very moment this thought appeared in Victor's heart—

With a "swish," an extremely long chakra blade appeared in Shinju's hand.

"Hiss—!"

The chakra blade swept across, effortlessly slicing the Divine Tree that Victor had painstakingly cultivated cleanly in half.

Victor: …

Great. Now even his last bit of hope had been erased by Shinju.

Opposite him, Shinju's pupils shifted. "What are you still hesitating about?"

The next instant, Aoki-no-Mikoto's clone appeared behind Victor and pinned him in place.

Victor kicked frantically with both legs.

"Let me go, let me go! I'll tell you—I'll tell you everything I know!"

Shinju curled his lip. "Too late."

Then he placed his hand directly on Victor's head.

The next moment—

Bang!

Victor, dead.

He died in the same way as the middle-parted guy—his head exploded.

Fortunately, Shinju had prepared in advance and instant-moved several dozen meters away.

"As expected, it exploded again…" Shinju murmured.

Victor and the middle-parted one were in league, so he had long been prepared for Victor's head to explode.

However, because he was ready this time, his harvest was greater than the last.

At the very least, he sensed a special chakra inside Victor's head, proving that their exploding heads were being controlled by someone else.

Also, while pretending to be the secretary, Shinju heard other information Victor had revealed.

"What Victor just mentioned—the 'Kāma'—could it be the same thing that Jigen mentioned before…? If so, then Victor was also a member of Kara."

"And that one called 'Amado' should be another member of Kara."

"Looks like I'll have to dig thoroughly into Victor's company records."

...

Before long, news spread of illegal human experimentation at Victor's biotech company.

Very soon, word leaked that President Victor had died suddenly.

Strangely, all the cash and valuables in Victor's home had been looted, and even the company's experimental materials had vanished…

Public opinion went wild.

Some said Victor had done too many bad things and was punished by the heavens. Some said he'd been sabotaged by a rival company. Others said Victor had run into the legendary phantom thief.

Even more outrageous, some claimed the killer was actually Uchiha Sasuke of Konoha…

...

In the Hokage's office, Shinju casually flipped through a newspaper.

When he saw the report about the Land of Valleys' Victor Company, his expression changed slightly.

"Wait! 'Phantom Thief'? Who came up with that name?"

"I'll go check it out when I have time!"

"And wow, Sasuke really took a stray hit here… I should restore his reputation later."

After a while, Shikamaru entered the room.

"What are you reading that's making you this happy?"

Shinju said, "Found a pretty funny joke."

Shikamaru didn't ask further and reported, "Ao from Kirigakure has come to Konoha."

"He says he lost half his limbs during a mission and wants to get a pair of prosthetics custom-made…"

Shinju asked in surprise, "Custom-made by me? I don't even know how to make prosthetics. Worst case, should I just snap him a couple from a wood clone?"

Shikamaru: …

"What are you thinking? He's here to see Katetsu."

"Katetsu just happens to be researching that field."

"And also, don't casually stick your wooden limbs onto people again. After Guy-sensei had them attached, he runs around the village every day like he's got endless energy."

"Got it. I'll charge next time," Shinju nodded, then continued, "What did you find in Victor's company data?"

Shikamaru shook his head.

"Just disgusting human experiments. Nothing about Kara for now."

"Oh right, Ino invited you to dinner tonight. Are you going?"

Shinju stood up. "I'm going now. You cover for me."

...

Another space.

Cloaked figures were discussing.

"Victor is dead. Useless fool. He could've provided plenty of funds for the organization."

"Old geezer deserved it. I never liked him anyway. There are plenty of outer members who can provide funding."

A dignified, deep voice sounded.

"Amado, what stage has the 'Vessel' experiment reached?"

A cloaked figure bowed his head.

"It is still in the first stage… After all, the current Vessel is far too young…"