Chapter 39: Chapter 39: The Bet with Nawaki

In a secluded corner of the capital of the Land of Fire.

"Nawaki-senpai, let’s make a bet."

Natsuki suddenly spoke.

"What kind of bet?"

Nawaki blinked in confusion. "Why are you imitating my sister?"

"If we charge in directly, the two of us might not be able to defeat Yasuda."

Natsuki produced a small glass vial. "I’ve prepared poison. What have you prepared?"

"I also prepared poison."

Nawaki caught on quickly. "I’m the senior, so I won’t compete with you on that. I can set traps instead."

"I’ll handle the poison. You handle the traps. We’ll bet on whose setup works."

Natsuki said.

"Perfect!"

Nawaki grinned confidently. "Victory will definitely be mine!"

"We’ll see."

Natsuki smiled. "Yasuda hasn’t returned yet. Let’s start now."

After traveling for a day and a night, they had arrived at the capital of the Land of Fire.

Upon arrival, Orochimaru had given them an address and taken a hands-off approach.

Natsuki and Nawaki located Yasuda’s residence based on the information.

Yasuda happened to be away.

The two exchanged a glance, then vaulted over the wall into the courtyard.

Nawaki surveyed the area and began setting traps in the living room.

Natsuki had originally planned to poison Yasuda’s drinking water—but he reconsidered.

He worried that Yasuda might trigger Nawaki’s traps before ever touching the water.

After a moment’s thought, he switched to a different poison.

The previous one required ingestion. This one was airborne—absorbed through respiration.

After completing their setups, the two quickly fled the scene.

"I just realized something."

Nawaki spoke while they waited. "We never decided on the stakes."

"What do you want?"

Natsuki asked. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Hehe."

Nawaki didn’t hesitate. "Ten free meals."

That’s it?

Natsuki smiled and agreed.

In reality, even without this bet, Tsunade and Nawaki frequently showed up at his izakaya for complimentary food.

"What about you?"

Nawaki said generously. "As long as it’s not too outrageous, I can make it happen."

"A bet should involve equivalent exchange."

Natsuki considered for a moment. "Help me find a summoning beast."

"What do you need so many summons for?"

Nawaki asked curiously.

"Each summoning beast has different abilities. They’ll come in handy eventually."

Natsuki explained.

"Is that so?"

Nawaki nodded. "Alright. If you win, I’ll find you one."

With his status, locating a summoning beast was trivially simple.

Theoretically, he could even mobilize the resources of the entire village.

Right at that moment, Nawaki’s ninja hound Saburo wagged his tail vigorously.

Both immediately fell silent.

That was the signal—Yasuda had returned.

They exchanged a glance, nervously awaiting their traps.

Yasuda opened the gate and walked into the courtyard.

He approached the door. Just as he was about to open it, his gaze sharpened.

As a Tokubetsu Jonin of Iwagakure and an intelligence operative, he was highly skilled in both assassination and counter-assassination.

Before leaving, he had sprinkled fine powder on the ground.

If the door had been opened, faint traces would remain.

Yasuda studied the marks and formed hand seals without changing expression.

His sensory abilities spread outward.

The situation inside the living room was entirely within his grasp.

Have they already left? Perhaps they left traps behind.

Yasuda stepped back and opened the door from a distance.

Nothing happened.

He walked into the living room, carefully examining his surroundings, and quickly identified the problems.

He approached the sofa and pulled out three explosive tags hidden underneath.

He moved to the window and found another explosive tag beneath a potted plant.

Beyond that, he also discovered several kunai concealed in the corners of the room.

After a quick sweep, all four of Nawaki’s traps had been dismantled.

"Chunin-level work."

Yasuda shook his head.

He wasted no more time and began packing his belongings, preparing to relocate.

Although he didn’t know who had discovered him, standard protocol for an exposed operative was immediate withdrawal.

"Something’s wrong!"

Yasuda suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded. "Damn it—poison!"

Without hesitation, he retrieved a bottle of universal antidote and downed it.

The discomfort faded considerably—but didn’t disappear entirely. He would need a specialized medical ninja or physician.

Yasuda abandoned packing immediately. He turned and headed for the door.

The moment he stepped outside, he came face-to-face with a massive water dragon.

Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!

Yasuda had anticipated an ambush.

The instant he saw the technique, his body blurred. He darted left at maximum speed.

BOOM!

The water dragon crashed into his living room. The entire structure shook violently.

Yasuda exhaled with relief.

He immediately locked onto Nawaki.

Where did this kid come from?

The thought flashed through his mind—but his hands were already moving.

Demonic Illusion: Hellfire Technique!

Nawaki, who had been forming hand seals, froze in place. It felt as if his entire body was engulfed in flames.

Seeing the genjutsu take hold, Yasuda’s lips curved upward.

But in the next instant—a chill ran through his entire body.

He turned instinctively.

A flash of blade light.

Shock spread across Yasuda’s face.

He looked down. A sword protruded through his chest.

Iai: Lion’s Song was already devastatingly fast. Stacked with Gravity Mitigation and Reinforcement Magecraft, it was nearly untraceable.

Moreover, Yasuda was poisoned. His reactions were slightly slower than normal.

And most critically—Natsuki had used Nawaki as bait to draw Yasuda’s attention, allowing for a lethal strike.

"His genjutsu really was powerful."

Nawaki dispelled the illusion and spoke, his face pale.

It had taken him three seconds to break free.

In a one-on-one fight, three seconds would have been enough for him to die three times over.

"We’re still young. It’s normal that we can’t match him yet."

Natsuki stepped back and withdrew the Sword of the Thunder God.

"But he still died by our hands in the end!"

Nawaki quickly recovered his spirits, grinning broadly.

Two Ninja Academy students killing a Tokubetsu Jonin—if word got out, probably no one would believe it.

Natsuki smiled but said nothing.

Two more Chunin, and he would unlock Shadow Assassin from the Fushiguro Megumi template.

Yasuda’s death had also brought the progress of Shippo template Ability 3—Fox Magic—to two-thirds.

"All four of my traps were dismantled. Looks like you won this bet."

Nawaki walked into the wrecked living room, took one look, and confirmed none of his traps had triggered.

"Even though you lost, you can still have ten free meals."

Natsuki said casually.

"Even so, I can still accept defeat gracefully."

Nawaki clenched his fists. "When we get back, I definitely need Teacher to give me proper trap-setting instruction."

"I suggest you specialize in explosive tag traps."

Natsuki’s thoughts stirred. "Most traps don’t work on powerful ninjas—but explosive tag traps are the exception."

An explosive tag was essentially a compressed Fire Release technique.

If a ninja was caught by one, they would be heavily injured if not killed outright.

But explosive tag traps weren’t common.

The reason was simple: explosive tags were expensive.

In the original story, even Nara Shikamaru had to budget carefully when purchasing them.

But Nawaki wasn’t short on money.

More importantly—in the original timeline, he had died to an explosive tag trap.

If he could specialize in them instead, perhaps he could avoid that fate entirely.

<><><><><><>

Read Advanced Chapters on : patreon.com/Kaizo247

~ Every 150 PS = Bonus Chapter!

~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]