My Villainous Life Starting with Naruto

Chapter 35 Flowers Withered, Wings Broken

*Splat*

Asano Kaoru stepped into a puddle, and rainwater splashed up, wetting her trouser legs.

"What bad luck," the woman said, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.

"I'll just grab the bottle and leave..." she thought to herself, pushing open the door and walking into the house.

The moment she entered, Asano Kaoru froze, overwhelmed by immense fear and panic, which gripped her heart like a demon.

Inside the room, a tall man stood quietly in the center, his muscles bulging beneath his black robe, and his bird-face mask was ferocious and terrifying.

—It's an owl!

"You were too careless... Darkness." Inside the house, Owl spoke slowly:

"If it were a normal day, you would have noticed the bent weeds in the yard. That would have given you more time to escape and maybe even allowed you to live a little longer."

"Lord Owl..." Asano Kaoru swallowed hard, not kneeling on one knee as usual.

She dared not kneel, as that posture would only slow her down and reduce the chances of successfully escaping or resisting. But... how did Xiao see through her?

The owl with the bird-face mask shook his head, staring at the female subordinate before him:

"As expected, if you fly a kite for too long, the string will eventually break. A few hours ago, when you hinted to me that I could leave the Land of Rain without worry, you were in such a hurry. Why did you want me to leave Amegakure? I suspect you were planning something behind my back."

"Just because of... this one point?" Asano Kaoru asked in a hoarse voice.

"Anyone suspected will be killed without mercy." The tall man's body began to release a terrifying aura, like the sharp claws of a raptor before it pounces on its prey.

"If there's even one point that's questionable, it means there are actually more doubts. You should know how the code name [Owl] came about."

Owl, the root of the gen... is a man known in the Dark Division for his killing and brutality.

Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free. In Xiao's eyes, there is no "punishment," only "death penalty"!

Asano Kaoru gritted her teeth. She knew the man in front of her had made up his mind, so she didn't mince words and said coldly:

"Owl, have you ever thought that one day you will be killed by Lord Danzo? You have killed too many people. Even within Root, there are many who wish you dead."

"You're wrong, Darkness, I will not die." Owl paused, then continued:

"To Lord Danzo, I am a tool. As long as the task is accomplished, it doesn't matter how many people I kill. Consumables of your caliber can be easily trained one batch after another."

"Tools... Hmph, Owl, have you forgotten? The First Hokage established the village precisely to prevent ninjas from becoming tools of slaughter."

"The First Hokage was a great ninja, but unfortunately, the essence of this world didn't change because of him." The tall man pointed to himself, then to Kaoru:

"I am Danzo's tool, you are my tool, and Hyuga Yuto is the tool of the Third Hokage and the Hyuga main family."

"You tricked me into leaving Amegakure and made Hyuga Yuto hide here for a month... They are all [tools] rebelling against their master, which is extremely heinous."

"A tool is a tool. It must fulfill its responsibilities and follow its established path. If it deviates even slightly, it is no longer a qualified tool."

"Fortunately, I'm here. I'll kill you, you tool, and then report everything Hyuga Yuto has done during this time to Lord Danzo... suspected of accumulating a large amount of money, suspected of having deep ties with the Amegakure Akatsuki organization, suspected of developing a powerful new ninjutsu..."

"You've provided very detailed intelligence this past month, An."

boom!

Before Owl could finish his last sentence, Asano Kaoru's back slammed open the window, and the moment his feet touched the soil in the yard, his chakra erupted, creating a shallow crater in the ground.

Escape! Escape! He just let his guard down... The female ninja roared inwardly, seizing the opportunity, and in the blink of an eye, she had escaped more than ten meters.

However, the next moment, Asano Kaoru's vision blurred, her throat burned, and the strength in her limbs flowed away uncontrollably like a collapsing riverbank.

The figure of Xiao appeared before her. This member of Root, who took pleasure in killing, had blood dripping from his hands and was holding half a throat.

"I told you, you were too careless and too impatient tonight... You couldn't even see through the flaws I deliberately created. As expected, you're only good enough as a tool."

With a loud thud, Asano Kaoru crashed into the wall with tremendous momentum, breaking her bones and tendons.

"Tools...cleaned up successfully." Xiao moved his hands, squatted on the ground, and looked at Asano Kaoru who was gradually passing away.

Huh?

Xiao let out a soft "hmm," pried open Asano Kaoru's hand, and took out the contents.

"The seashell... really, it was still clutching it tightly even in its dying moments..."

……

Takeda Seigen had lost count of how many times he had checked the time.

It was past midnight.

At first, Takeda Seigen thought, "She's a woman after all; she'll always be late," and he patiently waited.

However, as time passed, his heart gradually became restless.

Kaoru...returned to Konoha on her own? Takeda Seigen thought to himself, looking lost and dejected under the red road sign.

Now, a new fear completely enveloped him, and he thought of an even more terrifying possibility—Kaoru had encountered an accident and would not come back.

Soon, Takeda Seigen could no longer control himself. He left the road sign, rushed into the street, and searched frantically for the woman.

He knew where the house outside Asano Kaoru's base was. Although he didn't have much hope, Takeda Seigen still chose to go there first to look for clues.

After midnight, there were hardly any people in Amegakure. Although there was no such thing as a "curfew," the cold and gloomy Amegakure was obviously not a good place for nightlife, and there were hardly any pedestrians on the streets.

However, even in the deserted area, there were still a few shops open, most of which were taverns. In the Land of Rain, where it rains all year round, warm wine can ward off the cold, so these small shops are very popular and never have to worry about business.

Takeda Seigen ran through the cold streets. He was very experienced and could make a general judgment about a person at a glance.

The search didn't last long; he soon stopped and stood motionless by the roadside.

In a tavern, a tall man stood with his back to him, his face hidden from view.

The man, dressed in a black robe, sat lazily, toying with a lustrous white seashell in his hand.

The seashell was still stained with blood.

In an instant, Takeda Seigen understood what had happened, and his anger erupted like a volcano, destroying his reason.

"Is it a trap?", "Go back and beg the leader for support?", "Let's plan this carefully and find a place to ambush him"... None of these thoughts were considered.

When Takeda Seigen came to his senses, his body was already out of control as he charged forward with the two "wings".

boom--

A sharp chakra weapon slammed into the table.

"A ninja who has lost his mind actually fell for such a simple trick... Ha."

In the rainy night, Gen no Owl laughed wildly.

(End of this chapter)