Chapter 79
"Aniki..." Rinya spoke with unease in his voice.
Aoba tried to compose himself before saying, "This is no small matter. You two shouldn't have known about it. I'll report this to the Hokage. This man must be brought back to the village."
As he spoke, he took out a rope and securely tied up the Otogakure ninja, wrapping his mouth tightly with a cloth.
The severity of the situation only made Rinya and Megumi more anxious.
To shift their attention, Natsuki scolded them, "You two can date, but don't get so carried away that you don't notice someone tailing you. That little relationship of yours—me and Aoba-sensei saw through it long ago. No need to keep pretending. As punishment, all the D-rank missions when we get back are yours!"
"...Got it, aniki," the two mumbled, heads lowered in embarrassment and frustration, not daring to protest.
Aoba nodded in approval at Natsuki's approach. Natsuki didn't ask too many questions, nor did he let Rinya and Megumi ask more either—after all, this wasn't something genin should be involved in.
Just to be safe, the four of them decided not to separate for now.
"Tonight, stay in my room. First thing in the morning, we'll rush back to the village!" urgency flickered in Aoba's eyes.
"Aoba-sensei, my kuchiyose no jutsu (Summoning Technique) calls a mountain giant eagle that can carry up to seven people and flies really fast. How about we ride it back to the village tomorrow?"
Natsuki was worried that Orochimaru might still be in the capital of the Land of Fire, so the sooner they returned to the village, the better.
Although his current strength allowed him to exchange blows with Orochimaru, and teaming up with Aoba might give them a fighting chance, they were still outside the village with no reinforcements—and with Rinya and Megumi not being strong enough, facing an S-rank missing-nin was just too risky.