NRaO Chapter 38 (Patreon)

I decided to make clones and strike both buildings at the same time. I focused on the greenhouse first. The place smelled like medicinal herbs but because it was so important it had over a dozen guards outside and inside. It was much harder to steal from than the lax group from the hidden stone village. It still was possible, even fairly easy as I slithered in through a hole as a snake.

The smell was much stronger inside. The greenhouse was also the main source of food for the village besides the meat that was imported from outside. Stealing the food would cause mass starvation and that was a line I wasn’t willing to cross. Even worse it might make them feel completely cornered and attack relentlessly to not starve to death.

The main greenhouse was food and the side one that was even more guarded was Granny Chiyo’s special poison and medicine greenhouse. That was the one I was aiming for. It was a godsend that she was busy fawning over her new grandson and I could rob to my heart's content. Even still the place was full of guards and even a few assistants who were carefully packing the fully grown herbs for future use.

One woman was off to the side mixing herbs and making either a poison or an antidote. That would be Chiyo’s second in command most likely. Her body was hidden behind a thick white robe but her tall figure made it clear that she wasn’t malnourished and was well fed and taken care of. Her hair stood out to me, green hair wasn’t common.

I got a side view of her and noticed thick glasses sitting on top of her nose. It was hard to tell from this far away but my guess was she was actually very beautiful. Besides her, there was another person who stood out to me. That would be the only female guard inside the greenhouse. She was another I was getting a dangerous sense from. She wasn’t a pseudo jinchuriki, at least not a half-breed. If she was she was a pseudo jinchuriki she was five or six generations separated from it.

Tanned skinned with ears coming to a slight point, brown hair, and eyes. She was wielding a spear and I could tell it was well made compared to the trash everyone else was using, most likely a family heirloom from hundreds of years ago. We had somehow gotten much worse in the past few hundred years as the people with any blacksmithing skills were murdered during clan fighting.

Only now that we had giant villages were we recovering from the more bloodthirsty time of the warring period. I slithered towards the green-haired lab worker and noticed the guard's ear twitch picking up even those small noises. She had massively improved hearing. Even looking in my direction she couldn’t see me, only hear me. After not moving I had to change my plans slightly and had the clone on the roof start tapping on the glass.

It was enough to distract her. She kept looking up but couldn’t see me, I was on the body of metal completely invisible only tapping on the glass at random intervals. It made moving towards her that much easier. I was waiting until it was the right time to strike. Unfortunately with her here I had to change my strategy to a smash and grab than slowly and methodically stealing everything.

I decided at that time I wanted the two special girls. They weren’t at the same level as my other wives and concubines but at the very least it would be taking two good pieces from the enemy right before the war. That only left me waiting for my aviary team to strike at the same time. I sat and waited for the explosions to go off before I would act.

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The aviary was less guarded. As important as it was most people could see the effects of poisons and antidotes on the battlefield. The destruction of the aviary would absolutely cripple their war potential but it wasn’t obvious that would happen. There were only a few guards on the outside and it was extremely easy to make my way inside.

Even as I made my way inside it was clear that this was going to be a fast process as there was only a single woman moving birds between the cages. She looked tired, like she was overworked as she pulled the slip of paper from the bird and placed him in a cage. She wrote a return message before pulling another bird out and attaching it before sending it off. 

She wasn’t a kekkei genkai user but something similar to a specialized clan like the Inuzuka except for birds. Once again the village doesn’t treat their shinobi correctly. The lady is practically falling asleep on her feet, the clan itself must be very small for her to be so overworked. I didn’t need to hide here instead I’d rather try and convince her to come with me voluntarily. Slapping the silence seal onto the walls before I remove my disguise I just start talking.

“Good evening miss. I’d like to ask you a question. Would you like to leave this village?” It was blunt but I had learned that most of these mistreated people quickly betray their village if given the chance. The lady was so tired she barely noticed me. “Huh? Oh, if you’re here to bring me my rations just sit them on the table over there.” 

I just walked up behind her before repeating myself louder and more clearly. “Miss. Would you like to leave this village and come to the hidden leaf?” She heard what I said but just kept working robotically as she responded. “Can’t. Need to keep working to provide for me and my brother.” I smirked as I saw them out. “Well, what if we bring your brother as well?”

She finally stopped before turning away from her work and looking at me. “I recognize you. You’re the puppet guy, right? Why are you leaving the village?” I could only keep smirking at her. “I’ve been a spy this entire time. I’ve gathered enough information and I’m ready to leave now. I’m going to bring all these birds with me and I’d like to take you along as well.”

She went back to checking messages and sending off birds as she thought. It seemed to help her think as she finally agreed. “Yes… This village is the worst. Anywhere else would be better even the brothels. I want to hurt them but I’ll settle for just leaving with me and my family.” I chuckled. “Fufufu. Your leaving will hurt them enough.”

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The aviary clone took another forty minutes to find and begin moving out the Torizuka clan. There were only five and the father didn’t really want to go. The mother beat the piss out of him because of how the village he ‘loved’ treated them so poorly. They were the only ones working with the messenger birds, which was fucking crazy but something I would believe with how other villages treat their smaller clans.

The girl was practically falling asleep as we ran out and as we exited and I killed a few guards who noticed us the building finally exploded.