A large number of figures were flying through the secret passage. In the blink of an eye, they jumped over the upward slope steps and arrived at the large platform where the exit of the secret passage was.

The leader was Tsunade. After clearing the way, she sent ANBU who were proficient in exploration to search for this secret passage for escape.

Perhaps because this was a secret passage specially used for emergency escape, there were no obstacles such as traps along the way, so Tsunade led the ANBU to the platform space where the exit was located smoothly.

However, when they were preparing to take the next step, after seeing the scene on the platform clearly, both Tsunade and the accompanying Anbu and patrolling ninjas couldn't help but change their faces and stared at a piece of ground.

.

I saw that the ground was stained red with blood, and a female corpse was lying coldly in a pool of blood. Her black hair was scattered like seaweed. Her whole body was motionless, and the scene seemed to be still.

This female corpse is none other than the target they have been pursuing—Asami Masumi.

At this time, the opponent's fire of life is extinguished, and even the chakra on his body cannot be sensed, and he no longer has the characteristics of a living person.

When Tsunade saw this corpse, her first reaction was disbelief - this was not true.

How could a dangerous ninja who was able to escape despite being surrounded by Konoha die so easily in a place like this?

And judging from the surrounding environment, there are no traces of any battle.

How is this going?

Tsunade suddenly felt that her brain was not used enough. She frowned tightly and stared at the female corpse in front of her. She was confused for a moment and began to think about why Asami Masumi died suddenly and suddenly in such a place.

The most important thing is, who did it?

And why do you want to kill the other party here?

Tsunade's expression turned very serious without realizing it.

"Lord Hokage, what exactly is this..."

The dangerous felon who was on the run while being chased by Konoha not long ago, now turned into an unclaimed female corpse. Such a sharp contrast made the Konoha ninjas who followed him confused.

"have no idea."

Tsunade shook her head simply.

What happened before her eyes was beyond her imagination.

She had no idea that Asami Masumi would die in such a place, and it didn't look like suicide.

She put on medical white gloves and approached Asami Masumi's body, taking every step very carefully. Nothing happened until she came to the body.

Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief, squatted down, and touched the corpse with her gloved palm.

Pupils, lips, neck, and simple detection of the head.

Then he placed his palm on the fatal wound on his chest. The amount of bleeding was the largest here, as if some kind of sharp blade had penetrated his chest, along with his heart, eventually causing his heart to stop beating and die.

Killed with one blow.

Apart from this, there was no second fatal wound on the body.

The expression on his face was peaceful, and no decent information could be read from it. Therefore, the information that could be provided was not enough for Tsunade to deduce more content.

But there was only one thing that Tsunade was certain about, Asami Masumi did not die at the hands of Konoha ninjas.

Moreover, he died in an ambush at the exit of the early escape tunnel. This made Tsunade start to have wild thoughts, and a reliable idea suddenly appeared in her mind - kill and silence.

As the saying goes, the more you know, the faster you die. Spies are good at collecting information, but once too much confidential information is taken in, their own safety will be threatened.

This is not an alarmist statement, because it has so much confidential information, even the user will inevitably feel wary when faced with such an existence.

The best way is to silence the spies after they lose their use value, so that the secrets known to the spies are completely buried in the darkness and no one knows about it.

"The land of ghosts?"

Tsunade frowned, guessing this possibility.

In addition to Konoha, the Kingdom of Demons is more likely to attack.

If the higher-ups of the Demon Country judge that Asami Masumi has no use value, then it is not impossible to destroy her on the way back and bury all the secrets she knows.

Only the dead can keep secrets.

Thinking of this, Tsunade couldn't help but feel a little gloomy.

It is difficult to agree with this kind of behavior that ruthlessly harms one's own people.

"Take her body back and conduct a detailed examination at that time."

Tsunade stood up and gave instructions to an ANBU.

Although I knew that there was probably no way to get any information from the body that was left behind, I still couldn't leave the body alone just in case.

Moreover, the past was always a matter of teacher and student, and she couldn't bear to see Asami Masumi's body exposed in the wilderness after her death, where she would slowly decay.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

The ANBU who was called out quickly took out a blank scroll, put Asami Masumi's body into the scroll, and carried it with him.

◎

Open your sleepy eyes.

Asami Masumi suddenly woke up from her deep sleep, lying upright on the hospital bed, and the first thing she saw was the white ceiling.

The air is filled with the reassuring smell of disinfectant.

With this environment and the familiar smell of disinfectant, there is no doubt that this is a ward.

Before he fell into coma, he should have been confronting Shiraishi, but for some reason, his vision suddenly went dark and he lost consciousness. When he woke up, he came here.

I guess I was hit from behind, so my memory is very vague, and I still feel a little pain in the back of my neck.

Before she could think too much, sleepiness and soreness immediately took over her body, causing her to groan in pain and slowly sit up from the hospital bed.

She is covered with a white soft quilt. Judging from the slightly luxurious layout of the ward, this should be considered a relatively high-end private ward.

She turned her head and looked out the window. White mist was lingering outside the window, and she heard the sound of rolling waves.

Asami Masumi opened the quilt, endured the pain in her body, put on slippers and got out of bed.

The white coat and ninja uniform she originally wore had been replaced by a brand new white hospital gown, and the smell of blood disappeared.

She walked to the window, glanced outside, and her expression was blank.

Outside is the endless sea.

Her 'territory' is moving across the sea.

This is not a hospital in a land town at all, but a giant ship.

And to be able to configure such a high-end private ward on the ship, as far as she knew, only... the unexpected sound of the door handle turning came from behind, interrupting Asami Masumi's contemplation.

She turned around, and as expected, she saw Shiraishi opening the door and walking into the ward.

The other party didn't seem surprised that she would wake up at this time, with the same faint smile on her face as before.

How should I put it? He is like a cunning fox, making it difficult for people to guess what he is thinking in his heart.

But no matter what, I feel that what this guy has in mind is not a good thing at all.

"Are you awake, Asami-san? Well, it's faster than I thought. It seems that you are recovering well."

Shiraishi took a look at Asami Masumi's whole body. Although she still felt weak, she was able to get out of bed on her own, so she thought there wouldn't be much of a problem in taking care of herself.

"Why?"

Asami Masumi fell silent for a moment, stared at the smiling face of the other party, and asked aloud.

"What?"

Shiraishi seemed not to know what the other party was going to ask.

"There is no need for you to complete your agreement with me. I lost the value of your use from the moment I left Konoha."

A spy who has no use value and does not belong to one's own side, how to silence him is the safest way.

She didn't believe that Shiraishi wouldn't understand this.

Konoha thinks she is Shiraishi's confidant, but this is not the case.

She and Shiraishi were just collaborators, and the time of cooperation was limited to before leaving Konoha.

"It's really sad. In the eyes of Asami-san, do I think I'm such a hateful guy who likes to kill people?"

Shiraishi asked in a slightly sad tone.

"Because only by doing this can we maximize our benefits."

Doing this not only avoids the loss of information, but also eliminates the need to complete the transaction with her, which is quick and hassle-free.

"That's true from the perspective of interests, but it would be really unkind for classmates to plot against each other. Besides, you are indeed 'dead'."

The smile on Baishi's face faded slightly and he said meaningfully.

"I am dead?"

Asami Masumi didn't react for a moment and didn't understand why Shiraishi said that.

"I left a 'corpse' exactly like yours in the secret passage. I believe that soon, Konoha will define you as a dead person."
To be continued...