"It's you!"
Raiga immediately recognized Takumi. Before being knocked down by the black panther when the mist cleared, he had seen Takumi's face.
"Where is Ranmaru?!"
He roared, unable to find Ranmaru nearby. He was going mad.
"Ranmaru is in a safe place."
Takumi looked at him calmly. "Ranmaru no longer needs you to be her hands and feet."
"I've already healed her."
Takumi's words left Raiga stunned in place.
"Doesn't... need me?"
Raiga looked lost. "He doesn't need me anymore?"
"That's right."
Takumi said rather coldly. "You no longer have any reason to exist."
He raised his right arm, his index finger pointing at the thunderclouds filled with lightning.
Under his command, a lightning bolt as thick as a bucket, like divine punishment, descended and engulfed the disheartened Raiga.
Yugito watched in shock. This was power that even Matatabi inside her couldn't match.
She never expected Takumi could effortlessly display such immense power.
But what shocked her even more was that she didn't feel fear. Instead, she felt a secret joy inside.
As if she was happy for him.
'What's wrong with me?'
She fell into deep confusion.
Suddenly,
She felt the restraints on her disappear.
Stunned, she looked down and saw the chains binding her had been undone.
She looked up at Takumi, confused and puzzled. "What are you trying to do?"
"Keeping you by my side is no longer useful."
Takumi said. "But keeping you in the village forever isn't a solution either. If this continues, the villagers will eventually kill you."
"Your identity is, after all, another village's Jinchuriki. To Konoha, you are a natural enemy. That cannot be changed."
"But I don't want you to just die like that. That would be too much of a pity."
"So I found an excuse to leave the village. This gives me room to maneuver."
After speaking, Takumi turned and left.
"Wait!"
Yugito instinctively called out to him. "You're just letting me go like that? How will you explain things when you get back?"
"You don't need to worry about that."
Takumi waved his hand without looking back, leaving her only with a dashing figure.
Yugito stared blankly, a glistening suddenly appearing at the corner of her eye.
'For my sake, he actually...'
At this moment, the softness in her heart was touched.
Memories of the days spent with Takumi churned in her mind.
For an instant, she wanted to rush over recklessly and hug him from behind.
But she held back.
She knew, given their current identities, it was absolutely impossible.
She could only forcibly suppress the sadness in her heart, forcing herself to turn around and no longer look at Takumi's figure.
If she looked any longer, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to control herself.
Takumi didn't care what Yugito thought.
The seed had already been planted in her heart.
Now he just needed to patiently wait for the seed to sprout.
This feeling of waiting for the harvest, like an old farmer planting crops, was quite nice.
The main target of this mission, Raiga, had been eliminated. The remaining small fry of the Kurosuki Family were more than enough for Neji and the others to handle.
There might be some Rogue Shinobi among them, but for Neji and the others, they posed no threat.
Back at Grandma Sansho's house, Neji seemed to have accepted his fate, his hand never letting go of Ranmaru's.
"I'll leave the remaining members of the Kurosuki Family to you."
Takumi patted Naruto and Lee on the shoulder. "Finish the mission quickly so we can head back."
"No problem! Leave it to me!"
Lee was full of fighting spirit.
Naruto, on the other hand, seemed uninterested, but he still went with Lee.
"We'll wait here for a while. Just a few thugs; they should be done soon."
Takumi said, then looked at Ranmaru. "So? How's your new big brother?"
Ranmaru looked up at him, silent.
But her eyes seemed to be asking something.
Takumi was a little surprised. It seemed Ranmaru had guessed where he went, and he also fell silent.
His silence told Ranmaru the answer.
Ranmaru's eyes dimmed as she lowered her head.
"Takumi-kun, what about the Kumogakure's Jinchuriki?"
Neji looked around, not seeing Yugito, and asked with a frown.
"Her? I let her go."
Takumi said bluntly.
"Let her go?!"
Neji's eyes widened. "She was an important prisoner..."
"Don't worry, I'll explain everything to the Hokage-sama clearly."
Takumi said with a smile. "Besides, keeping her in the village any longer wouldn't have been useful."
"If we weren't going to kill her, it's better to let her go now. This way, it might actually be useful somehow."
His words left Neji completely confused.
Tenten beside him was also listening blankly. "What use could it be?"
"Of course, to confuse her heart."
Takumi smiled. "I can't guarantee the success rate, but think about it: she was captured by us for so long, then suddenly released unharmed. If you were a Kumogakure's Shinobi, what would you think?"
"If you were Nii Yugito, what would you think?"
Hearing this, Neji nodded in understanding.
"This is a psychological tactic."
Neji seemed to have learned something. "Indeed, it's not just relying on strength that you became a Jonin."
"Becoming a Jonin requires more than just strength."
Takumi smiled. "It also requires a perspective that considers the overall situation. You're still lacking in that area, Neji."
"Yeah, I know."
Neji nodded. "Letting Rokusuke go off alone was my mistake. Fortunately, we rescued him. Otherwise, the reputation of Konoha's Shinobi would have been damaged because of me."
Seeing that Neji understood where he went wrong, Takumi smiled and nodded. "This is also part of the learning process. Only through experience can you learn faster. I believe you'll be the first among your group to be promoted to Jonin."
"I'll work harder."
Neji said seriously.
Only Tenten was still a bit confused.
After Lee and Naruto dealt with the Kurosuki Family, amidst the villagers' profuse thanks, they set out on the journey back to Konoha.
…
Kumogakure, Raikage's Office.
Bang!
Another desk shattered into pieces.
This was already the tenth one destroyed in the past few days.
Mabui sighed.
Despite smashing a desk, A still felt unsatisfied.
In fact, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
"No!"
His voice was like a roar. "Those Konoha bastards actually captured Yugito and won't release her! I'm definitely going to lead a team to rescue her!"
"B! Go get B!"
"As for that guy named Takumi, this time I'll go myself and make sure to kill him!"
"That guy absolutely cannot be allowed to live!"
Although angry, he clearly understood who posed the greatest threat to Kumogakure in Konoha.
After all, the Sannin Jiraiya and Tsunade, as well as the Third Hokage, were all from a bygone era.
But Takumi was a rising sun in the new era. If he wasn't extinguished before he fully rose, the entire Shinobi World would tremble under his radiance.
When would Kumogakure ever have its day then?!
So, A was determined to use this opportunity to take the initiative.
To kill Takumi before he fully grew.
Darui nearby quickly advised, "Please don't do this, Raikage-sama. Takumi's strength is unfathomable. Even Uchiha Itachi, who exterminated his own clan, was no match for him."
"This is absolutely not the time to act rashly. We must formulate a detailed plan. Otherwise, sending more people is useless."
"After all, that's Konoha's home ground. Although Konoha is very weak now, the Sannin Tsunade and Jiraiya are still in the village."
"The Third Hokage's strength also cannot be underestimated. Konoha still has a large number of Jonin. Going there now is definitely not a wise decision."
"They must be waiting for you, Raikage-sama, to go. Maybe this is the reason they captured Yugito but didn't kill her..."
"It's to lure you in!"