Chapter 144: On the Trail

A few minutes later, the man cleaned the premises and equipment. Returning to the cage with the burnt bodies, he bowed his head thoughtfully.

- I need to find more ... Damn Mizukage, if this brat hadn't died, I would have continued my experiments on useless garbage and finally could have stabilized the genome. But that damn bitch kicked me out like some kind of dog. I will still remember her ... - the shinobi grinned viciously: - We need at least five more. Weak people die like flies, the last girl barely survived the merger of three percent. I need ninjas! If the last Uzumaki hadn't died, my life wouldn't have slipped into this shit. Managed their clan to die so early ...

Moving to the acid capsules, the shinobi stopped abruptly.

- Maybe you should move to the Cloud? I think we can get some good samples there. ”Nodding thoughtfully, he decided something:“ Yes, I’ll probably wait for some mouse from Konoha and use the last supplies of stable serum. If it doesn't work out, I'll change my place. In any case, after banging their man, someone more serious will show up here. I had better not waste my remaining strength now.

***

Early in the morning, Shikamaru finally reached the border town of Tumaru. The fog surrounding the city almost completely blocked the view, but at the same time it perfectly demonstrated the usual state of the weather in these gloomy places. Another couple of miles to the east and you can reach the country of the River, and there it is not far from the Hidden Valleys. A small village, but they are not bad shinobi of the elements of the wind. Little is known about genomes, so Shikamaru is not particularly interested in studying his neighbors.

Tumaru turned out to be a rather dull place ... The gray sky hid the indistinct sun, as if hiding it from the world, not wanting to share its light warmth.

The mood of all the residents we met corresponded to the atmosphere. Shikamaru himself did not feel so hot, especially after the cigarettes ran out, and then there was the dejected face of the locals. Yes, and the town is not so big, apparently the war has patted it no worse than the lands in the hidden Rain, yet the border zone. There are many old dilapidated shacks, and there are not many inhabitants, no more than a couple of hundred. So it's hard to call it a town either. In a word - a boondocks, just a suitable place for a hidden refuge of an amateur to kill a couple of other residents.

Stopping at a dilapidated tavern, Shikamaru learned the news first-hand. During his almost two-week journey, a lot has changed. First of all, this assassin shinobi has significantly raised his standards. Now, instead of simple kidnappings or sudden murders, he only kidnaps. It may not be him, but the idea is dubious. It is very unlikely that a second maniac arrived in this city and decided to surpass the first. The residents had already suffered enough, and then the killer became insolent. In total, for almost two months of his affairs, he killed almost ten people from those that were found, and almost forty went missing. The figure is not small, especially for such a small town. During the journey of Shikamaru, seven people disappeared, almost like the days it took to get to this place ... Having learned all this, the guy was not particularly surprised, but noticeably darkened. Perhaps he should have been quicker and not stayed in Shikuba. So he went hunting with a distinct desire to finish everything quickly. No one liked the extra sacrifices, he was certainly not, and he wanted to stay here less and less by the minute.

Shikamaru could only sigh in frustration. He was too used to the bright skies of Konoha, the clean air of the forest and the beautiful sunsets during the evening workouts. The polygon in the backyard of the house and the fearful deer of the Nara clan. It turned out that you can miss even such trifles. It was as if some old man wanted to return home ... Imperceptibly, but succumbing to the atmosphere, Shikamaru became a little sad.

***

It was drizzling, and the gray sky continued to imitate the street slush, becoming darker and darker towards night. During this time, Shikamaru finally got on the trail after gathering enough information.

- Here! The short, dark-haired man waved his hand, beckoning to Shikamaru. He looked no more than thirty, a fairly ordinary appearance, a gray coat and a cigarette in his teeth. The young man came closer and caught up with the man, surprisingly their height did not differ much, the ten-year-old child had almost caught up with the adult. Genes work wonders ...

Shikamaru crouched down and scowled at the ground beneath his feet. There was something like a body lying in the mud right there. Only now this creature looked more like one whole piece of vile substance. The bones are almost oxidized, including the skull. The organs turned into a foul-smelling dark green liquid, from the influence of which even the earth sank. Shikamaru slightly lowered his sunglasses and gray tomoe immediately appeared on the crimson iris. Having examined everything in a moment, the guy took a drag and exhaled smoke:

- Not bad...

- What's not bad? Do you understand something? - the man was noticeably delighted after the words of the arriving shinobi. Although he looked, in his opinion, like a child, his whole behavior was completely different. In addition, the imposing appearance and cold demeanor of this ninja were even a little frightening. The man was forced to show the youngster the scene of the crime, he reluctantly had to agree. In addition, one of the missing turned out to be his old friend, to some extent he is here for his sake. Therefore, Shikamaru's words surprised him noticeably.

Putting his glasses back in place, the young ninja brushed off the ash and straightened the high collar of his black coat. In these parts, he decided to hide his eyes and dress a little warmer. Frosty weather and constant rains not only oppressed, but also affected the air temperature.

Without turning to the fearful man, Shikamaru walked around the pit with the dissolved body, tore off a blade of grass and put it in a puddle of acid. At the moment, the tip of the blade of grass melted, and then it slowly began to affect the rest of the living areas. As a result, the entire blade of grass was absorbed by this acid. It turned out that it also has the properties of spreading and killing, like some kind of poison ... Shikamaru once again looked around, after which he shook his head:

- I have not seen this yet ... - the man standing aside only sighed at this, but at the same moment Shikamaru said: - But ... It doesn't matter, - with an interested look, the guy walked a little to the side and bowed his head ...

“He didn’t hide, he moved here by Blinking ... The track was almost blurred. That's where sensorics would come in handy. Naras are not susceptible from birth, and even having received the abilities of Uzumaki, I did not acquire the necessary natural predisposition. Naras focus on other things, so this feature is dulled for them. Finding a lonely shinobi among the crowd of ordinary people would be easy for a teacher, but I still need to study. Of course, it's not so difficult as for the others, with my talent, but there is no time for this yet. Although, I have an idea ... "- With a serious look, Shikamaru touched the ground with his palm and concentrated ...