Konoha's New S-Rank Missing-nin

Uchiha Tamao's face was filled with fear, his brows tightly furrowed. His childish baby face was unusually solemn as he panted heavily and dodged the vines' attacks.

That night when they assassinated Danzo, the old bastard had turned into a giant tree, leaving him with an unforgettable impression.

The other Uchiha had intended to intervene.

But seeing that Ingetsu did nothing, and finding the method used to control the vines strangely familiar, they decided to watch from the sidelines.

The Uchiha stared at Ingetsu's handsome profile, recalling the scene from last night when Ingetsu had released "Wood Release." Shock surfaced in their eyes.

It wasn't only Obito who was shocked by how many trump cards Ingetsu possessed.

The Uchiha who followed Ingetsu were equally unaware of how many trump cards their former Military Police Force captain now had in his hands.

Before long.

The vines split into five, shrinking in size and becoming even more agile and unpredictable.

One of them struck unexpectedly, lying in wait where Tamao was about to land and easily tripping him.

The other four vines swarmed forward in an instant, suspending Tamao from a tree.

Tamao clenched his teeth, fear of plants showing on his face. He twisted and struggled, but it was useless.

The Uchiha cried out in alarm.

Only then did Tamao's two subordinates step forward and try to rescue their captain.

After a great deal of effort.

Ingetsu clearly sensed that simultaneously transforming Chakra into Earth Release Chakra and Water Attribute Chakra, injecting them into the ground, and controlling the plants consumed his Chakra far too quickly.

This consumed even more than maintaining Dark Moon's "enchantment."

Ingetsu immediately dispelled the vines.

Smack—

The vines suddenly slackened and lost their vitality.

"That scared me to death... It really scared me to death!"

Tamao fell to the ground. He looked up at the green vines hanging from the tree, sweat beading on his forehead, still shaken.

Ingetsu's expression remained calm as he shook his head and thought, This 'Wood Release' is still a little weak.

Hopefully, it would continue to grow stronger.

Otherwise, it could only be used for control. Against highly agile shinobi, it would be easily avoided.

Tamao was already injured and had not activated his Three Tomoe, which was why he had been caught off guard by the vines.

If it happened again.

Tamao definitely would not fall for it.

"Let's go. We'll keep moving!"

With Kurenai Yuhi on his back, Ingetsu turned and spoke evenly to the halted group.

The group continued on its way.

"Big brother, did you see that just now? The vines came alive! I suspect Danzo was behind it!"

Tamao used Body Flicker to appear beside his big brother and chattered nonstop.

Kurenai Yuhi forcibly held back her laughter.

"..." Ingetsu.

Danzo couldn't possibly shoulder the blame for this.

"It was me."

Ingetsu answered concisely.

Tamao's pupils gradually widened as he cried out, "Big brother, you learned Wood Release?!"

Last night, he had passed out from his serious injuries and the torment of Brahma Sound, so he had not known that Ingetsu had controlled the vines to deal with the White Zetsu.

Amid Tamao's repeated cries of shock, the group advanced toward the depths of the forest, startling countless birds and beasts.

In Kikyo Castle, people streamed along the streets, wooden houses stood in orderly rows, and the atmosphere was peaceful.

"Something major happened in the Land of Fire. A new missing-nin has appeared in Konoha Village!"

"It's normal for a shinobi village to have missing-nin. All Five Great Shinobi Villages have missing-nin appearing every year. What's so strange about that?"

"This time is different. This missing-nin is a new S-Rank. We don't know exactly what they did yet."

"S-Rank???"

"Seriously?"

"Of course. My cousin, who sells straw sandals in Konoha, came back yesterday and told me. He said Konoha Village hasn't been peaceful lately!"

The tea house patrons' conversation quickly attracted large numbers of onlookers, each of them turning pale with alarm.

When they heard "S-Rank Missing-nin," they instinctively thought of Orochimaru, one of the Three Legendary Sannin.

Orochimaru had secretly used humans to conduct biological experiments in Konoha. Once his crimes were exposed, his formidable overall strength, combined with his ruthlessness and unscrupulous methods, led to him being labeled one of Konoha's few S-Rank Missing-nin.

But what earth-shattering crimes would that newly promoted S-Rank Missing-nin commit?

That was what the bystanders cared about most.

"Konoha Express! Extra, extra! A vicious criminal went on a rampage, assassinated Konoha's high-ranking officials, and slaughtered civilians! The methods were utterly brutal! Konoha has another S-Rank Missing-nin!!!"

"Konoha Express! Extra, extra..."

A newspaper-selling shinobi dressed in a gray uniform and wearing a peaked cap and windproof goggles, looking much like a courier shinobi, held a stack of newspapers and shouted at the crossroads.

"It really is an S-Rank Missing-nin. I'll take one!"

"Hello, I'll take one here!"

"Please make sure to give me one!"

"..."

In less than three minutes, the newspapers in the seller's hands had been completely snatched up by the passersby.

It was the earliest he had finished work in all the years since Orochimaru defected from Konoha!

In the corner of an alley.

After changing clothes and putting on pants, Doctor Nakku, looking utterly haggard, held a copy of the "Konoha Express" and wearily scanned the front-page article.

Suddenly, his eyes widened and his breathing quickened.

Nake reacted swiftly, covering the photograph of the person in the wanted section with one hand.

The news on the front page alone exploded in his mind like a thousand Exploding Tags.

The report was concise.

It briefly described how the nine-member Uchiha squad led by the S-Rank Missing-nin "Uchiha Ingetsu" had assassinated Konoha's high-ranking officials and slaughtered Konoha civilians, but it omitted many crucial details.

For example, which Konoha officials had been assassinated, whether they were dead or alive, how many civilians had been slaughtered, which clans they belonged to, and what the casualties were.

Everything was unknown.

As a shrewd man, Nake understood that when it came to news, the fewer the words, the greater the event!

Ingetsu...

That name really did sound familiar!

Nake swallowed, slowly moving his palm away. He narrowed his eyes and nervously looked at the first photograph in the wanted section.

It was unmistakably Uchiha Ingetsu, with short black hair, refined features, a handsome face, and fair skin!

Beneath the wanted section.

Wanted Status: Permanently active.

Bounty: 50,000,000 ryo!

Fifty million ryo in Land of Fire currency!

Nake's heart pounded as his thoughts churned, recalling the time he had spent with that group of missing-nin the night before.

This newly promoted Konoha S-Rank Missing-nin, "Uchiha Ingetsu," had been arrogant and indifferent, but he had not been the vicious criminal described in the newspaper.

Otherwise, Nake would have died last night.

That group was actually quite easy to get along with.

They had not looked down on the refugees and hunters.

Although the person who captured Nake had beaten him, he had not used lethal force. That was because Nake had been acting improperly.

And although that patient's mouth had been rather vicious, everything he said had been true.

He had even taught an adorable, tsundere little girl how to use bandages for first aid.

In the end, without that group of missing-nin, he would probably have died at the hands of the Konoha Jonin last night.

Could a group of people like that really slaughter civilians?

For some reason, he found it difficult to believe.

Nake's brows furrowed tightly. He seemed to have aged more than a decade, knowing that some enormous secret must be hidden within all this.

It simply had nothing to do with an ordinary civilian like him.

Thinking this over.

Nake let out a long sigh, crumpled the Konoha Express into a ball, and threw it into the trash can.

It's better not to read this sort of thing!

Walking along the street.

Nake heard a woman's sigh from a distance:

"No, how could someone so handsome commit such a heinous act as slaughtering civilians... That can't be right."

On the street, the passersby hurried along, afraid they might encounter the dangerous missing-nin featured in the newspaper!