Biwa Juzo

After a moment of thought, Yei suddenly seemed to have an idea. He looked at Shisui and said, "Shisui, do you still have enough chakra to perform a Shadow Clone?"

Shisui paused, then nodded. "Not much left, but I can do it once."

Yei revealed a meaningful smile. "I have a way to possibly notify the main body over there..."

"Huh?" Shisui looked puzzled.

After hearing Yei's plan, Shisui's eyes widened. "That can actually work?"

"Let's give it a try." Yei smiled, though he couldn't guarantee it would succeed.

"Alright." Without hesitation, Shisui formed hand seals and performed the Shadow Clone technique. With a 'puff,' a clone appeared beside him.

"Release!" Shisui formed another seal, dispelling the clone.

That was right—this was Yei's sudden inspiration!

Since dispelling a clone would transfer its memories back to the main body, then... could the clone technique itself serve as a means of communication?

Yei wasn't sure. If a clone performed the clone technique and then dispelled it, would that clone's memories still reach the main body?

Yei himself had never tested it, but in theory, it should work. Now it depended on Shisui's main body.

Meanwhile, on the other side, where the main bodies were rapidly traveling, Shisui suddenly halted in his steps. A flood of new memories had appeared in his mind...

His expression turned strange as he looked at Yei. "Senior, it worked!"

"What?" Yei was confused. He didn't understand what Shisui meant.

His clone hadn't been dispelled, so he had no knowledge of what the clone had discussed with Shisui earlier. Now he looked at Shisui with puzzlement.

Shisui quickly explained.

"That can actually work?" Kakashi and Asuma both stared at Yei, their expressions equally odd. They had never imagined the Shadow Clone technique could be used this way...

"Hey, don't look at me like that. It was my clone who did it!" Yei was speechless too. He hadn't expected his own clone to come up with such a method to relay information.

"That's still you..." Asuma muttered under his breath.

"Since we've found a lead, let's hurry over. Over there, it's just Yei and Shisui's clones. It was the right call not to act rashly!" Kakashi said, quickening his pace.

Though they were still some distance away, with full-speed travel, they weren't far from the location.

After walking a bit further, just as they neared the lake, another incident occurred...

"Careful, another trap!" This time, Yei, who possessed the Byakugan, was at the front. His Byakugan and Observation Haki were both active, maximizing his perception and vigilance, yet he still stepped on an Exploding Tag trap...

When an Exploding Tag wasn't triggered, it showed no abnormalities. Moreover, this trap had been camouflaged, stuck to a large tree with its pattern matching the bark.

Only careful observation could reveal the trick, but Yei and the others were moving at high speed and couldn't cover every detail. Hence—

Boom!

The trap was triggered. A hissing burn sound came from the surrounding trees, followed by a sudden explosion. Flames reflected off their bodies!

"Watch out, it's Exploding Tags!"

"Dodge!"

"Senior, get close to me! I have a jutsu that can withstand the blast!" Shisui shouted urgently.

In the critical moment, Kakashi and Asuma chose to trust Shisui and moved closer!

"Rotation!" Yei had his own defensive means and could handle it himself, directly executing Rotation!

Meanwhile, Shisui's eyes rapidly transformed into a four-bladed windmill pattern—the Mangekyo Sharingan!

As he activated it, a green skeletal frame suddenly appeared, enveloping Kakashi and Asuma inside!

Boom!

The explosion erupted violently, accompanied by flashing flames. Shockwaves crashed in from all directions, and black smoke billowed into the sky!

The commotion of the explosion naturally caught the attention of the group near the lake.

"Damn it, they've caught up to us. Who is it? Pursuers from the village?" Among them, a man dressed in ninja attire with a Mist forehead protector at his waist glared in the direction of the blast, his face darkening.

The others were also clad in ninja gear, but judging by the scratched Mist forehead protectors they wore, they were rogue ninjas from the Mist.

Another person looked at a lean man, likely the leader of this squad: "Captain, what do we do now?"

The captain stared at the direction of the explosion and said coldly, "What's the panic?"

This man wore a rogue ninja forehead protector. He had short black hair, sharp teeth, a large cross-shaped scar on his right cheek, bandages wrapped around his ears and neck, and red stripes painted on the lower half of his face.

Slung across his back was a large cleaver—one of the Mist's seven special ninja blades: the Executioner's Blade!

This man was none other than Biwa Juzo, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!

He was also a future member of the Akatsuki!

At this moment, Biwa Juzo had just defected from the Mist and was being hunted by their forces. He carried the Executioner's Blade, a high-grade weapon of the Mist, and they would never let him escape with it.

To shake off the Mist's pursuit, Biwa Juzo planned to throw the ninja world into chaos.

Thus, they attacked a Border Outpost of Konoha, slaughtered everyone inside, and left behind subtle clues pointing toward the Mist, aiming to divert blame and lure Konoha into confronting the Mist!

This move was utterly ruthless. Everyone knew the current situation was relatively stable. If this minor incident sparked a full-scale war again, the Mist would be too preoccupied with the conflict to bother with them!

However, the Mist pursuers, tracking their movements, arrived at the Border Outpost of Konoha and saw that Biwa Juzo and his group had killed Konoha's people while leaving behind traces incriminating the Mist.

Knowing that Biwa Juzo intended to divert blame and fabricate evidence that the Mist had attacked Konoha's Border Outpost...

Upon learning this, the Mist side responsible for hunting down Biwa Juzo did not hesitate and directly wiped clean the Konoha Border Outpost.

That was why Yei and his companions, when they went to investigate the outpost, found no traces—they had already been erased!

Biwa Juzo looked toward the direction of the explosion and said to one of his men, "Kota, can you sense how many people are over there?"

This man named Kota was presumably a sensory-type ninja. He focused his perception for a moment, then spoke: "It seems like only four people. It probably isn't Suikazan Fuguki and his group chasing us—more likely Konoha ninjas coming to investigate!"

"Konoha? They're this fast?" Biwa Juzo murmured, his gaze turning cold. He looked at Kota and asked, "Can you gauge their strength?"

Kota sensed for a moment, then shook his head: "Too far away. I can only sense the number—four people. Among them, only one has a stronger Chakra fluctuation, though it seems somewhat disordered. He was probably caught in our Exploding Tags..."

Hearing this, a cold smile curled on Biwa Juzo's lips. "I see. Perfect timing to take them out. Since we want to make things hard for the Mist... let's stir up a bigger commotion!"

After a brief discussion, under Biwa Juzo's orders, they advanced toward Yei and the others' direction!