Sixteen Years Undercover, You've Worked Hard

After a day of travel, Uchiha Sen arrived at a port along the coast of the Land of Fire.

The mission he had accepted this time was to eliminate a pirate gang that plundered ships at sea.

According to the intelligence, the pirate gang included several ninja.

Their leader was a rogue jonin from Kirigakure, while the other ninja were Wandering Ninja gathered by that leader.

Other than the leader, the remaining ninja were not particularly strong, only at genin and chunin level.

That was precisely why he had taken the mission alone rather than forming a three- or four-man team.

After meeting the employer at the dock, he used the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself as an ordinary sailor and boarded the employer's cargo ship bound for the Land of Water.

"Pirates! Pirates!"

Halfway through the voyage, a ship sped toward the cargo vessel with the wind.

Dozens of people stood on its deck, all armed and dressed viciously.

The people aboard the cargo ship panicked and desperately rowed the oars.

However, the cargo ship was laden with goods and far slower than the pursuing vessel. It was quickly caught.

"Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahhh..."

One armed man after another nimbly leaped onto the cargo ship and began looting it.

The moment they encountered resistance, they killed without hesitation.

Uchiha Sen made his move.

Holding a kunai in each hand, he charged at them.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Blood sprayed like vivid red paint across the deck, staining it with one bloody flower after another.

Before him, these people had no ability to resist. He cleanly slit their throats and killed them.

"There's a ninja on the ship!"

Seeing their companions die one after another, the Wandering Ninja among the pirates surrounded Uchiha Sen.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Even the Wandering Ninja were still utterly unable to resist Uchiha Sen. He efficiently pierced their hearts with kunai or slit their throats.

He had not used any ninjutsu throughout the entire process, because there had been no need.

To him, these Wandering Ninja were not much different from ordinary pirates. They could not even withstand a single strike from him.

"It's a Konoha jonin!"

The Transformation Jutsu on him dispelled, revealing the Konoha ninja uniform worn only by jonin.

The remaining pirates panicked and hurriedly retreated to their own ship.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Clusters of flames shot toward them. Wrapped in fire, they screamed and rolled across the deck.

The flames on their bodies ignited the deck, setting it ablaze.

Suddenly, a man leaped from the sea and landed on the pirate ship's deck.

He wore a raindrop-shaped forehead protector, though a deep slash had been carved across it.

This was the mark of a rogue ninja from Kirigakure. He was the only pirate with jonin-level strength, a rogue ninja from Kirigakure.

The moment he appeared, he formed hand seals and unleashed a ninjutsu.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"

Seawater was drawn onto the deck. After extinguishing the flames there, it transformed into a water dragon and attacked Uchiha Sen.

"You finally showed yourself!"

A cold gleam appeared in Uchiha Sen's eyes as he saw the man emerge.

He had been suppressing his strength and displaying only jonin-level power in order to draw the other man out.

Now that he had lured him out, there was no need to keep suppressing himself.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"

A fire dragon even larger than the water dragon appeared, vaporizing the water dragon before charging at the man with its remaining flames.

At the same time, Uchiha Sen swiftly darted onto the pirate ship and lunged at the man on its deck.

"Elite Jonin!"

Seeing the power of Uchiha Sen's Fire Style ninjutsu, the man was shocked.

At sea, he should have had the advantage, as someone skilled in Water Style ninjutsu.

Yet the other man's Fire Style ninjutsu was more powerful than his Water Style ninjutsu.

There was only one explanation for such a disparity: the other man was stronger than him, an Elite Jonin.

After dodging the lingering flames, he began to consider retreating.

However, Uchiha Sen had no intention of letting him escape. While he was evading the flames, Sen had already leaped onto the pirate ship and closed in.

The battle erupted, but it did not last long before ending.

As expected, Uchiha Sen emerged victorious.

The gap between an Elite Jonin and an ordinary jonin was not something a terrain advantage could make up for.

Moreover, Uchiha Sen was an Elite Jonin who had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. He was even stronger than ordinary Elite Jonin.

With the mission complete, Uchiha Sen took a small boat back to the dock before returning to Konoha Village.

Several hours later, night had fallen.

Rather than continuing onward, he lit a campfire and spent the night in a forest clearing.

Suddenly.

Tap, tap, tap!

Footsteps sounded.

Someone was approaching through the night.

He immediately became alert, activated his Sharingan, and looked toward the source of the sound.

The other party did not conceal their chakra fluctuations. From those fluctuations, he could tell that the person possessed an enormous amount of chakra.

This person had several times as much chakra as he did.

As an Elite Jonin, he naturally possessed a considerable amount of chakra, yet the other person had several times more chakra than even him.

That immense chakra shone like a torch in the darkness.

The other party approached unhurriedly, their feet stepping on dead branches with crisp snaps.

Every sound struck deep within him, as though someone were stomping on his heart.

Feeling an invisible pressure, cold sweat slid down his forehead.

He wanted to turn and flee, but the other party's presence had already locked onto him. Any unusual movement would inevitably invite a thunderous attack.

As the other party drew near, Uchiha Sen used the powerful vision of his Sharingan to see the person's face clearly, and he cried out in astonishment.

"Clan Head?!"

The person who had come was actually Clan Head Uchiha Fugaku.

A deeply rooted impression in his mind shattered.

Having infiltrated the Uchiha Clan for more than a decade, he had always believed that this Clan Head lacked the bearing expected of someone in a high position and was far too mediocre in ability.

Though he came from the legendary Uchiha Clan, he possessed only the strength of an Elite Jonin, completely unworthy of the Uchiha Clan's legendary reputation.

But now, he knew he had been wrong. He had severely underestimated this Clan Head's strength.

With such immense chakra and the ability to place such pressure on him, an Elite Jonin, the man was very likely Kage-level.

Seeing him, Uchiha Sen had a bad feeling.

Though panic stirred in his heart, he forced himself to remain calm and asked, "Clan Head, why are you here?"

"You have worked hard, infiltrating the Uchiha Clan for sixteen years!"

Uchiha Fugaku stopped more than ten meters away from Uchiha Sen and stared at him coldly.

His icy killing intent was utterly undisguised, sweeping toward Uchiha Sen like a frigid wind.

Allowing a mole to lurk within the clan for sixteen whole years had undoubtedly been his predecessor's failure.

Now that he and his predecessor were no longer distinct from each other, he would correct his predecessor's failure.