Naruto: Choosing from Birth — Part 22

He hadn't expected it to be this easy. A brat was still just a brat—without real combat experience, he had fallen for a sneak attack so easily.

Don't worry. Your Sharingan will shine brightly in the hands of someone who knows how to cherish it better.

Squelch!

Mizuki Rou pulled out the sword that had pierced through Uchiha Cheng, preparing to dig out his Sharingan.

Suddenly, a cloud of white smoke rose up, and Uchiha Cheng's body abruptly turned into smoke and vanished.

"What?"

Mizuki Rou was shocked. It had actually been a clone?

The next moment, every hair on his body stood on end as a sense of death enveloped him.

Without thinking, Mizuki Rou dodged to the side. A sharp sword light pierced in through the doorway.

Squelch!

The arm holding the blade was pierced clean through, and blood sprayed out.

Mizuki Rou staggered back several steps, escaping the other party's attack range. He quickly clutched his wound, his face full of confusion.

"How did you see through it?"

"Your presence... I stayed with her for an entire afternoon. The moment you came close, you gave yourself away."

Uchiha Cheng walked into the house. The famed blade Duan Xue in his right hand still gleamed like snow, unstained by any other color.

Uchiha Cheng suddenly raised his left hand slightly, pointing toward Mizuki Rou's side as he said calmly,

"So it really was you, Danzo!"

L-Lord Danzo?

Mizuki Rou, who had been staring fixedly at Uchiha Cheng, heard this and glanced with the corner of his eye toward the bedroom beside him in slight alarm.

Sure enough!

Lord Danzo slowly emerged from the bedroom.

"You have disappointed me greatly! You can't even handle a ninja academy student!"

"Lord Danzo, I'll immediately..."

Pfft!

His heart hurt so much.

Is this what it feels like to be abandoned by Lord Danzo? No, please, you must give me another chance. I'll deal with this brat right away.

No, something was wrong!

Where was Lord Danzo in his field of vision?

There was only a brat holding a sword, its gleaming blade piercing through his heart.

His heart?

"Genjutsu? When?" Black blood gushed from Mizuki Rou's mouth.

"When I entered the room, when your gaze fell on Duan Xue."

The intelligence you gathered was inaccurate. Did you not know I could form Single Hand Seals?

At first sight, anyone would instinctively watch their opponent's weapon warily, especially Duan Xue, known for its elegance and sharpness.

Making a ninja freeze for one second—no, half a second—was enough.

Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique!

It allowed people to see what they feared most in their hearts.

Mizuki Rou's injury had thrown his mind into disarray. On top of that, Uchiha Cheng had deliberately mentioned Danzo only to make him even more flustered.

Yet by sheer coincidence, what he feared most turned out to be Danzo.

Or rather, he feared Danzo's disappointment and disapproval. Once some people in Root had been thoroughly brainwashed, Danzo became their sky. Every move he made tugged at their nerves.

With anyone else, it would have been impossible to shake their long-trained vigilance.

Squelch! Uchiha Cheng stopped wasting time and swiftly pulled out Duan Xue.

He then quickly searched the house.

There was no need to leave Root members alive for interrogation. The moment black blood had poured from Mizuki Rou's mouth, he had understood.

The other party had long been prepared to die and had bitten open the poison pellet in his mouth.

After circling the house once, he found no sign of Kushina. As expected, Kushina had indeed been taken away.

He searched his memories for scenarios that had appeared in the original story. There might be deviations, but...

Sure enough, under the last lingering glow of the setting sun, several faintly shining crimson strands of hair entered Uchiha Cheng's sight!

Like the first ray of dawn, they were incomparably dazzling...

"Ding! You have discovered an important clue regarding Kushina's disappearance. Please choose!"

"1: Return and report it. A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall; let Konoha pursue them. Reward: Body Flicker Technique!"

"2: Chase after them immediately and face unknown dangers alone. Reward: Chakra reserves increased by fifty percent!"

"3: Chase after them immediately, and leave a conspicuous kunai beside every strand of hair so that subsequent reinforcements can follow in time. Compared to a reckless fool, a ninja needs both courage and wisdom. Reward: Body Flicker Technique + Chakra reserves increased by fifty percent!"

After reading the system messages, Uchiha Cheng immediately threw out a kunai, pinning it beside the strand of hair.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have obtained the Body Flicker Technique + a fifty percent increase in Chakra reserves!"

Then Uchiha Cheng's figure instantly vanished from the spot.

Going back was out of the question. If he returned now, Kushina might never come back.

Although Kushina had ultimately been rescued by Minato Namikaze in the original story,

Uchiha Cheng's arrival had already quietly changed the future through the butterfly effect.

And even without the system reward, he would not have truly rushed ahead alone without leaving behind any clues.

He just had to make sure he did not stumble into disaster in this ninja world, where attack was generally high and defense low.

Elsewhere, the three Cloud Shinobi who had kidnapped Kushina finally met up with their contact.

There had originally been no contact. After making a deal with Danzo, Danzo had been responsible for drawing away the Hokage's Anbu and Konoha's guards.

They only needed to abduct Kushina and bring her back to Kumogakure.

However, before this operation, Matsudaira Kazuto, the deputy leader of the delegation, had suddenly contacted them, saying he would meet them in the dense forest.

Sure enough, not long after exchanging signals, they met up with Matsudaira Kazuto.

"No one or no brat followed you, right?" Matsudaira Kazuto asked casually.

"No. Danzo's people drew everything away."

"Very good. Then return to Kumogakure at full speed!"

Danzo might be sinister, but when it came to matters he had agreed upon, he would not be careless in the slightest.

Matsudaira Kazuto glanced at Kushina.

Her crimson hair was a trait unique to the Uzumaki Clan.

She was the perfect vessel for an Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.

Kumogakure's Eight-Tails was due for a replacement soon.

He simply had not expected this vessel to be so close to that monstrous Uchiha brat. He had no choice but to personally come and meet them.

Better safe than sorry...

Following the guidance of the red strands of hair, Uchiha Cheng rapidly caught up, pinning a kunai beside every strand he passed along the way.

Suddenly, two Root members wearing white masks with colored patterns spotted the swiftly moving Uchiha Cheng in the dense forest.

"A brat?"

"Get him! We have ten minutes left on our mission. For the next ten minutes, no one is allowed to pass before us!"

Just as the two were about to leap forward, a ghostlike figure suddenly blocked their path.

"You want to sneak attack Young Master Cheng? You'll have to get past me first!"

Three tomoe in the newcomer's red eyes slowly spun like pinwheels.

"Uchiha? This is troublesome!"

"Take him down within five minutes!"