Madara paused mid-leap toward the ravine, his voice carrying an almost imperceptible rasp. "Are you that short on money?"
"I founded an organization."
Kosuke moved even faster than his voice; in the blink of an eye, he vanished from where he stood.
"Captain, the targets are heading southeast. They're escorting two carts of goods, so they can't have gotten far."
Kosuke crouched on a tree branch with a blade of grass between his teeth. Hearing this, he spat out the stem. "Oh? Looks like some young lady went out to gain experience and got spotted by us."
Madara's gaze fell on Kosuke's face. Five years younger than him, Kosuke wore a half-smiling expression, and Madara had no idea what scheme was brewing in his mind again.
"Suppress your Chakra," Madara said in a low voice, taut as a drawn bowstring. "The Uzumaki Clan's sensory abilities aren't for show!"
Everyone swiftly concealed the Chakra within their bodies, their figures flickering continuously through the green forest like ghosts.
All manner of insect cries echoed through the dense woods, while several pairs of Sharingan seeped scarlet glimmers through the shadows of the trees.
Nine Chakra signatures flickered like fireflies.
Within Kosuke's two-tomoe vision, they became nine pulsating points of bloody light.
"That female ninja..." Kosuke gripped a Tri-Pronged Kunai tightly in his left hand, sunlight flowing over its edges like tiny golden serpents. "Take her alive."
Madara gave a low snort through his nose.
He understood better than Kosuke the value of keeping someone alive for interrogation.
Besides, the woman sitting on the cart was clearly more valuable as a source of intelligence.
His Kusanagi Sword slid three inches from its sheath, its blade reflecting the blurred shadows of rapidly retreating trees.
Eight Uzumaki ninja stood guard around the convoy in a fan-shaped formation. Only the red-haired woman remained seated atop the cart.
Despite the uneven road, not even her eyelashes trembled.
Thirty zhang.
Madara and Kosuke led four Uchiha jonin through the trees, every step upon a branch precisely timed between the chirping insects.
Twenty zhang.
The overloaded cart axles began to creak faintly in the distance.
Six civilians hunched over as they pulled the carts forward, each step accompanied by the rustle of straw sandals crushing fallen leaves and heavy panting.
It provided perfect cover for the group as they steadily closed in.
Fifteen zhang.
Madara's right hand flashed a tactical signal: Tiger—Goat—Rat.
A bloodthirsty curve lifted Kosuke's lips.
He recognized it as the signal for "eliminate first."
Then, both of them erupted with Chakra at the same time!
Kosuke's Lightning Release Chakra condensed into currents beneath his feet, instantly carbonizing the branch he stepped on.
Madara's Body Flicker Technique left behind a scarlet afterimage, the clash of his armor plates sounding like a battle horn.
As Madara's Kusanagi Sword sliced across the first Uzumaki ninja's throat, Kosuke had already pulled his Tri-Pronged Kunai from another enemy's back.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Madara's and Kosuke's Chakra surged violently within their chests as they opened their mouths at once and expelled enormous fireballs, instantly tearing apart the forest's silence.
"Enemy attack!"
The red-haired woman's eyes snapped open, two blazing fireballs reflected in her azure pupils like molten lava.
The first Uzumaki jonin to react rapidly formed hand seals, only for Kosuke's fierce advance to sever his wrists just as the seals were about to take shape.
"Ah—"
A miserable scream rang out for the first time in the battle.
As Madara's Kusanagi Sword cut across the second guard's throat beneath the fireballs' cover, the woman seated on the cart swayed and vanished from atop it.
"Seventh formation!"
The remaining four Uzumaki ninja guards instantly gathered and formed hand seals.
Water Style: Water Wall Technique and Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall Technique rose in overlapping layers.
Half a second!
Four black shadows rapidly cut in from the southeast, Scarlet Sharingan weaving a net of death through the forest.
At that moment, Kosuke's Sharingan spun sharply. Several Kunai shot precisely toward three enemies forming seals, only to burst into white smoke the instant they made contact!
Substitution Technique!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
With three muffled impacts, Kosuke's figure abruptly vanished.
Bang!
When Kosuke reappeared, his palm was already pressed against the woman's back.
She immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.
Enduring the searing pain in her back, she leaped forward and formed hand seals with her fingertips, clearly shouting, "Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
In an instant, a ten-meter-high curtain of water shot into the sky. Churning waves poured down with tremendous force, like a natural flood.
At the same time, the Uzumaki ninja uprooted the surrounding trees one after another and swept them into the torrent.
Madara roared in fury from afar, "Kosuke!"
But his voice was instantly swallowed by the roar of the waves.
Kosuke's ten fingers fluttered like butterfly wings as he formed hand seals at high speed.
The moment before the flood struck, he suddenly appeared before it and shouted in a deep voice, "Earth Style: Multiple Earth Flow Walls Technique!"
In the blink of an eye, the ground split with a thunderous crack, and five yellow earthen walls burst from the earth, standing before the flood.
The collision between water and earth erupted with a deafening boom.
The first earthen wall slammed into the waterfall. Spray exploded like fireworks, yellow mud and blue water flow interweaving and scattering in a striking contrast.
Yet the waterfall's force was too terrifying. Within seconds, the wall's surface rapidly caved in, cracks spreading like a spiderweb.
During those few breaths, Kosuke activated the Body Flicker Technique again, intending to repeat his trick and knock the woman down with a palm strike.
But the instant he vanished, a trap woven from Chakra threads and Exploding Tags appeared around the woman's body.
Seeing this, Kosuke had no choice but to alter his trajectory sharply and strike the neck of a red-haired ninja amid the chaotic battle.
Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!
Madara's hand seals were faster than his voice. Several fireballs, guided by Chakra, flew precisely toward the Uzumaki ninja.
Kosuke suddenly turned and hurled several Exploding Tags at the red-haired woman.
Azure Chakra flickered between the inscriptions, giving off a dazzling glow.
In the blink of an eye, the Exploding Tags detonated within the trap she had set, forcing her to leap out of it.
When she emerged from the chaos of the explosion gripping a Naginata, she fiercely raised it to block.
A piercing metallic clash rang out.
Clang!
The crisp collision of blades was clean and sharp, sending fine ripples of Chakra through the air around them.
Just as she tried to break away and form hand seals for a Sealing Technique, a gentle voice suddenly entered her ears from behind.
"Don't move, little beauty~"
Kosuke pressed his Kunai against the woman's neck, while his left hand held an Exploding Tag against her lower abdomen. "I hear the Uzumaki Clan's Medical Ninjutsu can reattach severed limbs?" His nose nearly brushed the loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Want to gamble on whether you'll still be able to put yourself back together after the explosion?"
The woman's entire body suddenly stiffened.
Feeling that wicked hand pressed against her lower abdomen, her originally fair skin instantly flushed red, the blush burning from her ears down the side of her neck.
"Damn it! You despicable, shameless, vulgar, filthy, lecherous, underhanded bastard!"
Amid that long string of curses, the figure before her suddenly turned into scattered white smoke with a bang.
The woman abruptly looked down, only to find a scorching palm still pressed tightly against her lower abdomen while an icy sensation touched her neck.
"Tell them to stop resisting," Kosuke's voice, mixed with warm breath, brushed against her ear. "Or I'll slice open that skin of yours, so delicate it could break with a puff!"
Before you continue