Yamanaka Kizuki's perception range had reached 22 meters, surpassing Uchiha Yuan's Mind's Eye. That was good news, at least!
And this was only the beginning. Uchiha Yuan and Yamanaka Kizuki had found a way to exploit a bug.
Yamanaka Kizuki's perception range could improve through exposure to Genjutsu.
In other words, once Uchiha Yuan learned other Genjutsu, he could use them on Yamanaka Kizuki, too.
For now, though, the two Genjutsu Uchiha Yuan knew were both passed down through generations in Konoha, ever since the village was founded.
He had only mastered the D-rank Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique. The other one, the B-rank Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death, was still at the beginner level, and its success rate and effect were both inferior to Hell Viewing Technique.
Once he became more proficient in Tree Binding Death, it should also be able to increase Yamanaka Kizuki's perception range.
Of course, that didn't mean the Mind's Eye would become useless just because Yamanaka Kizuki's perception range had increased.
Uchiha Yuan had already noticed that compared to the Yamanaka Clan's sensory abilities, the Mind's Eye was exceptionally effective at sensing all kinds of living beings.
At the thought, Uchiha Yuan activated the Mind's Eye, sensing every living being within 20 meters.
Like Teleportation, the Mind's Eye could only level up through repeated use. He just didn't know how many times he would have to use it.
Although the Mind's Eye consumed no chakra, Uchiha Yuan found the feedback from so many life forms overwhelming once he activated it.
It was like standing in the middle of a crowded city, surrounded by loudspeakers blaring nonstop. So Uchiha Yuan didn't keep the Mind's Eye active all the time.
But now that Yamanaka Kizuki's perception range had increased, Uchiha Yuan felt he needed to level up his own Mind's Eye as soon as possible. So he decided to activate it regularly from then on and build up its proficiency.
With the Mind's Eye active, Uchiha Yuan made his way back to the Uchiha Clan's camp.
The moment he entered the camp, Uchiha Yuan stopped in his tracks.
His Mind's Eye had sensed an extraordinarily powerful life force beneath the camp, stronger than that of anyone he had ever encountered.
What made Uchiha Yuan even more uneasy was that the owner of this life force seemed to have been watching the Uchiha Clan members in the camp all along, while they remained completely unaware.
Uchiha Yuan was just about to report this to Uchiha Mei when he suddenly remembered something and stopped. "Wait! Could it be White Zetsu?"
Beneath the camp, with a powerful life force, and able to evade the detection of Uchiha Mei and Uchiha Aya's Three Tomoe—didn't that fit White Zetsu's characteristics perfectly?
White Zetsu's Mayfly Technique let it merge its body with the earth, trees, and plants to move at high speed. It could become one with the earth, then travel quickly to any location through the organic networks of plant roots and underground water. While the technique was active, it concealed all traces of its presence, making it very difficult to detect.
White Zetsu itself had been created from people who had fallen victim to the Infinite Tsukuyomi in a previous era. It was also a product of the God Tree and possessed immense vitality.
White Zetsu had reason to spy on the Uchiha Clan's camp, too. At this point, Madara Uchiha should still be searching for someone to inherit his will after his death.
That person had to be a member of the Uchiha Clan, which was why Madara Uchiha had sent White Zetsu to keep an eye on the Uchiha Clan members on the battlefield and select a suitable candidate.
The more Uchiha Yuan thought about it, the more convinced he became that whatever lay beneath the camp was White Zetsu—or one of its spore clones.
Uchiha Yuan had no way to deal with something as troublesome as White Zetsu at this stage. It would be best not to make a move at all.
Madara Uchiha was still alive! Who knew whether exposing White Zetsu would draw his attention?
Although Madara Uchiha was now an old man, connected to tubes and unable to move about easily, he was still Madara Uchiha. Even at his age, Uchiha Yuan wouldn't dare underestimate him.
So Uchiha Yuan decided that as long as White Zetsu didn't do anything, he would simply pretend he knew nothing about its presence.
The next day, Yūhi Shinkō arrived at the Land of Bears camp with the reinforcements from the village.
With the new troops, a meeting was held in Lord Orochimaru's tent that lasted all day.
That night, all the reconnaissance squad leaders were summoned to Lord Orochimaru's tent.
An hour later, beneath the pitch-black night sky, every Konoha reconnaissance squad set out for the main battlefield ahead.
"Teacher Shibui, what's our mission this time?" Hyuga Asana asked as they moved through the forest.
"Search the battlefield for enemy ambushes and traps," Shibi Aburame replied.
"Is the village going to fight Kirigakure in a decisive battle?" Yamanaka Kizuki asked.
"How could that be? Here in the Land of Bears, we're outnumbered by Kirigakure Shinobi, both in total numbers and in strength. The village's goal has always been to hold them back and prevent them from occupying the entire Land of Bears.
A full-scale war with Kirigakure is out of the question," Shibi Aburame replied.
"Then why are we clearing the battlefield of traps and ambushes?" Yamanaka Kizuki asked.
This time, Shibi Aburame didn't answer her directly. Instead, he turned to Uchiha Yuan and asked, "Yuan, what do you think?"
"I think we've been losing ground to Kirigakure lately, and morale's been low. With reinforcements from the village arriving, Lord Orochimaru probably wants to launch an attack and raise everyone's spirits!"
Shibi Aburame nodded. "Good analysis. Raising morale is indeed the main goal for Lord Orochimaru and Shikaku this time."
"The main goal? Does that mean there are other goals, too?" Hyuga Asana asked.
"There are. They just have nothing to do with our reconnaissance squad. It's for others to worry about."
Seeing that Shibi Aburame didn't want to explain, the others didn't press him.
Uchiha Yuan, however, seemed to have guessed. He thought Lord Orochimaru had his eye on Kirigakure's top fighters, such as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and the powerful members of its Kekkei Genkai clans.
Most likely, Lord Orochimaru wanted to use this war as an opportunity to eliminate some of Kirigakure's strongest fighters.
If circumstances allowed, he could also collect the corpses of Kirigakure Shinobi with Kekkei Genkai for research.
That was exactly what was happening. This time, Lord Orochimaru really did intend to target the powerful members of Kirigakure's Kekkei Genkai clans. The Uchiha Clan, Yūhi Shinkō, and the Clan Heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans would work together to hold off the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
Then Lord Orochimaru would take on the powerful members of the Kekkei Genkai clans.
Uchiha Yuan and the others weren't strong enough to take part in that battle. And since the plan involved the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Shibi Aburame hadn't spelled out the details to them.
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