Encounter

"Hyuga Xin Yi, Hyuga..."

The scroll was filled with the Hyuga Clan's Main Family route distribution map from the past few days, but most of the information on it was rather vague.

Some traces were merely movements from a few days ago, yet they were still written down. Others were even more excessive—nothing more than baseless rumors, yet recorded as fact.

The final payment—Kinkisho...

"Making money off this sucker is way too easy."

Uchiha shook his head with a strange expression.

"A cute girl might be dreaming, but if I send this to the Hyuga Clan, I should get some reward, or at least a useful ninjutsu."

And this Kinkisho—he could go check it out another day. He'd heard that not only did they put bounties on ninja heads, but they also offered plenty of gray-market services.

Great Fireball Technique!

Boom!

A rolling blaze erupted, instantly engulfing Nibi Ge, whose clothes were in disarray.

"You can't dodge this time, can you..."

Uchiha Ao smiled, brushing the flames from the corner of his mouth, then turned and walked away.

Who said the Kindness Technique couldn't hit people?

A corpse still counts as a person, doesn't it?

A moment later.

Rumble...

The explosion continued.

"Hm?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Why is it still exploding?

I don't remember the Great Fireball Technique having a follow-up blast..."

Could it be...

He was just about to turn around.

Boom!

A massive shockwave sent him flying over ten meters. Caught off guard, he could only use his face as an emergency brake, plowing through layers of dirt.

"Pfft, pfft..."

Uchiha Ao lifted his pitch-black face, spitting out mud and sand nonstop.

He remembered now—when he'd frisked the guy earlier, he'd found it too disgusting to search the bastard's lower abdomen.

Who would've thought that bastard actually hid a bunch of Explosive Tags in that place!

"Seriously, is he insane?

Who the hell keeps Explosive Tags hidden there for no reason!"

Uchiha Ao's mouth twitched as he once again gained a clear understanding of how treacherous the Shinobi World really was!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just then, two ninjas wearing Konoha headbands suddenly appeared not far away. Looking at the devastated ground beneath them, a flicker of surprise crossed their eyes.

"To cause destruction like this, it's probably a Jonin..."

One of them, a slender female ninja, murmured in awe.

"Not necessarily. When we rushed over, the explosion clearly had stages—it's likely a combination of Fire Style and Explosive Tags." Her male companion offered a different opinion.

"Still, we need to be careful. If it really is a Jonin, the two of us probably won't be able to handle it."

"Yeah."

The female ninja nodded, carefully scanning the surroundings. Suddenly, she pointed at a long trench in the distance.

"That soil was turned over not long ago—it's a fresh mark. It's just..."

She jumped down, carefully measuring the width of the trench, then said with a strange look:

"This width matches the outline of a face. Looks like someone face-planted and plowed through the ground."

"Really? Let me see."

The male companion also jumped down, took a look, and burst out laughing:

"Looks like someone's fight got pretty intense."

"Haha... I think so too."

The two seemed to be joking, but there was no trace of a smile on their faces. Their eyes remained alert to every movement around them.

"..."

By now, Uchiha Ao, who had long sensed their arrival, had already used Earth Style to conceal himself not far from where they stood.

But the moment he steadied himself, he overheard their banter and felt a few veins bulge on his forehead.

He knew they were trying to provoke him, but damn if those two birds weren't slick with their tongues.

If not for the fact that he'd lucked into the title of King of Scolding in the Zuan Region in his Previous Life, he might've actually been pissed into showing a weakness.

After waiting a while longer, the two, still unable to find anyone, had to settle for gathering some traces of the battle, recording them in a scroll, and then hastily taking their leave.

"So eager..."

Uchiha Ao watched their retreating figures, thought for a moment, and didn't follow. Instead, he dashed off in a direction far from theirs.

Those two wore Konoha forehead protectors, and the Chakra fluctuations they gave off were only at the Chunin level, but their timing was too perfect and too fast—he couldn't shake the feeling something was off.

"To be safe, better play it steady."

A few hours later, a dozen li from the Land of Fire's border.

"Lord Danzo, the Alarm Tripwire we set up behind us has been triggered."

A figure suddenly appeared, kneeling before Danzo, who was wiping down his Ninja Sword.

"Oh?"

Danzo lifted his gaze, his voice cold: "Did you confirm who it was?"

"Well..."

The man's tone was uncertain: "Somewhat familiar. Wearing a Konoha forehead protector, Chakra around Chunin level. I didn't dare disturb them and came straight back to report."

"..."

Danzo's wiping motion paused, as if a thought struck him, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes: "You, and you, come with me to take a look."

He had communicated with Hiruzen and the others about the tripwire's position. If it were their men, they wouldn't make such a rookie mistake.

There was only one answer.

Either Cloud Village infiltrators, or a new Reconnaissance Ninja from the village!

But from what he'd heard in the village, many Reconnaissance Ninja were unwilling to come to the front lines. Anyone with eyes could see that Cloud Village's momentum this time wasn't just a simple probe.

In such tense times, no one wanted to run headfirst into Cloud's blade!

Lost in thought, Danzo led a few men to the signal's origin point.

"Can you pinpoint the location?"

Danzo held his Ninja Sword at an angle, standing at the highest point, scanning the surroundings.

"Yes."

The ninja beside him began forming hand seals. Two blue Chakra masses appeared in his eyes, scanning the area for miles near and far, as if searching for something.

He suddenly pointed to a spot: "There. The powder on the thread vanished there."

Whoosh!

Before the words faded, Danzo hoisted his Ninja Sword and charged fiercely toward the target point, already forming hand seals mid-air.

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!

A puff of white smoke burst open, and three Danzos appeared in the air, scouring the dense forest. Soon, one of the Danzos found something and muttered lowly:

"Here!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Quickly, the ninja following him and his clones gathered around.

The clone Danzo who'd made the discovery barked lowly:

"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"

With that, a mass of Chakra filled his entire mouth.

Puff! Puff! Puff...

As Danzo spat out a series of short, sharp breaths, the Chakra instantly transformed into seven or eight solid white air masses, like bullets, shooting toward two spots on the ground.

Boom! Boom!

The sand and stone at those two spots burst apart, and two ninja wearing Konoha forehead protectors sprang out. They tried to explain, but Danzo cut them off coldly:

"These two were killed in battle with Cloud Village a few days ago.

They're Cloud Village disguised ninja. Kill them!"

"Yes!"

The surrounding ninja replied in unison, no longer holding back, and began forming hand seals!

Fire Release: Flame Bullet! Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!...

Rumble...

The entire area was instantly engulfed by several Ninjutsu, drowning the two men's terrified faces in an instant!

Just as everyone thought the two had been dealt with, a figure wreathed in blue electric light suddenly burst forth from the torrent of ninjutsu.

Danzo stared hard, muttering to himself, "As expected, someone from Cloud Village!"

Cold sweat dripped down the others' foreheads—so you weren't sure either just now...

As the group moved to give chase, a figure flickering with green light abruptly shot out from a nearby thicket, instantly appearing above the Cloud ninja.

A silver arc of light flashed past, and the Cloud ninja, who had been so swift moments before, suddenly froze mid-motion!

Puchi!

Blood sprayed forth as the Cloud ninja was split cleanly in two, vertically.

"..."

Danzo and the others were all struck speechless by such brutal efficiency, halting in their tracks.

But when Danzo recognized the newcomer, he suddenly exclaimed:

"How is it you!"