Encounter

"Hyuga Xin. Hyuga..."

The scroll was filled with a map of the Main Family's movements over the past few days. However, most of the information was rather vague.

Some of the traces were from several days ago, yet they had still been written down. Even worse, some of the entries were nothing more than rumors, but had still been recorded.

Final payment—the Kinkisho...

"Easy money, taking advantage of such a sucker."

Uchiha Ao shook his head with a strange look on his face.

"Maybe the cutie just wants to PEACH, but if I hand this over to the Hyuga Clan, I should get a reward—or maybe some useful Ninjutsu."

As for the Kinkisho, he could check it out another day. He'd heard it not only offered bounties for Ninja heads, but also provided all kinds of under-the-table services.

Great Fireball Technique!

Boom!

A torrent of flames burst forth, instantly engulfing Nibi Ge, whose clothes were in disarray.

"You can't dodge this one..."

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

Who said the Kindness Technique couldn't hit people?

Didn't a corpse still count as a person?

A moment later.

Rumble...

The explosions kept going.

"Hm?"

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

I don't remember the modified Great Fireball Technique having any follow-up explosions..."

Could it be...

He had just started to turn around when—

Boom!

A massive shock wave sent him flying more than ten meters. Caught off guard, he could only use his face to make an emergency stop, plowing through the dirt.

"Ptui, ptui..."

Uchiha Ao jerked his soot-blackened face up, spitting out dirt and grit.

He remembered now. He'd found it too disgusting to search that bastard's lower abdomen when he'd frisked him earlier.

Who would've thought the bastard had hidden a whole bunch of Explosive Tags there!

"No, seriously, what's wrong with him?

Who hides Explosive Tags there for no reason?!"

Uchiha Ao's mouth twitched. Once again, he'd gained a clear understanding of how treacherous the Shinobi World could be!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just then, two Ninja wearing Konoha Forehead Protectors suddenly appeared not far away. They stared at the devastated ground beneath them, surprise flickering in their eyes.

"Only a Jonin could have caused this much damage..."

The slender female Ninja murmured in amazement.

"Not necessarily. When we rushed over just now, the explosions were clearly staggered. It could've been a combination of Fire Release and Explosive Tags." Her male companion offered a different opinion.

"But we should still be careful. If it really is a Jonin, we probably won't be able to handle him with our abilities."

"Mm."

The female Ninja nodded and carefully scanned the area. Suddenly, she pointed toward a long furrow in the ground.

"The dirt over there was turned up recently. It must be a fresh trail, but..."

She leaped down and carefully gauged the furrow's width. Then, with a strange look on her face, she said:

"This width is similar to the outline of a face. Someone must've landed face-first and plowed this furrow into the ground."

"Really? Let me see."

Her male companion jumped down too. He took a close look, then burst out laughing.

"Looks like someone had a pretty intense fight."

"Haha... I'd say so."

Though the two seemed to be joking around, there wasn't a trace of amusement on their faces. Their eyes remained alert to every stir in the surroundings.

"..."

Uchiha Ao had sensed their arrival long ago and used Earth Style to conceal himself nearby.

But just as he steadied himself, he heard their banter, and several veins bulged on his forehead.

He knew they were trying to provoke him, but those two bastards really knew how to run their mouths.

If he hadn't been lucky enough in his previous life to earn the title King of Scolding in the Zuan Region, he might actually have been angered into giving himself away.

After waiting a while longer, the two failed to find anyone. They gathered a few traces of the battle, recorded them on a scroll, and then left in a hurry.

"So eager..."

Uchiha Ao watched them disappear into the distance. After a moment's thought, he decided not to follow them and instead sped off in the opposite direction.

The two were wearing Konoha Forehead Protectors, and their chakra levels were only around Chunin rank. But they'd arrived too quickly and too conveniently. Something about them felt off.

"To be safe, I'd better play it cautious."

Several hours later, a dozen or so miles from the border of the Land of Fire.

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

A figure suddenly appeared and knelt before Danzo, who was wiping his Ninja Sword.

"Oh?"

Danzo glanced up, his voice cool. "Have you identified who it is?"

"Well..."

The man sounded uncertain. "They look a little familiar. They're wearing Konoha Forehead Protectors, and their chakra seems to be around Chunin level. I didn't want to alert them, so I came straight back to report."

"..."

Danzo paused in wiping his Ninja Sword, as if he'd thought of something. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "You, and you—come with me."

He and Hiruzen had coordinated the positions of the tripwires. If these were their own men, they wouldn't make such a basic mistake.

That left only one answer.

They were either Cloud Village infiltrators or new scouts from the village!

But according to the information he'd received from the village, many of the scouts were reluctant to come to the front lines. Anyone with sense could tell that Cloud Village's current push was far more than a simple probe.

At such a tense time, nobody wanted to run headlong into Cloud Village's blades!

As he thought this over, Danzo led several men to the point where the signal had come from.

"Can you pinpoint their location?"

Danzo stood at the highest point, holding his Ninja Sword at an angle as he surveyed the surroundings.

"I can."

The Ninja beside him began forming Hand Seals. Two blue pools of chakra appeared over his eyes as he scanned the area for several miles, from near to far, apparently searching for something.

Suddenly, he pointed in one direction. "There. The powder on the tripwire disappears over there."

Whoosh!

Before the words had even left his mouth, Danzo raised his Ninja Sword and charged toward the target. He began forming Hand Seals while still in the air.

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!

A cloud of white smoke burst open, and three Danzo clones appeared in midair, searching the forest. Before long, one of them spotted something and shouted in a low voice:

"Here!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Ninja following him quickly gathered with his clones.

The Danzo clone who had found something first shouted in a low voice:

"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"

As he spoke, chakra filled his mouth in an instant.

Pff! Pff! Pff...

With a series of short bursts from Danzo's mouth, the chakra became seven or eight solid white spheres of compressed air, like bullets. They shot toward two spots on the ground.

Bang! Bang!

Sand and stones burst from the two spots, and two Ninja wearing Konoha Forehead Protectors suddenly sprang out. They were just about to explain when Danzo cut them off in a cold voice:

"These two men were killed in action several days ago, during the battle with Cloud Village.

They're Cloud Village Ninja in disguise. Kill them!"

"Yes!"

The surrounding Ninja answered in unison. With their doubts gone, they began forming Hand Seals!

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

Rumble...

The entire area was instantly engulfed by a barrage of Ninjutsu, swallowing the two men's terrified faces in the blink of an eye!

Just as everyone thought the two had been dealt with, a figure wreathed in blue lightning suddenly burst out of the flood of Ninjutsu.

Danzo took a closer look and muttered, "So they really were from Cloud Village!"

The others broke out in a cold sweat. So even you hadn't been sure just now...

As they were about to give chase, a figure flashing with green light suddenly shot out of the trees nearby, reaching the Cloud Village Ninja in an instant.

A Silver Arc Light flashed past, and the Cloud Village Ninja, who had been moving at tremendous speed, abruptly stopped.

Splurt!

Blood gushed out. The Cloud Village Ninja had been cleaved cleanly in two.

"..."

Danzo and the others were speechless at the brutal display. They stopped dead in their tracks.

But when Danzo saw who had arrived, he suddenly cried out:

"Why is it you?!"