At Least Your Feeling Is Right

"Bullshit, right? These marks..."

"This is no small matter!"

The two Takigakure Anbu stared at the scorched cliff face stretching for hundreds of meters before them, as well as the rock at its base that had clearly formed from cooled lava, and exchanged bewildered looks.

These two ninjas were among the Anbu responsible for guarding the Sacred Tree. They happened to be on duty that night, but never expected to encounter something like this.

Judging from the marks on the cliff face, this had likely been caused by a Fire Release ninjutsu—and an extraordinarily powerful one at that. Even an Elite Jonin would never have been able to perform it.

"Could it have been Lord Houka's Fire Release ninjutsu?"

"I don't know. He seemed to have been at the Sacred Tree the whole time. I don't know whether he left or not."

After muttering among themselves for a while, the two quickly departed. One returned to Takigakure to report to his superiors, while the other headed back to the Sacred Tree to see whether Houka had left.

Just as Houka finished a comfortable bath and went to sleep, Shizuki, the leader of Takigakure, was awakened by the Anbu.

"Cough, cough..."

He coughed several times, then wiped his mouth with his hand, only to find it covered in blood.

Unconcerned, he wiped the blood from his hand clean and left his bedroom as if nothing had happened.

After the Anbu reported the matter of the cliff face, Shizuki's expression turned slightly grave.

If Uchiha Houka had done this, then it undoubtedly meant that his day-and-night training at the Sacred Tree had borne fruit. If it had not been Uchiha Houka, then Takigakure might be facing another setback.

And neither possibility was something Shizuki wished to see.

*If training on the Sacred