Undercurrents: Tobirama's Night Raid

The success of the raid on the outpost was like a bolt of lightning tearing through the night sky, bringing a glimmer of dawn to the Uchiha clan. This victory acted like a shot of adrenaline, temporarily dispelling the gloom brought on by continuous losses and boosting the morale of the clansmen to a certain extent.

Uchiha Sou, as one of the key members who participated in this operation, was particularly in the spotlight. Especially his newly evolved Double Tomoe Sharingan, which seemed like the brightest stars in the night sky, attracting everyone's gaze. These eyes were not only a symbol of his strength but also a sign of his emergence among the younger generation.

The clansmen's attention toward him was a mix of envy and curiosity. They envied his strength and achievements, and they were curious about how he had made such huge progress in such a short time. However, Uchiha Sou was not affected by these gazes; he remained calm and humble, continuing to focus on improving his own strength.

But he did not care about this at all. The brief gaze from Uchiha Madara that day was like a sword hanging over his head, forcing him to pour all his energy into cultivation and concealment.

He tempered his taijutsu and ninjutsu even more diligently, utilizing the insight and copying abilities of the Double Tomoe to the extreme. He had already been able to quickly master the techniques of common Uchiha-style Fire Style with his Sharingan; although their power was not yet comparable to that of veteran ninjas, their precision and control far exceeded those of his peers.

More importantly, he spent almost all his spare time exploring that special ability, strictly following the principles of looking inward and focusing on the infinitesimal.

When the night was deep and quiet, he sat cross-legged, his Sharingan emitting a faint red glow in the darkness. He concentrated all his spirit, attempting to "set" the tiny "causality" within himself.

"Let the next strand of refined Chakra increase in purity by one-thousandth." "Let the micro-tears in the muscles of my left arm caused by today's training heal one percent faster."

These goals seemed so insignificant, even self-deceptive, and their effects were difficult to measure with concrete data. However, he was full of enthusiasm for these seemingly trivial things, tirelessly pursuing that sense of perception and control over himself and the "rules" that existed in the dark.

In the process of such cultivation, his control over Chakra became more and more refined; every strand of Chakra was like a thread in his hand, which could be precisely manipulated by him. At the same time, his mental strength also improved subtly without him noticing, becoming more resilient and powerful.

Time passed quietly amidst intense training and occasional small-scale conflicts. The friction between the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan was like an endless wave, one after another, never stopping.

Another family meeting was convened, and the atmosphere in the conference room was unusually heavy, as if the air itself had solidified. Uchiha Tajima's face was grim, dark enough to drip water.

"We have lost three transport squads near the border." His cold voice echoed in the council chamber. "No sign of the living, no trace of the dead. There are almost no signs of large-scale combat at the scene; it looks more like they were crushed by a high-speed individual raid."

There was a commotion in the hall.

"Was it the Senju?" an elder asked in a deep voice.

"Who else could it be?" another elder gritted his teeth. "Especially Tobirama Senju! That brat's Body Flicker Technique is getting more and more bizarre!"

Tobirama Senju. The mention of this name made Uchiha Sou, who was sitting in the corner, feel a chill in his heart.

"It's not just the disappearances." Uchiha Tajima slammed the table hard. "Some of our eyes and ears planted in the capital of the Land of Fire have also been cleared one after another recently. The methods were clean and efficient, all one-hit kills, leaving only the residual Chakra of high-speed movement at the scene. Our activities near the Daimyo Palace have been greatly restricted!"

The council chamber suddenly exploded. The removal of eyes and ears meant that the Uchiha were suffering heavy losses in intelligence warfare and external influence.

"It's the physique of the Senju clan!" Izuna spoke, his voice filled with suppressed anger and wariness. "They are born with massive amounts of Chakra and extremely high physical vitality, especially Tobirama Senju; he has developed this talent to the extreme! His Body Flicker speed might even... exceed the limit of what the Sharingan can capture!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room was shocked.

The limit of the Sharingan's dynamic vision had always been one of the foundations of Uchiha's confidence. If the enemy's speed was truly that fast, it meant that the Uchiha's greatest advantage would be completely overturned.

"We must fight back!" the radical faction roared.

"How do we fight back? We can't even touch their shadows! Who can keep up with that monster-like speed?!" a rational elder retorted.

The meeting fell into a heated argument, filled with a sense of powerlessness.

Uchiha Sou sat quietly, listening to the discussion without saying a word. His gaze fell on Uchiha Tajima in the main seat and Uchiha Madara beside him, noting that they remained silent throughout.

Tajima's eyes flickered, as if he were secretly calculating something. Although his expression was calm, Tsang could feel the fluctuations in his heart. Uchiha Madara, however, was completely different; there was no change in his expression, but deep within his slightly narrowed scarlet eyes lay a cold, almost cruel calm.

The atmosphere of the meeting became increasingly tense, and the arguments of the crowd became more and more intense. However, Tajima and Madara never spoke, just sitting there quietly, observing the reactions of the others.

Finally, amidst the clamor, the meeting ended on a sour note. Although the final decision was only to strengthen vigilance, a shadow was cast over everyone's heart. Tsang watched the others leave in silence, secretly pondering the true purpose of this meeting.

After the meeting, Uchiha Sou felt heavy-hearted. The shadow of Tobirama Senju, like a silent tide, was eroding the Uchiha from all levels. This precision decapitation tactic, relying on absolute speed, was more suffocating than a frontal assault.

During his night cultivation, a thought occurred to him: if his "causality" ability developed to a profound level, could he directly "set" the enemy to make a mistake or have an accident? But this idea was too far-fetched, so he immediately collected his thoughts and continued to focus on his internal vision.

Just as he was fully concentrated, suddenly, a faint yet sharp sound of breaking air, accompanied by a blurred white shadow that almost blended into the night, swept across the barrier at the edge of the clan grounds at a terrifying speed, flashing past!

The speed was too fast! So fast that it almost caused a sonic boom!

Uchiha Sou's Sharingan suddenly captured that fleeting afterimage and the active, aggressive Chakra fluctuations left in the air!

It was not an illusion! Someone had broken into the edge of the clan grounds at super-high speed!

Was it the Senju? Was it Tobirama?!

The content of the day's meeting flashed through his mind, and his heart almost skipped a beat. Without any hesitation, he immediately stood up, rushed out of the room like a cheetah without a sound, and galloped in the direction where the white shadow had disappeared.

The Double Tomoe spun wildly in the darkness, locking tightly onto the scorching and sharp Chakra trajectory that was rapidly fading in the air.

His pursuit was like a young beast pouncing into an unknown storm.