The Eye Transplant and the Ambush!

The eye transplant!

Naturally, he was going to replace the Sharingan in Kakashi's left eye.

Not remove it outright—White Dove didn't want to alert "White-Eyed Wolf" Obito and Zetsu, lest they start keeping an eye on him now.

They would certainly be enemies someday, but he didn't want to face them just yet.

It wasn't that those two were unbeatable. They were just shameless enough—and devious enough—to be a real pain.

If it came down to a straight fight, White Dove was confident he could take them on, even now.

But they wouldn't fight him head-on. They'd just keep lurking in the shadows and taking potshots at him. It'd be a nightmare if he wanted to fight them but couldn't even find them.

So until he was ready, White Dove wanted nothing to do with those sneaky bastards.

As long as Kakashi's Sharingan was still "there," Obito and Zetsu wouldn't react much. But once they realized it had been removed, they'd investigate.

That was why he was replacing the eye instead of simply taking it out.

Thanks to a ninja's vitality, the transplant took less than twenty minutes and went smoothly.

That was even with White Dove taking extra care to ensure Kakashi recovered quickly and didn't notice that his Sharingan had been replaced.

A Three-Tomoe Sharingan and a Mangekyo were completely different things, and their worth reflected that. White Dove had hit the jackpot this time.

With a single choice, he'd gotten the village higher-ups to hand him a Mangekyo of their own accord.

A little research might even yield something useful.

And even if he learned nothing from it, just having this Mangekyo in his possession gave him a powerful trump card against Obito, who loved to run wild with Kamui.

The Kamui Dimension was shared!

In other words, this Mangekyo could give White Dove an edge over Obito.

"Dove, this eye..."

Izumi studied the Mangekyo they'd removed from the left eye, as if she'd sensed something.

The fact that White Dove had deliberately replaced it with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan already showed that this eye was worth far more than an ordinary Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

"Mm."

White Dove nodded, confirming her guess. This Sharingan was indeed far more valuable than a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, but he didn't intend to explain.

It wasn't that he was trying to be mysterious. It was just that in the Shinobi World, some things truly couldn't be said aloud.

There were far too many ways to extract information. Prophecies and divination were terrifying enough, and on top of that, people could even get information from the heads and souls of the dead. It was outrageous.

So it wasn't that he wanted to be mysterious. He had no choice.

"Oh!"

Izumi wasn't stupid. As long as White Dove wasn't involved, she was as sharp and observant as any true ninja. She nodded and put away the jar containing the Mangekyo.

"Inabi, Tekka, Izumi, stay here. If I don't send a signal, don't come to support me. If I do, act according to the signal. Any questions?"

White Dove asked them gravely.

Knowing that the outpost was a trap and the eye of the storm, he'd have to be out of his mind to bring them along.

On his own, even without counting his hidden strength, his Flying White Pigeon Technique was enough to keep him out of danger.

"Yes!" the three of them answered in unison.

Ninjas never hesitated or bargained during a mission, so naturally, they had no objections.

Besides, White Dove would leave a backup plan with them.

"Summoning Technique!"

White Dove formed the Hand Seals and summoned a pigeon.

Poof!

A white pigeon appeared in a cloud of smoke.

With this pigeon, even if Uchiha White Dove found himself in a desperate situation, he could use the Flying White Pigeon Technique at any time to switch places with it and escape danger.

Compared with the S-rank Flying Thunder God Technique, it might fall short in duration, range, and chakra consumption, but in every other way, it was no worse.

Space-time ninjutsu worked not only against ordinary ninjas but even against Otsutsuki. That showed just how effective it was, so White Dove wasn't worried about getting caught by a barrier or seal.

After arranging things here, he took out two fingernail-sized lenses, put them on, and left. He circled around to the direction where he'd previously parted from the convoy, then slowly headed toward the Kumogakure intelligence outpost.

The whole way was peaceful. There were no traps or ambushes; it was as if this were nothing more than an ordinary valley.

There was a cave in the valley, and White Dove naturally crept inside with caution.

The cave held not only scrolls full of intelligence but also a large stockpile of supplies. If Kumogakure's army attacked from here, they could use this place as a supply station.

"Why is nobody here?"

White Dove murmured as if he were about to step forward and investigate.

"My dazzling charm, my singing—over here!"

A strange voice rang out, accompanied by a flash of gleaming steel that tore through the cave's gloom.

The attack came at lightning speed. An ordinary elite Jonin would have been decapitated without question, but White Dove's eyes instantly turned bloodred, three tomoe appearing in each. He leaned back like a bridge, narrowly dodging the slash.

But that was only the beginning.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two more slashes, almost as fast as the first, flashed toward White Dove, who had only just evaded the initial strike.

White Dove didn't panic. With the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, these attacks were easy enough to handle.

That was the thing about the Sharingan: you had to use it to know how powerful it was.

No wonder a Uchiha with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan was considered an elite Jonin. That wasn't an exaggeration. With a pair of those eyes, an ordinary Jonin really could be taken down with ease.

In hindsight, it was no wonder the Uchiha were so arrogant.

With a cheat like that, it was hard not to be arrogant. Even White Dove was starting to feel the temptation.

Using exquisitely precise Taijutsu, White Dove flipped through the air several times, evading the three slashes and breaking out of their encirclement.

But he didn't leave the cave, because its entrance was now blocked by a tall, powerfully built figure wearing sunglasses and a Kumogakure Forehead Protector, with several Ninja Blades strapped to his back.

The man hadn't completely blocked the entrance, but his powerful presence filled the entire opening. Anyone trying to get past him would face his full-force attack.

Tap, tap!

Behind White Dove stood three more figures, blades in hand, surrounding him.

The four of them had him trapped inside the cave, cutting off both his advance and retreat.

The tense, murderous atmosphere was broken when the figure blocking the entrance spoke.

"I thought this was a trap, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Damn Uchiha, you'd better surrender. The dazzling Killer Bee can spare your life, yo!"

His wild gesticulations turned him from a figure of strength into a clown in an instant.

But White Dove didn't underestimate him because of that.

Only a transmigrator could understand how dangerous this seemingly ridiculous guy really was.

He was Kage Level in his own right, and a Perfect Jinchuriki.

Only Prince Naruto, with his ridiculous plot armor, could surpass him.

"They really think highly of me. They sent Killer B, one half of the AB Combo. But isn't Kumogakure worried something might go wrong?"

White Dove threatened him coldly.

He was also a little annoyed.

This wasn't the "fish" he'd been trying to lure!

Recruiting Killer B would give him a powerful fighter, but the consequences would be too severe. It would make all of Kumogakure come after him without holding back.

And if he tried to make Killer B a sleeper agent, the man would be of no use beyond passing on information.

So he wouldn't waste Kotoamatsukami, a Mangekyo ability with a terrifyingly long cooldown that could practically only be used once, on Killer B.

Orochimaru, on the other hand, could help him in every possible way.

Since it wasn't Orochimaru, White Dove didn't feel like wasting time talking.

He wasn't about to use the Flying White Pigeon Technique to make his escape just yet. He lacked experience fighting powerful opponents like this, so he naturally wanted to make the most of this rare opportunity.

Besides, he wanted to avoid revealing the range of the Flying White Pigeon Technique if he could.

A trump card that could save his life was worth saving for the critical moment. He couldn't just use it whenever he ran into a little danger.

A ball of flame appeared in White Dove's left hand. Without looking back, he flung it behind him.

Whoosh!

The flames suddenly surged, crashing toward the three men behind him like a wave of fire.

White Dove himself drew his blade and charged forward.

"Mumyo Sandan-tsuki: Step Supersonic!"

White Dove's voice rang through the cave. In an instant, he had reached Killer B, driving his Ninja Blade toward the man's heart.

They were enemies. White Dove wouldn't give him special treatment just because he'd seen the story play out.

Take Uchiha Shisui. No matter how good a person he was, and no matter that he was one of White Dove's own, White Dove would still act if Shisui stood in his way.

Killer B's popularity meant nothing to him. The man had ambushed him here. White Dove only had to attack; what happened to Killer B wasn't his concern.

"Yo! A trial of strength! My favorite!"

Lightning flashed around Killer B. His Ninja Blades sprang from their sheaths as if controlled by an invisible force, while his body twisted like it had no bones.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The continuous clash of blades was accompanied by flashes of blood.

In just a few seconds, White Dove had burst out of the cave.

But he'd also drawn blood.