Kill!

Furthermore, the entire Konoha reconnaissance unit stationed in the Land of Rivers had been wiped out.

The culprit remained unknown, but Byakuya heard from Hiroya that not a single person had survived, prompting the village to dispatch new ninjas to the Land of Rivers to maintain their watch.

If one had to pin the blame on someone, it would undoubtedly be the vicious and bloodthirsty Sunagakure Ninja.

"Shadow Clone Technique."

The original body hid away while the clone went ahead to scout.

Executing a mission alone doubles the difficulty. If only I had the setup of Sasuke Uchiha's Team Taka; even a budget version would satisfy me.

Karin was a mobile blood bag and radar, Shui Yue'er was a sharp tool for breakthroughs and error tolerance, and Jugo was a human tank with area-of-effect burst damage, leaving Sasuke to handle the decision-making and ultimate output.

The shadow clone glanced back at the original body.

"Troublesome."

The clone nodded, leaped into the forest, and vanished in an instant.

Byakuya's original body, meanwhile, selected suitable locations to leave behind the Flying Thunder God Formula.

Aside from the Shadow Clone Technique, Storm Release: Body Flicker Technique, Storm Release: Torrential Lightning Flash, a new jutsu he named Storm Release: Thousand Blades, and Water Release: Water Formation Wall, his most important trump card was the S-rank space-time ninjutsu, the Flying Thunder God Technique.

This ninjutsu ensured that when he made contact with Pakura, his own safety would be guaranteed.

As for the Earth Release ninjutsu he had been longing for, too many things had happened recently, and he had only managed to refine a sliver of earth-attribute chakra; he was still a long way from mastering any Earth Release techniques.

The wind in the Land of Rivers was colder than in the Land of Fire.

The leaves were gradually turning yellow and withered.

Byakuya sat quietly, staying alert to the rustling of the grass while frowning at the map.

There was one more black circle.

That was the territory of the Azure-Black Serpent.

Although he had learned the Summoning Technique scavenged from the two Anteater Bounty Group ninjas and was now quite proficient in using it, he lacked the most crucial Summoning Beast.

The Azure-Black Serpent fit the requirements perfectly.

Should I try again?

He pondered secretly.

His current strength was definitely greater than before, and if he couldn't win, he could always use the Flying Thunder God Technique to make a clean getaway.

Once he conquered the Azure-Black Serpent and signed a contract, having such a powerful Summoning Beast would give him the confidence to face Kage-level powerhouses.

If it truly originated from Ryūchi Cave, Byakuya would also have a path to learning Sage Arts.

Two hours passed.

The Shadow Clone Technique was dispelled.

According to intelligence provided by Root, this should have been a temporary encampment for the Sunagakure Ninja, but now it was empty, with only lingering traces left behind.

He moved to the next location.

He continued to send out a shadow clone to scout.

This time, he ran into five Sunagakure Ninja.

The shadow clone hid in the shadows, holding its breath to observe for a while, and deduced that they were all at the Chunin level.

Immediately, he used the Storm Release: Body Flicker Technique to close the distance to mid-to-close range.

He formed the hand seals.

"Storm Release: Torrential Lightning Flash."

The perfected Torrential Lightning Flash consumed significantly less chakra while maintaining the same destructive power.

He opened his mouth and spat out a sheet of lightning; the lightning resembled a river, its dazzling blue-white radiance forcing the five Sunagakure Ninja to squeeze their eyes shut.

In the blink of an eye, the Torrential Lightning Flash split into four waves, instantly piercing their vital points.

The shadow clone immediately pressed forward, wielding a Kunai to deal with the final Sunagakure Ninja.

He feigned a mistake, only grazing the man's neck.

Watching the Sunagakure Ninja flee in a panic, he waited half a beat longer, putting on a show of pursuit until the lucky survivor bolted toward the mountains in the direction of the Land of Wind, at which point the shadow clone finally stopped.

By the time the jutsu was dispelled, Byakuya's original body had just finished leaving a Flying Thunder God Formula on the trunk of a hidden tree.

Searching high and low is truly a hassle. It would be better to let Pakura come find me.

To ensure Pakura knew that the Konoha ninja killing her subordinates was him, Byakuya hurried to the next location to leave behind more information.

This place was not far from the Azure-Black Serpent, less than a hundred miles in a straight line.

The same old method.

The original body laid low, searching for suitable spots to leave the Flying Thunder God Formula, while the shadow clone served as expendable material.

The Flying Thunder God Technique still had quite a few drawbacks.

The prerequisite is that the formula must be set in advance; otherwise, it cannot be activated in unmarked areas, which means missing out on a major ultimate move during an encounter.

Furthermore, this method of pre-planning and marking limits the flexibility of the Flying Thunder God Technique, requiring the user to possess an extremely high level of combat intelligence and proficiency.

Senju Tobirama and Namikaze Minato were both such individuals.

Moreover, if an enemy discovers the Flying Thunder God Formula and sets an ambush nearby or attaches Explosive Tags, the outcome would be dire—a single mistake could be fatal.

However, in a region with complex terrain like the Land of Rivers, where the Flying Thunder God Formula can be set in advance, this space-time ninjutsu is invincible.

This time, the Shadow Clone ran into a tough crowd.

Before it could even approach the target area, it was discovered.

"Wind Release: Kamaitachi."

"Wind Release: Wind Cutter."

Byakuya's clone immediately utilized the Storm Release: Body Flicker Technique to evade these two ninjutsu.

The moment the Body Flicker ended, the clone immediately formed hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall."

A waterfall-like torrent of water, accompanied by piercing lightning, swirled to provide protection.

The kunai, shuriken, and Explosive Tags thrown by this group of Sunagakure Ninja were all blocked by the Water Formation Wall.

Amidst the roaring explosions of the tags.

The clone accelerated away from its original position using the Storm Release: Body Flicker Technique; it had already sensed the location of the Sunagakure Ninja.

It threw several shuriken.

Dazzling, rapid hand seals followed.

"Storm Release: Torrential Lightning Flash."

The speed of this technique was already incredibly fast, and combined with the blinding, eye-catching lightning, two of the Sunagakure Ninja were struck instantly—one had his chest pierced, and the other suffered a gaping hole in his abdomen.

The captain leading the group endured the lightning that threatened to blind him, struggling to keep his eyes open to track the enemy's position, only to see the river of lightning suddenly right before his eyes.

It was too fast, far too fast.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall."

A wall of earth abruptly rose in front of the captain, blocking the Torrential Lightning Flash.

The vice-captain, squinting his eyes, saw that he was the target of the enemy's ninjutsu and took the initiative to use his own to block it for him.

It wasn't over yet.

The lightning actually bypassed the earth wall and continued to strike at him.

But there was finally time to react; the strength of a Shadow Clone is far inferior to the original body. This Sunagakure captain let his eyes stream with tears from the lightning's glare, retreated, and formed hand seals.

"Wind Release: Great Kamaitachi."

Violent winds and wind blades surged forward to clash against the Torrential Lightning Flash.

The two collided, resulting in an explosion.

The remaining Sunagakure Ninja had already swarmed toward the Shadow Clone.

Seeing this situation.

The Shadow Clone knew there was no need to continue fighting. It used the Storm Release: Body Flicker Technique to dodge attacks in succession, put some distance between itself and the Sunagakure Ninja, and behind a large tree, it released the Shadow Clone Technique.

This is the advantage of the Storm Release: Body Flicker Technique; after accelerating, the Storm Release chakra helps the body maintain balance, allowing for continuous, non-stop exertion.

The memories and combat footage were transmitted back to the original body.

Byakuya looked toward the direction where the Sunagakure squad had appeared and murmured, "That should be enough. Once these Sunagakure Ninja report the characteristics of my ninjutsu to Pakura, she will know I have returned to the Land of Rivers."

"There was no need to attack the Sunagakure Ninja just to contact Pakura and reveal Konoha's desire for an alliance. But whether it is my 'God's eye view' or the current situation in the ninja world, Sunagakure will definitely attack Konoha, sooner or later. Weakening Sunagakure's vital strength as much as possible is simply part of my duty as a Konoha ninja."

This was his confidence in this mission.

The Flying Thunder God Technique ensured his own safety.

Using his God's eye view to gain insight into the current situation of the ninja world, and even the future fate of Pakura, he could make the choices most beneficial to himself.

Danzo would never imagine that Byakuya was executing this mission in a way that far exceeded his expectations.