Night Raid

After shaking off the pursuit of the Sand Ninja, Uchiha Akashi took a wide detour and returned to the site of the ambush, cautiously hiding himself to observe for a while.

He finally confirmed that there were no traces of enemies in the vicinity.

A reverse flash—who would have expected that?

He had to see Aobou dead with his own eyes to be at ease.

The surrounding trees were slanted, and there were drag marks where corpses had been moved; a portion remained, clearly because the enemy had only taken the ninjas with higher value.

On the battlefield, corpses could also become tools for the enemy.

Many ninjutsu could extract information and secrets from the deceased, especially from those with bloodline limits; even if destroyed, they could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands.

A retrieval squad would likely be coming soon.

He had to hurry.

After careful identification, Uchiha Akashi found Aobou.

The guy was lying between two Sand Ninja, his hands gripping blades that had pierced their chests, while he himself had been run through the kidneys by a kunai; although covered in blood, he was miraculously still breathing!

Aobou was not dead!

Whether it was the loyalty to Danzo that triggered his will to survive, or the Sand Ninja being too careless to deliver a finishing blow, he was currently on the verge of death.

Uchiha Akashi performed the Transformation Technique, manifesting the Root mask on his face, and walked over to look down at Aobou coldly.

Before finishing him off, he wanted to probe him one last time.

"You... are?" Aobou's eyes were blurry and weak.

"Yaksha."

As soon as the codename was uttered, Aobou's eyelids flickered as if he were experiencing a final burst of life.

Although Danzo did not trust Uchiha Akashi, he had still provided the basic organization and passwords; walking within Root under the codename "Yaksha," everyone acknowledged it.

Otherwise, it would be bad if their own people ended up fighting each other.

Therefore, Uchiha Akashi knew Aobou was a Root member, but he did not know his codename.

And Aobou knew Yaksha, but he did not know that Yaksha was Uchiha Akashi.

"Yaksha, you came..."

"Lord Danzo was worried about you and sent me as backup. It seems, as expected, your mission has failed." Uchiha Akashi spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.

"Ugh..." Aobou breathed weakly, speaking intermittently, "I, I was plotted against, U, U, U..."

"Uchiha Akashi."

"Right, he, he..."

"What about him?"

"K, knows about me."

Good grief, he had been talking nonsense for so long; if this were a novel, it could have padded out two hundred words.

Uchiha Akashi complained silently, thinking, Can you hurry up?

Aobou seemed to catch his breath, a flush of color appearing on his pale face: "Failed... to obtain... the Sharingan."

Sharingan?

Behind the mask, Uchiha Akashi couldn't help but chuckle softly.

So that was it; they weren't here to monitor the movements of Orochimaru and himself, but had come for the Sharingan.

Were they afraid that if I died on the battlefield, there would be no one to collect my body?

Danzo, you really are a thoughtful bastard.

How many ninjas like this were still in the Sand Ninja border defense forces?

It was impossible to know.

But this one was going to die.

Uchiha Akashi dispelled the Transformation Technique, revealed his Sharingan, and smiled lightly at him: "Is it these eyes you wanted?"

Aobou's pupils dilated in shock, his whole body convulsing: "You... Pfft!"

Under the mental blow, he finally couldn't hold on, kicked his legs, and breathed his last.

"Sleep peacefully."

Uchiha Akashi expressed his well-wishes, stabbed him in the chest to be sure, set a fire, and then sped away.

Near sunset, he finally arrived at the supply station.

There were medical supplies here, and the food and water rations were plentiful; the wounded could be properly settled.

Kudo Yukiyuki and the others had arrived long ago, having faced no obstacles along the way. The exhausted group had all gone to rest, with only Captain Kudo still waiting for the sight of his team member.

Seeing Uchiha Akashi, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Great, you're finally back. Go get some rest first... where is Aobou?"

"To let me retreat first, he willingly threw himself into the encirclement of the Sand Ninja. By now, he is likely..." Akashi's acting skills erupted, and he managed to squeeze out a pained expression.

Kudo Yukiyuki was silent for a moment, then sighed softly: "This is war. Do not blame yourself too much. The search party has already been dispatched; they will find him."

"I hope so."

"Speaking of which, you hid it well. I only just learned you were once a subordinate of Lord Orochimaru. No wonder you know Hidden Shadow Snake Hands."

Akashi scratched his head, feigning shyness.

The two chatted aimlessly for a few more sentences before entering the tent.

The night was heavy.

In the sky, dark clouds hung like an iron curtain, tightly obscuring the faint, slanted moon, rigid and oppressive.

Several tents were connected together.

Konoha ninjas walked around on patrol.

Usually, a group of four was responsible for the night watch, rotating in shifts, but late at night, it was easy to get drowsy, so the few who changed shifts gathered together to chat about interesting things to pass the time and relieve their fatigue.

Uncle Shinjo changed shifts and sat down, while a young ninja stood up reluctantly, looking miserable as he took over the post.

He wasn't miserable because of the hardship of the night patrol, but because he wouldn't be able to hear Uncle Shinjo's anecdotes and rumors anymore. This bearded Chunin was a veteran with a belly full of fresh news, and no one knew where he got so much information from the borders.

From the Land of Waves to the Land of Iron, from the concubines of a certain noble in the Capital of Fire to the secrets of trade between nations, he could talk about anything.

Uncle Shinjo looked at the departing ninja and smiled.

Several people had already gathered around.

"Uncle, have you been to the Land of Wind?"

"Of course I have." Uncle Shinjo touched his stubble, his voice hearty. "That godforsaken place is incredibly poor. Aside from a few oases, it's nothing but yellow sand as far as the eye can see. I went twice back in the day and never wanted to go again, though the Land of Wind certainly has its share of beauties."

This remark drew a burst of exclamations from the group.

"Tell us, tell us!"

"I heard that Elder Chiyo of Sunagakure was a great beauty in her youth. Someone even kept a photo of her in a swimsuit."

"Ugh, I can't accept that aesthetic."

The ninjas burst into laughter.

Only Akashi, off to the side, merely twitched the corner of his mouth without making a sound.

Someone noticed his expression and asked: "Akashi-kun, what kind of girls do you like? The Uchiha Clan are all so handsome; you must be very popular with girls, right?"

"Me?" Akashi smiled. "Not interested."

"That's just because you haven't met someone who makes your heart race yet. You'll be interested when you do!" one of them laughed loudly.

After rambling for a while, they moved on to the products and customs of the Land of Wind.

Finally, they began to talk about the long-standing war.

Suddenly, Uncle Shinjo sighed and shook his head slightly: "Counting it up, I've been a ninja for decades, and I'm still just a Chunin. The little money I've saved is barely enough for one person's expenses." A look of loneliness appeared on his face. "If I hold on for two more years, I'll either die on the battlefield or I'll have to retire. By then, I'll settle down on a piece of land and spend my old age in peace."

"Uncle Shinjo..."

Hearing him say such sentimental words for the first time, the ninjas all looked somewhat dejected.

"Haha, you guys are different. You're in the prime of your youth—the beauties of the Land of Wind are yours for the taking!"

Before the words had even faded, Akashi's gaze shifted sharply, looking into the darkness, his heart pounding violently.

In the night, a bone-chilling killing intent struck!

Suddenly, a black thorn pierced through the air, hitting the skull with a thwack.

After a muffled thud, Uncle Shinjo fell straight down, his hollow eyes bulging into spheres, the lewd smile at the corner of his mouth slowly freezing, stained with bright red blood.

The stench of blood permeated the dark night, and everyone smelled the scent of death.

The ninjas who had been laughing just a moment ago collapsed to the ground, their pupils trembling, the hair on their bodies standing on end, their throats feeling as if they were rolling with stones: "Uncle Shinjo—!"

Their minds buzzed, hot blood rushing to their heads; amidst the terror and anger, they roared loudly:

"Damn it! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"