Silent, Shadowless

"Crack..."

"Crack..."

The moment the shadow that had suddenly appeared beside Kushimaru Kuriarare's corpse finished speaking, faint cracking sounds could be heard as Kushimaru Kuriarare's body gradually vanished into the ground, as though it had sunk directly beneath the earth. If Uchiha Yue had been beside Kushimaru Kuriarare's corpse at that moment, he would surely have been astonished that someone had managed to steal the body from within the detection range of his Purple Eye.

Unfortunately, Uchiha Yue, who had already disguised himself as Kushimaru Kuriarare, had no idea that Kushimaru Kuriarare's corpse had been stolen. It was not that Uchiha Yue had grown careless after killing Kushimaru Kuriarare; rather, there had been no sign of anyone at all within the detection range of his Purple Eye.

Clearly, the shadow that had appeared beside Kushimaru Kuriarare possessed some means of evading Uchiha Yue's Purple Eye perception. However, concealing himself from Uchiha Yue's Purple Eye had undoubtedly taken considerable effort. After stealing Kushimaru Kuriarare's corpse, the shadow panted in place for a long while before sinking into the ground and disappearing.

As for why the shadow had panted for so long, it was plainly because evading Uchiha Yue's perception had required a tremendous amount of effort.

Yet at that moment, Uchiha Yue, unaware that Kushimaru Kuriarare's corpse had been stolen, had already left behind a hidden danger.

Because anyone who stole Kushimaru Kuriarare's corpse was surely plotting against Uchiha Yue, intending to harm him.

Unfortunately, Uchiha Yue had already assumed Kushimaru Kuriarare's appearance and entered the area controlled by Kirigakure's forces in the Land of Water.

At this point, even if Uchiha Yue discovered that Kushimaru Kuriarare's corpse had been stolen and realized the hidden danger he had planted, he likely would have had no way to prevent it from unfolding.