Secret Mission

Frontline Camp in the Land of Rivers.

Yohei led everyone towards the Resting Tent, with a messenger ninja following closely beside Yohei.

Kakashi and the others stared at the ninja with curiosity. They had seen messenger ninjas before, but this was the first time they had ever seen one like him.

You might say he's worried Yohei will leak mission information, but that doesn't seem like it. It looks more like he's preventing Yohei from escaping.

After packing up the necessary supplies, Yohei looked at the team members beside him and said, "Kakashi, you will be temporarily acting as Captain while I'm gone. I hope you will take good care of them."

"Ah~ Cousin, why make Kakashi the Captain? I can be one too!" Obito immediately objected, saying that he would be fine with anyone as Captain, but not Kakashi.

However, Yohei ignored his protests and delivered a karate chop to Obito's head, silencing him physically. He then nodded to everyone, turned, and left the tent with the messenger ninja.

Following the messenger ninja to the Camp gate, Yohei found two ninjas already waiting there. Looking at them, he realized they were quite unfamiliar, not the ninjas he usually knew. This puzzled him; it was strange that there were ninjas he didn't recognize in the Camp.

The two ninjas seemed to be very outgoing, greeting Yohei warmly upon his arrival.

"Hello, Captain, I'm Kudo. Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Sato, nice to meet you!"

Yohei thought to himself, "Kudo and Sato, what a coincidence."

"Hello, I'm Yohei Uchiha. Please take care of me." Yohei also said politely, "And you said I'm the Captain?"

Before Kudo and Sato could reply, the messenger ninja answered, "Yes, this mission will be carried out by the three of you, with Yohei Uchiha as the Captain. Do you have any further questions?"

Yohei looked at Shuangteng, and seeing that neither of them answered, he shook his head as well.

"In that case, my mission is over. I wish you all a successful mission. Farewell!" After saying that, he didn't wait for anyone's reply and Body Flicker disappeared.

Yohei muttered to himself, "I've never seen a messenger ninja like this before," but he didn't say anything. He simply turned to Shuang Teng and said, "In that case, let's set off. We still have two days' journey to our destination."

"Yes, Captain!"*2

The two-day journey was neither short nor long. It was also a very new experience for Yohei, as it was his first time carrying out a mission alone with people outside his team.

Therefore, Yohei was quite excited at the beginning of the mission, and as the Captain, it was his duty to understand the strength of the team members and adjust the team atmosphere.

So, Yohei always tried to find topics to chat with Kudo and Sato, but gradually, Yohei found something was off. How to put it, although the two of them seemed to be talking and laughing with you, their laughter was superficial and gave you a rather fake feeling.

After the initial novelty wore off, Yohei realized that these two guys were not like him, and that their connection was probably just a coincidence for this mission.

So in the following days, apart from giving necessary instructions, Yohei gradually reduced the number of times he spoke to them. The three of them crossed the border of the Land of Rivers and entered the Land of Rain in this eerie calm.

On the third day at noon, the three-person team finally arrived at the designated meeting point for the mission.

Looking at the hidden cave in front of him, Yohei checked the surrounding landmarks again and again, and finally confirmed that the location was correct. This made him even more worried. Who chose this meeting place? It was hidden, but what if the enemy blocked the entrance? Wouldn't that be a matter of life and death?

Despite his grumbling, the mission still had to be carried out. Kudo went into the cave first, and after confirming that it was safe inside, he called Yohei and Sato to come in as well.

As Yohei Ping entered the cave, his initial grumbling turned into dissatisfaction. The narrow cavern was so cramped that there wasn't even room to move around. Yohei decided that he would definitely mention this in his mission report when he got back. These ninjas who conducted the initial Scout had absolutely no manners. Meeting them here was worse than meeting them in public, where at least he wouldn't have to worry about being ambushed.

Time passed in Yohei's mind, and about an hour later, a noise came from the cave entrance. Yohei and the other two immediately perked up.

Just then, three long and two short bird calls came from the cave entrance. This was the agreed-upon signal. Yohei Ping looked delighted, as everything seemed normal. He then responded with two long and three short bird calls in return to the outside sounds.

A moment later, a tall, slender, Masked Man walked in from the cave entrance. He wore no identification and recited a pre-arranged key number as he walked.

Only then did Yohei finally feel relieved and step forward from the deepest part of the cave, with Shuang Teng and the other two following closely behind.

Yohei and the Masked Man stopped when they were about two meters apart, a relatively safe distance that every ninja would unconsciously maintain when interacting with strangers.

"Information?" Yohei spoke first. This mission was quite unpleasant for him, and he felt awkward at every turn.

"Here." With a rather indifferent reply, the Masked Man took out a scroll from his Ninja Tool Pouch and casually stepped forward to hand it to Yohei.

Yohei smoothly took the scroll, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face. He flipped through it a couple of times and was about to start checking if there were any errors in the Secret Rune on the scroll when he realized that the Masked Man in front of him was still standing there and had no intention of backing away.

Before he could say anything, the mutation occurred.

The Masked Man in front of him suddenly reached forward with his right hand, his two fingers curling towards Yohei's eyes. In the nick of time, Yohei Ping didn't even have time to think and instinctively retreated.

However, at that moment, a sharp whooshing sound came from behind, the sound of Kunai thrusting rapidly.

At that moment, Yohei immediately realized that this was a trap, a trap specifically designed for him, and that he was now caught in the trap, caught in a pincer movement, with no way to escape.

At this critical moment, Yohei remained unusually calm. Among the three, the Masked Man in front of him was the strongest, and he seemed to be a Jonin. Kudo and Sato behind him were slightly weaker, at most at the level of elite Chunin.

Time was of the essence for Yohei. He activated the life-saving talisman made by Taiichi in his chest with a thought, and the Sealing Talisman under his feet flashed by. The Masked Man in front of him was instantly immobilized, like an insect frozen in amber. At this moment, his finger was only a finger's width away from Yohei's eye.

But the crisis was not over yet. The Mangekyō Sharingan was activated immediately, and Susanoo was summoned simultaneously. With the time bought by the Sealing Talisman, Susanoo's skeleton appeared behind Yohei first.

With two sharp clangs of metal, the skeleton deflected the sneak attack from behind.

Then the bones spread forward, enveloping Yohei entirely in Susanoo's palm.

With this layer of protection, Yohei no longer dodged. He stopped retreating, ignored the two people behind him, and charged directly at the Masked Man in front of him.

In the brief span of a second, the Masked Man broke free from the Sealing Talisman. Looking at Yohei charging towards him, he knew his sneak attack had failed. There was no room for retreat; he had no choice but to fight head-on.

With a roar, he signaled the failure of the first plan, and then accelerated towards Yohei.

In close combat, Yohei, protected by the Susanoo skeleton, was naturally unafraid. The already narrow cave was completely blocked by the skeleton, leaving no room for either side to maneuver.

This actually benefited Yohei's attack. He entrusted all his defense to Susanoo Skeleton, enduring the Masked Man's attacks and thrusting his Kunai towards the man's vitals.

This was a clash of titans, but not a guaranteed victory for the brave. Although both were Jonin, it was a battle of armor against unarmored opponents. There was no time to dodge or unleash Ninjutsu, and the outcome was already decided.

"Whoosh!" That was the sound of Kunai striking Susanoo.

"Sizzle"—that was the sound of Kunai piercing the heart.

Having landed a Kunai blow, Yohei didn't even waste time drawing his kunai. He pushed the Masked Man's corpse aside and charged outwards, his hands flying across the battlefield.

Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique.

A blazing Fireball was unleashed by Yohei, instantly filling the entire cave passage and pushing outwards.

The ninjas lying in ambush outside the cave knew their plan had failed as soon as they heard the howling sound. Three masked ninjas, under the command of a cat- Jonin, immediately rushed into the cave in an attempt to support their comrades inside.

They had only taken a few steps when the three of them had to come to an abrupt stop and frantically try to retreat.

There was no way around it; the flames surging out of the cave didn't care who they were; anything that stood in their way was burned away.

Three figures burst out of the cave amidst flames, a sight that drastically changed the expressions of the ninjas lying in ambush outside. The reversal had come too quickly; they hadn't even had time to adjust.

Immediately after, another figure burst out of the flames, but as he rushed out, he didn't forget to turn back and fire another Great Fireball into the cave.

Ignoring the screams coming from inside the cave, he turned around and angrily faced the group of enemies outside.

"Who are you, daring to disguise yourselves as Konoha Ninja and ambush me!"

At this moment, Yohei's intelligence was definitely online. He defined these people as disguised Konoha Ninja, and no matter what the final outcome was, he would be invincible.

"You inherently evil Uchiha brat, how dare you kill Konoha Ninja! Surrender now and come back with us to receive your punishment!" the leading cat-faced ninja coldly rebuked.

Yohei looked at the cat-faced ninja who spoke with an expression of utter disbelief, wondering if he had something wrong with his head. Everyone else was trying to kill him, did they expect him to just stand there and not fight back?

It was only then that he had time to carefully observe the people outside, including the three ninjas burned by the Great Fireball. There were a total of three teams of 12 ninjas outside.

Judging from their attire—wrapped in black robes and wearing masks—they looked exactly like ninjas from the Anbu).

Yohei then had a guess in his mind; these were probably the Root ninja that Taiichi and his clan had warned him about before.

He truly hadn't expected that Taiichi and his clan's worries would come true. Konoha High Command had actually attempted to assassinate him, Uchiha ninja, for the sake of the so-called greater good or for personal gain.

Even now, experiencing it firsthand, he finds it hard to believe.

"A bunch of cowards who don't even dare to show their faces think they can make me surrender? If you're so capable, come and try me yourself!" Yohei wasn't easily intimidated. With his Susanoo activated, he wasn't afraid of these Root ninja at all.

"As expected, the Uchiha harbored rebellious intentions all along, daring to openly defy Root's orders! Attack! Capture him, regardless of his life!"

At the command of the cat-faced ninja, the 12 ninjas immediately dispersed. Three of them charged directly at Yohei, six stood scattered and began to Hand Seals to release Ninjutsu, one was surrounded by a swarm of black insects, one's shadow stretched out beneath his feet, and one spread out his body with his hands forming a triangle shape, aiming at Yohei.

Aburame, Nara, Yamanaka —these are the clan ninjas that Yohei can recognize. He doesn't know if there are any other secret technique ninjas among them.

Yohei didn't dare to be careless. His Mangekyō Sharingan spun faster, and Susanoo, which originally only had one fist, quickly extended its body. Soon, a skeleton with only an upper body enveloped Yohei, and he himself moved directly from his palm to Susanoo's chest.

At this moment, he started running quickly, giving Aburame and the Yamanaka Clan ninja no chance. Only when he was truly facing the siege of these elite ninjas did he realize just how much pressure there was.

As the close-combat ninja drew near, he controlled Susanoo's arms to swing wildly. He didn't use any special techniques; his main attack was sheer force. Any ninja hit, whether they tried to use the momentum or block, was sent flying with a single slap. It was truly a case of being injured if grazed and killed if touched.

Yohei would dodge those ranged Ninjutsu attacks if he could, and if he couldn't avoid them, he would rely on Susanoo to withstand them.

It was at this moment that Yohei realized that facing Tailed Beast and facing a ninja were two completely different concepts.

When dealing with Tailed Beast, you only need to consider the clash of power; Tailed Beast won't play games with you. But it's different with ninjas. Many of those bizarre Ninjutsu can bypass Susanoo's defense and attack their main body.

Just like now, two close-combat ninjas risked serious injury to block Susanoo for a moment. Immediately afterward, two Earth Wall rose up, trapping Susanoo in the middle from the left and right, making it difficult for him to move.

Although Yohei broke free in just a moment, that brief delay allowed the Mind Disturbance Jutsu from the Yamanaka to strike Yohei.

For a moment, the entire Susanoo, though not completely destroyed, came to a halt.

"Quick, I can't hold out much longer, his resistance is fierce!" the Yamanaka Clan ninja shouted, reminding his companions.

The next moment, a long shadow wrapped around Susanoo's shadow, further controlling Susanoo's movements. At the same time, all sorts of Ninjutsu bombarded Susanoo, including lightning strikes, Kazekiri, and fire attacks, all of which continuously weakened Susanoo's defenses.

After Yohei finally broke free from the mental control in the Yamanaka, the once tall Susanoo was now broken and battered. Even Yohei inside was affected by the attack, with a large gash cut into his right arm.

Now Yohei realized that he had underestimated others. The strength that could be unleashed through the tacit cooperation between different ninjas was far more than just 1+1=2; it was a qualitative change.

If you don't have the strength to crush everything, then you can't ignore this tacit cooperation.

The Mangekyō Sharingan spun wildly, blood streaming down its face. With the infusion of ocular power and Chakra, the already damaged Susanoo grew taller, and muscles and fascia covered its skeleton.

The immense power immediately broke free from the Shadow Possession Jutsu, Susanoo swept his arms horizontally, clearing the surrounding area.

Now, the second match officially begins.