Deidara's Bad Luck

It was broad daylight, yet there wasn't a soul in sight.

The doors of the shops and homes on both sides were shut tight. The empty street was so clean it looked like a ghost town.

Wasn't Konoha supposed to be the most prosperous city in the Ninja World? Why hadn't they seen a single person since entering?

Biwa Juzo reacted almost at once, raising the Kubikiribōchō across his side while shielding Deidara.

It was a trap!

"You noticed the trap. Impressive, as expected of one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. But that's all I can praise you for."

Uchiha Hikari's cool voice came from around the corner of a building, her words practically begging for a beating.

Uchiha Hikari might have been the one getting bullied whenever she was around Xuanye, but there was more to her than her bratty attitude.

Over the past few years, Xuanye had poured considerable resources into her. Supplements and medicinal baths had restored her depleted body, and nearly every expert in Konoha had served as her sparring partner.

The Uchiha had always been gifted fighters. Even without using her Sharingan, Uchiha Hikari now had the combat strength of an Elite Jonin at the very least.

And that wasn't all. Before this military exercise, Xuanye had used his own ocular technique to strengthen her Mangekyō a little...

It was bound to leave some jaws on the floor.

"A kid?"

Seeing that Konoha had sent a girl in her teens to deal with them, Deidara lifted his chin and said disdainfully:

"Little girl, where are your parents? Tell them to come out. I'm not interested in fighting a girl like you."

Uchiha Hikari's height and build had barely changed in the past few years. To outsiders, she looked like a child who