Ambush

After searching for a while, Uchiha Akira stopped his movements.

He had shattered several blocks of charred remains nearly ten meters in size, yet he found no trace of the Demonic Statue's husk inside.

Everything had been reduced to lightning-struck wood by his Lightning Style.

How many years of lightning-struck wood would this count as? Looking at the charcoal scattered across the ground, Uchiha Akira inexplicably found this thought crossing his mind.

At that moment, Uchiha Akira's expression shifted. He cast a subtle glance in a certain direction, and his face rapidly paled.

His entire body looked as if it had suffered a grievous injury.

Before long, the sound of rapid footsteps approached, and two figures closed in from the distance.

The arrivals were none other than Hyuga Kaoru and Aburame Shigang.

Upon arriving, Hyuga Kaoru immediately looked at Uchiha Akira and asked, "Captain, are you alright?"

The scale of Uchiha Akira's Lightning Style just now had exceeded the observation range of her Byakugan, so she was unsure of the situation on the battlefield.

"I'm fine, just sustained some injuries." Uchiha Akira shook his head, looked at the two, and asked, "Where is Yamanaka Shigeyoshi?"

"Shigeyoshi... he sacrificed himself." Hyuga Kaoru lowered her head slightly, her voice sounding heavy.

"I see." Uchiha Akira nodded, showing a hint of regret.

"Captain, has the enemy been dealt with?" Aburame Shigang scanned his surroundings vigilantly.

"Only temporarily repelled; we cannot let our guard down." Uchiha Akira shook his head.

"A Lightning Style of that scale couldn't kill the enemy?" Aburame Shigang's eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses, finding it hard to believe.

Hyuga Kaoru's delicate face was also full of astonishment; she truly could not imagine any ninjutsu capable of withstanding the Lightning Style she had just witnessed.

In her view, even if the Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen, known as the strongest Hokage, had been here, he would have ended up reduced to ashes.

"What kind of enemy is this..." Hyuga Kaoru murmured, then looked at Uchiha Akira, asking in confusion, "Captain, is the person possessing the Rinnegan really that powerful?"

Hearing her words, Aburame Shigang also turned his gaze toward Uchiha Akira.

"The person with the Rinnegan is indeed incredibly powerful." Uchiha Akira nodded and said in a deep voice:

"I can feel that his mastery over the power of the Rinnegan is not yet refined; he is still somewhat inexperienced. It is foreseeable that this person's strength will see massive growth in the future."

"He can get even stronger?" Aburame Shigang's usually expressionless face twitched.

Uchiha Akira glanced at him and nodded. "Of course. That person looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old; clearly, he has immense room for growth."

"You don't need to worry too much, though. My Lightning Style just now injured him quite severely. He won't be able to recover for at least ten days or half a month." Uchiha Akira said indifferently.

He then ordered, "The two of you, clean up the battlefield."

"Yes, Captain." Aburame Shigang and Hyuga Kaoru replied in low voices.

While the two were clearing the battlefield, Uchiha Akira walked to the side of some rubble, green light glowing on his hands as he feigned using Medical Ninjutsu to treat himself.

Based on his suspicions, there was definitely a mole for Danzo within his small squad.

This mole was either Aburame Shigang or Yamanaka Shigeyoshi.

Uchiha Akira had no intention of letting this mole return alive.

The reason he was putting on this display now was to lure the traitor into making the first move, making it easier for him to justify eliminating them.

If no one made a move, Uchiha Akira planned to find an opportunity to use genjutsu to get to the bottom of things.

On the other side.

Aburame Shigang appeared to be diligently cleaning the battlefield, but in reality, he was observing Uchiha Akira with divided attention.

He doesn't seem to be as lightly injured as he claims... Behind his sunglasses, a cold glint flashed in Aburame Shigang's eyes.

As a member of the Root, he had received orders from the supreme leader of the Root, the Hokage Assistant Danzo, before departing.

During this mission, if the opportunity arose, he was to kill Uchiha Akira.

That was his true mission!

He is indeed heavily injured; my chance must be coming soon. Aburame Shigang's heart stirred as he caught a glimpse of Uchiha Akira quietly coughing up a mouthful of blood. The power of the Rinnegan is truly terrifying. Upon returning to Konoha, I must warn Lord Danzo to be wary of the Rinnegan!

A rustling sound came as the insects on Aburame Shigang's body continuously gnawed at the charred husk of the Demonic Statue.

Suddenly, his gaze froze, staring fixedly at a piece of charcoal the size of a person's torso. The insects there were transmitting a wave of fear and submission.

What exactly did that Lightning Style strike? Why are my insects feeling fear?

Aburame Shigang pried open the charcoal, revealing a piece of withered wood several dozen centimeters long.

"A branch?" Seeing what was inside the charcoal, Aburame Shigang was stunned, never expecting it to be a piece of wood.

Perhaps this is an opportunity!

Looking at the exposed wood, Aburame Shigang cast a subtle glance at Uchiha Akira, only to see him still focused on his healing.

"Captain, I've found something here." With that thought, Aburame Shigang immediately waved and shouted toward Uchiha Akira.

As a member of the Root, he never lacked decisiveness.

Uchiha Akira, who was feigning treatment, opened his eyes, looked toward the source of the voice, and shouted, "What did you find?"

"Over here, I found a piece of deadwood inside these charred remains. Captain, come take a look and see what's going on," Aburame Shigang shouted.

"Be there in a second," Uchiha Akira's voice drifted over from afar.

Hearing their exchange, Hyuga Kaoru, who was on guard duty, couldn't help but cast her gaze toward Aburame Shigang's position.

Just moments ago, she had discovered that her Byakugan was unable to fully peer through the charred remains at the scene.

This point troubled her, but she had no intention of speaking up; this concerned the capabilities of the Byakugan, after all.

If she said something and it were used against her later, that would be bad. At the end of the day, she was merely a member of the Branch Family.

She had no desire to experience the sensation of the Caged Bird Seal activating ever again.

Seeing Uchiha Akira gradually approaching, Aburame Shigang did not display anything out of the ordinary.

He stood quietly to the side, waiting.

"Captain, this is what I found inside the charcoal," Aburame Shigang said, pointing to the grey-yellow deadwood that was only partially exposed from within the charred debris.

Watching the grey-yellow deadwood gradually getting soaked by the rain, he asked with confusion, "Captain, what exactly is this? Could the enemy be capable of using Wood Release?"

"It's not Wood Release. This is something the enemy summoned; I don't know what it is either," Uchiha Akira said as he stepped forward, stooping down to observe it closely.

As Aburame Shigang watched Uchiha Akira examining the deadwood, a chilling glint flickered in his eyes beneath his dark sunglasses.

He moved to Uchiha Akira's side without a sound, feigning a look of careful observation, and spoke, "Could it be some kind of special Summoning Beast?"

"I don't know," Uchiha Akira shook his head, continuing to observe the piece of deadwood intently.

"Captain, at that time..." As he spoke, a Kunai gleaming with a cold light appeared in Aburame Shigang's hand, and with a puchi sound, he drove it directly into Uchiha Akira's abdomen.

"Got him!" Feeling the resistance of the Kunai, the corners of Aburame Shigang's mouth curled up into a triumphant smile.

However, the very next moment, his smile froze.

With a crackle, the Uchiha Akira who had been pierced by the Kunai transformed into a blinding flash of lightning, instantly engulfing Aburame Shigang.