The Targeted Sealed Ruins

Yusuke's shadow clone moved like a falling leaf, trailing silently behind Hyuga Aya's shadow clone.

After crossing several miles of scorched earth and broken walls, the fluctuations of chakra ahead became increasingly distinct.

Judging by the lack of noise, they aren't fighting, yet the chakra fluctuations are shifting with eerie speed, Yusuke muttered to himself.

In the center of a relatively intact ruin, a pale purple sealing barrier flickered in and out of existence.

Runes flowed across its surface, making it appear difficult to break, but its intermittent dimming suggested it would not last much longer.

Outside the barrier, two groups of people stood in stark contrast.

One group wore Cloud Village headbands, their muscles knotted and their gazes fierce—a typical style of the Land of Lightning.

The other group was dressed as Konoha Anbu, their faces covered by animal masks, yet Yusuke spotted the difference at a glance.

Those "Anbu" stood with excessive rigidity, their eyes revealing a dead, icy coldness through the mask apertures.

Their chakra, in particular, carried the damp, viscous sensation unique to Root ninjas.

What a coincidence, running into Root here.

But Hyuga Aya must have discovered something to come and investigate alone, Yusuke sneered inwardly; she was truly an inscrutable character.

Both sides remained motionless for the moment, each having dispatched a single ninja to focus intently on breaking the seal, their methods different but equally concentrated.

The scene was like two packs of starving wolves circling the same piece of meat, neither daring to move first for fear of breaking the fragile balance, letting the prey slip away, or inviting the other to bite.

Dogs biting dogs? Just as I intended.

He needed chaos—a chaos that would force both sides into an all-out brawl.

Yusuke's gaze scanned the battlefield, and within moments, he had a plan.

Locking onto a Cloud ninja near the edge of the barrier, Yusuke performed rapid hand seals in the shadows.

The sound waves triggered by his chakra were directed toward the Cloud ninja, while a genjutsu was unleashed silently.

His goal was not a direct attack, but to distort the Cloud ninja's hearing and vision for a split second.

Almost simultaneously, Yusuke's shadow clone pulled a small pebble from his side and flicked his wrist, shooting it toward the Cloud ninja's feet.

"Shh—pop!"

To the genjutsu-afflicted Cloud ninja, this faint sound was amplified and distorted into the whistling noise of a Root ninja launching a sudden sneak attack.

In his peripheral vision, he seemed to glimpse a black shadow striking his companion.

"Bastards, Konoha scum!"

"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

The hot-headed Cloud ninja didn't think twice; with a roar, lightning flashed in his hand, and a bolt of electricity blasted directly toward the nearest Root ninja.

The Root ninja reacted with lightning speed, dodging to the side as the bolt grazed his mask and exploded into a small crater on the scorched earth.

"Cloud has violated the agreement. Eliminate them!" the Root squad leader ordered, his voice cold and devoid of hesitation.

The balance shattered instantly!

Both sides, long since coiled like taut bowstrings, finally snapped; the light of ninjutsu, kunai, and explosive tags immediately flooded the ruins.

"Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear!"

"Lightning Style: Earth Flash!"

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Roars, explosions, and the clash of blades rang out incessantly.

Yusuke's shadow clone lurked quietly, like the most patient hunter, watching his prey tear each other apart.

He occasionally added a shuriken thrown from a tricky angle or a subtle genjutsu suggestion, constantly adding fuel to the fire of this slaughter.

The battle was exceptionally brutal.

The Cloud ninjas relied on the ferocity of their lightning-enhanced bodies to charge and strike, while Root resisted stubbornly with tacit coordination and a fearless, death-defying style.

Men fell one after another, blood staining the ground.

When the last Cloud jonin exhausted his chakra and sacrificed an arm to snap the neck of a Root member, only three Root ninjas remained standing, including the leader, though all were wounded and their chakra reserves were severely depleted.

Now!

Yusuke's shadow clone threw a kunai before quickly dispelling itself, the clone's memories instantly returning to the main body.

Yusuke, who had been meditating in the corner of the shrine, snapped his eyes open, a flash of brilliance passing through them.

He glanced at the real Hyuga Aya, who was still "keeping watch" in the tree, and a smile curled his lips.

"Flying Thunder God!"

After leaving a "was here" mark at the shrine, Yusuke's main body instantly arrived before the Flying Thunder God kunai left by his shadow clone.

The three Root ninjas gasped for breath, preparing to finish off the remaining enemies before continuing their work on the seal.

Suddenly, a specialized kunai descended from the sky, embedding itself in the center of the battlefield.

The next second, Yusuke's figure appeared out of thin air beside the kunai!

He didn't waste a single word; his greatsword was already in his grip, crackling with lightning and flames that coiled around the blade.

"Thunder-Fire Sword!"

The Root leader's pupils constricted sharply. Before he could process how this man had appeared, Yusuke had already swept past like a gale.

With a flash of sword light, an injured Root ninja sprayed blood from his throat and collapsed, dead.

"It's you! Ji!" The leader recognized Yusuke, his eyes filled with shock and rage. He forced his chakra to surge and charged forward, brandishing a short blade.

"Earth Style: Hardening Technique!"

His fist was covered in a layer of black, slamming fiercely toward Yusuke.

Yusuke didn't dodge or evade, instead swinging his greatsword horizontally.

"Boom!" The black-coated fist was shattered by the enchanted greatsword, sending the leader stumbling backward.

Another Root ninja launched a sneak attack from the flank, his kunai thrusting directly at Yusuke's ribs.

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Yusuke shifted his body slightly. His left hand shot out like lightning, precisely gripping the opponent's wrist, and he applied force.

"Snap!" The sound of the wrist bone shattering was clearly audible. Simultaneously, Yusuke's greatsword swept back, slicing the ninja in half at the waist!

Having dealt with two men in an instant, Yusuke locked his gaze onto the final Root leader.

Knowing he was outmatched, the leader quickly formed hand seals, attempting to flee.

But Yusuke was faster; he unleashed a burst of chakra beneath his feet and closed the distance in an instant!

"Genjutsu: Mist Servant Technique!"

The leader saw shadows of swords filling the air before his eyes, and his movements faltered.

In that split second of hesitation, the greatsword had already pierced his heart. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But he could only manage a few wheezing sounds, unable to utter a word before collapsing in resentment.

Yusuke pulled out his greatsword and flicked the blood droplets off it; the battlefield fell into absolute silence.

He sheathed his weapon and turned his gaze toward the direction where Hyuga Aya's shadow clone had been hiding, speaking calmly: "Come out, Aya. Have you seen enough of the show?"

After a brief silence, Hyuga Aya's shadow clone slowly stepped out from behind a pile of rubble. Her face remained expressionless, but a flicker of complexity crossed her pure white eyes.

"You noticed from the start." Her voice was cold.

"From the moment you formed the seals to create a clone." Yusuke looked at her. "What is inside the seal here? Is it worth you risking a solo operation?"

Hyuga Aya avoided Yusuke's gaze, looking instead at the crumbling seal barrier: "I'm not sure."

"It's just a hunch from my Byakugan; there is a very strong chakra reaction here."

She was clearly telling the truth, but not the whole truth.

Yusuke didn't press the issue, merely saying indifferently: "Remember our agreement."

"Mutual trust is the foundation of our cooperation. I hope this is the last time you hide things from me or act on your own."

Hyuga Aya nodded, her face devoid of emotion.

Just then, the pale purple seal barrier emitted an unbearable "humming" sound.

The light flickered rapidly a few times before finally shattering with a "pop," like a bubble, and dissipating completely.

Beneath the seal, a narrow pit half-buried by rubble was revealed.