Kumogakure Elite Squad

Matsumoto Ryūichi shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, his hands forming seals: "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

A gale whipped up fallen leaves and dust, instantly shrouding the entire clearing.

The Kumogakure group reacted with lightning speed, leaping and scattering almost the moment the wind rose.

But the instant their vision was disrupted, Matsumoto Ryūichi locked onto the red-haired kunoichi, his kunai imbued with wind-attribute Chakra thrusting straight for her throat!

"Konoha trash!" the bald leader roared, his right arm instantly enveloped in blinding lightning as he prepared to pounce on Matsumoto Ryūichi.

Then, he stopped.

It wasn't that he wanted to stop.

It was his body—it had suddenly become incredibly heavy.

Every muscle, every bone felt like it had been filled with lead; even lifting a finger was a struggle.

It wasn't just him; aside from the red-haired kunoichi currently locked in combat with Matsumoto Ryūichi, the other four Kumogakure ninja remained frozen in place, expressions of horror and disbelief etched onto their faces.

Reiatsu suppression.

Reiatsu reaching the captain level was enough to affect any ninja below the Kage level.

Let alone these ordinary Jonin.

Uchiha Ryūha didn't even draw his blade.

He simply walked calmly up to the bald leader.

He watched as the veins on the man's forehead bulged, the man desperately trying to mobilize his Chakra to no avail.

"You..."

"Shh." Uchiha Ryūha extended his index finger, pressing it lightly against his own lips.

The next second, his figure blurred.

Or rather, it wasn't a blur; he was simply moving at the extreme limit of speed.

From the corner of his eye, Matsumoto Ryūichi saw only a few afterimages flickering between the rigid Kumogakure ninja.

With every flicker, a spray of blood bloomed.

Throats, hearts, napes, temples.

All fatal points, all struck with the simplest, most direct stabs or slashes.

There was no exchange of Ninjutsu, no Taijutsu struggle, not even the sound of clashing blades.

There was only the dull, short thwip of sharp steel slicing through flesh and severing windpipes.

The four Kumogakure Chunin, including the bald leader, became four corpses slowly collapsing to the ground in less than three seconds.

Only then did the red-haired kunoichi force Matsumoto Ryūichi back with a Lightning Release: Senbon, looking toward this side in terror.

When she saw her leader's wide-eyed gaze and the fountain of blood gushing from his throat, she screamed:

"Monster—!"

She turned to run.

"Binding Way #4: Crawling Rope."

Uchiha Ryūha raised his hand, tapping his index finger lightly.

A yellow rope of light manifested out of thin air, precisely binding the kunoichi's ankles.

She stumbled and fell, and before she could even struggle, Matsumoto Ryūichi's kunai was pressed against her back, right over her heart.

"Don't kill me! I surrender! I have intelligence!" the kunoichi shrieked.

Uchiha Ryūha walked over and crouched in front of her.

The kunoichi looked up, meeting those calm, ripple-less black eyes, and felt the blood in her veins turn to ice.

"Where is the Two-Tails Jinchuriki?" Uchiha Ryūha asked.

"I—I don't know the exact location! But Yugito-sama is within the borders of the Land of Hot Water! She is leading a team to wipe out Konoha's reconnaissance squads; we are a scout detachment supporting her operations!"

"How many people?"

"Including Yugito-sama, there are thirty of us! All are Chunin or above; the mission is to clear out all Konoha eyes and ears within the Land of Hot Water to pave the way for the follow-up forces!"

"What are your rendezvous points and communication methods?"

"An abandoned temple twenty kilometers to the northeast! We use lightning signal flares to communicate; green means safe, red means enemy contact and request for reinforcements."

Uchiha Ryūha nodded and stood up.

"Y-you said you wouldn't kill those who surrendered..." the kunoichi's voice trembled.

"Did I?" Uchiha Ryūha looked toward Matsumoto Ryūichi.

Matsumoto Ryūichi shook his head in silence.

The kunai descended.

The kunoichi's body twitched twice, then went still.

The battle was over.

From start to finish, it had taken less than a minute.

Haruno Kazuya and Fujiwara Itsuki hadn't even formally engaged the two Genin before Uchiha Ryūha had resolved everything.

The two Kumogakure Genin tried to flee, but Uchiha Ryūha casually flicked two shuriken that pinned their knees, leaving them wailing on the ground.

"Clear the battlefield," Uchiha Ryūha ordered.

Matsumoto Ryūichi and the two Genin began scavenging the ninja tool pouches and scrolls from the corpses.

Once they were finished, Uchiha Ryūha walked to the center of the clearing, looked at the six bodies, and slowly raised his right hand.

"Way of Destruction No. 54: Abolishing Flame."

Purple flames surged from his palm.

These were no ordinary flames; they possessed almost no heat, yet carried a heart-stopping chill that seemed capable of devouring all vitality.

The flames landed on the corpses, not burning or exploding, but "melting" them like strong acid—

Flesh, bone, clothing, and ninja tools decomposed and vaporized silently within the purple flames, leaving not even a trace of ash behind.

In just over ten seconds, the six corpses, along with bloodstains and signs of battle, had completely vanished.

All that remained was a scorched, circular patch of earth where nothing would ever grow again.

Haruno Kazuya stared blankly at the charred ground, then at Uchiha Ryūha's calm profile, and suddenly shivered.

Destroying the evidence.

So practiced, so... indifferent.

"Ryūha-kun, these two..." Fujiwara Itsuki pointed at the two Kumogakure Genin, who were trembling as they remained pinned by the shuriken.

Uchiha Ryūha glanced at them.

"Abolishing Flame" descended once more.

The screams lasted only half a second before vanishing entirely as the purple flames spread.

"Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself," Uchiha Ryūha said, withdrawing his hand as if he had merely brushed off some dust.

"On the battlefield, a captive has only one value: information. Once an enemy has provided information, they are no longer a source—they are a burden and a risk."

He looked at his two pale-faced Genin teammates, his tone as flat as if he were delivering a lecture:

"Remember, this is war, not a game. Cast aside your useless sympathy; it will only make you die faster."

With that, he turned and walked into the depths of the forest.

Matsumoto Ryūichi was the first to follow, his steps firm.

Haruno Kazuya and Fujiwara Itsuki exchanged a look, both seeing the shattering of something within the other's eyes, and the subsequent hardening of something new in its place.

Gritting their teeth, they followed.

The team set off again.

But Uchiha Ryūha did not immediately head toward the abandoned shrine to the northeast.

Instead, he turned southeast, entering a hilly region with more complex terrain.

"Ryūha-sama, the direction is wrong," Matsumoto Ryūichi whispered a reminder.

The former Jonin instructor had fully accepted his new status, positioning himself as a subordinate.

"It is correct," Uchiha Ryūha said, not slowing his pace. "Some tails need to be dealt with first."

"Tails?"

Uchiha Ryūha did not explain.

But his Reiatsu perception remained locked on the rear—about one kilometer away.

Four cold, expertly hidden presences, like maggots on a bone, had been following them ever since they left the Konoha outpost.

Root.

Four of them, all at the Jonin level.

Their stealth skills were top-tier, and they maintained the perfect distance.

They were close enough not to lose the trail, yet far enough to avoid detection by standard sensory ninja.

"Shimura Danzō-sama is truly thoughtful," Uchiha Ryūha smiled silently. "Afraid I might be lonely on the battlefield, he even sent bodyguards."