Forcefully Ascend

"Captain, don't we need to interrogate them for intelligence?!"

Two minutes later, Hideki finished off his opponent. Covered in sweat, he looked at the four corpses and asked, puzzled.

"They were merely an infiltration squad!" Fushan said coldly. "And that is not our mission!"

"But...!"

"Let's go. Let's finish our own mission first!"

"Yes!"

Hideki felt somewhat dissatisfied. He was a tsundere youth by nature, and tsundere youths always had delusions of grandeur.

Wiping out a Rock Ninja squad was at least a B-rank mission, which to him represented decent credentials and, of course, bragging rights. Now that the mission reward was gone, he was naturally unhappy.

Fushan knew what he was thinking but didn't care. His team members were too young and didn't understand the subtle relationship between the clan and the village, especially at a time like this—the less trouble, the better.

If you claimed to have encountered and wiped out a Rock Ninja squad while leaving the village, it would be a credential for an ordinary ninja. But for the Uchiha clan, it might invite suspicion: why did you happen to run into them when no one else did?

Of course, such suspicion wouldn't be deep, and it would pass after a wave of scrutiny, but Suifeng was in his team now, and there could be no mistakes. The best approach was to complete the current mission first and then decide how to explain it to the village after returning to the clan.

This was one of the common traits of Uchiha clan ninjas: family first, village second.

Hideki fell silent and said nothing more. Fushan was the captain; since he had made the decision, there was no room for his subordinates to argue.

"Suifeng, what you used just now was...!"

"It should be Lava Release. I don't know how it happened; I only discovered it a few days ago. My Fire Release suddenly mutated. I asked the Great Elder about it and learned that it is Lava Release!"

"Lava Release, is that also a Kekkei Genkai?!"

"Lava Release is a Kekkei Genkai formed by the fusion of Fire-style chakra and Earth-style chakra!"

Fushan, walking in front, interjected, "It is very powerful, but it has its drawbacks. It cannot compare to the Sharingan!"

"Oh!" Haku nodded, though he couldn't help but feel envious in his heart. This was a Kekkei Genkai, after all. Although the Uchiha clan all possessed a Kekkei Genkai, they were all the same type, which could lead to aesthetic fatigue. Now that Suifeng had suddenly displayed another one, and such a powerful one at that, envy was only natural.

Regarding this, Fushan said nothing more.

Suifeng's awakening of the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai had also caused quite a stir during the clan's Jonin meeting. After some discussion, everyone felt there was no need to hide it.

After all, the Uchiha clan was already a powerful Kekkei Genkai clan, and the difference between Lava Release and Fire Release was too great to be concealed. Instead of hiding it, it was better to use it for publicity, firmly establishing Suifeng's persona as a genius and boosting the clan's prestige.

"Lava Release has advantages over Fire Release, but the foundation of our Uchiha clan remains the Sharingan, understand?!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The journey continued in silence, and as dawn approached, the four finally arrived at their destination.

This was a stockade located deep in the mountains.

The natural environment of the ninja world was excellent, especially in the Land of Fire. Whether it was due to the First Hokage's influence or something else, everywhere outside of human settlements was covered in dense forests. Some old-growth forests were filled with trees over a century old; even on a sunny day, once you entered the woods, it became gloomy.

The mountain here was not particularly high, and it was close to the nearby Xiaolu Mountain City. While not a major thoroughfare, it was a place with dense human traffic.

Three months ago, a group of rogue ninjas occupied this place and built a stockade in the deep forest, specializing in robbing passing travelers and merchants. They had almost cut off the traffic in this area, severely affecting the operation of Xiaolu Mountain City. Inside the mountain city, some merchants who frequently used this route commissioned Konoha to deal with this group of rogue ninjas.

"The defense is quite tight!"

Standing atop a tree over ten zhang tall, looking at the stockade several miles away, Suifeng had his first impression.

"According to the intelligence, there is one Jonin in this stockade, along with five or six Chunin and a dozen or so low-level ninjas. They are all rogue ninjas from the war. I will handle the Jonin; the others are left to you."

For a major hidden village like Konoha, these rogue ninjas posed little threat. Even the Jonin was only at that level because the amount of chakra they refined had reached the Jonin threshold; in terms of combat experience and methods, they were far inferior to Konoha.

It was only because the war had just ended not long ago that some of these ninjas had experienced combat, which was why this mission was classified as B-rank.

As Fushan gave the signal, Suifeng and the other two slid silently from the trees and crept toward the stockade.

...I am a dividing line...

"Boss, how much longer are we staying here? We've looted so much this time; we should leave sooner. After all, this is the Land of Fire. If we attract Konoha ninjas, it will be troublesome!"

Inside the stockade, a thin ninja wearing a Kirigakure headband said. On the headband, a sharp knife mark had cut the Kirigakure symbol in two.

"Hmph, so what if they are Konoha ninjas? Based on what we've done, even if Konoha sends ninjas, it will be a squad at most. We have so many people here; are we really afraid of them?!"

"But...!"

"The boss is right. Even if Konoha sends people, the first group will definitely just be a squad. We can handle them!" The speaker was a tall, thin ninja whose eyes, narrow like thin leaves, flashed with a cruel light. "It won't be too late to leave after we eat that squad. It will be just the right time to settle the score from the war!"

Most of the ninjas present were defeated soldiers who had fought against Konoha during the Second Great Ninja War. They had left their villages for various reasons and became rogue ninjas. Although they were rogue ninjas, their hatred for Konoha had not dissipated; instead, it had grown more intense with time.

"Then it's decided. Everyone, stay alert these next few days. Don't let Konoha people sneak in. Once we kill the Konoha ninjas, we leave!"

"Yes!"

Several ninjas responded in unison. They had no objections to killing Konoha ninjas.

The Kirigakure rogue ninja saw that everyone was in agreement and felt quite helpless.

Outside the stockade, Suifeng and his team had already infiltrated.

"These guys' defenses are really quite tight!"

Although the people were few, the stockade wasn't large either. There were five ninjas patrolling, and they remained in a state of high alert. Judging by their momentum and movements, they were definitely veterans of the war.

Suifeng hid behind a large tree, his gaze shifting around the rogue ninjas. Most of the time, he could only peek with the corner of his eye. They were all ninjas, and even low-level ones had sharp instincts; if he stared with hostile intent for too long, they would notice.

"The mountain stronghold is built against the slope with only one entrance and exit. The chances of sneaking in using Earth Release are slim, so that leaves only...!"

As Suifeng pondered this, he saw Haku and Hideki charge out simultaneously.

Damn, you two are way too reckless!

Just then, pink feathers began to drift down in patches. The patrolling ninjas froze in place; the genin among them collapsed instantly. Two chunin, sensing something was wrong, began forming hand seals, but before they could complete the first one, Haku and Hideki were already behind them, reaping their lives with kunai.

Demonic Illusion: Temple of Nirvana

Suifeng knew Fushan had made his move.

Since Fushan had already struck, there was no reason to hesitate, and he charged out immediately.

BOOM!!

Almost the moment he rushed out, the ground shook, and a dozen massive fissures erupted from the center of the stronghold.

Earth Release: Earth-Splitting Palm

Another Earth Release technique!

Suifeng cursed under his breath, leaped into the air, and formed hand seals. A fireball the size of a ping-pong ball spat from his mouth, expanding instantly in mid-air. By the time it hit the ground, it had become a roaring, two-meter-wide sphere of molten rock, rolling rapidly toward the center of the stronghold.

Lava Release: Lava Ball