A Baffling Assassination

Kirigakure, Silent Killing Technique.

Suifeng's expression turned exceptionally grim. With a movement of his feet, he once again carried Rin and another little girl out of the combat zone.

"Rin, you two head back first!"

"Suifeng, what is going on?!"

Only then did Rin react. Looking at the white mist gradually dispersing, she asked in terror.

"Kirigakure assassins. Their target is me. Leave here immediately to avoid getting caught in the crossfire!" Suifeng said in a low voice. The kunai from earlier had been aimed directly at him.

As he spoke, Suifeng's figure shot into the white mist with a "whoosh."

Clang, clang, clang...

Inside the mist, one could not even see their own hand in front of their face; even the Sharingan could not exert much effect.

His heart was now filled with questions. Kirigakure ninjas—how could they appear in Konoha? Although the Orphanage was remote, it was still within Konoha's borders and inside the village's barrier. Why was a Kirigakure ninja able to infiltrate the village without alerting Konoha?

And how did they know his patrol route?

It must be that bastard Danzo stirring up trouble!

Why think so much about such things? Just pinning the blame on the King of Pots is the right move.

Clang, clang, clang...

A series of metallic clashing sounds echoed in his ears, followed by a return to silence.

Suifeng's expression turned ugly.

Upon entering the mist, he finally realized where his weakness lay: his sensory perception was not strong. In this environment, lacking strong sensory abilities meant losing almost all initiative.

"Suifeng, take Hideki and the others and leave! I will deal with him!"

Uchiha Fukuyama's voice drifted, sounding near and far at once.

"It's too late, Captain! I can't find them anymore!"

In almost no time, the thick fog had shrouded this entire area, making it impossible to distinguish north from south.

Not good!!

Suddenly, his sense of alarm spiked. Pushing off the ground with force, he darted several meters away with a "whoosh."

A sharp gust of wind sliced through the spot where he had just been standing, but it was only an afterimage.

The figure that had suddenly appeared behind him seemed somewhat surprised; it flickered and vanished once more.

Following that, another series of metallic clashing sounds erupted.

"Damn it, this won't work!"

Under the shroud of white mist, he couldn't see the enemy at all, as if he were fighting an invisible person. Suifeng's mind raced.

"Wind Release: Gale Wind Technique!"

A great wind suddenly rose, and the mist surged violently. Suifeng's gaze shifted, the Two-Tomoe appearing in his eyes. Under the sweep of the gale, the surrounding mist thinned. Dimly, he saw two figures entangled about ten meters away.

Whoosh!!

Shave Body Flicker activated.

Bang!!

He kicked out, feeling as if he had struck a solid object. A tall, dark shadow was sent flying, disappearing back into the mist.

"Captain, are you alright?!"

Uchiha Fukuyama's face was pale, and there were multiple blade marks on his body, though the wounds were not deep—merely superficial.

Not bad! Uchiha Fukuyama secretly felt lucky. If he hadn't been practicing Iron Body recently and made significant progress, he would likely be heavily wounded by now.

"This Kirigakure ninja's Silent Killing Technique is very troublesome. Either one needs powerful sensory ninjutsu, or one must use Wind Release to blow away the thick fog; otherwise, it is very difficult to catch them. How are Hideki and Haku?!"

"I don't know. I haven't seen them either. But with such a commotion here, the Anbu should notice soon!"

The defensive power of Konoha was not just the Military Police Force, but also the Anbu. Trapped in the mist, it seemed they could only pin their hopes on the Anbu now.

"Don't count on the Anbu!" Uchiha Fukuyama shook his head. "We can't wait for the Anbu. This guy is a nuisance. I will now use my full power to disperse the mist, find him, and drive him back!"

"Understood!"

As they spoke, Uchiha Fukuyama formed hand seals, and the chakra around his body surged.

Seeing this, Suifeng activated Shave Body Flicker again, afterimages flashing around Fukuyama.

Wind Release: Violent Tornado

BOOM!!

A tornado, ten meters high, erupted from his hands, whipping up waves of white mist and instantly clearing the surrounding fog.

Uchiha Fukuyama's hands did not stop, continuously forming seals.

Wind Release: Fierce Wind Tornado

Wind Release: Fierce Wind Tornado

Wind Release: Gale Tornado

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Continuous tornadoes were released one after another.

"This..." The Kirigakure ninja, originally hidden within the mist, had not expected Uchiha Fukuyama to make such a choice.

Wind Release: Fierce Wind Tornado

This was a B-rank ninjutsu that released a massive tornado to disperse the mist. While the rank was high and the power released was not insignificant, its actual lethality was weak—one could even say it had no killing power at all. In other words, Uchiha Fukuyama had sacrificed lethality solely to blow the mist away.

"Could it be...!"

The next moment, an afterimage flashed by. A sharp, agonizing pain erupted from his crotch, and he couldn't help but let out a piercing scream. One hand clutched his groin, while the other swung his great blade horizontally, carving a circular arc of light around his body.

"Bang!!"

Another kick landed fiercely against the hand covering his crotch.

"Damn it!"

He cursed angrily, "Uchiha Suifeng, I'll remember you!!"

"Remember your mother!!"

Bang!!

The man's body was sent flying once more. Taking advantage of the momentum, he flew a great distance away and vanished back into the thick fog.

Although Uchiha Fukuyama was recklessly unleashing Wind Release ninjutsu, the area covered by the water mist was simply too vast to be completely dispersed.

"Captain, leave it to me!!"

Even though he couldn't see the opponent yet, he believed that after the several heavy blows he had landed, as long as the opponent was a man, it was impossible for him not to be injured—at the very least, he wouldn't be able to make any major moves in the short term.

So, time to go all out!

Lava Release: Lava Explosion Flow

BOOM!!!

Golden-red magma surged forth like a giant wave, spraying toward the spot where the Kirigakure ninja had just disappeared.

The scorching heat and the golden-red glow instantly occupied and dyed half the sky crimson.

"Lava Release?!"

The Kirigakure ninja within the thick fog saw his expression collapse instantly. Suifeng's previous kick had dealt him severe damage; he had just used a secret technique to seal the injury and block the pain, preparing to retaliate, when Suifeng suddenly pulled this move, leaving him caught in a dilemma.

The Silent Killing Technique combined with thick fog was the standard for Kirigakure, but the mist created was water-based. In such an environment, the water vapor would evaporate, and it would never achieve the intended effect.

"Damn Danzo, giving me wrong information! This brat actually knows Lava Release!"

Incorrect intelligence!

The information Danzo provided only told him to be careful of Suifeng's Body Flicker Technique, never mentioning that Suifeng knew Lava Release, let alone that he could unleash such a high-powered Lava Release ninjutsu.

He didn't know that Danzo himself was unaware Suifeng knew Lava Release, nor did he know that the Lava Release just now had already consumed over eighty percent of Suifeng's chakra.

Regardless, Suifeng had caused such a massive commotion that it must have alerted all of Konoha. The assassination plan had failed, and he had no choice but to retreat, leaving Konoha before the Anbu arrived.

A few minutes later, the thick fog gradually receded, and several dark shadows rushed in from all directions.

Suifeng, who had remained vigilant, finally relaxed his mind. Looking not far away, Hideki and Haku were both seriously injured, though fortunately, their wounds were not fatal. The unluckiest one was Obito, who lay on the ground with a faint, flickering breath and a deep, bleeding wound on his right chest.

An inexplicable assassination had ended just like that, but the repercussions were far from over.