Brief Exchange

"Meow, I've sensed Hiruko here a few times before. Every time I get near this area, my senses go blank. He must have gone underground; the earth is blocking my detection, meow."

The Ninja Cat Kozunmaru, skilled in swordsmanship and sensory ninjutsu, was a great asset for scouting and tracking missions.

"Alright, split up and search! See if you can find the entrance to the basement!"

"Yes!"

Naraku's henchmen acknowledged the order and vanished in a flicker, beginning their search for the entrance.

"Clan Head, over here!"

Uchiha Akabi shouted loudly. Naraku's guards were, after all, of Jonin and Chunin caliber with solid ninja skills; once they committed to a search, they found the entrance quickly.

Akabi pulled up a patch of grass by the roots, revealing a hole that clearly led underground.

Naraku waved his hand, and Akabi nodded before charging inside, followed immediately by Uchiha Saburo.

Naraku moved in the middle of the formation, with the remaining three guards and the Ninja Cat trailing behind.

There are a thousand paths to take, but safety comes first. Although Naraku was a master of ninjutsu, as a leader, he naturally let his henchmen take the vanguard.

"A barrier?" Akabi, at the front, asked suspiciously.

As they descended, it felt like climbing down a well. Near the bottom, a yellow light flared.

Uchiha Akabi and Saburo, leading the way, exchanged glances and confirmed it was a defensive barrier.

The Earth-style barrier stood like a slab of transparent stone, blocking their path downward.

Uchiha Akabi formed hand seals, his left hand gripping his right wrist.

"Lightning Style: Chidori!"

Akabi shattered the barrier with a single Chidori strike, and the group continued deeper.

Ever since Naraku demonstrated his self-created Chidori during the clan head election, he had placed the training methods for the jutsu in the Ninjutsu Academy at the Clan Affairs Hall.

Any Uchiha ninja who paid the mission commission fee at the Administration Institute was eligible to learn it.

Most Uchiha ninjas possessed the Fire affinity; the clan's fan symbol itself represented fanning flames.

However, there were still many ninjas with a Lightning affinity, and no fewer than ten had dedicated themselves to learning the Chidori, greatly enhancing the strength of the Uchiha clan.

As for the advanced version, the Chidori Current, Naraku only taught it to his personal guards.

The 19-year-old Jonin Uchiha Akabi, who had a Lightning affinity, and the 15-year-old genius Chunin Uchiha Ruofeng were both still in the process of learning and had yet to master the shape transformation of the Chidori Current.

"Earth Style: Earth Rising Spears!"

The moment they landed, before they could even see their surroundings clearly, they heard an angry shout. The ground beneath their feet surged upward, forming rows of sharp stone spears.

"Dodge!"

Uchiha Akabi yelled, and everyone leaped up, sticking their feet to the surrounding walls.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball!"

Whoosh.

The Uchiha ninjas were not to be outdone. Akabi quickly formed seals and spat a massive fireball toward the source of the voice.

The others reacted as well, throwing kunai toward the sound.

Naraku used the light from Akabi's flames to see the environment.

The walls were artificially excavated, and directly ahead was a corridor where a white-haired ninja stood—it was Hiruko.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"

"Earth Style: Earth Rising Spears!"

Hiruko remained calm, chaining two Earth-style jutsus together.

Naraku felt vibrations beneath the wall he was clinging to and jumped away to dodge. In the air, the other Uchiha ninjas leaped as well.

Hiruko's experiments were showing some success; he only needed to delve deeper to develop a jutsu that would shake the world.

He hadn't been happy for long before he felt the barrier he had set up being destroyed.

By the time he reached the entrance, six ninjas wearing Konoha vests had just landed inside.

In the pitch-black environment, Hiruko didn't hold back, wanting to see if he could kill these ninjas to keep his secrets safe.

He hadn't expected these ninjas to be so skilled; both Earth Rising Spears had been dodged, and not a single one was killed.

Zzzzzzt.

The sound of chirping birds echoed. One of Naraku's guards, the 15-year-old genius Uchiha Ruofeng, unleashed the Chidori and charged like lightning, shattering the Earth Wall.

"Don't kill him! Hold your—"

Before Naraku could finish his shout, the stone wall was smashed, but there was no one behind it.

Damn it, he's trying to escape! Naraku thought to himself.

"Kozunmaru, sense the area! Don't let that guy get away!"

"Meow."

Naraku no longer feared the danger, taking the lead and charging into the corridor, with the others following closely behind.

If Hiruko gets away, he'll never return to Konoha! This arrest must not fail; Hiruko cannot be allowed to escape! Naraku's thoughts raced, laced with anxiety.

"We absolutely cannot let this dangerous ninja escape. He must be brought to justice, but do not take his life—he must be captured alive!"

Even while sprinting at high speed, Naraku did not forget to issue a reminder, fearing that the ninjas beside him might lose control and kill Hiruko, which would render all their efforts futile.

The passageway was pitch black; Hiruko had extinguished all the lights as he fled.

"Meow, he's straight ahead. It looks like he went up through a pipe, meow."

"Lead the way, quickly!"

"Meow."

After nearly ten minutes of high-speed running, the group arrived at another passage where a dark pipe extended upward.

"Go!" Naraku waved his arm.

Uchiha Akabi took the lead and charged inside.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Akabi was not reckless; although he was clearing the path, he sent a shadow clone ahead of him.

Naraku followed behind with his guards and the Ninja Cat, splitting off a shadow clone of his own to continue searching the underground base in case Hiruko was playing a trick.

"Meow, he's directly above us. He's exited the tunnel, meow. With the earth blocking the way, it's hard to sense him, meow."

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

The group used Body Flicker techniques to return to the surface.

"This way, meow."

Hiruko frowned as he fled. After their brief skirmish, he had a rough idea of these ninjas' strength.

Most of them were elites, and he certainly couldn't take them all on, so he decisively used the terrain to his advantage to escape.

He just hadn't expected them to pursue so quickly, and Hiruko continued to use the Body Flicker technique as he ran.

"Damn it."

Hiruko could feel the ninjas behind him closing the distance.

Guided by the Ninja Cat Kozunmaru, Naraku's party tracked him relentlessly. They could already see the white-haired ninja fleeing ahead, occasionally using Body Flicker and then sprinting away.

"Eh?"

"He disappeared?"

Hiruko, who had been visible just moments ago, had dashed into a dense forest. The group followed rapidly, but there was no sign of him.

"Meow."

Kozunmaru pressed his two fleshy paws together, seemingly performing a sensory ninjutsu.

"Meow." Kozunmaru lowered his paws, leaped onto a tree ahead, and began meowing incessantly at the trunk.

Hiruko finally understood why the ninjas behind him were so persistent; it was no wonder, with a sensory ninja beast on his tail.

A transparent figure appeared on the tree trunk, gradually gaining color as Hiruko dispelled his invisibility technique and stepped out.

"I am a Konoha Jonin, Hiruko. Why are you pursuing me?"

Hiruko believed he had acted cleanly without leaving any traces, so after revealing himself, he questioned them, clinging to a sliver of hope.