Chapter Nineteen: One Night (4)

Ueno Kei stared at the scene before him, speechless. A Konoha ninja dressed in Anbu gear was carrying an unconscious girl on his shoulder, and Ueno Kei felt a massive headache coming on.

Since when did the Konoha Anbu start moonlighting as human traffickers? Ueno Kei slandered inwardly.

Of course, this was just Ueno Kei's bored imagination running wild. No matter how he looked at it, the Anbu was clearly on a mission, and the girl was undoubtedly a key figure in it.

But even if you're on a mission, why pick me! Ueno Kei wailed internally. He was nothing more than a student at the Ninja Academy.

To run into an Anbu who demanded his cooperation to complete a mission—wasn't that just absurd? The Anbu was asking a pre-genin student to participate in a mission of this caliber.

Ueno Kei grumbled to himself, his mind racing as he considered ways to slip away.

However, Ueno Kei had the distinct feeling that the eyes of the Anbu, hidden beneath that mask, were staring at him intently.

It made Ueno Kei's skin crawl, and he couldn't help but gulp.

"Ueno Kei, you should understand that this matter is of great importance to the village. I don't need you to fight the enemy; I only need you to take this girl back to the village and find the Hokage. Besides, we have already sent out a signal. If you're lucky, you might even run into reinforcements on your way back."

The Anbu said coldly.

"Sir, I..." Ueno Kei hesitated, wanting to say something.

But the Anbu waved his hand, cutting him off. He snorted, "You have no room to refuse. As long as you are a ninja of Konoha, you must be prepared to sacrifice everything for the sake of the village!"

Ueno Kei fell silent, knowing there was no room for negotiation.

Just then, the Anbu opposite him suddenly stiffened. Ueno Kei sensed it too; he immediately turned and leaped to the Anbu's side, squinting as he stared at the four figures in black robes that had suddenly appeared behind him.

"Hmph, they caught up after all." The Anbu muttered, his tone filled with resentment. Ueno Kei's eyes darted around, wondering if he could escape now. The targets were clearly the Anbu and the girl on his back.

Ueno Kei never considered himself a saint. The Third Hokage had saved his life, so he had an obligation to repay that debt, but Ueno Kei would never throw his life away for something like this.

While he was a man who valued gratitude and grudges, Ueno Kei was also someone who cherished his own skin. The tragic fate of his past life and the experiences of his parents in this one had taught him deeply: a person must live for themselves first!

Otherwise, everything else was just an illusion!

But reality always contradicted ideals. While Ueno Kei was busy weighing his options, the Anbu beside him unceremoniously dumped the girl onto Ueno Kei's back.

Ueno Kei's eyes widened as he scrambled to secure the girl.

"Hey, what are you—" Before Ueno Kei could finish, countless shuriken and kunai came flying from the front.

The Anbu immediately drew a kunai with his right hand, swiftly deflecting the incoming projectiles.

Ueno Kei also leaped backward, clearing the spot.

"Leave here immediately! I'll hold them off! Remember! Just head straight for the village!" The Anbu stood with his back to Ueno Kei, guarding against the black-robed figures, and spoke in a deep voice.

Ueno Kei gritted his teeth, a flash of ferocity crossing his face. There was no point in dwelling on it now; those black-robed figures didn't look like they were playing fair either.

Ueno Kei nodded fiercely, channeling chakra into the soles of his feet. With a sudden burst of chakra, he flickered and vanished from the spot, his figure gradually blending into the darkness.

The black-robed figures saw Ueno Kei leave.

Two of them flickered, intending to give chase. It was clear they planned to leave two behind to finish off the Anbu while the others pursued Ueno Kei.

A savage look appeared on the Anbu's face beneath his mask. He erupted with all his chakra, formed hand seals, and created three shadow clones.

Two clones shot toward the two black-robed figures like cannonballs, while the original and the third clone charged the other two. The Anbu didn't harbor any delusions of surviving or defeating them; his goal was to stall these four for as long as possible so Ueno Kei could get further away.

The harder it was for them to find the boy, the safer the mission objective would be.

With several "clangs," they clashed repeatedly within seconds. The two black-robed figures were forced back to their original positions, and the Anbu blocked their path forward.

The three clones had vanished. The Anbu's gear was tattered, and he stood there gasping for air. Four against one—even if the opponents weren't using their full strength, it wasn't a fight he could win. Though he had a feeling they were holding back, this wasn't the time for such thoughts.

"Cough, cough." The Anbu suddenly shuddered. He had clearly sustained heavy injuries in the previous exchange.

Before the Anbu could react, one of the black-robed figures formed hand seals. His gaze from beneath the hood was cold, looking at the Anbu as if he were already a dead man. The moment the Anbu's eyes met those of the figure forming the seals, he froze.

His face beneath the mask twisted in horror, as if he had seen something terrifying, followed by an expression of agony. The kunai he had been gripping tightly dropped to the ground.

The Anbu's eyes went blank and dull, his body twitching slightly. The other two black-robed figures quickly closed in with kunai in hand.

Just before his consciousness faded completely, the Anbu's mind suddenly cleared. He snapped back to reality and saw the two kunai rapidly approaching. His pupils constricted; he could almost feel the chilling sensation of the blades' tips.

He twisted his feet, narrowly avoiding a lethal blow.

Squelch. The sound of a kunai piercing flesh echoed.

Blood sprayed as the Anbu's body jerked, and he recoiled several steps.

"Oh?" The burly black-robed figure who had been forming the seals looked at the Anbu with a suspicious expression. This man was one of the leaders of the group, Kurama Yewu. His strength was among the best in the Kurama Clan, comparable to a Jonin, and the genjutsu he had just used was no simple trick.

He hadn't expected the Anbu to recover his senses through sheer willpower after being caught in it.

While Kurama Yewu was stunned, the Anbu was inwardly thanking his luck.

Fortunately, he had identified early on that the traitors were from the Kurama Clan, so he had been on guard against their genjutsu. Everyone knew the Kurama Clan was a ninja family famous for their illusions.

The Anbu didn't have a deep understanding of genjutsu, so he could only use a passive method: he had placed a powerful seal within his own mind.

Once someone cast a genjutsu on him, the seal would trigger automatically, stimulating his brain to forcibly break the illusion. However, this method caused immense damage to the brain; even using it once could lead to irreversible consequences.

But at this point, the Anbu had no other choice.