Senju Arashi

The four of them slowly approached the rogue ninja camp.

From a distance, Qiancao saw dozens of tents pitched beside a mountain spring, where rogue ninjas gathered in small groups to drink and chat.

Near a small hill sat over a hundred wooden crates covered in tarpaulins; these were surely the supplies the rogue ninjas had plundered.

Last night, Shiri had described the appearance of the rogue leader, Hayasaka Sae, to Qiancao. He had been a capable ninja in his youth, but his face was burned by Fire Release during a mission.

Disfigured, he was once mocked by the daimyo who employed him, so in a fit of rage, he slaughtered his way into the daimyo's residence and burned the faces of his two sons as well.

Afterward, he was blacklisted by every daimyo and could only gather a group of rogue ninjas who, like him, refused to be controlled, surviving by pillaging.

Normally, their nomadic operations made them difficult to track, but their haul this time was too bountiful. With a large quantity of armor and weapons among the supplies, they had no choice but to find a place to hide and fence the goods.

This completely exposed their whereabouts. Not only were the Uchiha clan ninjas hired by Imagawa on their way, but other ninjas were also closing in.

Qiancao scanned the rogue camp but did not see Hayasaka Sae. He couldn't tell if the man was away from the camp or resting inside one of the tents.

If only I had a Byakugan, Qiancao thought with regret.

Shiri, perched in a nearby tree, signaled with her hands: "Observe and wait. Target not found."

Among the group, Wuming was perhaps the only one with no intention of searching for Hayasaka Sae. At that moment, she was thinking, Being this close, I feel a bit itchy...

I hope I don't have a foul odor that Qiancao can smell.

It's all the Uchiha's fault, making me bathe only once every seven days... The Uchiha clan should just be destroyed.

Shiri found a treetop far from the camp, bit her finger, and performed the Summoning Technique.

A dark brown eagle appeared out of thin air, staring straight at the Shiri who had summoned it.

Shiri wrote a note, tucked it into a small box, had the eagle grip the box in its beak, and patted its wings.

The eagle soared into the sky, carrying the intelligence Shiri had sent toward Imagawa's army.

The sound of flapping wings alerted several rogue ninjas, who grabbed their weapons and walked toward the group's position.

Shiri, Keisuke, and Wuming simultaneously used their robes as cloth to perform the Cloth Concealment Technique, hiding the four of them from view.

After circling a few times and finding nothing, the rogue ninjas decided the others were making a mountain out of a molehill, grumbling about having to patrol over the sound of a bird's wings before returning to the camp to continue drinking.

Meanwhile, Hayasaka Sae stood downstream from the mountain spring with a few loyal subordinates, waiting for something.

The reason Hayasaka Sae, who was on every daimyo's blacklist, could lead a rogue ninja gang of over a hundred people was not just his mastery of ninjutsu; having a sharp mind was also crucial.

As battles between daimyo became more frequent, the original oaths of shared loyalty to the Emperor were already crumbling.

Powerful ninjas like Hayasaka Sae had long been secretly contacted by various daimyo.

While Hayasaka Sae and his men appeared to be rogue ninjas on the surface, they were actually helping daimyo perform the dirtiest of tasks.

Daimyo Takeda had been defeated in the Battle of Tanzaku Castle and was currently in need of manpower. These supplies had been seized from Imagawa's samurai at the request of Daimyo Takeda.

However, since the entire Mount Hakkoda and Xiaogu City were now under the control of Daimyo Imagawa, it would take time for Daimyo Takeda's troops to arrive for the handover.

To safely deliver the supplies to Daimyo Takeda, Hayasaka Sae had deliberately let his men spread word to the black market, drawing the attention of various factions and gathering them all at Mount Hakkoda.

By intentionally setting a time for the trade, he ensured that every faction would wait until the very last moment before the black market merchant arrived to strike, all hoping to be the fisherman who benefits from the struggle between the snipe and the clam.

This mutual containment bought time for the Takeda troops to arrive. Hayasaka Sae would then feign defeat, hand over all the supplies, and maintain his persona as a rogue ninja.

The only drawback was that this plan risked attracting a siege from multiple factions, which carried significant danger.

But Hayasaka Sae, accustomed to licking blood from the edge of a blade, actually enjoyed the thrill of this adventure. As he waited for the ninjas hired by the Takeda family to arrive, he felt a surge of excitement.

Just as the appointed time arrived, eight abnormal mounds of earth suddenly appeared on the ground in front of Hayasaka Sae.

The mounds bulged, and eight people burst forth from the soil. The leader was a female ninja.

She had a tall, slender, and well-proportioned figure, with an exceptionally striking bust. Her milky-white skin was smooth and delicate, appearing to shimmer in the night sky.

Her eyes were large, spirited almond eyes that radiated confidence and boldness. Combined with her other refined features and a black ponytail, she projected an image of powerful, beautiful competence.

Having traveled far and wide for years, Hayasaka Sae had never seen such a beautiful woman and was momentarily stunned.

The female ninja, seemingly accustomed to such reactions to her beauty, cleared her throat to bring Hayasaka Sae back to his senses before introducing herself:

"We are ninjas of the Senju clan. I am Senju Arashi. The general under Daimyo Takeda has sent us to assist Mr. Hayasaka."

Hayasaka Sae was astonished. The Senju clan had been hired by Daimyo Imagawa during the Battle of Tanzaku Castle last month and had frequent friction with Daimyo Takeda's army.

They had even lost many clansmen at the hands of the Uchiha clan hired by Daimyo Takeda. He hadn't expected Daimyo Takeda to hire them now.

As if sensing Hayasaka Sae's surprise, Senju Arashi said calmly, "Rest assured, Mr. Hayasaka. Since we ninjas have accepted the commission, we will do our best to fulfill it without letting personal feelings interfere."

"Ahem!" Hayasaka Sae coughed to hide his loss of composure and said politely, "I have, of course, heard of the Senju clan. I hope we have a pleasant cooperation."

The Uchiha quartet, hiding in the trees, saw Hayasaka Sae and his group approaching from afar.

Shiri had been delighted to see Hayasaka Sae in the lead, but upon seeing the female ninja beside him, she was shocked.

"Senju Arashi? Why is she here?"

While Shiri was surprised by the newcomer's identity, Wuming stared at Senju Arashi's chest, then looked down at her own, sighing at the vast difference between people.

Before Hayasaka Sae's group could even enter the camp, the leaves near Keisuke, who had been motionless, suddenly rustled unnaturally.

Senju Arashi reacted instantly, her hands moving in a dazzling blur of seals:

[Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!]

A ferocious giant dragon surged from the nearby mountain spring, shooting straight toward Uchiha Keisuke!