Outside Dahu City, the spy who had finally arrived after a night of nonstop travel wore a delighted expression.
He had finally made it. Now he only needed to contact the people coming to meet him, and he could safely deliver the intelligence back to the village—and return home himself.
He had done an excellent job on a years-long undercover mission and brought back such important intelligence. He was sure to receive a generous reward when he returned. If he was lucky, he might even earn Lord Hokage's favor and be promoted to Special Jonin.
As for becoming a full-fledged Jonin, he knew his own limits. With his talent, earning a Special Jonin rank through his undercover work was already the most he could hope for. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been sent to Sunagakure as a spy.
Still, even a Special Jonin ranked among the higher-ups in the shinobi world. The treatment they received was far beyond what an ordinary Chunin could enjoy.
If he really got lucky and became a Special Jonin, he would be more than satisfied.
Dreaming of the bright future ahead, the spy began searching Dahu City for the location they had agreed on in advance.
Unbeknownst to him, the Sunagakure shinobi squad following him was getting excited too. They were already prepared to capture the whole group alive.
"Heh, looks like we bet right. This guy really does have someone coming to meet him." Judging someone's likely next move from their actions was a basic requirement for any ordinary Jonin.
The spy's behavior after entering Dahu City had already given away that he had a teammate.
When he reached the inn they had agreed on in advance, the spy knocked on Yuhi Shinku's door.
The spy was on edge. He had arrived earlier than expected, and he had no idea whether the person sent to meet him and escort him back to the village was there.
Fortunately, things hadn't gone too badly.
The door opened, and Yuhi Shinku, already back in his shinobi attire, appeared before the spy.
Seeing Yuhi Shinku, the spy couldn't help freezing. "It's you, Lord Yuhi Shinku! I never expected you to come meet me. Lord, are you here alone? I've uncovered another astonishing piece of intelligence in Sunagakure."
"What? Is one person not enough? Never mind. Come in and tell me about it." After confirming that the spy was indeed the person he had come to meet, Yuhi Shinku stepped aside to let him into the room.
But the instant he turned sideways, his expression changed abruptly. Without a word, he used the Body Flicker Technique to escape.
In that very instant, an explosion rang out, sending earth and stone flying. The wall and the spot where Yuhi Shinku had been standing moments earlier burst apart.
If Yuhi Shinku hadn't dodged quickly and used the Body Flicker Technique to get away, he would probably have been dead or seriously injured.
As for the spy, though he hadn't been the target, he was so close that he couldn't escape the blast's effects. He was sent flying and slammed hard into the wall.
"Cough... What... happened?" Though he had already guessed that he'd been exposed, deep down, the spy refused to believe it.
Or rather, he still clung to a faint hope that the enemy hadn't been led here by him.
But reality was often this cruel.
"Heh, all that time trailing you wasn't wasted. We really did land a big fish. Yuhi Shinku, the Jonin famous for genjutsu in Konoha. Once we capture you alive, we'll be able to pry plenty of intelligence out of you."
"Choosing to meet near the Land of Rain. What, are you trying to frame the Land of Earth? If you wanted to pin this on them, shouldn't you have gone somewhere closer to the Land of Birds?"
"Such a clumsy trick. What else would you expect from Konoha?"
Three shadows emerged one after another from the darkness. They were the three Sunagakure Chunin.
Looking at Yuhi Shinku, who had just dodged their surprise attack, the three showed no disappointment. Instead, their faces twisted into the mocking expressions usually reserved for weak prey.
"So you found me? You think taking me down will be that easy?"
As Yuhi Shinku's words rang out, his genjutsu had already taken effect without a sound.
"He's just one Jonin. It's not like we've never killed one before."
"Get him! Let's take him down together."
Two Sunagakure shinobi moved in from the left and right, cutting off Yuhi Shinku's room to maneuver, while the third sent a puppet lunging at him.
Although Yuhi Shinku was famous for his genjutsu, none of the three wanted to engage him in a direct Taijutsu fight.
The puppeteer had his puppet take on the task of fighting Yuhi Shinku head-on, while the other two focused on disrupting him from the sidelines. They seemed intent on wearing him down.
Meanwhile, the Konoha spy who had been blasted away earlier gritted his teeth and got to his feet. He pulled out a Kunai, ready to join the fight. Since he had led the enemy here, he was prepared to risk his life to give Jonin Yuhi Shinku a better chance of winning.
But just after standing up, before he could even take a step, he stumbled and fell flat on his face.
"What... happened? Poison? When?" After a brief moment of shock, the spy, who had spent many years undercover in Sunagakure, figured it out.
He knew what kind of poison he had been hit with. It wasn't uncommon among Sunagakure shinobi, and it wasn't lethal. Its only effect was to leave the body weak and limp, draining away all strength.
The poison wasn't very potent. Even without an antidote, the body would flush it out after a day or two. Using Chakra to fight it would shorten that time, but even then, it would take at least half a day.
And given the situation, there was clearly no half a day to spare for his body to purge the poison.
"What an idiot. We've been following you for so long. How could we not leave something on you?" The Sunagakure shinobi controlling the puppet sneered disdainfully.
At the same time, a great tree glowing with a soft red light burst from the ground behind him. Before he could react, more than a dozen branches wrapped tightly around him and bound him to the tree. It all happened so suddenly that he had no time to respond.
Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death.
This was the genjutsu Yuhi Shinku was most proud of, his signature technique—and one he had created by innovating on the old.
"What a bunch of fools. You couldn't even see through such a simple ploy to buy time."
Yuhi Shinku smiled as he fought off the attackers. The next instant, he vanished in a flurry of cherry blossoms.
The line between reality and illusion blurred in their minds. Even though the Sunagakure shinobi knew Yuhi Shinku had cast a genjutsu and the tree wasn't real, he still couldn't escape the bindings. All he could do was watch Yuhi Shinku emerge from the tree, Kunai in hand, and press it against his neck.
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