Illusion: Tree Binding Kill

Outside Dahu City, the spy who had arrived after a night of desperate travel wore a look of joy.

He had finally made it. Now, as long as he made contact with the person sent to meet him, he could successfully transmit the intelligence back to the village and ensure his own safety.

Having brilliantly completed a multi-year infiltration mission and bringing back such vital intelligence, he was certain that the rewards awaiting him back at the village would be substantial. If luck were on his side, he might even earn the appreciation of the Hokage and be promoted to a Special Jonin.

As for whether he could become a true Jonin, he was self-aware enough to know his limits; with his talent, reaching the rank of Special Jonin through the merit of this infiltration mission was the absolute ceiling. Otherwise, he would never have been dispatched to Sunagakure as a spy in the first place.

However, even a Special Jonin could be considered part of the ninja elite, and the treatment he would receive would be far beyond what a mere Chunin could enjoy.

If he could truly be lucky enough to become a Special Jonin, he would be more than satisfied.

Dreaming of a bright future, the spy began searching for the pre-arranged meeting spot within Dahu City.

Little did he know, the squad of Sunagakure ninja trailing him had also grown excited, already prepared to capture them all alive.

"Heh, looks like the gamble paid off. This guy really does have someone coming to meet him." Judging a target's next move based on their actions was the most basic requirement for a standard Jonin.

The moment that guy entered Dahu City, his behavior had already leaked the fact that he had an accomplice.

Arriving at the pre-arranged inn, the spy knocked on the door of Yuhi Shinku's room.

At this moment, the spy's heart was pounding; he had arrived earlier than expected, and he had no idea if the person sent to escort him back to the village was even there.

Fortunately, the outcome was not bad.

The door opened, and the figure of Yuhi Shinku, now back in his ninja attire, came into the spy's view.

Upon seeing Yuhi Shinku, the spy couldn't help but be stunned. "It's actually you, Lord Yuhi Shinku? I didn't expect you to be the one coming to meet me. My Lord, are you alone? I've uncovered a world-shaking piece of intelligence from within Sunagakure."

"What? Is it not enough that I'm alone? Forget it, come inside and speak." After confirming that this was indeed the contact target for this mission, Yuhi Shinku stepped aside, preparing to let the spy into the room.

However, the moment he turned, his expression shifted violently, and without a word, he used the Body Flicker Technique to vanish from his spot.

In that very instant, with a thunderous boom and flying debris, the wall and the spot where Yuhi Shinku had been standing were blown apart.

If Yuhi Shinku hadn't dodged quickly and used the Body Flicker Technique to flash away in advance, he would likely be dead or severely wounded by now.

As for the spy, although he wasn't the target of the attack, he was caught in the blast due to his proximity, sent flying backward to slam hard against the wall.

"Cough... what... is happening!" Although he had guessed that he had been exposed, the spy refused to believe it from the bottom of his heart.

Or rather, he still held onto a fantasy, hoping that the enemy hadn't been led there by him.

However, reality was often just that cruel.

"Heh, it wasn't in vain that we followed you for so long. We really did hook a big fish. Yuhi Shinku, the Jonin from Hidden Leaf Village famous for his genjutsu. Once we capture you alive, we'll surely be able to extract plenty of intelligence."

"You actually chose to meet near the Land of Rain? What? Are you trying to frame the Land of Earth? But if you wanted to frame them, you should have gone somewhere closer to the Land of Birds."

"Such clumsy methods—should I say, as expected of Hidden Leaf?"

Three dark figures emerged from the shadows one after another; they were the three Sunagakure Chunin.

Looking at Yuhi Shinku, who had just dodged the sneak attack, the three men showed no disappointment; instead, they wore the mocking expressions one might show when facing weak prey.

"Discovered, are you? But thinking you can just take me down like this... isn't that a bit too simple?"

As Yuhi Shinku's voice echoed, his genjutsu had already been activated in total silence.

"A mere Jonin, it's not like we haven't killed one before."

"Attack! Take him down together."

Two Sunagakure ninja moved left and right, directly sealing off Yuhi Shinku's room to maneuver, while the third manipulated a puppet to strike at him.

Although Yuhi Shinku was famous for his genjutsu, none of the three Sunagakure ninja wanted to engage him in a direct taijutsu confrontation.

The puppeteer took the lead in the frontal assault, while the other two provided interference from the sides; the three of them seemed intent on wearing Yuhi Shinku down in a war of attrition.

On the other side, the Hidden Leaf spy, who had been blown away earlier, gritted his teeth and stood up, drawing a kunai to join the fray. Since he had led the enemy here, he had the resolve to risk his life to buy a better chance of victory for Lord Yuhi Shinku.

However, just as he stood up, before he could even take a step, he tumbled face-first onto the ground.

"What... is this? Poison? When?" After a brief moment of shock, the spy who had been lurking in Sunagakure for years realized what had happened.

He knew what kind of poison he had been struck with. It wasn't rare among Sunagakure ninja, and it wasn't fatal; its only effect was to make the victim's body go limp, leaving them without an ounce of strength.

The poison wasn't potent; even without an antidote, it would leave the system in a day or two. If one used chakra to resist it, the time would be shortened, but it would still take at least half a day.

And in the current situation, there was clearly no half-day to spare for him to purge the toxins from his body.

"What a fool. We followed you for so long—how could we not have left something on you?" the puppeteer sneered with disdain.

But at the same time, a large tree emitting a faint red glow erupted from the ground behind him. Before he could react, over a dozen branches and vines had bound him tightly to the trunk. The change was so sudden that he had no time to respond.

Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death.

This was the signature genjutsu that Yuhi Shinku took pride in, a technique he had innovated and created himself.

"What a bunch of idiots, failing to see through such a simple stalling tactic."

Yuhi Shinku, who was in the middle of the encirclement, smiled, and in the next instant, he dissolved into a sky of cherry blossoms and vanished.

The boundary between reality and illusion blurred in their consciousness. Even though the Sunagakure ninja knew this was a genjutsu cast by Yuhi Shinku and not a physical presence, he still couldn't break free from the bindings, forced to watch helplessly as Yuhi Shinku stepped out from the tree, holding a kunai to his throat.