Zetsu's Ruthless Scheme, Annihilate Them All (4)

Nara Dogu observed his surroundings with great care, terrified that Akimichi Shan's words might be overheard. He hissed a warning, "Keep your mouth shut, or you'll end up biting your own tongue. This whole affair is riddled with suspicion. The people from the Land of Earth would never be late; they are the ones begging the General for favors, not the other way around! Besides, Master Sasuke sent word yesterday that there have been unusual movements within the Uchiha Clan. It seems their target is the General as well. The Uchiha... that is a name even our master wouldn't dare provoke lightly!"

Yamanaka Saura let out a long sigh and offered a bitter smile. "I heard that a year ago, the Uchiha Clan wiped out the Hagoromo Clan. A few weeks ago, they slaughtered the ninjas of the Togakushi, Haguro, and Fuma clans, then used that momentum to deal a crushing blow to the Senju Clan, forcing their survivors to flee the Land of Fire. Such a formidable clan—if they truly have their sights set on the General, even Master Sasuke's personal intervention might not be enough!"

Nara Dogu knew that if they were to face one or two Uchiha ninjas, they might stand a chance of taking them down. However, the sheer terror of the Sharingan made the Uchiha formidable; at best, they could only handle one or two. "We were entrusted with a task, and we must remain loyal. Since we are subordinates of Akiyama Nobunori, we must serve him to the end. Forget it, these matters are beyond our concern. Besides...!"

"What is it, Saura?"

"How blind I am. Speak of the devil!"

Nara Dogu's voice cut off abruptly. Akimichi Shan looked at him in confusion, while Yamanaka Saura seemed to have sensed something. Following the direction of Dogu's gaze, a man appeared in their field of vision. He wore a black outer robe with red inner linings, and on his sleeves was the pattern of a red and white fire fan. The thick fog seemed to dissipate, and one after another, ten men in identical attire emerged. The leader carried a Bashosen on his back. His eyes swept over the three of them, causing their bodies to shudder; the chill of being watched by a demon god made all three tremble in unison.

"Ninjas of the Sarutobi Clan!"

The voice rising from behind them made the three spin around in a defensive stance. A meter away, Mingye stood before them, sensing their chakra before shaking his head. "You are not ninjas of the Sarutobi Clan."

Staring intently at Mingye's expression—for Mingye spoke with his eyes closed—Nara Dogu, despite the lack of eye contact, hurriedly explained to this silent, sudden presence. "I am Nara Dogu, of the Nara Clan, a subordinate family to the Sarutobi!"

Mingye raised an eyebrow, surprised to encounter the "grandfather generation" of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio here. He chuckled softly. "Ah, a secret arts clan. You are those small families protected by the Sarutobi, aren't you? You are lucky. I have no desire to make an enemy of the Sarutobi Clan right now. Rest easy; this is none of your business."

"..."

The three remained silent. Mingye, too lazy to continue the conversation, turned toward the defensive line where Madara was, waved his hand to signal that the three should be spared, and then vanished into thin air. Watching Mingye disappear without a sound, Yamanaka Saura finally let out a breath, his voice trembling as he spoke. "So strong!"

Even when stared at by Madara, though they felt terror and their bodies shook, they had managed to retain a shred of fighting spirit—a willingness to die for their duty. But the sudden appearance of Mingye had left them unable to even conceive of fighting. Because Mingye had stood behind them; even a split second would have been enough for him to kill all three. Sighing, Nara Dogu slumped down against a large tree, looking up at the gloomy sky. "We really are too weak."

Akimichi Shan gripped his iron staff, looking toward the direction where Madara and the Uchiha had departed, and asked in a heavy voice, "Are we not going?"

Nara Dogu sighed bitterly at the tense Akimichi Shan, knowing the man had lost all will to fight and was only speaking to ease their nerves. Yet, both Madara's gaze and Mingye's sudden arrival had felt like a mountain pressing down on them, leaving them unable to breathe. He forced a smile and joked, "Akiyama Nobunori is as good as dead. Do you want to go and throw your life away?"

"..."

"Get to work, you bunch of slaves! Why are you just standing there? Why haven't those three dogs reacted yet? Damn it, I'm deducting their pay this year!"

Honda Kamesuke was cursing his servants in a rage when he suddenly felt a chill behind him. Turning around, he saw Mingye's figure. Not recognizing the Uchiha crest, but knowing the man was a ninja, he barked, "You dogs are truly slow. Is this how you people from the Land of Earth treat us? Do you not want to do business anymore...?"

Before the last syllable left his lips, the blade in Mingye's hand had pierced Honda Kamesuke's throat. Mingye could not see the look of shock and terror on the man's face, but he caught the collapsing body and whispered into his ear, "Have you ever experienced the feeling of being torn apart by dogs? Perhaps I cannot let you savor that profound pleasure, but a snake's bite is also quite painful. Go and have a taste!"

In an instant, Mingye used a reverse summoning to appear with Honda Kamesuke at the edge of the black snake pit in the Earth Dragon Cave. He opened his eyes, the pupil-less orbs seemingly able to see the man's expression, and shoved him into the sea of snakes before vanishing on the spot. Though the miserable screams were unheard, Mingye could feel that the VIP treatment he was receiving was quite unique.

Mingye's disappearance and reappearance took only a few seconds. When he returned to the spot where Honda Kamesuke had stood, hundreds of samurai had formed a formation, and over a hundred ninjas stood on both sides of the cavern entrance.

"Ninjas of the Uchiha Clan!"

Akiyama Nobunori's voice echoed from the cave, seemingly mocking Mingye's overestimation of himself. Mingye did not respond, speaking as if to himself, "Colluding with enemies, trafficking in contraband, and secretly meeting with spies from the Land of Earth to build a bridge between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire, all to bring their ninjas into the Land of Fire and conquer it using the power of a foreign nation. You are willing to turn the entire Land of Fire into a battlefield. Does such a man deserve to die?"

"Hmph! A silver tongue. Why not join my ranks? Whatever that brat Sato can give you, I will give you tenfold!"

Mingye lowered his head, a mocking curve on his lips as he replied, "I dare not accept."

"You court death!"

Akiyama Nobunori's face turned cold. Before his subordinates could move, a cold voice echoed from above the cave. "Kill yourself. Do not make me do it for you."

"Who is that!"

"Kill!"

A ninja standing beside Akiyama Nobunori flashed out to guard, and upon seeing the face of the man carrying the fire fan, he launched an attack. But Madara did not even move. Over a dozen Uchiha ninjas appeared behind him, leaping down from the peak and charging into the crowd.

An Enma suddenly appeared before Mingye, its vicious claws striking out as if to tear him in two. Mingye vanished instantly, and a venomous snake appeared in his place, dodging the Enma's attack in mid-air. The S-shaped snake body twisted in the air, coiling around the Enma's arm and sinking its fangs in.

The Enma seemed immune to the snake's venom; it reacted with lightning speed, tearing the snake from its arm. A figure appeared behind it.

"Transform!"

The Enma transformed into an iron staff, sweeping toward Mingye. A long whip appeared in Mingye's hand and lashed out at the man, but the staff's momentum was overwhelming, ignoring the whip's strike. Seeing this, Mingye vanished again to evade the attack.

"Is this the reply from your Sarutobi Clan?"

When Uchiha Mingye Hozuki Gengetsu reappeared, he was already standing silently behind the man, speaking to him with a hint of irony.

"Sarutobi Wataru pays his respects to you, My Lord! By the order of the Clan Head! I shall die for the greater good!"

Sarutobi Wataru coldly introduced himself, his brows furrowing as he seemed unable to comprehend why he could not sense a single shred of chakra from Mingye.

"Then go ahead and die!"

Mingye did not bother with further pleasantries. A suicide operative—this was the Sarutobi clan's probe, or rather, the answer the Sarutobi clan needed to obtain. With Sarutobi Sasuke's grand vision, he surely knew how to choose the path that would secure the greatest benefits for his clan, and he would certainly understand why Mingye had come to meet him. From the moment Mingye stepped into the Sarutobi clan's compound, Sarutobi Hiruzen had likely already grasped what Mingye and the Uchiha clan intended to do.

"Try me!"

The long whip lashed out again as Mingye raised his hand, and Sarutobi Wataru dodged the attack, leaving a deep whip mark on the ground. The staff, transformed from Enma, elongated once more like a spear to strike at Mingye, but Mingye, like a spirit in the rainy night, vanished from Sarutobi Wataru's field of vision once again.

"Damn it!"

Sarutobi Wataru heard the hissing of snakes and reacted abruptly; Mingye's previous two disappearances seemed related to snakes. With a curse, he swept his staff across the ground, sending over a hundred snakes flying out of the rainwater puddles. Unfortunately, just as Sarutobi Wataru intended to finish off the snakes, a cold wind blew from behind him. He instinctively dodged to the side, but as he did, the long whip, handle and all, slashed across his line of sight.

"Sage Art: Dragon Prohibition Martial!"

Appearing silently behind Sarutobi Wataru, Mingye pressed a palm against his spine. Enma transformed his own limb into a claw and lunged at Mingye's heart, but Mingye sneered and vanished again, causing Enma's attack to strike empty air.

"Wataru, how are you?"

"My chakra! Damn it, he's sealed my chakra!"

"But you won't die from this! For the sake of you being a ninja of the Sarutobi clan, I will spare your life. Of course, I also don't want you to hold any grudges when you eventually submit to our Uchiha clan. Withdraw!"