Night Raid and the Patrol Team's Choice

Uchiha Taku's scream, laced with fear and despair, was like a boulder hurled into dead water, stirring towering waves in Uchiha Ling's heart. He had no time to grieve, not even time to be angry. The instinct to survive and the calm he had trained for so long overwhelmed everything in that moment.

He slid toward the rear like a ghost, hugging the wall of the small house. Basic Aura Perception went into full force, like an invisible radar, clearly locking onto three cold chakra sources full of killing intent as they fanned out toward his position at terrifying speed!

"Cleanup... has it already begun? So decisive, so fast!" The chill in Uchiha Ling's heart deepened. Uchiha Taku had been intercepted and killed less than ten minutes after leaving, which meant "unstable factors" like them had long since been placed on a watch list. The slightest movement would bring disaster down on their heads.

He couldn't fight head-on! The other side were experienced Anbu—or Root?—and their strength far surpassed his. His only way out was to use his familiarity with the terrain at the edge of the clan grounds and break into the buffer zone bordering the Forest of Death!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Several shuriken tore through the air with shrill whistles and pinned themselves precisely into the spot where he had just been, as well as the routes he might use to dodge, cutting off any possibility of escape through the small house's front door or windows.

The enemy were experts!

Uchiha Ling hesitated no longer. Like a leopard that had been coiled for ages, his body suddenly slammed toward the dense shrubbery behind the small house! At the same time, he flung back a simple homemade smoke bomb he had prepared long ago, made from a mixture of explosive tag ash and special herbs.

"Pfft—"

Gray smoke, not thick but enough to block sight, spread out instantly with a sharp, choking smell.

"Careful, it might be poisonous!" an Anbu voice shouted, slightly shrill. The other two visibly stalled, subconsciously holding their breath and retreating.

That instant of hesitation was enough! Uchiha Ling's figure had already vanished into the shrubbery. Relying on Physique Enhancement to ignore the scratches of thorns, and the explosive force granted by Wind Release: Speed Attack Technique, he fled for his life toward the outskirts of the clan grounds like an arrow loosed from the string.

"After him! He can't get far!" the leading Anbu snorted coldly. The three of them were like bats melting into the night, passing through the smoke in an instant and chasing close behind.

The path of escape was fraught with danger.

Uchiha Ling pushed his speed to the limit, darting through familiar alleys and across rooftops, using every obstacle he could to block the sight and attacks behind him. Kunai and shuriken whistled past his ears and sides from time to time, nailing into walls or tree trunks with tooth-grating thunks.

Once, a shuriken coming from an extremely tricky angle nearly cut open the back of his neck. Relying on the superhuman dynamic vision brought by Sharingan Insight Boost, he jerked his head down at the last possible instant. The shuriken skimmed past his hair, slicing off a few black strands.

Another time, an Anbu suddenly appeared on the rooftop ahead of him using the Body Flicker Technique, forming hand seals at extreme speed—

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Dozens of small fireballs blocked off every route forward like living things. At the critical moment, Uchiha Ling threw himself sharply to the side, smashed through the window of an abandoned warehouse, and rolled inside. Scorching flames swept past his back and blackened the warehouse's outer wall.

He did not dare stop. He crawled out through a hole on the other side of the warehouse and continued fleeing. Burning pain came from his back, but he only gritted his teeth and pushed the Efficient Chakra Refining Technique to the extreme, frantically squeezing out every bit of chakra in his body and converting it into power for running.

The pursuers behind him were like a disease clinging to the bone, the distance between them constantly shrinking. The gap in strength could not be made up by determination and skill alone.

I can't keep going like this! Uchiha Ling grew anxious. His chakra consumption was enormous, and his stamina was dropping rapidly. Once he was fully surrounded, death was certain!

His gaze turned to the forest ahead that looked especially eerie and dense beneath the moonlight—the outer region of the Forest of Death! The terrain there was complex and the vegetation thick, making it the best place to shake off pursuit, but it was also full of unknown dangers.

He would stake everything on it!

He summoned the last of his strength and sprinted toward the forest's edge.

However, just before he was about to step into the forest, new chakra fluctuations suddenly appeared ahead! It was not the cold feeling of Anbu, but something more... normal? Chakra belonging to regular Konoha ninja!

A patrol team wearing Konoha forehead protectors and standard ninja vests had just happened to patrol over from the other side of the forest's edge. They had clearly heard the commotion here as well, and saw Uchiha Ling fleeing desperately, along with the three Anbu chasing relentlessly behind him.

The patrol team was led by a rough-faced jonin with a full beard. His brows were tightly furrowed as he looked at this strange scene, especially when he saw that the fugitive was only a child in a Ninja Academy training uniform, face bloodied and in a miserable state. He immediately raised a hand, signaling the team to stop, and shouted in a deep voice:

"Stop! The Forest of Death restricted zone is ahead! What are you doing?!"

His voice was loud and carried unquestionable authority.

The three Anbu pursuers stopped ten meters in front of the patrol team. The leading Anbu's voice came through his mask, cold and merciless. "The Hidden Leaf Police Force is handling internal affairs and arresting a traitor. Members of the patrol team, please do not obstruct official business!"

"A traitor?" The bearded jonin's sharp gaze swept over Uchiha Ling, who was panting and barely able to stand, then turned to the three Anbu seething with killing intent. "You're saying this child is a traitor? He doesn't even look like a genin!"

[Ding! Sign-in target detected: Hidden Leaf Patrol Team.]

[Interaction level: rescue + acceptance (providing shelter in a crisis).]

[Sign-in rewards being issued...]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained: Hidden Leaf Ninja Tool Pouch (basic)! (Contains 10 kunai and 5 shuriken)]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained: 30 system points!]

The system notification sounded at that moment. Although the reward was relatively simple, it represented recognition and a turning point!

Uchiha Ling knew this was his only chance! He forced up his nearly collapsed body and shouted with all his strength, "I'm not a traitor! I'm just an ordinary student from the Uchiha clan! They... they're trying to kill me! I don't know why!"

His voice carried a child's terror and a sobbing tremor. Blood, sweat, and dust mixed on his face, making him look incomparably wretched and pitiful.

Most of the other members of the patrol team were chunin and genin. Seeing this scene, expressions of pity and doubt appeared on their faces. They had heard some rumors about discord within the Uchiha clan, but going so far as to kill a child was still too much.

The bearded jonin's eyes flickered. He clearly knew more inside information, and also understood that "handling internal affairs" might hide a bloody storm behind it. He pondered for less than two seconds before making a decision. He stepped forward, completely blocking the space between Uchiha Ling and the Anbu, his tone growing a little tougher:

"No matter what he has done, he is still a villager of Konoha and an ungraduated student. I will personally report this matter to Lord Hokage. Before Lord Hokage gives clear instructions, this child will be taken into custody by our patrol team. You may leave."

His words rang with force, representing the stance of Konoha's official patrol team.

The three Anbu fell silent for a moment. The gazes beneath their animal masks swept coldly over everyone in the patrol team before finally fixing on Uchiha Ling. That look was like a venomous snake, full of warning and killing intent.

"You will regret the decision you made today, Jonin Yamashiro," the leading Anbu said coldly. Then he stopped entangling them and made a hand signal. The three of them silently melted into the darkness, just as they had appeared, and vanished from sight.

Only after confirming the Anbu had truly left did Uchiha Ling's taut nerves suddenly relax. His legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground. A chunin from the patrol team hurriedly supported him.

"Kid, are you all right?" The bearded man—Jonin Yamashiro—turned around and looked at Uchiha Ling with a complicated gaze. He checked the burns on Uchiha Ling's back and the scratches on his face, and his brows furrowed even more tightly. "You're badly hurt. Aoba, give him emergency treatment. Everyone else, stay alert. We're returning to the Third Patrol Outpost immediately."

"Yes, Captain!"

The medical ninja named Aoba immediately stepped forward, green chakra light glowing from both hands as he began treating Uchiha Ling.

Uchiha Ling let him work. He lowered his head and gasped for breath, but his heart was churning like stormy seas. He had bet correctly! The patrol team's intervention had temporarily freed him from certain death. But this also meant he had completely left the Uchiha clan grounds and stood at an even more complex and dangerous crossroads.

How would the Hokage's faction treat him, an "escaped" Uchiha? Would the purge inside the clan accelerate because of his escape? In the future, where should he go?

He raised his head and looked toward the Uchiha clan grounds. They were still shrouded in night, terrifyingly silent. But he knew that beneath that silence, a storm of destruction that would devour everything was brewing.

And he himself had become the first fallen leaf swept out of the vortex in that storm, drifting toward the unknown.