Uninvited Guests Always Come Knocking

Yun Yan had no idea how the Fire Country Daimyo took his anger out on Hiruzen Sarutobi in his bedchamber, nor did he care.

Once he officially left the Daimyo's territory, he stopped worrying about that little patch of land. His next destination was Konoha.

After leaving the Fire Country capital, Yun Yan moved at the normal speed of a jonin, racing toward Konoha through the vast, endless forests of the Fire Country.

Though both the Fire Country capital and Konoha lay deep within the country, there was still some distance between them. Even at jonin speed, the journey would take a day or two.

As he traveled, Yun Yan estimated that since he had set out from the Fire Country capital during the day, he should reach Konoha tomorrow if he traveled through the night.

But why should he travel through the night?

He was not carrying out an urgent mission, nor did he have any lofty reason to rush. Yun Yan was not particularly fond of Konoha and had even less loyalty to the Naruto. Besides, his transfer order did not explicitly demand an immediate return. He would have to be out of his mind to travel all night!

So, not long after night fell, Yun Yan rested with a clear conscience. He planned to eat something first, then get a good night's sleep.

As for when he would continue tomorrow... that depended on when he felt like waking up.

After deciding to rest, Yun Yan casually found a flat, suitable spot and built a fire. He then casually hunted several wild animals nearby, slowly roasting them over the flames and even taking out his own seasonings to flavor them properly.

There was only one principle to the whole process: do not make himself suffer!

Even outdoors, as long as conditions allowed, he had to enjoy good food.

After eating and drinking his fill, Yun Yan gave in to his growing drowsiness and simply fell asleep beside the fire, sleeping soundly.

The nighttime temperature was suitable for the season, and there was still a fire beside him. Yun Yan was not afraid of wild beasts or mosquitoes, so even in the wilderness, he slept peacefully.

Which raised another question.

Why did this guy dare to brazenly build a fire and roast meat in the middle of the night?

Even though he was within the Fire Country, inside his own side's territory, other ninja villages might still have infiltrators lurking around. There could also be unexpected dangers. Was he not afraid of drawing enemies and trouble by openly grilling meat like this?

Why did this guy dare to sleep so soundly?

When other ninja carried out missions outside, they slept in constant unease. Even when resting, they only slept lightly. Before sleeping, they had to scout the surroundings and lay traps nearby, always ready for any danger that might come their way, and so on.

Why?

Because Yun Yan had confidence in his own strength. Because he was highly skilled and bold enough to rest and sleep this way.

He was confident that even while asleep, his sensory abilities remained active.

Even Kage-level experts, or even those beyond Kage level, could not approach him without a sound.

As had been said before, Yun Yan would not make himself suffer.

Since he had the conditions and the ability, of course he would do whatever was most comfortable. He ate and drank his fill before going straight to sleep. The quality of his meals and sleep alone was enough to make ordinary ninja die of envy.

But accidents always came, and uninvited guests always knocked.

Around midnight that night, some unpleasant people arrived.

Two dark figures silently approached the sleeping Yun Yan under the cover of night.

These two were neither bandits nor wandering ninja. Their sophisticated equipment alone showed that they were professionally trained ninja.

Anyone with some knowledge who saw the style of their gear would be able to identify them as Konoha's ANBU.

Anyone even more knowledgeable could tell from their masks and the subtle differences between their equipment and that of ordinary ANBU that they were not Konoha's ANBU at all, but Konoha's Root!

That was right. The notorious Root ninja had arrived.

Whenever these rats and vermin showed up, nothing good ever followed.

It seemed that any transmigrator who came to the world of Naruto would sooner or later have to face these bastards, as well as the man behind them.

Yun Yan had long prepared himself mentally for this. He was not surprised by the situation, though he had not expected Root ninja to come for him tonight.

With that thought in mind, and nursing a little irritation at being disturbed from sleep, Yun Yan continued lying quietly where he was, completely still, as though he were still deeply asleep and utterly defenseless.

Yes, he was luring them into the trap.

Unfortunately, although Yun Yan's performance was flawless and revealed no weakness to the Root ninja hiding nearby, the two Root ninja, accustomed to skulking in the shadows, still did not attack.

Why were they not making a move? Did they think the timing was not right yet?

The "sleeping" Yun Yan did not care. He continued to "sleep."

Meanwhile, in a blind spot beyond the two Root ninja's line of sight, Yun Yan quietly formed several hand seals with one hand.

Second by second, time passed. Yun Yan continued to "sleep" deeply, while the two Root ninja remained patiently concealed nearby. Neither side moved.

Occasionally, when Yun Yan's body grew sore from lying in one position for too long, he would roll over or stretch out a leg, then change positions and continue to "sleep."

There was nothing suspicious about that. People often shifted positions restlessly in their sleep, and at the very least, these two Root ninja did not grow suspicious.

If Yun Yan had remained motionless in the same position the entire time, the two Root ninja might have become suspicious instead.

And so time continued to drag on, from midnight until one or two in the morning.

The "sleeping" Yun Yan felt that the time was about right.

At this hour, under normal circumstances, a person's brain was in its deepest sleep, and their guard was at its weakest.

If they delayed any longer, the situation would only grow more unfavorable for the two Root ninja.

So Yun Yan felt that it was about time.

Sure enough, after the two Root ninja silently exchanged special signals, they chose to act!

A sudden hum rang out in the nighttime forest!

Six sharp kunai shot in at high speed from six different directions, forming an encirclement around Yun Yan as he slept on the ground. They were determined to turn him into a pincushion!

Yun Yan had been waiting for them. In fact, he was getting a little tired of waiting.

The instant the six kunai neared him, he snapped his eyes open. Bracing one hand against the ground, he launched himself upward and slipped through the encirclement from an exquisite angle above, evading all six kunai!

All six kunai buried themselves in the ground. Not one struck true!

Yun Yan's sudden awakening and perfectly timed reaction only surprised the two Root ninja slightly. They were not overly shocked.

In their estimation, Yun Yan might indeed have been asleep while lying there all along, but he might also have been waiting for prey while conserving his strength. Neither possibility was unexpected.

The current situation remained within their expectations. Their next killing move would only be fiercer!

After dodging the six kunai, Yun Yan landed steadily. His face was cold, his body hunched as he drew his weapon. He carefully and seriously observed his surroundings, swiftly locking onto one direction—the Root ninja who had just launched the six kunai!

But where was the other one?

Three muffled bangs sounded behind Yun Yan. Three fierce, razor-sharp wind bullets came flying from the darkness on the other side, heading straight for his back.

Yun Yan seemed caught off guard. Surprise and panic appeared on his face as he hurriedly twisted his body, trying to dodge.

These three wind bullets were none other than a relatively ordinary Wind Release technique: Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere.

If struck by these three Vacuum Spheres, his body would be torn apart and pierced through. It was a Wind Release technique with fairly respectable offensive power.

And this also showed that the Root ninja's style of operation could be summed up in one word: underhanded.

How many people were like those in the original story, shouting the name of their ninjutsu before casting it?

If they did that, either they were on an open battlefield and shouting the technique's name was meant to bolster their own momentum.

Or they had absolute confidence in their strength, believing that even if they announced the technique's name, their opponent still could not escape or defend against it.

A real assassination was like this. They would never announce the name of their ninjutsu, and even when activating it, they would do so without a sound. The more underhanded, the better; the more concealed, the better.

At that moment, Yun Yan seemed to have been left helpless by this exceptionally professional and underhanded assassination move.