Shadows Spread, Targeting the Abandoned Child in the Dungeon

Fully unfurled in Ye's hand was a rough sheepskin scroll, several stronghold coordinates circled in black ink coming into view.

The map depicted the terrain along the northern coastline of the Land of Water.

Ye tossed it onto a dead branch beside him. After one glance, he threw the scroll aside.

"Be specific."

Ye turned his face slightly, his gaze falling on Kabuto Yakushi to his left.

Adjusting his round glasses, Kabuto raised a hand, the dim daylight reflecting off his lenses.

Taking a step forward, he placed his fingertip on the red cross at the top of the scroll. He had long prepared his wording, and when he spoke, his pace was steady and without the slightest hesitation.

"Fresh intelligence. It came from the Minazuki Clan remnants. The three sleeper agents they left behind have already been taken over by us."

His fingertip moved along the northern coast before finally stopping near the cliffs.

"Half a month ago, Orochimaru crossed the border into the Land of Water."

"He didn't touch the Hidden Mist Village higher-ups. For the past half month, he's been gathering intelligence around the outskirts. His objective is clear—the cliffs along the northern coast."

A brief sneer passed over Kabuto's lips as he paused.

"The Kaguya Clan's former settlement was in that area."

"Not long ago, the Kaguya Clan rebelled and tried to storm the Mizukage Building. In the end, the Hidden Mist Village regular forces and Anbu joined hands to wipe out their entire clan."

"Afterward, nothing remained in the settlement but corpses covering the ground."

Kabuto's fingertip tapped lightly on the red cross twice.

"Orochimaru spent a fortune bribing a Hidden Mist Village Chunin who participated in clearing the battlefield and later defected. According to him, there was still a Kaguya child who had awakened the Dead Bone Pulse."

"That child suffered severe backlash from his Kekkei Genkai and was completely unable to control his temperament. The Kaguya Clan locked him in a secret dungeon beneath the cliffs."

Ye's gaze remained on the cliff marker on the map, his brows unmoving.

"The Dead Bone Pulse. He can pull out his own bones and use them as weapons at will. His defense and physical attack power are extraordinarily high."

Watching Ye's expression, Kabuto continued.

"A perfect vessel, one capable of carrying his soul. Orochimaru has been searching for one all along."

"The Uchiha Clan is too deeply rooted in Konoha. He doesn't dare act recklessly."

"This Kaguya orphan wandering outside is the perfect opening for him."

A cold laugh squeezed from Ye's throat at the words "perfect vessel."

"A perfect vessel?"

"He thinks he deserves to covet something like that?"

Ye's right index finger lightly tapped the handle of his umbrella, the rhythm slow and heavy.

"That's a war machine born for slaughter."

"What a fine weapon. In his hands, it would only become a jar for rotten flesh."

"That Kaguya brat is mine."

Turning around, Ye's dark gaze swept across the group.

It passed over Izumi, who silently gripped her sword hilt; Zabuza, barely holding up his battered body; and Kabuto, who lowered his head obediently in acknowledgment.

Haku stood diagonally behind Ye, the chill around him not yet dispersed, spilling from the hem of his clothes.

"Tell the people at the strongholds to stay hidden."

"We leave now. Before Orochimaru sticks that disgusting tongue in there, turn that dungeon upside down."

Ye crushed the dead branches beneath his leather boots and started walking.

Their direction changed at once. The group of four moved swiftly northward beneath the salty, damp sea wind.

Half a day later, night completely shrouded the border of the Land of Water.

Moonlight was blocked by dark clouds. Waves endlessly battered the reefs, their roar echoing between the cliffs.

The wind carried the intermittent stench of rotting flesh, while the air was thick with the fishy smell of seawater.

A dense mangrove forest lay two hundred meters ahead. Beyond it was the hidden entrance leading to the underground water prison.

Six outer patrol ninjas wearing Hidden Mist Village masks leaped between the trunks, scouting their surroundings and taking turns covering one another.

Perched atop a thick treetop, Ye's gaze passed through the tangled branches, yet he gave no order to attack.

Haku stepped out from behind him. When his foot came down, the branches and leaves merely trembled slightly.

Forming a simple hand seal with one hand, he did not even glance at the patrol ninjas. He simply raised his right hand and pressed his index and middle fingers together.

Faint blue chakra spread from beneath Haku's feet, covering the surrounding ground in an instant.

The standing water on the muddy ground rapidly froze, while the moisture in the air was forcibly drawn out and turned into fine ice crystals nearly invisible to the naked eye.

Just as the six patrol ninjas ahead noticed the sudden plunge in temperature, dense cracking sounds erupted from the soil beneath their feet, leaving them no time even to cry out a warning.

Dozens of sharp ice spikes as thick as thighs burst from the ground, growing at a terrifying speed.

The instant they became alert, the ice spikes had already reached them, leaving the six men no opening to even raise their hands and form seals.

Their chests, abdomens, and throats were pierced one after another. Not a single body in midair escaped, their flesh forcibly torn apart by the hard ice lances.

Before they could hit the ground, the blood running down the spikes froze in the cold, turning into dark red blood-ice.

Not one of them screamed. The entire process took less than two seconds, and the only sound left in the forest was the dull noise of ice piercing flesh.

Zabuza, standing behind them, swallowed hard. Cold sweat had already seeped into the palm gripping his sword hilt.

Without complicated shape transformation, Haku had used only one-handed seals to draw upon the moisture in the surrounding environment and kill instantly.

This power had surpassed Zabuza's understanding of Kekkei Genkai. His back turned cold, and the flesh at the nape of his neck tightened.

Haku withdrew his hand, stepped back to Ye's side, and lowered his head to await orders.

Passing through the mangrove forest hung with corpses, the four continued onward until they reached the base of the cliffs.

Seawater poured backward into cracks in the rock wall, crashing deep among the tangled terrain and stirring up murky foam.

A massive pitch-black opening embedded deep in the rock wall was covered by heavy pig-iron bars.

Only a few weak flames flickered against the rock wall, leaving the cave dark and lightless.

Four fully armed Hidden Mist Village Anbu stood on each side of the entrance, guarding it tightly.

At least ten calm chakra signatures lurked deeper within the cracks in the rock.

Using spatial ninjutsu to tear open a brief gap, Ye did not enter through the front. He directly led the other three past the outer defenses and slipped into the water prison through a ventilation passage.

Kabuto dismantled five explosive tag traps along the way, his hands moving cleanly without a single unnecessary motion.

The air was thick with mildew, and their clothes clung to their skin. The humidity inside the water prison was oppressively heavy.

Water covered their ankles, slick moss coated the stone walls, and every step sent faint echoes rippling through the narrow passage.

The intermittent sound of iron chains scraping echoed ahead. The farther down they went, the thinner the air became.

Before them appeared a narrow corridor at the very bottom of the dungeon.

Sealing formulas specifically designed to suppress violent chakra covered the doors, while a thousand-pound black iron gate stood at the end of the corridor.

Accompanied by the piercing sound of bones grinding, violent yet suppressed coughing of blood came from behind the black iron gate, making their chests feel tight.

Two people stood outside the door.

They wore gray bodysuits, and strange black magatama curse marks were etched onto their necks. Neither wore a Hidden Mist Village forehead protector.

They were elite Sound Ninja under Orochimaru.

A large key had already been inserted into the black iron gate's lock, while one of them held a ring of keys.

Ye stood in the shadows of the passage.

A black kunai with a dark gleaming tip protruding between his fingers was aimed directly at the Sound Ninja's neck, the Flying Thunder God formula engraved upon it.

All it would take was for the man to turn the key once, and his head would be completely separated from his body.