Eyes in the Dark

Lin Feng walked forward along the small path behind the mountain.

His footsteps were light, his breathing steady, but his gaze constantly swept the surrounding bushes.

Shisui's final words still echoed in his ears—"Root has already set its sights on you."

It was not a guess.

It was confirmation.

Lin Feng's fingers tightened slightly. He glanced at the dense forest to his right. Nothing seemed out of place, yet he could not shake the feeling that something was hiding in the darkness.

Whoosh.

Three piercing whistles rang out at once.

Lin Feng's pupils contracted sharply as his body instinctively rolled to the left.

Three kunai struck the spot where he had just stood, burying themselves in the soil with only their handles exposed.

Before he could regain his balance, three dark figures appeared simultaneously in front of him, to his left, and behind him.

Black robes. Animal masks. Root.

"Uchiha Lin Feng."

The lead Root ninja spoke in a deep voice. Half his chin was visible beneath the mask, and his tone was utterly flat.

"By Lord Danzo's order, come with us."

Lin Feng slowly straightened, his eyes sweeping over the positions of the three men.

They had sealed off every possible route.

"Resistance will only bring you pain."

Root Ninja A stepped forward half a pace, his right hand already reaching for the ninja tool pouch on his back.

Lin Feng stared at him, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.

"Hmph, Root wants to capture me?"

The Sharingan slowly turned in his eyes, crimson light glowing from his pupils.

"Then let's see if you have what it takes."

Before his words had faded, Root Ninja B and C formed hand seals at the same time.

"Wind Release: Sharp Thorn."

"Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning."

Wind blades tore through the air, carrying scorching ashes as they blasted toward Lin Feng.

Lin Feng twisted aside. A wind blade grazed his shoulder and split the tree trunk behind him in two. The blast of heat from the exploding ashes sent him staggering back three steps, his feet carving two deep furrows into the ground.

Before he could steady himself, Root Ninja A had already charged in close.

A kunai thrust straight for his throat.

Lin Feng tilted his head aside, then drew three shuriken from his ninja tool pouch with his right hand and flung them behind him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Root Ninja A deflected them with his kunai, his movement stalling for an instant.

Now.

The red glow in Lin Feng's eyes flared.

"Genjutsu: Sharingan!"

Root Ninja C, who had been about to pursue, froze. His eyes instantly went blank.

It worked. Two seconds. That was enough.

Lin Feng pulled out a smoke bomb with his left hand and slammed it hard against the ground.

Bang!

White smoke erupted, obscuring their vision.

He kicked off the ground and darted directly into the dense forest on the right.

"Don't let him get away!"

Root Ninja B roared and charged into the smoke after him.

But Lin Feng had already vanished deep within the trees, using the cover to escape.

Within the dense forest, Lin Feng lowered his body and moved swiftly through the undergrowth.

He could hear footsteps coming from three directions behind him. Root had split up to pursue him, coordinating flawlessly as they gradually tightened the encirclement.

He vaulted over a fallen dead tree, drew a kunai with his right hand, and threw it backward.

The kunai embedded itself in a tree trunk behind him, forcing Root Ninja B to pause briefly.

But the pursuers on his left and right had already moved in to flank him.

"This way!"

"Block off his route east!"

Lin Feng gritted his teeth and kept moving, leaping and weaving between the trees.

Kunai and shuriken flew continuously from his hands as he tried to slow his pursuers.

But the three Root ninjas had clearly carried out countless pursuit missions like this. Their coordination was flawless.

Every turn Lin Feng made was anticipated in advance.

Every escape route was blocked before he could take it.

He was about to be driven into a dead end.

Lin Feng leaped up, preparing to vault over a huge boulder ahead.

Then, a fierce gust of wind struck.

Thud.

A sharp pain shot through his left arm.

A kunai sliced through his sleeve, tearing open a bloody gash in his arm.

Blood immediately surged out, staining his cuff red.

Lin Feng clenched his teeth. When he landed, his left arm could no longer exert strength, and his body staggered.

"It is over."

Root Ninja A's voice came from ahead.

He formed hand seals and slammed both hands against the ground.

"Binding Technique: Earth Binding Net!"

Chakra rippled explosively through the ground. A white rope net burst from the soil, wrapped around Lin Feng's ankle, and instantly tightened.

Lin Feng was yanked off balance and dropped to one knee.

He looked down at his ankle, gathered chakra into his right foot, and exerted force sharply.

Rip!

The rope net was severed.

But he was already too slow.

Root Ninja C had rushed before him. His five fingers spread as his right hand shot straight for Lin Feng's throat.

Lin Feng's pupils tightened. His body instinctively leaned back as he raised his kunai to block.

Clang!

Their weapons collided, scattering sparks in every direction.

Lin Feng was knocked back three steps. The wound on his left arm split open again from the exertion, blood dripping onto the ground.

Root Ninja A and B had already closed in from both sides, trapping him in the middle.

"Surrender peacefully."

Root Ninja A drew the short blade from his back, its edge gleaming with cold light.

"You cannot escape."

Lin Feng panted heavily as cold sweat slid down his forehead.

The red light of the Sharingan flickered in his eyes, but he knew he could not hold on much longer.

Root Ninja C stepped closer, extending his right hand once more.

Then—

Whoosh—Bang!

A red light suddenly rose into the distant sky.

A signal flare.

Its piercing explosion tore through the night sky and burst above the dense forest.

Root Ninja A abruptly looked up at the red signal flare, his expression changing sharply.

"Retreat!"

Without the slightest hesitation, he gave a low shout, turned, and shot toward the depths of the forest.

Root Ninja B and C turned with him. The three dark figures quickly vanished into the darkness.

Lin Feng clutched the wound on his left arm and watched the direction in which they had disappeared, breathing heavily.

Only after confirming there was no further movement around him did he slowly straighten up.

He raised his head toward the direction from which the signal flare had risen.

That direction... was where Shisui was.

Lin Feng fell silent for a moment, then pulled a bitter smile.

You really did save my life.

But he understood it clearly.

Shisui's signal flare could frighten off Root, but it also meant that Shisui's connection to him had been exposed.

Once Root returned, Danzo would certainly learn of it.

From today onward, it would no longer be mere surveillance.

It would be a direct capture.

Lin Feng glanced down at the wound on his left arm, pulled out a strip of bandage from his clothes, and roughly wrapped it around the injury.

Then he turned and hurried toward the Uchiha Clan Grounds.

The night was deep.

The wind was soft.

Only the bloodstains on the ground proved that a desperate battle had just taken place here.