"What's happening?"
The moment that sharp, piercing screech rang out, Anko instinctively covered her ears. Now her brain buzzed, leaving her dazed and at a complete loss.
She turned her head to see Uchiha Rin and Aburame Shibi staring in shock at the direction the arrow had flown, their pupils trembling slightly.
"Satoru, is this the ninjutsu you wanted to practice?"
Aburame Shibi drew a deep breath. Amidst his shock, a trace of profundity lingered in his eyes; through the perspective of his bugs, he had seen far more.
No chakra fluctuations had been detected on the arrow, its speed exceeded the reaction limits of standard shinobis, and it possessed an ultra-long-range striking distance coupled with the vision of the Byakugan...
This was an ultimate ninjutsu born for assassination, one capable of altering the course of a war!
Was it a ninjutsu developed from the combination of two Kekkei Genkai?
The combination between two types of chakra was a Kekkei Genkai, and the combination of three was a Kekkei Tōta, but what on earth was a combination between two Kekkei Genkai?!
"Teacher Shibi, you can put me down now."
"Oh!"
Hyuga Satoru's voice from above pulled him back to reality. Acknowledging with a response, Shibi manipulated his bugs to let Satoru descend to the ground.
"Satoru, are you alright?"
Seeing Satoru's pale complexion and weak, powerless state, Shibi asked with concern.
"I'm fine." Satoru shook his head. "I just used too much chakra and got exhausted. Resting for a while will do."
"That's good." Shibi breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's go check out that Stone Shinobi."
Satoru's gaze flickered. In truth, judging by the intensity of that previous arrow, in his current state he could fire at most three arrows at most. However, this move was too heaven-defying, so it was better not to expose his limit.
Killing that Stone Shinobi was an absolute necessity; otherwise, if he were allowed to return to Iwagakure alive, Satoru would likely face endless assassinations from the Stone Shinobi, and what he lacked most right now was time to develop.
Since he was from the Branch House and could not betray the Leaf Village, it was only natural that the greater his value to the Hokage, the better. Even if he could not enter the Hokage's faction, at least he could use the Hokage's power to keep the Main House in check.
Thinking this, the trio had already arrived at the spot where the Stone Shinobi had met his demise.
They saw that his body, along with the scroll on his back, had been savagely torn open from the waist down, blooming into a scarlet flower upon the grass. Perhaps the process of death had been too swift, for his face still maintained the terror from the final second of his life, looking remarkably lifelike.
"What a pity. If I could have aimed just a bit more accurately, perhaps I could have killed him without destroying the scroll."
Satoru felt a dull ache over the lost supplies inside the scroll. A scroll was equivalent to a key that opened storage space; once destroyed, unless one located the exact physical coordinates of the storage space, there was simply no way to take the supplies away.
"Don't be like that."
Shibi's mouth twitched slightly as he immediately advised Satoru to put a stop to this humblebragging behavior.
"The bow-type ninjutsu you developed, paired with the Byakugan, has terrifying power. It's simply unheard of. Even if I encountered it from a distance, I'd probably find myself bound hand and foot."
"You flatter me, Teacher Shibi. It's just a trick that can't make it to the grand stage." Satoru shook his head.
Aburame Shibi suffers critical hit x2!
"Fine." Giving a feeble response, Shibi instructed, "Clean up the battlefield. Once that's done, this mission will be successfully concluded."
Pondering for a moment, Shibi added one more sentence.
"As for the bow-and-arrow ninjutsu Satoru developed, don't spread the word when we return to the village. Do not reveal it to anyone."
Whether out of concern for keeping Satoru's intelligence confidential or caution regarding his status as a Branch House member, the fewer people who knew about this unprecedented bow-and-arrow ninjutsu, the better.
"Understood."
Rin and Anko nodded gravely.
Returning to the Leaf Village and granting the entire Team Three a rest period, Aburame Shibi hurried without pause to the Hokage's Office.
"Ah, it's Shibi. How is it? Has the task assigned to you been completed?"
Seeing the person who entered, Sarutobi Hiruzen set aside his current work and spoke with a smile.
"It has been successfully completed."
Hiruzen nodded, offering a word of praise. "It seems that under your leadership, this squad has grown very quickly."
Shibi took a deep breath. "Lord Hokage, aside from this matter, there are some things I need to report to you."
With that, Shibi reported the events that had occurred during the mission one by one.
"Uchiha Rin awakened the Sharingan? Hyuga Satoru developed a peculiar bow-and-arrow ninjutsu and killed a Stone Shinobi from a range of nearly a kilometer?"
Hiruzen drew a sharp breath, a hint of solemnity surfacing in his eyes. The former was fine; a nine-year-old Sharingan, while unquestionably a rare genius, was not entirely unprecedented.
As for the latter's bow-and-arrow ninjutsu, it was simply unheard of.
A combination of dual bloodlines? Could one really develop such a bizarre ninjutsu?
"Does the Main House know about this?"
Shibi shook his head. "On the way back, I chatted briefly with Satoru. He said he only gradually mastered this technique recently, so the Main House shouldn't know."
"Is that so?" Hiruzen nodded. "Then there's no need to notify them. Just let nature take its course."
"Those people in the Hyuga clan are far too stubborn, rigid, and set in their ways. If they knew Satoru was practicing a bow-and-arrow ninjutsu, it would probably just spark another wave of dissatisfaction."
"Hyuga Satoru is a Leaf shinobi; of that there is no doubt. In the war that will soon arrive, the ninjutsu he developed might even have miraculous effects."
Hearing this, Shibi drew a deep breath and tentatively asked, "Lord Hokage, is a war about to break out?"
Hiruzen sighed helplessly. "The Second War ended long ago, and the strength of the various villages has recovered to its peak. Recently, scouts have brought back intelligence that those few villages seem to be making significant moves. It all depends on who loses their patience first."
"Is that so?" Shibi nodded solemnly.
"Shibi, you just need to guide these students well. They are all leaves of the village."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
Uchiha Clan Territory.
In a patch of woods, Uchiha Rin threw punches and kicks bare-handed against a wooden stake in a frenzied output of strength. A single tomoe slowly spun within her scarlet pupils, the sound of physical blows echoing through the empty forest.
"Do you still prefer training alone?"
"Who is it?!"
Rin snapped her head around to see an elderly man wearing the traditional clothing of the Uchiha clan standing behind her, his eyes resembling those of a hawk.
"It's Elder Setsuna. Is there something you need?"
The hostility on Rin's face receded slightly.
Catching sight of Rin's pair of Sharingan eyes, Setsuna felt a surge of fervent passion flash through his gaze.
"It's these very eyes. Awakened at just nine years old... Rin, you are a true genius."
"Although Aburame Shibi's strength isn't weak, he cannot unlock the true potential of these eyes. Abandon that squad, withdraw under the guise of injury, and I will teach you the true power of the Uchiha."
A trace of disgust flashed in Rin's eyes as she furrowed her brows slightly.
"I appreciate your good intentions, Elder Setsuna, but it is over there that I can grow the fastest."
Setsuna's gaze grew sharp. "Is it because of that Hyuga brat named Satoru?"
"Elder, you don't need to meddle in my affairs!" Rin's eyes grew even more disgusted as she stared at him with a hint of hostility.
"Even though you've awakened a secondary bloodline-something one in ten thousand-you are ultimately just a Branch House member. I never expected you to take this so to heart."
Setsuna shook his head slightly.
"So be it. Since you've already decided, I won't force the issue."
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving behind a bewildered Rin.
Within those hawk-like eyes, a trace of sneering intent revealed itself. I never imagined your bonds would run this deep. Fine, the deeper the affection, the more agonizing the destruction will be. Only like this will the true power of the Uchiha be birthed...
Before you continue