You Call This a Street-Sweeping Auxiliary Unit?

The bone flute's sound spread through the night sky without stirring the air in the slightest.

The three Hidden Cloud spies lurking at the street corner noticed nothing. They quickened their steps and hurried toward the depot's rear wall.

Meanwhile, at three nearby auxiliary posts, dozens of windows silently opened a crack at the same time.

Uchiha Yan was eating a rice ball in the patrol team's duty room.

The signal receiver on the table lit up green and flashed three times in quick succession.

He stuffed the remaining half of his rice ball into his mouth and grabbed the long sword hanging on the wall.

"Everyone, assemble! Grab your weapons!"

The duty room's rear door flew open.

The auxiliary personnel who had been dozing or cleaning their ninja tools in the courtyard sprang to their feet.

Their ranks consisted of civilian orphans, members of the Hyuga Branch Family, and fringe ninja ostracized by the major clans.

They wore matching dark tunics with red armbands.

This outfit marked them as Root's peripheral personnel, and their regular duties even included sweeping the streets.

But now, every one of them moved with crisp efficiency.

The physical training methods Qian Ye had taught them had made them considerably stronger than ordinary auxiliary personnel.

Uchiha Yan rested one hand on his sword hilt and strode into the center of the courtyard.

"A big fish has entered the net at the depot. Lord Qian Ye has ordered us to surround it."

No one in the courtyard made a sound. They tightened their face coverings.

One hundred auxiliary personnel split into ten tactical squads and swiftly dispersed into the shadows of the streets.

They avoided the rooftops, weaving through dark alleys close to the walls instead.

Qian Ye had mapped these routes in advance, specifically to