Moonlight spilled like water, silent and still, broken only by the rustling of leaves in the night wind.
Outside the Uzuki Clan grounds in the Land of Fire, two Uzuki clansmen on night watch were idly chatting. Naturally, their topic was what had happened during the day. Even now, they had yet to process such an overwhelming amount of information.
One of them said wistfully, "I never thought we'd just join the Flame Hidden Village like this. It's just that leaving the Land of Fire feels a little hard to accept."
His companion was much more indifferent. "What's there to be reluctant about? Living anywhere is still living. Besides, compared to Konoha, I'd rather go to the Flame Hidden Village. The Kurama Clan joined Konoha too, and I get annoyed just looking at them."
"Ah, forget those irritating matters. I heard the hot springs in the Land of Flame are pretty good. I have to try them if I get the chance."
"Hot springs? Are you sure you don't mean Hot Springs Country? The Land of Flame used to be the Land of Waterfalls. There should only be waterfalls there, right?"
"Really? Hahaha... It's not like I've ever left the Land of Fire since I was born. I only heard other people talking nonsense."
"You bastard..."
Tap, tap, tap...
As the two chatted and joked, light footsteps approached from afar. They immediately fell silent and warily looked toward the moon-dappled woods. Only after seeing who it was did they let out relieved breaths. "Boss is back. You must have had a hard time on your mission."
Whoosh—
The night wind swept through the forest, lifting the woman's long purple hair. Her graceful figure was hidden beneath a green robe, and her beautiful face carried a trace of heroic spirit. A three-foot-long blade hung at her waist. She gave a slight nod in response to their warm greetings, then parted her red lips.
"What were you just saying about the Flame Hidden Village?"
Her mature, gentle voice carried a hint of etherealness, making one feel as though bathed in a spring breeze.
Yet that pleasant voice left the two night guards speechless. They exchanged glances and saw a trace of embarrassment in each other's eyes. After another look, one of them said, "Well, some big things have happened in the clan recently. Uh... we don't really know the details either. Boss, you can ask the clan chief."
The woman frowned, but did not press further. She passed by the two and entered the clan grounds.
After she left, the two finally let out breaths. "Boss's presence is getting colder and colder."
"Stop talking. I'm afraid she can still hear us right now. We should just keep watch properly."
Within the clan grounds, Uzuki Riten was spreading out his bedding to sleep when he suddenly felt a chill down his back. He spun around and saw that someone had appeared behind him at some unknown time, silent as a green-clad ghost wandering the night.
"Gasp!" Uzuki Riten was thoroughly startled, and even his voice cracked slightly. "When did you get back? Why did you suddenly appear in my room? Do you know how scary that is?"
The woman merely gave Uzuki Riten a bland glance and got straight to the point. "At the entrance, I heard Ayi and the others say something major happened in the village. What was it?"
"Shouldn't you be asking the clan chief about that?"
"The clan chief is old. He should be resting by now, so I came to ask you."
"..."
Uzuki Riten sighed inwardly, knowing that what was coming could not be avoided. "Let me make this clear first. Don't do anything rash after you hear it. The clan chief has already made a decision on this matter."
The woman simply looked at him quietly.
"Well, today someone named Uchiha Enkō came to the Flame Hidden Village. You should know who he is—the younger brother of Flame Shadow Uchiha Madara. He discussed having our Uzuki Clan join the Flame Hidden Village with the clan chief. In the end, we agreed to join the Flame Hidden Village."
Uzuki Riten blurted it all out in one breath, then closed his eyes, afraid that the woman before him would explode. Yet after waiting for a long while without hearing any reaction, he nervously opened his eyes, only to see that the woman was already walking away without looking back.
"Hey! What are you going to do?" Uzuki Riten shouted in panic.
"Find someone and ask a few things."
"Don't do anything reckless! This concerns our entire clan!"
The woman did not answer and quickly vanished into the night.
"No! I still need to find the clan chief." Uzuki Riten was instantly wide awake and rushed outside.
It was deep into the night, yet a flickering candle still glowed in the guest room window.
Having completed the task of this trip, Enkō finally relaxed. At that moment, he was studying a scroll of ninjutsu in his hands.
Back then, Enkō had led the Chinoike Clan and stolen six ninjutsu from the Senju Clan grounds. Two of them were the Reaper Death Seal and Super Barrier Technique: Four Crimson Yang Formation, which the Uzumaki Clan had gifted to the Senju Clan.
The rest were ninjutsu invented by Tobirama Senju, including Shadow Clone, Flying Thunder God, and the advanced Water Release ninjutsu Water Severing Wave.
Unfortunately, Tobirama apparently had yet to develop the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu. Otherwise, Enkō definitely would not have let such an immensely powerful S-rank ninjutsu slip away.
"Reaper Death Seal... use your own soul as a sacrifice to communicate with the Reaper, then seal the enemy's soul. Hiss... Could I avoid using my own soul? I remember Orochimaru found a loophole in this Reaper ritual."
Enkō racked his brains, but unfortunately, his talent did not lie in inventing ninjutsu. It was like solving a math problem: even if he knew the answer in advance, he could not reverse-engineer the process. He could only helplessly set down the scroll.
"Ugh, how was Tobirama Senju's brain even built? Too bad Orochimaru hasn't been born yet. Otherwise, that guy would be a top-tier partner for transmigrators." Enkō quietly grumbled to himself. Seeing that it was late, he rose, intending to rest for a while.
Whoosh—
A faint breeze gently struck the window lattice. Enkō paused halfway through standing, slightly raised his eyes, and fixed his gaze on the figure outside the window wearing a white mask.
"Playing mysterious tricks." Enkō shook his head, turned and pushed open the door, then walked outside. He stopped ten paces from the figure and looked her over, discovering she was a woman. He then asked, "Coming to find me in the middle of the night—did something happen in the clan?"
An ethereal voice sounded. "You are Uchiha Enkō? Since you're one of the Uchiha Clan's higher-ups, do you know Uchiha Qingyan?"
Enkō's brows furrowed slightly. "Did Clan Chief Tokuma send you?"
The woman gently shook her head. "This has nothing to do with the clan. It is only my own business."
Enkō glanced at the woman's beautiful purple hair and said flatly, "Since it's a private matter, I have nothing to tell you. If there's nothing else, then please leave."
The woman fell silent for a moment, then suddenly raised her head. "Sorry, but this is very important to me."
"What does that have to do with me... Hm!"
In an instant, red light flashed in Enkō's eyes. He flew backward five steps and stared at the masked woman before him in astonishment. "This feeling—it's genjutsu! And such powerful spiritual energy!"
"Hm?" The woman also let out a soft sound of surprise. She had not expected Enkō to resist her genjutsu.
"Tch, miss, you actually tried to use genjutsu on someone from the Uchiha Clan." Enkō sneered. "I don't know what you're after, but right now, I only want to take you down and ask what the Uzuki Clan means by this."
"I told you, this has nothing to do with the clan."
"Heh." His only response was a cold snort.
In the moonlit clearing, a thick scent of gunpowder drifted through the air...
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