Sealing Scroll

"Blue lightning! It seems to be..."

Rin was startled at first, then her face lit up with delight.

While everyone was still stunned, Long Ye had already appeared before them, the electricity coursing around his body fading away.

Just as he appeared, someone suddenly materialized beside him as if teleporting.

"You're the team from Konoha responsible for escorting the supplies this time, right?"

Long Ye had barely finished asking when he suddenly stopped.

Something at the back of the team caught his attention.

It was Kakashi and Rin—and seeing Obito there as well made him pause.

"That's right! That's us."

The Jonin leading the team looked respectful.

Although the two people before him were merely Chunin by rank, they had killed more Jonin than could be counted on both hands. No one could help but feel awed by them.

"We were ordered by the Hokage to clear the road ahead for you. You're already close to your destination, and there shouldn't be any more enemies. Our mission can be considered successfully completed."

Shisui Uchiha smiled as he spoke from the side.

"What? So someone had been clearing the way for us all along? No wonder the journey was so peaceful."

Everyone suddenly understood.

Every war-related mission issued by Konoha's higher-ups was highly classified. Only the assigned ninja and their teammates knew the details, and everyone else was forbidden from asking questions. Those on missions were even more strictly prohibited from leaking information.

This was a commonly used method of preventing mission leaks.

But gathering intelligence was a ninja's specialty, and their methods were endlessly varied. So no matter how tightly the information was concealed, it was still impossible to completely prevent leaks.

The two small teams of "Mist Ninja" and "Iwagakure" that Long Ye and Shisui had encountered along the way were the best proof of that.

"There's still some distance left. To prevent any accidents, the two of us will travel with you and make sure you complete the supply escort mission."

Long Ye made the suggestion.

The others naturally welcomed it, nodding in agreement one after another.

Only Shisui looked at Long Ye in confusion.

According to their plan, once they had met up with these people, they would leave.

The final stretch of the journey was a flat plain outside the forest. With nothing to hide behind, it was completely unsuitable for an ambush. No one would be foolish enough to intercept and kill them there.

But Long Ye had suddenly changed his mind, leaving Shisui unsure of what was going on.

Still, he did not object. Their mission was already complete, and there was no rush to leave.

Long Ye went to the back of the team.

Rin approached him, overjoyed, and instinctively grabbed his arm.

"Long Ye, so the important mission you mentioned was secretly escorting us? What are the odds?"

Rin's gaze seemed fixed to Long Ye's face, and her small face was flushed with happiness.

"It really is a coincidence. I only received the mission details. I had no idea who would be in the team..."

"Hmm? Obito, what are you doing here too?"

Long Ye looked at him with confusion and curiosity.

Because of his defeat in the Chunin Ninja Exams over half a year ago, Obito had failed to become a Chunin and should not have been qualified to participate in a war between nations.

Obito gave a mysterious smile.

Seeing him play coy, Rin exposed him.

"Because of the war, Obito was promoted to Chunin not long ago. This is the first mission he's been given."

"I see!"

Long Ye was genuinely happy for Obito.

Seeing his friend finally become a Chunin as he had wished, and knowing that they could advance and retreat together in the future, filled Long Ye with indescribable joy.

Obito glanced around mysteriously, then leaned toward Long Ye's ear and whispered.

Clearly, he regarded what he was about to say as highly confidential.

Long Ye's eyes lit up after hearing it.

Obito told him that his Sharingan had evolved into a two-tomoe Sharingan, and its power had undergone a qualitative improvement.

Long Ye was delighted—not because of the two-tomoe Sharingan itself, but because Obito's Sharingan had finally taken another step toward that kind of power.

No matter how the history of the Shinobi World changed, he believed that the power each person possessed would remain the same.

Once Obito's Sharingan fully awakened and evolved into the Mangekyo, he would possess the legendary and immensely powerful space-time ninjutsu, Kamui.

That ocular technique was one of the most astonishing and powerful techniques among all ocular techniques.

Obito naturally had no idea of his Sharingan's potential. At that moment, he was looking smugly at Kakashi, as if this secret of his was enough to crush Kakashi a hundred times over.

"Idiot! Evolving your Sharingan into a two-tomoe Sharingan can't change the fact that you're useless. The next time you face Guy, I hope you lose with a little more dignity. Otherwise, you're not fit to be my teammate."

"Kakashi, you..."

"All right, all right, stop arguing, you two."

Before Obito could retort, Rin cut him off and ended their pointless quarrel.

Long Ye suddenly looked as if he had thought of something. He reached into his robes, took out a scroll, and held it out to Rin.

"What's this?"

Rin took it instinctively and was about to open it.

"Don't open it!"

Long Ye immediately stopped her.

"It's a sealing scroll. Sealed inside is a genjutsu I obtained in a trade..."

"When you encounter danger, open this scroll and use your blood to undo the seal. The genjutsu inside will activate. Even if it can't kill your opponent, it can catch them off guard and give you a chance to escape."

"There's something that incredible?"

Rin listened with fascination.

Long Ye nodded. "I obtained it by chance from a Jonin of Iwagakure earlier. Apparently, it came from the Land of Whirlpools long ago."

At that moment, a voice cut in:

"Long Ye, you really do forget your friends when you see a pretty girl. We agreed this would be a token between the two of us, and you gave it away the moment I turned around."

Shisui Uchiha walked over. Although his words were full of displeasure, his expression was teasing.

Long Ye did not turn around. "Whatever it is, it should be put to good use. Our loyalty to each other is in our hearts; we don't need something to prove it."

When the two of them had wiped out the Iwagakure team earlier, they had obtained two sealing scrolls.

These scrolls were somewhat special. They had been empty when acquired, and a ninja had to seal a ninjutsu inside them manually.

In the end, the two of them had decided to seal their strongest techniques inside the scrolls and exchange them as proof of the bond they had forged through life-and-death battles over the past six months.

Long Ye had sealed his Explosion Release, enhanced with high-intensity electrical currents, inside the scroll and given it to Shisui.

Shisui, meanwhile, had sealed the most terrifying genjutsu currently available through his Sharingan, Twelve Divine Heavens Hunt, inside the scroll and given it to Long Ye.

The suggestion had originally come from Long Ye.

His goal was to obtain Shisui's powerful genjutsu and eventually give it to Rin, so that she would have a trump card to rely on in times of danger and be able to save her life.

Now, by sheer coincidence, he had run into Rin, so Long Ye had taken the item out at the first opportunity.