Although Fenghuo, Kenichi, and Matsudaira had all awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, none was a shinobi who could command a force alone. None had ever led troops into battle on his own.
They had only commanded Uchiha forces while serving in the Security Force.
Of the Assassination Team, Jin, Takigawa, and Fujimoto were the best suited to lead. But Fujimoto had already left the village, so the three Mangekyo users had been placed together on one squad.
With their Mangekyo Sharingan, at least their safety was no concern. If they made full use of its abilities, even Rasa himself would struggle to do anything to them.
The three squads sped through the forest together. Word of their movements had already reached Scorpion, who was hidden in Kikyō Mountain.
Over the past month, Scorpion had shown his talent for puppetry, killing many Konoha shinobi.
But his heart was no longer in the war. Nothing in Sunagakure called to him anymore; the only person there he still cared about was his grandmother, Chiyo.
What he wanted most was to pursue his eternal art.
"Confirm those three Uchiha shinobi's identities and positions. Anyone serving as captain must have at least a Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Heh. Let's collect a little interest from them first."
More than anything, Scorpion wanted to turn them into Human Puppets. He had yet to acquire the body of an Uchiha with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and that left his collection feeling incomplete.
"Yes."
A squad of Scout Ninja emerged from the wooded mountainside and quickly vanished into the forest.
On the other side of the forest, Matsudaira surveyed the trees and smiled faintly. "Quite a few little rats out there. One can go back to report. The rest can stay here."
With that, he leaped onto a tree ahead. The three tomoe