Stacking Disguises and Shifting the Blame

A cold light kindled, inch by inch, in Yongye's eyes. Lightning Release crackled eagerly at his fingertips, its current shrieking.

He raised his hand and slowly closed his fingers, crushing the mass of lightning in his palm as though crushing an enemy's heart.

Night deepened.

A black sky swallowed Konoha whole.

Across the Uchiha Clan Compound, lights went out one after another.

Most of the clan had gone to bed. Only a few patrolling ninja moved beneath the moonlight, silently keeping watch.

The streets and alleys lay still. Only the evening breeze stirred the treetops with a soft rustle. By day, the sound would have been noise. At night, it made the darkness feel deeper.

A figure slipped soundlessly into the shadows.

Uchiha Yongye stood in the dark, forming Hand Seals before his chest. His fingers moved so fast they blurred. Pale blue Lightning Release chakra surged through his meridians and slowly gathered before him.

It took human shape.

The same height as Yongye. The same lean build. The same outline.

A Lightning Release Clone.

This Lightning Release Clone was nothing like the clones Yongye had previously made with ordinary chakra.

It held more than half his chakra and the essence of Lightning Release Chakra Mode. The arcs around it dimmed in the darkness, but its power felt as solid as a fine blade hidden in its sheath.

Its presence was dense and concentrated, far beyond that of an ordinary clone.

Even a jonin-level sensory ninja would be unable to tell whether it was a clone or the original until they destroyed it.

Yongye circled the clone and nodded in satisfaction.

Safety first.

He was not yet strong enough to do whatever he wanted. As a mature, rational transmigrator, before doing anything big, he needed layers of cover.

That would keep him safe while shifting the blame and making the incident impossible to ignore.

He raised a hand and lightly touched the clone's forehead.

The Transformation Technique activated.

The clone's outline warped. It grew two inches taller, its shoulders broadened, silver hair fell around its head, and a Forehead Protector covered its left eye.

In the space of a breath, the figure before him had become Konoha's famous Copy Ninja—Kakashi Hatake.

Yongye tilted his head to inspect his work, then pulled a piece of black cloth from his clothes and carefully wrapped it around the clone's face, covering it completely.

"Perfect."

He patted the clone's shoulder.

This was how you drew attention by trying to hide it.

Cover his face, and nobody would recognize him?

Most importantly, White Fang's death had already left Kakashi Hatake, Danzo, and the Third Hokage bound in a web of suspicion.

Yongye's Lightning Release Clone moved soundlessly through the night.

The perception granted by Clear Sword Heart spread like an invisible net.

Within several hundred meters, every ripple of chakra stood out as clearly as candlelight in the dark. The patrolling ninja's chakra glowed orange, moving steadily along their routes; the clan members' chakra was a dim gray-white, resting quietly inside their homes.

Beyond the Uchiha Clan Compound, hidden in the shadows—

Cold blue chakra crouched motionless like venomous snakes, thick with killing intent. Those were his targets!

Konoha's suppression and exclusion of the Uchiha had all but become open policy.

Elite Root and ANBU ninja lurked constantly around the compound's perimeter. Like vultures that never left, they circled the edge of Uchiha territory day and night, watching, recording, waiting.

Waiting for an excuse to strike.

Yongye's Lightning Release Clone stopped and crouched on the branch of an ancient tree. He extended his Clear Sword Heart perception and fixed on his targets.

There they were. Two Root ninja.

One hid in a bush at the eleven o'clock position, expertly concealed. But under Clear Sword Heart's perception, the chakra flowing through his body was plain to see.

The other perched on a nearby branch, his dark cloak blending almost perfectly into the tree's shadow.

The clone did not rush. Like a patient owl, he slowly steadied his breathing and suppressed his presence before moving.

With a light push, he slipped from the branch like a ghost, without disturbing a single leaf.

Lightning Release Chakra Mode, activate!

Pale blue arcs danced silently over his skin, concealed by his black clothes. Only an occasional glimmer escaped through his collar.

His reflexes surged to their limit. Everything around him seemed to slow—the falling leaves drifted like feathers, the night wind's path through the grass became clear, and he could pinpoint even the slight rise and fall of the two Root ninja's shoulders as they breathed.

He stopped three meters behind them.

A Kunai in his left hand. Another in his right.

Lightning Release chakra flooded both blades, casting a cold blue gleam. They looked like two venomous snakes poised to strike.

Then—he charged straight at them.

Two streaks of blue lightning tore through the night!

Too fast!

The two Root ninja only sensed someone behind them when the Kunai were already closing on their necks!

There was no time to turn, block, or make any other defensive move. But they were elites handpicked by Root. In that split second between life and death, their bodies reacted faster than their minds.

No dodging! No blocking!

Attack instead of defending!

Both Root ninja turned at once. Their Kunai swept in vicious arcs toward the attacker's throat and heart. Root had drilled that response into their muscles: when ambushed, force the enemy to defend himself.

If you dare stab me, I'll run my Kunai through your throat at the same time!

We'll die together!

Ruthless, decisive, textbook Root tactics!

Then—they saw golden light.

Indestructible Golden Body, activate!

A layer of dark gold light burst from Yongye's Lightning Release Clone, like a Buddha descending or an asura opening his eyes.

The light was not blinding, but its presence was as heavy as a mountain. What stood before them felt less like a thin film of light than an immense wall of bronze.

The two Root ninja drove their Kunai hard into the golden glow.

Clang!

Two sharp impacts rang out as one. Sparks flew. The Kunai tips shattered the instant they touched the light, and the force that rebounded through the blades left both ninja's hands numb.

Both their pupils contracted.

What the hell kind of defense was this?!

As shock and fury seized them, the Kunai charged with Lightning Release chakra swept across their throats like a gale.

The cuts were clean, like hot knives through butter, without a wasted sound. Two lines of blood bloomed against the night sky.

One strike. Two kills!

The clone landed in a crouch between them and watched expressionlessly as their bodies slumped to the ground.

He did not stand immediately. Instead, he swiftly and calmly stripped them of their gear—ninja-tool pouches, food pills, sealing scrolls.

Then he pressed a palm to each of their heads. Lightning Release chakra surged in, precisely burning away the parts of their brains that stored information.

His work was clean. Not a scrap of memory remained for the Yamanaka Clan to read.

Only then did he rise, flick the blood from his Kunai, and disappear into the darkness again.

This was revenge!

In a word: satisfying!

Keep going!

Clear Sword Heart's perception spread once more. Before long, he located another surveillance post.

This time, he chose not to ambush them up close.

Perhaps it was instinct, but after killing, he badly wanted to set something on fire!

Yongye's clone stopped over ten meters away and rapidly formed Hand Seals.

Tiger. Snake. Dog. Dragon.

Chakra roared through his body. His doubled physique and doubled chakra reserves poured into a ninjutsu without restraint for the first time.

Yongye could feel it: this technique would be far more powerful than usual.

He formed the final seal, drew a deep breath until his chest reached its limit, then blasted it out!

"Fire Release—Great Fire Annihilation!"