At Hyuga Kiyomei's words, Black Wolf's expression grew even more deranged.
"Hyuga Kiyomei, do you think you're being perfectly reasonable?"
"Do you think your offer is so generous that I have no reason to refuse?"
"Do you think you already have everything under control?"
A smile curved Hyuga Kiyomei's lips. "Why? Do you find something objectionable, Jōnin Black Wolf? If anything is unsuitable, we can take our time discussing it."
The three tomoe in Uchiha Black Wolf's eyes spun rapidly, as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world. "Hahaha! Hahaha!"
"Hyuga Kiyomei, your greatest mistake is not knowing why I defected from the Uchiha."
"I hate your Hyuga even more than I hate the Uchiha!"
Before Black Wolf could say anything else, Hyuga Kiyomei's right hand had pierced his heart.
A whisper like the voice of death sounded beside Black Wolf's ear. "Your son died at the hands of my cousin, Hyuga Chenxi. How could I possibly be unaware of such important information?"
Black Wolf's three tomoe spun even more violently, almost joining into a single line. Sadly, in the next instant, those blood-red eyes filled with hatred and loathing lost their color.
"With your Three-Tomoe Sharingan as compensation, I imagine the clan will reward me rather than blame me!"
Hyuga Kiyomei elegantly wiped the tainted blood from his hand, then slowly reached out to claim his "spoils."
It was Kiyomei's first time harvesting a Sharingan, and he proceeded with the utmost care. He focused the full power of his Byakugan on the meridian pathways around Black Wolf's eyes, afraid that too much force would damage this precious pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Though he did his best to restrain himself and kept a charming smile on his face, his trembling right hand had already betrayed him.
No matter how he disguised or concealed it, he could not hide the excitement in his heart. After all, he was only twenty.
Just as his right hand, trembling with excitement, touched Uchiha Black Wolf's eyes, searing heat rushed toward him from behind.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Two lifelike fire dragons surged forth like demons crawling out of a blazing hell, their raging flames sealing off every route Hyuga Kiyomei could use to retreat or dodge.
Hyuga Kiyomei was crouched on the ground. He could neither break left nor move right, and Uchiha Black Wolf was behind him. Apart from diving or leaping forward, he seemed to have no other choice.
But even without thinking, he knew that whether he dove or leaped forward, he would never withstand Uchiha Black Wolf's next attack.
"Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin!"
A spherical barrier of chakra perfectly blocked attacks from every direction.
As he spun, Hyuga Kiyomei also located his enemy and used the force of his rotation to close the distance rapidly.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
Before his Rotation had ended, a palm blast of highly condensed chakra shot toward Black Wolf.
Black Wolf neither dodged nor evaded, taking the powerful palm strike head-on.
Thump!
With a soft thud, a wooden log was smashed to pieces by the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm.
"Substitution Technique?"
A few beads of cold sweat involuntarily trickled down Hyuga Kiyomei's forehead.
He pushed his Byakugan's penetrating vision to its limit, searching in every direction, yet still could not find Uchiha Black Wolf.
Could he be-!
The thought had barely formed when he heard a deadly voice. "Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique."
An enormous fire dragon rose beneath his feet, swallowing his entire body.
The bedraggled Uchiha Black Wolf did not stop to check the effects of his ninjutsu. He fled straight toward Gale Gorge.
When Black Wolf saw Jing Xiu again, he had expected a few mocking remarks.
Instead, Jing Xiu merely frowned at him. "You used Izanagi?"
Uchiha Black Wolf nodded without explaining further. Jing Xiu said nothing more either, simply closing his eyes and sitting in meditation to continue his training.
The next day, Black Wolf volunteered an explanation to Jing Xiu. "I failed to kill Hyuga Kiyomei. That last Great Dragon Fire Technique could seriously wound him, but it definitely wouldn't kill him."
"After using the Great Dragon Fire Technique, my chakra was completely depleted. I couldn't keep fighting, so I chose to run."
Jing Xiu waved a hand. "That's your business. It has nothing to do with me."
Black Wolf gave Jing Xiu a long, searching look. "Isn't this exactly the outcome you wanted?"
"A badly wounded Hyuga Kiyomei returning to the Hyuga Clan would at least give them an explanation for that shipment. And then there's a rogue Three-Tomoe Uchiha and the son of the Uchiha Clan Head."
"Those two bargaining chips are enough to make the Hyuga Clan send people to hunt us down. I imagine that bastard Uchiha Tajima wants this situation too."
"If I'm not mistaken, you have something on you that makes it easy for Uchiha Tajima to track you!"
Though phrased as a question, his tone was certain.
Jing Xiu was not surprised that Black Wolf had seen through his plan.
After all, no Uchiha who became a jōnin was a fool. The scheme to lure the enemy out was so obvious that it would have been strange if Black Wolf had failed to see through it.
Jing Xiu offered no further explanation. He packed up the materials used to set up the barrier, left the cave, and headed toward the Land of Rain.
As before, Black Wolf traveled with Jing Xiu, one ahead of the other, through Gale Gorge and into the Land of Rain.
Jing Xiu took out a list and handed it to Black Wolf. "These are the materials for making smoke bombs. With these, we can effectively block the Byakugan's surveillance."
Black Wolf looked over the items on the list. "Chakra Paper, cinnabar, mercury..."
He rarely used many of these items, and for a moment, he was baffled. "What do these things have to do with smoke bombs?"
Jing Xiu did not explain, and Black Wolf sheepishly fell silent.
The rain fell incessantly. Weather like this weakened Fire Release, leaving the fire-natured Black Wolf exceptionally irritable.
As the two walked through the streets of the Land of Rain, a "handsome" man covered in bandages, his bald head polished like a mirror, sat in a pavilion savoring fine tea.
A chunin from the Hyuga Branch Family knelt behind him. "Lord Kiyomei, the Elders Council has decided your punishment. The clan has formed the Uchiha Black Wolf Hunting Squad, and you will serve as its deputy captain."
Hyuga Kiyomei took a small sip of tea, then tilted his head toward the bright sun. "The sunshine is just right for a spring outing. Unfortunately, some people are destined to wallow in the rain and mud!"
Madara Uchiha sensed the direction indicated by the orb in his hand and nodded to Uchiha Tajima behind him.
Tajima gazed at the dark clouds ahead, comforting himself inwardly. Jing Xiu, don't blame me! The clan will remember your sacrifice!
Meanwhile, Butsuma Senju sat upright in the dark Purification Chamber.
Whenever the Senju Clan faced a major decision, he would shut himself in here and consider every detail, doing all he could to ensure the Senju could keep moving forward.
"Uchiha Tajima should have set out by now, and Hyuga Tennin should be on the move as well."
"Tajima is certainly living up to his name. Not only did he use his arrangements to eliminate the reactionaries within his clan, but he also drew out the Hyuga's elite force without leaving a trace."
"Once the Hyuga's elite force is wiped out, they will lose the strength to hold the Uchiha at a stalemate on the front lines."
"When that happens, it will be time for our Senju Clan to reap the rewards!"