Battle

Uchiha Yan swam forward with all his might, glancing back now and then at the female ninja pursuing him.

He was not sure where these ninja were from, but he was a hundred percent certain that besides this woman, there had to be two more ninja aboard the boat.

Three-person squads had always been standard in the shinobi world. It was only when the woman raised her hand just now that this occurred to him.

I need to find a way to test which village these Ninja are from, or this will be tricky.

He looked up and saw a mass of foam barrels floating on the sea ahead. An idea immediately came to Uchiha Yan. A fishing raft? I'm counting on you.

Uchiha Yan surfaced and ran toward the fishing raft, only to stop one step away from it, silently forming hand seals with his right hand.

"Water Release: Water Trumpet!"

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

The instant Uchiha Yan surfaced, two columns of water suddenly appeared on the sea and rushed toward him. At the sight, the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

No Lightning Release. They're most likely Kirigakure ninja. If that's all their ninjutsu amounts to even out at sea, they probably aren't Jonin.

Facing three opponents, Uchiha Yan had no desire to use ninjutsu right from the start. He would conserve chakra wherever he could.

Uchiha Yan took out three kunai with explosive tags attached, aiming two at the ninjutsu while keeping a tight grip on the third.

Boom! Boom!

The instant the explosions erupted, Uchiha Yan planted the kunai in his hand into the plank behind his heel, then called out to the two ninja on the boat.

"Seniors, there's no need to make enemies everywhere you go! Why don't we sit down and talk?"

A young ninja put his forehead protector back on, glanced beneath the sea, then spoke flatly.

"Which village are you from? What are you doing here?"

"I'm a missing-nin, man! Didn't you notice I don't even dare wear my forehead protector? Obviously, I'm here to seek refuge!"

"I see! Why don't you join Kirigakure? Once our mission is over, we'll take you to meet the Fourth Mizukage."

"Senior, you're putting me in a difficult position!"

"If you're not a friend, you're an enemy. Didn't your teacher teach you..."

Before he could finish, the young ninja's pupils contracted sharply, and he shouted, "Watch out!"

Boom!

An explosion erupted beneath Uchiha Yan's feet. The female ninja who had just grabbed his feet had both hands blasted bloody.

"Glug, glug... Ah..."

The female ninja screamed and burst out of the water, glaring hatefully at Uchiha Yan. But he vanished on the spot, leaving only a wooden log behind.

The woman froze briefly. Only briefly, before she seemed to realize something and pushed off with her feet, preparing to leap away.

Uchiha Yan gave her no such chance. Grabbing her ankle with his right hand, he yanked her straight into the sea. While she panicked, he gripped a kunai in his left hand and plunged it directly into her throat.

Having done all this, Uchiha Yan turned and swam toward the island.

Before long, blood rose to the surface, not only making the two approaching ninja pause, but also attracting a school of sharks.

After hauling the woman's body out and laying it on the fishing raft, the young ninja's eyes filled with murderous intent. Through gritted teeth, he spat out one word.

"After him!"

"Captain, we're not sensory ninja. We don't know where he is!"

"Toward the Land of Sea! Send up a signal flare and tell the people on the island to stay alert."

The young ninja was no fool. His opponent could not remain underwater forever. To escape, he would have to go ashore first.

Uchiha Yan understood this too. He was not worried about these three. What worried him was that if he could not kill them in time, and there really were other Kirigakure ninja on the island, escape would be almost impossible.

Reality was often cruel. Uchiha Yan looked up, only to see a red light shooting into the sky, and his heart sank to rock bottom.

Now, Uchiha Yan could neither advance nor retreat. Even after racking his brain, he could think of only two solutions, but both carried enormous repercussions and might well bring Obito back again.

"Oh dear! He's done for! Once a sensory ninja gets here, he's dead!"

White Zetsu understood the situation too, his eyes brimming with glee at Uchiha Yan's misfortune.

"Should we notify Obito and have him come collect the body?"

"If he's dead, what's the body good for? Using Rinne Rebirth?"

"Does he have any way to survive? He's so smart."

"Impossible, unless Obito comes to save him or someone uses the Reverse Summoning Technique."

"His summoning beast is still on the way, and Obito doesn't want to save him. Doesn't that mean he's doomed?"

"Exactly, exactly! So what's the use of having brains? Out in the world, strength is what counts."

"Huh? Why did he come out? He wouldn't come out when there were only two of them, but now that Kirigakure's Jonin are here, he comes out?"

"No idea!"

Uchiha Yan had no choice but to come out. He could not win a fight, and he could not run. What could he do? Put on an act?

Seeing Uchiha Yan appear, the young ninja's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Why aren't you hiding anymore? Decided how you want to die?"

Uchiha Yan ignored him and instead turned his gaze toward a purple-haired female ninja in the crowd. From the attitudes of these Kirigakure ninja, he could be certain that she was their leader.

"What an honor. So many people came to welcome me, including a Kirigakure Anbu Squad."

As he spoke, Uchiha Yan took a Konoha forehead protector from his ninja tool pouch and put it on, activating his Sharingan as well.

"I'm Uchiha Yan. What should I call you, pretty lady?"

"A Konoha ninja!"

"The Uchiha Clan?"

At the sight of the familiar Sharingan, everyone instinctively glanced aside. Only the purple-haired ninja studied Uchiha Yan with a frown.

"Isn't the Uchiha Clan on the Land of Lightning battlefield, in the northwestern part of the Land of Iron? Even if not, you should be in the southeastern Land of Fire, shouldn't you?

"And why are you alone? Is the Uchiha Clan really so comfortable letting you go on a mission by yourself?

"At your age, you've probably only just graduated. You awakened the Sharingan so young. Is the Uchiha Sharingan really that cheap?"

"It's a long story! In short, I offended someone and was sent out to find Kirigakure's commander-in-chief.

"Strange, isn't it? I only looked at a list of Kirigakure's senior officials, and Senior Genji came to mind. Then I looked at a map and guessed that Senior Genji might be here."

At this point, Uchiha Yan paused, leaned forward slightly, and lowered his voice. "What's even stranger is that fishermen in the Land of Hot Water have been hearing thunder frequently lately. I started wondering whether Kumogakure also had ninja in the Land of Sea.

"Seeing you, senior, I think I guessed right. Too bad I can't send this intelligence back."

The purple-haired woman's expression visibly darkened.

"So you came here to find Lord Genji? Boy, you're the first ninja I've met who's clever enough to get himself killed."

"Not necessarily!"

Uchiha Yan raised his eyebrows. "I'm so smart, I'm sure I can help you. For example, I could help you get more out of this collaboration.

"Or I could give you some intelligence-the location of a surviving member of the Uzumaki Clan.

"Or I could teach you how to get what you want even if you lose this war.

"You're better off relying on yourselves than on Kumogakure, unless you think Kirigakure can defeat Kumogakure. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Bullshit!"

The young ninja cursed furiously. "No matter what you say today, you're going to die! Lady Shiori, let me kill him! Then we can take his Sharingan to Lord Genji."

"Shut up!"

Shiori shot the young ninja a cold glare. "What Genin do you think would be sent on a mission alone?"

"But he's been alone the whole time, from boarding the boat to coming here!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

Hearing this, Shiori's expression did not ease. Instead, it grew increasingly grim. To deduce so much all on his own-this person was far too clever.

Seeing that Shiori had not killed him immediately, Uchiha Yan decided to keep piling on the pressure.

"Senior! The war has already begun, yet you're still here. That's proof enough that your talks aren't going smoothly.

"You can't even work together before Konoha has been destroyed. If Konoha really is destroyed, do you think Kumogakure will obediently honor the alliance agreement?

"Just take me to see Senior Genji. Trust me, I won't disappoint you.

"I'm just a lowly Genin. How could I possibly escape?

"Besides, if there's no word from me for too long, do you think the Uchiha Clan will investigate? Will they discover that I came to the Land of Sea?

"When that happens, won't you be exposed anyway?"