The route back to Konoha that ANBU Crow chose was downright absurd-he kept plunging down woodland paths between the hills that weren't even fully marked on the map. He called it "safe," but walking it was sheer misery.
"H-how much farther...?"
Obito slumped like a puddle of mud, sweat covering his head and his throat parched.
They had traveled at high speed for three straight hours with only a ten-minute break. His legs were about to give out.
Rin leaned against a tree trunk, her face pale, but she still gritted her teeth without a word.
Kakashi was doing slightly better, though he too braced his hands on his knees and panted, beads of sweat clinging to his temples.
Only two of them looked completely unbothered.
Minato remained composed; traveling was no different from taking a stroll for him. Then there was Shuo, trailing at the rear, his steps as slow as if he were browsing a temple fair. Yet whenever he was about to fall behind, his figure seemed to flicker like an interrupted beam of light, and he instantly caught up.
It wasn't the Body Flicker Technique. Behind his mask, ANBU Crow had already stolen three glances at him-this kid's ability was downright uncanny.
"Fifteen-minute break."
Minato stopped in a clearing. "Take turns keeping watch. Crow, let's talk."
Everyone instantly sighed in relief.
Obito lay flat on the ground, Rin took small sips of water, and Kakashi stood against a tree, finally able to catch his breath.
Shuo slowly pulled out a Soldier Pill, chewed twice, and frowned deeply in disgust. "What is this garbage? It tastes worse than compressed biscuits."
One of Hayama's private soldiers kept Furukawa guarded in the middle. The soldier's eyes never left the little bundle in Furukawa's arms, as though he were watching prey.
Minato and Crow spoke quietly in the distance, with Hayama occasionally interjecting, scratching at his ears and cheeks in agitation.
Shuo had no interest in listening. He swept the area with Light Perception-nothing unusual within eight hundred meters, just a few wild boars drinking beside a distant stream. Perfectly safe.
He leaned against a tree, closed his eyes, and brought up the system interface: Imitation Points at 41.7%, with a little more experience in applying his abilities.
He was wondering why Yata Mirror Construction still hadn't leveled up when something suddenly flickered at the edge of his perception.
It wasn't chakra, but a "break" in the light-one kilometer to the northeast, something invisible had blocked the light for an instant.
Three seconds later, it happened again, its position shifting two hundred meters.
"Tsk. Can't even let me rest."
Shuo stood, brushed the dust off his trousers, and ambled over to Minato.
"What is it?" Minato looked up.
"Something's coming, one kilometer to the northeast."
Shuo sounded languid. "Not living people. They mask their chakra, but they can't avoid blocking light."
Crow immediately formed hand seals. "Sensory Ninjutsu won't work?"
"Waste of effort."
Shuo curled his lip. "When they distort chakra, they 'eat' light."
The moment he finished speaking, several black shapes shot toward them with a series of whistles-not kunai, but spears formed from black liquid, carrying an eerie chill!
"Enemy attack!"
Minato shouted sharply, forming hand seals. "Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
Blades of air shattered three black spears, but more came right behind them!
Kakashi drew his sword and slashed, while Obito and Rin shielded Furukawa as they retreated. Hayama trembled with a short staff raised. The black spears embedded themselves in tree trunks, which instantly withered and blackened.
"What the hell kind of ninjutsu is this?!"
Obito cried out in alarm.
Shuo remained where he stood, narrowing his eyes at the spears' trajectories-in his perception, these black spears were concentrated shadows, their firing points concealed by technique formulas.
"Minato-sensei, seven hundred meters at eleven o'clock, nine hundred meters at three o'clock. One source at each."
Shuo spoke as casually as if he were making small talk.
"Are you sure?"
Minato asked.
"Would light lie to you?"
Shuo shrugged.
"I'll take three o'clock!"
Crow immediately dashed out.
"I'll take eleven o'clock!"
Minato looked at Shuo. "You stay here."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm exhausted. I don't want to run anyway."
Shuo waved a hand.
The two figures vanished instantly, while the black spears continued shooting toward them in a frenzy. Obito blocked them as he shouted urgently, "Shuo-senpai! Give us a hand!"
"What's the rush? You're not going to die."
Shuo slowly raised his right hand, spread his fingers, and aimed at the gaps between the flying spears.
"Yata Mirror... Array."
He murmured it as though playing with a new toy.
Dozens of golden points sprang from his fingertips and stopped in a pattern in midair. Invisible light paths linked together, and a three-dimensional network of light mirrors instantly formed thirty meters in front of the clearing!
The black spears shot into the array and were instantly refracted over and over-the first mirror deflected them five degrees, the second ten, until they all went off course, either shooting into the sky or plunging into the woods beside them. Not one came within fifty meters of the clearing.
Obito's mouth fell open, Rin's kunai dropped to the ground, and even Kakashi's sword hand froze. Hayama collapsed straight onto his backside, murmuring, "Monster..."
Shuo maintained the gesture, looking bored. "Too many of them. Controlling them is a pain. My accuracy dropped thirty percent."
As he complained, another source appeared in his perception-twelve hundred meters due north, newly activated.
"So this just never ends, huh?"
Shuo sighed and raised his left hand as well. With his palms facing each other, dazzling golden light gathered between them, shrinking smaller and smaller. The surrounding light was drawn into it, dimming the area for an instant.
"Obito," Shuo suddenly said, "what was the speed of light again?"
"Wh-what?"
Obito was bewildered.
Shuo didn't wait for his answer. With a gentle push, he sent the golden light in his palms into the soil.
Half a second of silence, then-boom!
Three beams of golden light, each half a meter thick, erupted underground, racing along the variations in soil density he had perceived as though they were alive!
A second later, muffled sounds of shattering glass came from all three directions at once. The shadow barriers broke, their technique nodes pierced through.
The black spears instantly stopped.
The light mirror array slowly dissipated. Shuo lowered his hands and brushed the dust from his palms. "Done." He looked at the stunned Obito. "What did you ask just now?"
Obito: "..."
Rin asked Kakashi quietly, "Is this Light Release?"
Kakashi stayed silent for a long time before shaking his head. "I don't know. I've never seen it."
Shuo glanced at Hayama, who was slumped on the ground, and muttered, "How rude. I actually put some effort into working."
Ten minutes later, Minato and Crow returned, both looking somewhat bedraggled-the ninja controlling the shadows had fled outright upon seeing the sources destroyed.
"Were you the one who made those pillars of light?"
Minato looked at Shuo.
"Tried out a new idea."
Shuo shrugged. "Sending light underground takes a little less effort than through the air. Otherwise, it's too tiring."
The look in Crow's eyes behind his mask grew even more complicated-this kid was definitely hiding a huge secret.
But this wasn't the time to press him.
"Pack up. We're moving on. We can't stay here long," Minato ordered.
Everyone set off again. Shuo still trailed at the rear, looking at his hands and muttering, "Underground light trails work pretty well. My Imitation Points even went up a little."
On the system interface, his Imitation Points jumped to 42.1%.
Not bad. No loss there.
He looked up into the distance. Night was approaching, and Konoha's outline was already faintly visible.
"Finally, almost there."
Shuo sighed and quickened his pace a little-if he didn't get moving, he would have to spend the night in the woods, which would be even more trouble.
His figure flickered in and out of sight among the trees, like a careless wisp of light, languid and unhurried. Yet whenever trouble came knocking, he could always settle everything with a slight movement, then slowly continue on his way home.
Before you continue