The night passed in a flash.
Early the next morning, as the sky began to brighten, dawn broke through the thin mist and gently spilled over the rooftops of the Uchiha Clan Compound.
Zongyan rose early and got ready, changing into a clean ninja combat uniform and equipping himself with an assortment of combat gear.
In the courtyard, Uchiha Itachi had already been waiting for some time.
He had taken off his Anbu uniform and changed into casual clothes. His eyes held an unshakable resolve; clearly, he had long since prepared to accompany him.
"Zongyan, I've already submitted a leave request to the Anbu. I have nothing to do today, so I'm going with you to the border."
Itachi's tone was calm, but fiercely protective, leaving no room for discussion. "Danzo has concealed murderous intentions behind this mission. Danger lurks everywhere in the wilderness. Two jonin guarding you from hiding might not be able to handle every unexpected situation. It'll be far safer with me along."
Faced with his older brother's concern and protectiveness, Zongyan felt warmth in his heart, but he still shook his head gently and politely refused again.
This was already the third time he had turned down Itachi's offer of personal protection since last night.
"Brother, I really can handle it."
Zongyan looked straight into Itachi's eyes and reassured him again. "Father has arranged for two jonin from the clan to come along. I'm not weak myself, either. That's enough to handle most situations."
Itachi gazed at the composure and shrewdness in his younger brother's eyes, far beyond his years. After a long silence, he finally let out a soft sigh.
He knew that once his younger brother made up his mind, he would not easily change it. He could only nod. "Be careful in everything you do. Don't try to be a hero if something happens. Staying alive comes first."
"I understand," Zongyan replied with a smile.
After saying goodbye to Itachi, Zongyan headed into the inner courtyard to reassure his worried mother.
She had learned that her son's first mission outside the village would be such a dangerous operation to wipe out rogue ninja.
Uchiha Mikoto's eyes were filled with irrepressible worry and anxiety, fearing that he would encounter danger outside.
Zongyan patiently reassured her in a gentle voice, promising again and again that he would return safely.
Only after a long time did he finally manage to reassure his family.
Konoha's streets gradually grew busier in the early morning, villagers coming and going in a scene of peace and tranquility.
But that tranquility had nothing to do with Zongyan alone.
He knew full well that the moment he stepped through the village gate, he would have to watch out for his life at every turn.
He headed straight ahead and soon arrived at the Konoha Gate.
By the time he arrived, the other three members of his squad were already waiting there again.
Takuma, Naoki, and Yuta all came running over, each wearing a different expression.
The moment they saw Zongyan, the three immediately surrounded him and began clamoring noisily.
"Captain! My god, when I got home yesterday and saw the mission notice, I was completely stunned!"
Takuma spoke first, his voice filled with disbelief. "Our squad is only supposed to handle security inside the village! High-risk missions like hunting down rogue ninja have always been Anbu work. Since when did they fall to our squad?"
Naoki looked equally aggrieved, nodding repeatedly in agreement. "This is ridiculous. They're just assigning missions at random! We haven't left the village once since we started working. This isn't our specialty at all!"
Yuta, the youngest, also wore a grave expression. "I specifically asked around last night. There are plenty of higher-ranking ninja available in the village lately, but they still singled us out."
The three talked over one another, chattering nonstop, full of youthful resentment and confusion.
After the clamor, Takuma declared with absolute certainty, "To put it plainly, we're being targeted!"
"It's definitely that old bastard Danzo deliberately targeting you, Captain!"
Zongyan listened quietly to their complaints, then said slowly:
"Takuma is right. This mission was designed specifically for me from the very beginning."
"On this mission, we have to be careful, careful, and more careful."
He looked over the three of them, delivering his warning solemnly.
Seeing this, the three immediately put aside their banter and resentment, their expressions turning serious as they nodded firmly.
Without further delay, the four adjusted their packs, checked that all their ninja tools were ready, then turned and stepped through the Konoha Gate together, racing toward the border indicated in the mission.
They sped along, leaving Konoha far behind. The villages and people along the way gradually disappeared, replaced by rolling wilderness and densely forested mountains.
Halfway there, a dark, dense forest of towering trees blocked their path. Ancient trees stretched skyward, their branches thick with leaves. The dense canopy obscured the daylight, leaving the entire woodland gloomy and sinister.
The four slowed their pace and steadily approached the forest's edge.
Naoki abruptly stopped, his brows knitting tightly as a strong sense of wrongness rose within him. He warned in a low voice, "Captain, don't you think something's wrong here?"
"It's far too quiet here."
Zongyan answered as he sensed their surroundings.
An ordinary forest in the wilderness would always have birds, beasts, and insects calling, wind blowing and leaves rustling. Yet this woodland was deathly still, without the slightest sound of a living creature. Its silence was oppressive and eerie, as though it were a dead land devoid of life.
Zongyan paused and activated his Two-Tomoe Sharingan, keeping watch over their surroundings.
"Everyone, stay alert. There's an ambush."
Zongyan barked in a low voice, his tone sharp and stern. "Everyone, form hand seals and prepare for battle. Stand back-to-back, and don't break formation rashly!"
Takuma, Naoki, and Yuta dared not let their guard down. They immediately activated their Sharingan and watched their surroundings together.
"Follow me into the forest."
His expression cold and stern, Zongyan took the lead, stepping into the dark, dense forest first. The four formed a triangular battle formation and steadily advanced deeper inside.
The instant the four reached the depths of the forest, something suddenly changed!
Zongyan's pupils contracted slightly, and the chakra throughout his body instantly tensed.
His perception spread like a tide, instantly penetrating layer upon layer of tree shadows and soil. Countless tiny, cold points of chakra were locking onto their positions from every direction.
The next second, murderous attacks erupted without warning!
The killing threat in the forest intensified again. Several dark figures shot out from beneath the soil, and as chakra surged, earthen spheres formed one after another, sealing every gap they could move through on the ground.
Kunai whistled through the air, filling their vision with dense flashes of cold light. They wove an icy net of iron, sealing every sideways angle of evasion and trapping the squad firmly in the center.
The shadows among the trees shook violently as several dark figures unleashed ninjutsu. Crisscrossing blue-green wind blades tore through the air toward Zongyan and the others.
On three branches high overhead, three dark figures that had long been lying in wait moved at the same time.
Searing waves of fire abruptly poured down, covering the entire battlefield. Scalding air instantly swallowed all the space above the four.
Violent winds followed closely behind, sweeping through the forest and hurtling toward them with gravel and wood chips, swelling and spreading with the flames.
The ground trembled. Thick earthen walls rapidly rose on all four sides, closing in around them. In an instant, they sealed every escape route, trapping the four completely inside an enclosed deathtrap.
Layer upon layer of attacks bore down simultaneously, overlapping seamlessly and leaving not the slightest opening to dodge or catch their breath.
"Everyone, close in! Defend!"
Zongyan roared in a low voice. His Two-Tomoe Sharingan spun to its limit in an instant, his scarlet ocular power sweeping across the battlefield as he began searching for an opening.
At this critical moment, Zongyan showed no panic. He formed hand seals rapidly with one hand as waves of heat surged in his throat.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive crimson fireball roared forth and instantly burst above their heads, becoming a fiercely burning curtain of fire that securely covered the space above their entire formation.
The kunai flying through the air melted into molten iron the moment they touched the flames. The blue-green wind blades whistling toward them struck the fire curtain and were forcibly torn apart by the heat, most of them dissipating, greatly weakening the first wave of attacks.
But the enemy's ambush had clearly been meticulously planned. The earthen walls kept contracting inward, flames continued pouring down from overhead, and the remaining wind blades slammed into the fire curtain with gravel in tow. Under the layers of pressure, Zongyan's fire curtain shook violently, its edges constantly breaking apart and dispersing.
Takuma, Naoki, and Yuta huddled tightly back-to-back, their faces deathly pale. Their Sharingan worked at full strength as they dodged every attack that slipped through.
The enclosed earthen cage grew narrower and narrower, and the oppressive weight of death enveloped the four like a tide.
Just as the fire curtain was about to shatter completely and the deadly ninjutsu was about to crush them, two steady, powerful streams of blazing chakra suddenly tore into the battlefield from either side of the forest!
After two figures dressed in Uchiha clan attire intercepted every attack.
"Split up and intercept them!"
At the low shout, the two jonin coordinated seamlessly, instantly dividing the battlefield.
"Teacher Kiyoshi, Teacher Makoto! It's you!"
Seeing the newcomers, Zongyan could not help calling out.
Uchiha Kiyoshi and Uchiha Makoto only had time to nod before quickly moving forward to engage the enemy.
Uchiha Makoto raised his hands and formed hand seals. Roaring flames surged skyward, meeting the descending Fire Release and fierce winds head-on. Using fire to counter wind and flames to block fire, he forcibly held back the suppressive assault from above;
Uchiha Kiyoshi flashed toward the encircling earthen walls. Detecting the chakra fluctuations beneath the soil, he directed a burst of Fire Release into the ground, scorching it and forcing the dark figures controlling the Earth Release underground to reveal themselves.
In an instant, all three rogue jonin lurking in the shadows were exposed.
The two Uchiha jonin each moved to tie down one of the attacking jonin.
Amid the roar of ninjutsu, chakra storms erupted throughout the woods, setting the entire dense forest ablaze.
Seeing this, the remaining ninja knew the ambush had failed, and the murderous intent in his eyes grew even stronger.
His gaze locked firmly onto Uchiha Zongyan. He was the central target of this assassination attempt.
"Brat, even with someone protecting you, unfortunately, you still won't escape death today!"
Before you continue