After tossing the captain's token to Tsunade and giving the order to seal off the Hyuga Clan Compound, Uchiha Genya vanished in a flash, silently blending into the night as he headed straight back to his estate.
At the same time, outside the Uchiha Clan Compound on the outskirts of Konoha.
"Everyone, prepare for battle and stay close."
Under cover of darkness, Yugito Nii, dressed in a tight-fitting combat outfit, gave the order in a low voice and led nine Kumogakure elites swiftly through the shadows.
The infiltration went even more smoothly than she had anticipated.
Watching the unnaturally quiet street ahead, Yugito Nii felt somewhat surprised. She had never expected the defenses of Konoha's largest clan to be this appallingly lax.
In truth, no one else could be blamed for that.
The night patrol schedules in the Uchiha Clan Compound had always been decided by a few stubborn old clan elders.
Over all these years, not even a petty thief had entered the compound, so the clansmen responsible for night patrols had naturally grown lax.
As far as they were concerned, this was the heart of Konoha. Who would be stupid enough to come cause trouble on Uchiha territory?
It was precisely because the entire clan shared this blind arrogance that they would be slaughtered to the last man on the night of the massacre a few years later.
"The target is straight ahead."
"According to the advance team's reports, Jonin Samui is being held alone in that mansion up ahead."
A Kumogakure ninja responsible for reconnaissance pointed at the luxurious estate ahead and reported quietly to Yugito Nii.
According to the information they had received, this was the private residence of Uchiha Genya, captain of the Konoha Military Police Force. Samui, who had been knocked unconscious and captured in public yesterday, had not been sent to prison. Instead, Xuanye had carried her straight home.
He certainly lives in luxury.
Taking in the imposing courtyard walls and exquisite pavilion before her, Yugito Nii's gaze abruptly chilled, and a cold dread rose in her heart.
The great ninja villages of the Shinobi World fought endlessly, and history held far too many horrific examples of the torment female ninja could suffer once taken prisoner.
As a woman herself, she hardly dared imagine what Samui had endured during the day and night she had spent in Uchiha Genya's hands.
Earlier, after entering the village, they had secretly contacted the remaining delegation members, but they had been unable to provide any useful leads. All they had learned was that Uchiha Genya had left the village early that morning with a female Anbu to enjoy the scenery and had yet to return. This was the perfect opportunity for a surprise rescue.
However, according to the orders Lord Fourth Raikage had given before their departure, merely rescuing Samui would hardly be enough to demonstrate Kumogakure's might!
At most, rescuing her was only a side task tonight.
After all, Kumogakure had sent its delegation to Konoha for negotiations with great fanfare, and all the great nations of the Shinobi World were craning their necks to watch.
As long as they crushed Konoha at the negotiating table, Kumogakure could naturally take its place as the foremost power in the Shinobi World.
And what had Konoha done?
The delegation had barely reached the Konoha Gate before the police force pinned them to the ground and beat them savagely. Then even Envoy Samui had been slapped across the Hokage's Office and taken away, her whereabouts still unknown.
This was nothing short of grinding Kumogakure's and the Fourth Raikage's faces into the dirt!
With the Fourth Raikage's explosive temper, how could he possibly swallow such humiliation?
Since Lord Raikage had declared that he wanted "both the Byakugan and the Sharingan" and had even sent Yugito Nii, the Two-Tails' jinchūriki, how could rescuing Samui alone be his purpose?
Tonight, Yugito Nii would not only rescue her but also turn the entire Uchiha Clan Compound into a river of blood, gouging out as many pairs of Sharingan as possible!
Before they had even departed, the Fourth Raikage had carefully studied the intelligence on Konoha's Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake.
Although Kakashi was an outsider, he had made a formidable name for himself in the Shinobi World with a single transplanted Sharingan.
Since even outsiders could use transplanted Sharingan normally, why not dig out a few dozen pairs this time and bring them back for the village's elite jonin? Wouldn't that let Kumogakure mass-produce powerful fighters?
Lord Raikage had secretly invested heavily to make tonight's operation possible.
Besides, while the old fox in Konoha's Hokage Building was not to be trifled with, how dare a mere police force captain climb onto Kumogakure's neck and shit on it?
Where had he gotten the fucking nerve?
If they did not settle the score soon, within three days, the whole Shinobi World would be laughing about Kumogakure's humiliation in Konoha!
Therefore, going straight after Uchiha Genya and the Uchiha Clan was unquestionably the most worthwhile option.
Moreover, according to Kumogakure's inside information, relations between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha High Command had long since become utterly strained. Just two days ago, Uchiha Genya had even thrown the Third Hokage's own son and an adviser into prison. The two sides were completely at odds.
That meant that even if the Kumogakure Squad hacked Uchiha Genya to death tonight and slaughtered half the Uchiha Clan Compound, not only would the Third Hokage not turn hostile and declare war, he might even applaud them in secret!
Make the Uchiha suffer while intimidating Konoha's weak leadership, paving the way to fleece Konoha at the negotiating table afterward-that was the Fourth Raikage's plan.
"Over the wall. Move!"
Yugito Nii drew a kunai and held it in a reverse grip. With a flick of her wrist, she led her nine subordinates nimbly over the nearly three-meter-high wall, landing firmly on the courtyard's bluestone paving.
But the moment they looked up, Yugito Nii and the nine Kumogakure jonin behind her froze in place.
The spacious courtyard was brightly lit, not deserted as they had imagined.
Beneath the pavilion along the walkway, a stunningly beautiful, long-haired woman was leisurely pinning up her hair before a dressing mirror.
She glanced down at the fresh strip of vivid red hair growing at her roots and sighed softly in vexation.
Thanks to the special disguise method Xuanye had given her, she normally lived with long, straight black hair, but new hair grew out every so often, requiring her to conceal it again regularly.
"If you ask me, you should just go back to your original appearance and stroll around openly. With me backing you up in Konoha, who would dare say a damn thing?"
"Even if you wanted to go hug Naruto every day, no one would dare stop you."
Aside from the woman combing her hair, Yugito Nii immediately fixed her attention on the handsome young man sitting beside a stone table, leisurely drinking from a teacup.
Uchiha Genya!
Before setting out on this mission, Yugito Nii had long since memorized Xuanye's portrait and information.
But the delegation's scouts had clearly reported that Uchiha Genya had left the village today and still had not returned!
How could the intelligence be this far off?!
Yugito Nii's back instantly tensed, and she immediately raised a hand to signal her subordinates to remain on guard where they stood.
She knew perfectly well that the man sitting in the pavilion had noticed them from the very first second they climbed over the wall.
Yet he had not even lifted his eyelids, treating all ten of them as though they were thin air.
"Let's not stir things up. Since the old Third kept the news from the public, he must have his concerns."
Kushina Uzumaki sighed, set down her comb, and shook her head. Then she glanced across the courtyard at the ten fully armed Kumogakure assassins, a trace of sympathy involuntarily entering her eyes.
As the woman who shared his bed every night, no one in this world knew better than she did just how terrifyingly powerful the man beside her was.
As far back as the Night of the Nine-Tails three years ago, when this man had dragged her back from death's door, he had already been as powerful as a monster.
Now that three full years had passed, God only knew what heights his strength had reached.
After all, this was someone who could make even the rampaging Nine-Tails, Kurama, cower on the ground and tremble all over with a single glare!
"You're still so easy to fool."
Xuanye shook his head with a smile and wasted no more words on the subject.
Counting the days, the old woman the Third had assigned to care for Naruto would soon be withdrawn. Once little Naruto began living those miserable days of instant noodles for every meal and diarrhea from expired milk, he would see whether Kushina could still speak up for the old Third.
Setting down his teacup, Xuanye turned his head and slowly directed his gaze toward Yugito Nii and her group, who stood braced as if facing a formidable enemy.
"All right, now it's time to talk about you."
The young man sitting cross-legged on the stone stool narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke in an even tone.
"I'm actually quite curious. How did the ten of you get past the Land of Fire's border patrols so brazenly?"
"What makes me even more curious is that the sensory barrier around Konoha operates around the clock, yet it didn't react at all when you slipped inside. Could some big shot in the village have deliberately left you a back door, letting you in to make trouble for me?"
As his words fell, Xuanye slowly rose from the stone stool and strode toward the Kumogakure Squad.
"Never mind. It doesn't matter who let you in."
Xuanye gently rolled his neck, and the mild smile on his face vanished in an instant.
The next second, an overwhelming surge of almost tangible killing intent erupted, engulfing the entire courtyard!
"Before I send you on your way, I only have one question."
"You pieces of shit, do you have any fucking idea that today is my day off?!"
Before you continue