Konoha Ninja with Schemes of Their Own

Dajirō and Feng You could not wrap their heads around how their perfectly normal squad had suddenly turned strange.

Their captain was going to attack Sunagakure's camp, while Bieshu Feifan had left the team without a word.

The two stared at each other, their minds in turmoil, neither understanding what had happened.

Feng You burst into tears on the spot. She vaguely sensed that something had gone wrong.

But she could not say exactly what it was.

In the end, Dajirō made the decision.

"Stop crying. What good will crying do? Let's find the captain. He's strong. He can protect us."

"But just now, the captain..."

Recalling Uchiha Qiongyue's earlier behavior, which had seemed like he was sending them to their deaths, Feng You felt doubtful again.

"No buts, Feng You.

"The captain was probably testing our abilities just now. Konoha's Shinobi don't abandon their comrades.

"Besides, Bieshu Feifan left the squad. Interrogation will be waiting for him when he gets back.

"Do you want to experience the legendary interrogation unit's methods too?"

Feng You had nothing to say. She was convinced.

Then the two chased after Uchiha Qiongyue, their hearts filled with unease.

Watching them from afar with his Byakugan, Bieshu Feifan sighed.

They couldn't make a decision when it mattered. Hopeless.

Ignoring Dajirō and Feng You as they went off to their deaths, Bieshu Feifan kept his Byakugan active and carefully ran toward the Aburame Shinobi behind him.

Several flying insects high in the sky were not desert species.

They were scouting insects.

Although Bieshu Feifan could see them, he could not reach them. All he could do was get close to that Aburame as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, in the desert a little farther away, the Aburame Shinobi frowned at the information his scouting insects brought back.

How had that Bieshu Feifan discovered me?

And why was he coming back?

It was getting late, and the Aburame Shinobi could not see very far. He could only rely on his scouting insects to learn what was happening around him.

But that required frequently sending out and recalling the scouting insects, leaving the information somewhat delayed.

Wanting to find out whether Bieshu Feifan was trying to escape or had really discovered him, the Aburame Shinobi immediately sent out several more scouting insects.

Then, just as he recalled several scouting insects, before he even had time to exchange information, faint footsteps suddenly sounded behind him.

The Aburame Shinobi was startled, cold sweat pouring down him. He turned to see Bieshu Feifan studying him curiously.

Only after a long while did Bieshu Feifan speak first.

"Talk. We'd be better off cooperating."

The Aburame Shinobi swallowed.

"Talk about what? I don't know you."

"Heh. If you won't be honest, I don't mind fighting you right here. Don't blame me if you die."

As he spoke, Bieshu Feifan had already drawn a kunai.

The Aburame Shinobi took a deep breath, looking at Bieshu Feifan, who did not seem to be joking.

Realizing that the other man was even more formidable than he had imagined, he weighed his options and said:

"I was the one who gave you the mission."

"I know. Who gave you yours?"

The Aburame Shinobi hesitated, then shook his head.

"I can't say. But that lord told me to hand your ninjutsu to you personally.

"He was also the one who told me to contact you about the mission involving Uchiha Qiongyue."

It really was Shimura Danzō. No one else in Konoha would do something like this.

"Why choose me?"

"The lord said you had a grudge against the Uchiha, and that you were an honest man."

Bieshu Feifan merely chuckled at that.

Did being honest mean he deserved to be used as a pawn?

Shimura Danzō really was detestable. He even had to exploit cannon fodder like him.

And use him to plot against an Uchiha elite, at that.

No wonder that, in the final stage of his life, he had only one person to accompany him on walks.

"What about you? What's your mission?"

"I'm the second safeguard. If you can't finish it, I'll step in to support you."

As the Aburame Shinobi spoke, his voice suddenly grew quieter.

Seeing Bieshu Feifan's sneer, he kept feeling that Bieshu Feifan knew more.

Bieshu Feifan did not believe his explanation at all. The part about being a second safeguard was true.

But he would probably kill Bieshu Feifan along with the target.

What a wicked idea. One person stirred up trouble beside Uchiha Qiongyue, while the other did it from behind.

If Uchiha Qiongyue really carried out the mission obediently, he would certainly die.

"What are you planning to do now? Uchiha Qiongyue has already gone off course."

Bieshu Feifan wanted to see what the Aburame Shinobi would do.

The Aburame Shinobi thought for a long while, then said:

"How about you go back and continue staying undercover beside Uchiha Qiongyue?"

At that point, the Aburame Shinobi suddenly did not dare continue, because he clearly sensed Bieshu Feifan's killing intent.

"Hey, hey, I mean we cooperate. Give Sunagakure the information and let them kill Uchiha Qiongyue.

"We'll handle the cleanup and make sure Uchiha Qiongyue dies."

Bieshu Feifan said nothing and merely nodded.

If Uchiha Qiongyue had not also wanted to kill him, he would have very much liked to kill this Aburame Shinobi right now.

But Uchiha Qiongyue was too powerful. Cooperating was the more reliable option.

After discussing it, Bieshu Feifan and the Aburame Shinobi finally agreed to cooperate: they would kill Uchiha Qiongyue first.

By then, Uchiha Qiongyue had gone far away, but he had not escaped the Aburame's sight.

"But Bieshu Feifan, you've already left Uchiha Qiongyue. How are you going to lead him to the Sand Ninja? The Sand Ninja in that Sunagakure camp ahead probably aren't enough to kill him."

"What's so hard about that? First, find Sand Ninja who can kill him, then inform them directly."

"Inform them directly?"

"Yes, inform them directly. First, bring them a piece of paper saying: 'An Uchiha is here.' Then just have your insects lead the way."

The Aburame Shinobi's face instantly darkened at that. What kind of bullshit plan was this?

Was he that eager to let Sunagakure know this was infighting among Konoha ninja?

With the Aburame Clan providing the information, no less.

After more back-and-forth, the two finally worked out a plan.

They would first write the three characters for "Uchiha" on small strips of cloth, then have the Aburame's insects scatter them over Sunagakure's camp from high above.

As long as they scattered the strips a little closer to Uchiha Qiongyue, they believed Sunagakure's people would find him.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Qiongyue was already alone. The two pieces of cannon fodder had finally died at the hands of the Sand Ninja.

Only Bieshu Feifan remained.

Uchiha Qiongyue did not care about that. Once he returned to Konoha, he would brand Bieshu Feifan a rogue ninja.

Uchiha Qiongyue felt no guilt over getting two pieces of cannon fodder killed.

This was merely retaliation against the higher-ups for scheming against him.

When he received this mission, he had also felt that it was fraught with danger, but with his strength, he figured he would not be in danger.

Most importantly, he had always thought he was merely a squad member, following a jōnin on a mission.

But to his surprise, he was the captain, and his squad members were three freshly graduated students.

This was clearly a suicide mission.

Only after thinking for a long time did Uchiha Qiongyue make up his mind: better them than him.

He even suspected that someone among his three students knew what was going on and wanted to set him up.

But that person would not be Bieshu Feifan, because he valued his life too much.

Without the two pieces of cannon fodder holding him back, Uchiha Qiongyue planned to destroy a few of Sunagakure's supply stations and return.

The details of this mission had not been clearly stated.

He had thought he was a squad member before, so he had not asked in detail.

By the time he discovered he was the Shinobi leading the team, he had already accepted the mission.

Uchiha Qiongyue carefully examined the traces of activity in the desert, compared them against the relevant information about the Land of Wind in his mind, then headed toward what he believed was a small supply station.

As he walked, Uchiha Qiongyue suddenly sensed something wrong. There seemed to be chakra fluctuations in the desert.

But Uchiha Qiongyue was not overly worried. Some creatures were born with chakra; most summoning beasts were like that.

Yet as Uchiha Qiongyue continued forward, his scalp suddenly prickled.

There were more and more chakra fluctuations in the desert, and they seemed to be surrounding him.

How was that possible?

Although Uchiha Qiongyue found it absurd, he did not hesitate to act. He immediately broke into a run.

"Attack!"

At that moment, the Sand Ninja lying in ambush underground noticed Uchiha Qiongyue trying to run and instantly burst out of the yellow sand.

The first to appear was a jōnin. Reaching both hands behind his back, he brought out a puppet and blocked Uchiha Qiongyue's path.

Uchiha Qiongyue had intended to disrupt the jōnin blocking his way with genjutsu, then quickly get past him and flee.

But puppets were not affected by genjutsu.

While Uchiha Qiongyue was tangled up with Sunagakure's jōnin, several more puppets appeared behind him.

Cold sweat poured down Uchiha Qiongyue. He did not understand how his whereabouts had been exposed.

But this was no time to think about that. He swiftly formed hand seals and slapped both hands onto the ground.

Earth Release: Earth Wall.

Three earthen walls instantly rose from the ground, blocking the shuriken and kunai flying in from three directions, while he charged toward the open side.

Meanwhile, watching his handiwork from afar, the Aburame Shinobi smiled slightly.

Good. Uchiha Qiongyue had been caught in the net.

Then,

His gaze involuntarily flicked toward Bieshu Feifan beside him, who was vigilantly watching their surroundings, completely unguarded against him.