Sunlight poured over Konoha, draping the residential district beside the Ninja Academy in a warm golden veil. Yet inside an inconspicuous wooden house, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was hard to breathe. Twenty-eight figures in black ninja combat uniforms occupied the attic in silence, like ghosts lurking in the darkness. Sunlight filtered through the broken window frames and reflected off their poisoned weapons in bone-chilling glints, as if the cold might freeze the air in the room.
"Report!" A shout rushed in with the force of a gust as the door burst open. A ninja stormed inside, his pupils beneath his mask contracted from running at full speed. His chest heaved as he gasped for breath. "That black-haired brat from the Senju Clan has left the Ninja Academy and is heading for the Senju Clan Compound. There are four Senju Jonin secretly following behind to protect him!"
The masked leader, who had been sitting quietly in the middle of the attic, sprang to his feet, moving so fast he stirred a breeze. His thick fingers clenched instinctively, digging into the wooden table and pressing five deep grooves into it. A distinctive hoarse, cold chuckle came from the shadows below, like the cry of a night owl. "That fellow Tobirama Senju is still at the Ninja Academy overseeing the graduation matches. I was going to wait until this Gold-Swallowing Beast fought the Uchiha and see how strong the kid was first, but this is the perfect chance to strike. If we miss it, I'm afraid we won't get another opportunity this good."
The leader said nothing, spinning a Kunai rapidly in his palm. Its flickering afterimages seemed to mirror his turbulent thoughts. After a moment, he murmured, "Lord Kazuo's meaning is that it's better to kill the wrong person..."
"Kill the wrong person?" As if enraged by the words, the leader tore off his mask, exposing half of a vicious, sinister face. The scar on it looked especially terrifying in the sunlight. "Would a brat Tobirama Senju assigned four elites to protect in secret be anyone ordinary?" His voice was hoarse and coarse, like a rusty blade scraping over stone. "Leave two men behind for the squad liaising with the Sarutobi. Everyone else, come after them with me. Make sure you finish them off within ten minutes!" As he spoke, a fierce killing intent poured from him, like a savage beast ready to devour its prey.
Meanwhile, after Biwako was injured and taken to the hospital, Little Tsubasa had chosen to return to the Senju Clan Compound alone. He skipped and played along the way, looking as carefree as a child without a worry in the world. But he knew perfectly well that four ninja were secretly following and protecting him. The corners of his mouth curved up almost imperceptibly as he thought, Those rats hiding in the gutter should be losing patience and getting ready to strike, shouldn't they?
As he passed through a small grove, Little Tsubasa abruptly stopped, his expression turning stern. He had keenly sensed many people lying in wait ahead, like hunters poised to strike. He stopped and shouted, "Who's there, sneaking around...!"
Before he finished speaking, the sound of footsteps came from the distance, running toward him at full speed. They were rapid and chaotic, like a furious drumbeat.
When the black-clad leader heard the child call out his ambush, his pupils contracted as if pricked by a needle. Steeling himself, he decisively made the first move, charging out like lightning and flinging the Shuriken in his hand. In an instant, five cold streaks flashed through the gaps between the trees like meteors tearing through the night, shooting straight at Tsubasa.
Hearing the commotion, the four Senju ninja immediately used the Body Flicker Technique without a word. Like nimble night owls, they darted through the grove in a few bounds and raced toward Tsubasa, intent on protecting him.
Tsubasa reacted quickly, leaping backward and easily evading the poisoned projectiles. He slowly raised his head and looked at the approaching killers. In his black eyes, countless dark figures were reflected as they surged through the grove like a tide.
"Attack!" the leader roared, his voice booming like a great bell and shaking leaves from the trees. At his command, twenty-eight dark figures lunged at Tsubasa like arrows loosed from a bow. At the same time, countless projectiles shot from their hands, once again sweeping toward Tsubasa like a swarm of locusts.
Faced with the overwhelming assault, Tsubasa suddenly let out a clear laugh, full of confidence and fearlessness. "Since you're here, don't even think about getting away!"
Seeing this, the four Senju Jonin who had rushed out immediately formed defensive hand seals in perfect unison. In the blink of an eye, a tall earthen wall rose from the ground, blocking every projectile in the air. But to everyone's surprise, the projectiles changed course in a bizarre fashion, their points all turning once more toward the area where Tsubasa stood.
"Kill the enemy within three breaths." The leader's gaze sharpened. Having calculated the opening in the Senju's defense, he rapidly formed hand seals and shouted in a low voice, "Wind Release: Air Current Manipulation!" He used Wind Release to alter the projectiles' trajectories. Meanwhile, the deputy leader led a group around the flank, intending to cut off Tsubasa and the others' escape.
Just as they thought their plan was about to succeed, however, four barriers abruptly rose around the outskirts of the grove, enclosing it completely like an invisible cage. Tobirama Senju had made arrangements in advance: another team of Barrier Team members assigned to protect Little Tsubasa had deployed the Four Violet Flames Formation just in time, trapping all the killers inside.
"This is bad! It's..." The Chunin who reacted first had barely gotten the words out when his voice cut off. A Shuriken flung by Orochi Senju had pierced his throat with precision, sending blood flying. His eyes wide with indignation and shock, he slowly fell.
Tsubasa took a deep breath and forced down his nervousness, using Wandering Stake Steps to nimbly evade every projectile. At the same time, Orochi Senju, who was protecting him, gave a great shout and hurled two Shuriken with a powerful swing of his arm. Like auroras streaking across the sky, they shot toward the enemy with tremendous force. One went straight for the black-clad leader, while the other flew directly at the neck of a Jonin in front of him. The leader reacted quickly, twisting aside and narrowly avoiding it. The Jonin, however, had been distracted by the sudden appearance of the Four Violet Flames Formation. Unable to dodge in time, he was struck in the neck and died on the spot. Blood gushed out, staining the ground beneath him red.
Rather than retreat, the leader stepped over his companion's corpse and continued to close in. His poisoned dagger gleamed coldly, only half a meter from Tsubasa's throat. At that critical moment, the entire grove suddenly plunged into absolute darkness, so deep that no one could see their own hand.
Tobirama Senju had arrived just in time using the Flying Thunder God Technique, while also casting the genjutsu Bringer-of-Darkness Technique. In an instant, darkness swept over the entire battlefield like a surging tide.
"Retreat!" The leader cursed inwardly, knowing full well he had fallen into a trap, and decisively threw a smoke bomb. At his command, the twenty-seven ninja rapidly pulled back like startled birds. They left as quickly as they had come, vanishing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.
But Tobirama Senju would not let them go so easily. He quickly flung several Kunai, chanting, "Shuriken Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!" In the blink of an eye, the Kunai multiplied into countless copies, flying through the darkness like stars filling the sky. As if they had eyes of their own, the Kunai flew unerringly toward the black-clad killers. Tobirama's figure flickered in and out of sight in midair, like a ghost in the night.
A black-clad Jonin reacted quickly, drawing a long blade and swinging it hard. With a clang, he knocked aside an incoming Shuriken. But the instant it was deflected, a dark figure appeared like a ghost, grabbed the Shuriken, and drove it into the black-clad Jonin's chest, all the way to the hilt. The Jonin's eyes widened, his face full of pain and shock. He slowly fell as blood spread through the darkness.
Another black-clad ninja saw this and quickly formed hand seals, shouting, "Wind Release: Wild Wind Dance!" A powerful gale howled to life, blowing away the Shuriken filling the air. But before he could breathe a sigh of relief, a figure suddenly flashed out from behind a Shuriken. It was Tobirama Senju. Tobirama grabbed the Shuriken and plunged it into the black-clad Jonin's throat. Blood sprayed out, and the Jonin clutched his throat, letting out a pained whimper as he slowly fell to the ground.
Scenes like this played out again and again throughout the darkness. Miserable screams rang out everywhere, each one chilling to hear.
The leader of the black-clad ninja gave it everything he had, dodging left and right to evade the attacks of three figures in succession. But Tobirama's attacks followed him like a shadow. Figures flashed in and out of sight in front of him, behind him, above him, below him, and on either side, each appearance bringing a fierce Shuriken attack. The leader gradually began to tire. One careless moment later, his hands and feet were pinned to a tree, leaving him unable to move. Despair showed on his face. Knowing he could not escape his fate today, he gritted his teeth and activated the self-destruct formula in his head. Blood streamed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and his body was reduced to dust in a violent explosion.
The moment the darkness inside the barrier began to fade, Tsubasa slowly opened his eyes. The sight before him left him too shocked to speak. Not far away, the twenty-eight black-clad ninja lay motionless among the trees, some in pools of blood, others still holding defensive postures, but all lifeless. Only Tobirama Senju stood quietly there. His face looked especially cold and stern in the sunlight, and his expression, halfway to a smile, carried an awe-inspiring majesty.
Tsubasa and the four members of Orochi Squad protecting him stared blankly at Tobirama Senju, their faces full of shock and admiration. This was the fighting power of a supreme expert beyond the clan leader level: he had killed Jonin as easily as slaughtering chickens and dogs, bringing the battle to an end in mere moments.
Tsubasa thought to himself that if he fought Lord Tobirama, he would probably be killed in an instant like these black-clad ninja. He collected himself, stepped forward, and respectfully said to Tobirama Senju, "Lord Tobirama, what Ninjutsu did you just use? It was so powerful. I want to learn it too."
Tobirama Senju remained calm and turned to instruct Orochi Squad, "Quickly seal these killers' corpses, then take them to the Senju Clan Compound and hand them over to my elder brother." With that, he looked at Tsubasa and said earnestly, "I just used three S-rank forbidden techniques: the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, the Shuriken Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, and the Flying Thunder God Technique. As the next leader of the Senju Clan, you can learn whatever you want in the future. But not now. These forbidden techniques all have certain prerequisites for learning them, and they're dangerous."
Tsubasa nodded and asked, "All right, Uncle-Master Tobirama, but all these killers are dead. With no one left alive to testify, what do we do next?"
Tobirama Senju smiled coldly, a chill flashing in his eyes. "These should all be deathsworn from the various clans. They won't have any obvious identifying features on them. And we couldn't have taken them alive anyway. They all have sealing formulas in their heads. Their leader just died by detonating his sealing jutsu; I didn't kill him. What we need to do is use this assassination attempt as a pretext to wipe out the three clans we've already confirmed as the culprits. That will establish our authority and make the ninja clans throughout Konoha wary, so they'll never dare try to kill another clan's genius again."
Tsubasa frowned and asked, "Without conclusive evidence, what if the other clans use that as a pretext to join forces and resist?"
Tobirama Senju's gaze was unwavering, his expression serious. "In the Shinobi World, you don't always need so much evidence. The Senju Clan is at the height of its power now. We must use decisive force to wipe out those sinister clans that clearly harbor ill intentions toward us. Otherwise, the moment the Senju Clan shows any weakness, they'll all pounce on us and tear us apart. Do you understand?"
Tsubasa bit his lip and hesitated, but asked anyway, "I understand, Uncle-Master Tobirama. But do we have to kill all the elderly and weak in those clans too? Wouldn't that be too cruel?"
Tobirama Senju looked into Tsubasa's eyes, his gaze profound. "As a clan leader, you must never show womanly compassion. My elder brother is too kindhearted, and that's why these minor clans dare make underhanded moves against our Senju Clan. Remember that well."
Tsubasa bowed and said respectfully, "I understand, Uncle-Master."
A gentle breeze passed through, and the grove returned to its usual peace. But the heart-stopping battle that had just taken place would remain etched in Tsubasa's heart forever.