"Set off."
Without horns, without war drums, without even a single superfluous word, fifteen dark figures, like ghosts in the night, filed out from the most secret door of Kumogakure and disappeared into the shadows of the vast mountains of the Land of Lightning.
The leader was the vice-commander of the Kumogakure's Shadow Anbu, a man codenamed Raiga. His strength was second only to the Raikage himself and Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer B, and he was the number one assassin in the Kumogakure's underground assassination network.
Behind him followed eleven S-rank elites from the Shadow Anbu. Each of them was a veteran with more than ten years of experience in assassination, infiltration, and sabotage. In addition, there were three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist: the user of Kiba), the user of Kabutowari), and the user of Samehada).
None of the fifteen were weak. Their objective was clear: to quickly infiltrate the outskirts of the Uchiha Sacred Land, seize the Sharingan, and then escape unscathed before Uchiha Gen'yō could react.
The entire operation has a time window of only two hours. From entry to evacuation, it cannot exceed one hundred and twenty minutes.
"Remember Lord Raikage's orders."
As Raiga sped through the dense forest, he used sign language to give instructions to his team behind him. "The primary objective is the Sharingan. Capture it alive if possible, otherwise gouge out the eye. Absolutely avoid direct confrontation with Uchiha Gen'yō himself. If you encounter him, abandon the mission and retreat immediately."
"Clear."
Fourteen figures responded simultaneously with sign language.
They moved with incredible speed. Even in the rugged mountainous jungle, the team maintained astonishing coordination and stealth. There were no footsteps, no leaks of Chakra fluctuations, and even their breathing was filtered to almost nothing by their special masks.
This is the Kumogakure's proud, high-speed infiltration force, the Shadow of the Raikage.
They crossed the border between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth at exactly three in the morning. This is the time when people are most tired and least alert. The Iwagakure patrols on the border were completely ignored and did not detect the existence of this ghostly force.
"The people of Iwagakure are too lax," Raiga sneered inwardly. These guys think they can rest easy just because they've latched onto a powerful figure, but they can't even do the most basic border security.
After advancing another twenty miles, a wide river appeared ahead. On the opposite bank of the river lay the primeval forest, nurtured by the World Tree, on the outskirts of the Uchiha Sacred Land.
Raiga raised his hand, and the entire team stopped instantly. He took out the defensive layout map sent by Konoha from his pocket and studied it carefully by the moonlight.
"According to intelligence, the main guard forces of Iwagakure are deployed to the north and west of the forest. The southern defenses are the weakest. And our contact..."
Raiga's gaze fell on a red dot marked on the map. "It should be the cliff waterfall about three miles ahead. Let's go."
The group moved silently again. The distance of three miles was just a matter of a few dozen breaths for these elites. When they reached the cliff waterfall, they indeed saw a figure standing in the shadow of the waterfall.
She was a tall, slender woman. She wore a worn-out ninja outfit, the original color of which was no longer discernible, and her long hair was loosely draped over her shoulders. But what made Raiga's pupils suddenly contract were her eyes. They were pure white, pupil-less eyes, as ethereal as moonlight.
Byakugan!
"You're that Byakugan missing-nin?" Raiga asked in a low voice.
The woman slowly raised her head, the moonlight illuminating her pale face. Her face was expressionless, as calm as a stagnant pool.
My name is Hyuga Gekka.
Her voice was hoarse and low, as if she hadn't spoken in a long time. "Three years ago, I was branded with the Caged Bird Seal Cursed Seal for violating the Main Family's rules. To survive, I escaped Konoha and became missing-nin. Lord Danzo found me and offered me the method to break the Cursed Seal as a condition for doing something for you."
"What's up?"
"I'll take you away from all the sensory barriers of the Uchiha Sacred Land."
Hyuga Gekka slowly activated her Byakugan. The veins on both sides of her temples bulged violently! Her Byakugan instantly captured all the Chakra signals within a ten-kilometer radius!
"A 360-degree, no-blind-spot detection..." Raiga gasped. No wonder Danzo arranged for a Byakugan missing-nin to be their guide. In infiltration operations, the Byakugan's reconnaissance ability is practically a cheat code!
"I've been observing here for three whole days."
Hyuga Gekka's voice remained flat, " The Uchiha Sacred Land's defense system is mainly divided into three layers. The outermost layer is a mobile patrol network composed of Iwagakure Ninja, covering a distance of five li from the edge of the forest to the city entrance. The patrol frequency is once every fifteen minutes. The middle layer is the Uchiha's own sensory barrier. It is a Chakra detection network formed by some special array, covering the area from the city entrance to the inner city area. Any Chakra not of Uchiha blood entering will trigger an alarm."
"The innermost layer..."
Hyuga Gekka's voice paused, a barely concealed fear flashing in her Byakugan. "It was that man himself. When my Byakugan was trying to probe the direction of the castle tower, it was almost pierced by a terrifying mental force. That man, even when he's asleep, his mental perception range at least covers the entire city."
A cold sweat instantly broke out on Raiga's back. Covering the entire city while sleeping? Doesn't that mean they'd be discovered the moment they stepped into the city?
Therefore, we cannot enter the city.
Hyuga Gekka head slightly, her Byakugan focusing on a certain direction deep in the forest. "But there are some Uchiha clansmen in the forest outside the city who are engaged in wilderness training and gathering spiritual herbs. Their Chakra signals are scattered, and they don't have any strong guards. If your target is the Sharingan, these people are the easiest to target."
A glint of excitement flashed in Raiga's eyes!
How many people?
"Currently, there are a total of... Uchiha clan members active outside the city."
Hyuga Gekka's Byakugan scanned the area rapidly. "Twenty-three people. Divided into six groups. The closest group has four people, about two miles away. Among them are two Chunin and two Genin. They are picking Body-Tempering Grass by a spirit field."
"Perfect."
Raiga licked his lips. Two Chunin and two Genin? For their infiltration team of fifteen S-rank elites, this was practically prey delivered to their doorstep!
"Go! Target group one! Be quick! Absolutely do not let them send out distress signals! End the battle within five minutes, then immediately move on to group two!"
A sharp bolt of lightning flashed in Raiga's hand. His figure moved like lightning, rushing towards the direction indicated by Hyuga Gekka! Behind him, fourteen black shadows followed closely!
Hyuga Gekka followed at the very back. Her pale face remained expressionless. But her left hand unconsciously touched the Caged Bird Seal on her forehead, which was covered by bandages and throbbed faintly.
The moonlight illuminated fifteen rapidly moving figures in the dense forest, like fifteen venomous snakes drawn from their sheaths, silently approaching their prey.
The Uchiha Sacred Land in the distance was brightly lit. At the top of the castle tower in the city center, the white figure still stood quietly. Under the lights of thousands of homes, everyone was immersed in happiness and peace.
Unbeknownst to anyone, a meticulously planned raid was silently approaching in the darkness. The fangs of fifteen venomous snakes were less than a mile from their first prey.