"The target is 800 meters ahead. Four people. Two are bending over picking in the field, and two are keeping watch nearby."
Hyuga Gekka's Byakugan is like a sophisticated radar, allowing her to see everything clearly in front of her. She can even see the Chakra flow within the four Uchiha clan members.
"The two Chunin on lookout have average Chakra and weak sensory abilities. The two Genin who gathered the loot are practically useless in combat."
Hyuga Gekka's report was precise and cold, as if she were describing four lambs to the slaughter.
"There are no other Uchiha clan members within 500 meters. The nearest Iwagakure patrol is three miles away and is moving in the opposite direction. The next patrol will pass through this area in twelve minutes."
"Twelve minutes."
Raiga quickly calculated in his mind. Catching four people would only take thirty seconds. Gouging out their eyes would take at most a minute. Adding the time for relocation, twelve minutes would be more than enough!
"All groups, take your positions."
Raiga silently raised his right hand, making an attack gesture. The fifteen men instantly split into three groups of five, silently flanking them from three directions.
Under the moonlight, the shadows of the trees swayed in the dense forest. Two Uchiha, who were picking Body-Tempering Grass by the spirit field Genin of the approaching danger. They chatted quietly as they worked.
"Have you heard? Lord Gen'yō's Amaterasu Academy has officially opened!"
"Of course I heard! My cousin was the first to sign up! Apparently, there's some kind of training pod inside, and one day in there is equivalent to seven days of training! That's outrageous!"
"Hehe, once my wife gives birth, I'm definitely sending the baby there! Our child is destined to be a Kage Level powerhouse!"
"You? Your kid's lucky if he can even Chunin! Hahaha!"
The laughter hadn't even finished.
laugh.
A silent bolt of lightning flashed from the darkness! The genin who had been laughing and Genin didn't even have time to utter a sound before he felt a cold, iron hand grip the back of his neck! A surge of Lightning Release Chakra, numbing his entire body, poured into his nervous system from that hand!
"Ugh!"
His body stiffened instantly, and he collapsed like a wooden stake. In the last Setsuna before he lost consciousness, he saw three masked men in black appear behind his companion.
"Objective one: uniforms."
"Objective two: subdue them."
"Target Three..."
"Etc."
Raiga's voice suddenly turned serious. He looked at the fourth target, one of the two Uchiha Chunin lookout duty. This Chunin was different from the other three; he had instinctively activated his Sharingan the moment he was attacked! Although it was only a low-level Sharingan with One-Tomoe, his blood-red pupils still shone with a chilling light in the darkness!
More importantly, before he was subdued, he used his last strength to launch a signal flare into the sky!
hiss.
A green light pierced the night sky!
Damn it!
Raiga's expression instantly changed! A signal flare! Although it was just an ordinary visual signal flare with limited power and range, if it were seen by people in the city...
"Everyone, speed up! Forget about the other targets! Take out the eyes of all four of them! Evacuate within thirty seconds!"
At Raiga's command, the members of the Shadow Anbu moved with the efficiency of machines!
At this critical moment, Hyuga Gekka's Byakugan suddenly twitched!
"Not good!"
For the first time, a clear look of terror appeared on her usually expressionless, pale face. "Someone's coming! Due east! 1,500 meters away! Extremely fast!"
" Chakra strength..."
Hyuga Gekka's voice caught in her throat. The Chakra signal she saw with her Byakugan approaching at high speed was far beyond her comprehension! It wasn't a person; it was a falling Greater Yang!
"What level?" Raiga demanded sharply.
Hyuga Gekka swallowed hard. " Kage Level, at least Peak Kage Level! And not just one! There are at least eight Jonin- level Chakra signals following behind! They're spreading out in a fan shape, flanking us!"
Raiga's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat! Impossible! Their operation was so covert, their timing so precise, how could they have been discovered so quickly? The signal flare had only been fired less than ten seconds ago! Even if the enemy reacted quickly, it was impossible for them to organize a pursuit force led by a Kage Level officer within ten seconds! Unless, unless the enemy had been patrolling nearby all along!
"It's Uchiha patrol!"
Hyuga Gekka's Byakugan spun wildly as she saw the entire approaching group. "The leader is that man named Shisui! Shisui Uchiha! The user of Kotoamatsukami! Following behind is a well-equipped squad I've never seen before! Their Chakra fluctuations are peculiar, as if they've undergone some kind of enhancement!"
Raiga's pupils contracted sharply. Shisui! That name was renowned even in Kumogakure! He was said to be the strongest fighter in the Uchiha Clan, second only to Gen'yō himself!
"Retreat for all!"
Raiga made a decisive decision. "Abandon all targets! Return the way you came immediately!"
"But the eyes..." A member of the Shadow Anbu was about to speak.
"What use are eyes when people can't even survive!"
Raiga grabbed the hesitant subordinate and retreated like lightning in the direction they had come from! The others also dropped their Uchiha clansmen and scattered like startled rabbits!
However, no matter how fast they moved, they couldn't outrun the approaching man. Because in the night sky behind them, a gentle yet irresistible voice, like a divine oracle from the heavens, clearly reached everyone's ears.
"Why are you running away? You're already here, won't you stay and sit for a while?"
Raiga's blood froze completely at that moment. He turned around abruptly.
Under the moonlight, a tall, slender young man with flowing curly hair stood atop a towering tree three hundred meters behind them. His eyes, the Mangekyou Mangekyō Sharingan, the Genjutsu Kotoamatsukami, burned coldly in the darkness like two dark red will-o'-the-wisps.
Shisui Uchiha.
Behind him, eight figures, also dressed in black combat uniforms with golden Gunbai clan emblems embroidered on their chests, emerged from the shadows of the trees like ghosts. These were the elite Shadow Guard, a force that Uchiha Gen'yō had ordered Shisui to assemble just three days prior.
" Shisui Uchiha!"
Raiga's voice was squeezed out from between his teeth, hoarse and desperate.
Shisui's lips curled up slightly, but that smile was more frightening than a grimace.
My family was right after all.
Shisui slowly raised his right hand. His Mangekyō Sharingan began to spin wildly. "Some forgetful flies always like to sneak into our backyard. Now that they're here, they won't be leaving alive."
In the darkness further behind Shisui, a pair of eyes, evolving into the Eye of God, with golden runes faintly visible deep within the right eye, were also silently watching all of this.
Uchiha Gen'yō stood atop the castle tower, a cold smile playing on his lips.
" Kumogakure. It seems the lesson learned last time wasn't profound enough. This time, I will show you what it means to punish those who harm my people, no matter how far away they are."