Instant Kill

The swaying tree shadows flashed past behind him as midnight drew near.

Uchiha Yuan, focused on his journey, suddenly stopped atop a tree and stared at the dazzling light glowing deep within the primeval forest.

It was an illumination flare used only during emergency ninja operations.

Following the light, Uchiha Yuan saw two squads of ninja pursuing and trying to kill a young man dressed as a Fire Temple monk.

He had no desire to meddle in this business.

After all, the Fire Temple, which was closer to the Land of Fire's daimyo, had never gotten along particularly well with the Konoha Hidden Village.

Yet the intense craving deep within his body forced Uchiha Yuan to halt and head toward the fighting where the light shone.

The Demonic Statue Fragment in his arms also stirred restlessly, conveying the same desire to Uchiha Yuan.

It had encountered delicious food and felt extremely hungry.

Uchiha Yuan did not understand the source of this absurd hunger. By the time he came to his senses, his body was already darting through the primeval forest.

Dark green pine needles swept rapidly behind him, and the fresh air invigorated his spirits.

Uchiha Yuan drew closer and closer to the range of the illumination flares.

He had actually wanted to leave. After all, as long as he delivered the herbs to Orochimaru, the objective of this trip would be perfectly accomplished.

After that, all he needed to do was keep a low profile in the laboratory, quietly practice ninjutsu, and steadily grow stronger.

Given his current ninjutsu resources and potential, even by the Night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, as long as he did not join the Military Police Force, Uchiha Itachi, the one who massacred the clan, would be no match for him.

By then, armed with a whole body of Forbidden Jutsu, he would have a high chance of surviving even against Obito.

But Uchiha Yuan also understood that if he left now, he might never have another chance to uncover the source of this hunger.

So, he hid in the darkness and climbed into the crown of a pine tree thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around.

Shielded by the dense pine needles, Uchiha Yuan quietly looked down.

As one illumination flare went out, fresh overlapping light filled the dark forest.

The monk leaping at the front was panting heavily, his robes ragged. He carried an enormous wooden fish covered in sealing talismans on his back, yet he still remembered to glance behind him as he moved.

The ninja wearing Hidden Stone Village forehead protectors were getting closer and soon entered attack range.

Shuriken and kunai tore through the air with hissing roars, and the Fire Temple monk frantically hid behind a tree trunk to evade them.

That very action allowed the pursuing Hidden Stone Ninja to quickly close in on the Fire Temple monk's hiding place.

Uchiha Yuan, concealed high above, watched it all and sighed.

This forest was already very close to the Land of Fire's border. Once the monk crossed it, the Hidden Stone Ninja would have reason to hesitate and might not dare continue the pursuit.

After all, the Hidden Leaf Village and Hidden Stone Village were currently negotiating a peace treaty, though the war had not fully ended.

For that very reason, the pursuing Hidden Stone Ninja split off a squad to take a detour and surround the Fire Temple monk.

The surrounded monk did not panic at all. Uchiha Yuan watched him form the hand seal for a clone and attach a stack of Exploding Tags to it.

Then, before the Hidden Stone Ninja could completely encircle him, the clone fled.

"Take him alive! Do not harm his life!"

The Hidden Stone leader had barely shouted a few words when the monk's clone crashed into them.

A deafening explosion rang out, and the scene instantly turned bloody.

The encircling Hidden Stone Ninja had no time to escape and were blown sprawling in every direction. Half of a Hidden Grass Village forehead protector embedded itself in the tree trunk beside Uchiha Yuan, trembling without end.

"Well, damn. Could these be Hidden Grass Ninja disguising themselves as Hidden Stone Ninja to intercept a Fire Temple monk?"

Uchiha Yuan did not recall Hidden Stone Ninja having a habit of collecting Hidden Grass Ninja forehead protectors. Hidden Grass Ninja, on the other hand, often impersonated ninja from other hidden villages to carry out shady deeds.

The reactions of those Hidden Stone Ninja quickly confirmed Uchiha Yuan's suspicion.

The "Hidden Stone Ninja" either used Water Release Ninjutsu to extinguish the flames on their comrades or used Lightning Release Ninjutsu to attack the Fire Temple monk's hiding place.

Not one of them used standard Earth Release Ninjutsu.

"So it turned out Hidden Grass wanted to steal something from this Fire Temple monk. Was that item sealed inside that enormous wooden fish?"

That guess suddenly made everything clear to Uchiha Yuan. The thing stirring his hunger was on the Fire Temple monk's back.

But this young monk was clearly no harmless man. After scheming against the group of "Hidden Stone" ninja, he quietly slipped underground.

When he appeared again, one still-living "Hidden Stone" ninja had his throat silently slit.

The situation became even more chaotic. The young monk's ruthlessness far exceeded Uchiha Yuan's expectations.

Taking advantage of the "Hidden Stone" ninja falling into disarray, the young monk silently assassinated the Hidden Stone ninja who had launched the illumination flare, plunging the primeval forest into complete darkness.

Uchiha Yuan controlled his breathing. With his vision gone, anguished screams rang continuously through the darkness.

Clearly, the young Fire Temple monk, who had been wholly focused on fleeing before, now intended to kill these "Hidden Stone" ninja.

Uchiha Yuan also understood what had changed the Fire Temple monk's mind. When even the screams vanished from the darkness—

He sensed the sealed giant wooden fish appear beside him. The Fire Temple monk had not left!

The Demonic Statue Fragment in his arms writhed uneasily as a cold voice sounded behind him.

"Who are you? Are you with them?"

The ruthless Fire Temple monk had discovered Uchiha Yuan's presence long ago and had even silently crept behind him under cover of darkness.

"I am a ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village. At least outside the Land of Fire, there is no need for us to clash."

Pressing down on the restless lump of flesh at his chest, Uchiha Yuan controlled the tremor in his voice.

"So you're a Hidden Leaf Village ninja. You're alone, right?"

The young monk showed no emotion whatsoever. The kunai in his hand was already moving toward Uchiha Yuan's neck.

At that very instant, several illumination flares rose all around them.

Nearly twenty ninja wearing Hidden Grass Village forehead protectors silently appeared on branches at varying heights around them.

From beginning to end, those two squads had merely been bait to track the Fire Temple monk. The true Hidden Grass Ninja pursuing him had already surrounded this place.

The sudden burst of light in the darkness made the young monk instinctively raise a hand to shield his eyes.

Uchiha Yuan did not waste the opportunity.

His true body, hidden in the darkness, quietly formed hand seals.

Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!

Water Style: Water Severing Wave!

The illumination flares continued burning quietly at the edges of the tree trunks, but in that instant, the Fire Temple monk and even the Hidden Grass Ninja were stripped of their sight.

Within darkness as thick as ink, Uchiha Yuan's vision was not affected in the slightest.

The water jet that shot from his mouth first tore apart the monk closest to his true body. Then the Hidden Grass Ninja encircling him were reflected in Uchiha Yuan's pupils.

These Hidden Grass Ninja were not particularly skilled in battle. Only one wore a chunin-style vest, and they had not yet adapted to the sudden darkness before them. They did not even have time to react.

But Uchiha Yuan had no intention of letting them go.

If these Hidden Grass Ninja had held the advantage at this moment, then he, having discovered their secret, would never have been able to leave this forest alive.