"Medical ninja! Is there a medical ninja around? Or anyone who knows medical ninjutsu? My teammate is injured!!"
"Damn it! Kill these beasts!"
"The villagers haven't finished evacuating! Hold on just a bit longer!"
At the main gate of Konoha Village…
What was once a bustling, crowded entrance has turned into a chaotic battleground, where Konoha's ninjas are locked in a fierce fight against Hiruko's synthetic beasts. The situation favors Konoha, though. As the number one ninja village, Konoha is far from weak and defenseless.
If a bunch of mindless, bloodthirsty synthetic beasts could easily break into Konoha, then Mist, Rock, Cloud, and Sand could all give up on being ninja villages.
Whether it was the monster dogs carrying crossbows on their backs or the regenerating blue-scaled serpents, every step these creatures advanced came at a high cost due to Konoha's strong defensive line. The blue-scaled serpents, in particular, were tough to deal with, as they could only be defeated with fire or lightning techniques, making them a challenging adversary.
In fact, it's more accurate to say that Konoha's ninjas were purposefully retreating in an organized manner rather than being pushed back. There was no need to fight these mindless creatures head-on; houses could be rebuilt if needed. As long as the people survived, Konoha could endure this loss.
Right now, the top priority was ensuring the villagers completed their evacuation.
With so many resources allocated to protecting civilians, the number of ninjas battling the synthetic beasts was limited. They could hold off the beasts' attacks but didn't have enough manpower for a counterattack, especially since Hiruko, the mastermind, had yet to reveal himself.
The Jōnin held back slightly, always staying alert for Hiruko's appearance. Once the villagers completed their evacuation and more forces gathered, the true counterattack could begin.
"Konoha, huh!"
Hiruko stood atop a giant bird, observing the battlefield below with a gleeful expression.
"As expected of Konoha! Ha-ha!"
Instead of anger, he felt a twisted pride that Konoha was putting up such a strong defense. This was the strongest village in the ninja world, his birthplace. Its strength was exactly as it should be!
If it wasn't this strong, then all the years he had spent hiding would have been in vain.
"But... I can't delay any longer!"
Hiruko's gaze swept across the battlefield, specifically seeking out Uchiha clan members. Yet, to his disappointment, Konoha's police department was no longer dominated by the Uchiha, having been diversified with members from various clans and civilians. Uchiha had become a minority in the department.
Among the defenders, some Uchiha members were present, but none with the advanced Sharingan he needed. At the very least, he wanted someone with the three-tomoe Sharingan to complete his evolution.
If possible, a Mangekyō Sharingan would be even better.
According to his research and the intel shared with him by Maru, three Uchiha in Konoha were confirmed to possess Mangekyō Sharingan: the current clan leader, Uchiha Sōgen, known as The Blaze Demon; the former leader, Uchiha Fugaku, famed for his Fearsome Gaze; and the renowned Shunshin no Shisui (Shisui of the Body Flicker).
These three had demonstrated their Mangekyō abilities on the battlefield five years ago against Mist and Cloud.
None of these targets would be easy.
Uchiha Sōgen's reputation as a fearsome fighter was well-earned. He led his clan to take down Danzo and even removed the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, from power, securing victories over both Mist and Cloud forces. This man was undeniably formidable.
Then there was Fugaku, the previous Uchiha leader. Though less imposing than Sōgen, he was a powerful recluse, barely leaving his home in recent years. Invading the Uchiha compound would be nearly as challenging as invading all of Konoha.
Finally, Shisui, the Shunshin, seemed the most approachable target. Hiruko allowed himself a glimmer of hope that he could obtain a Mangekyō Sharingan from Shisui.
"Hmm, maybe I'll get an opportunity with Shisui this time. With my current power, it's possible," he mused, his confidence rising.
"Oh! Finally found one!"
Hiruko's eyes sparkled as he noticed a group of Konoha reinforcements, including several Uchiha clan members. The menacing aura radiating from these new arrivals was unmistakable.
Perhaps, before hunting Shisui, he could capture one or more backups, just in case.
With this thought solidifying in Hiruko's mind, he finally made his move.
Lava Release: Molten Meteor!
He raised his right hand, wrapped in bandages, which became covered in molten lava, the intense heat making his mount screech in pain, though the creature dared not move. Hiruko swung his hand downward, releasing a barrage of lava orbs aimed directly at the reinforcements, among which were the Uchiha.
However, this surprise attack failed to catch them off guard.
The incoming Konoha reinforcements were on high alert, including a pair of Uchiha brothers.
"Look out!!" shouted Uchiha Inaba.
He immediately began weaving hand signs.
Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!
As an expert in fire techniques, Inaba instantly recognized the threat posed by the lava. Fire or earth techniques wouldn't be effective against it, but water would be ideal.
Years of hard work had paid off; he had sacrificed his social life and personal happiness for his training. Now, approaching thirty, he was still single, but his skills in water and wind techniques had grown tremendously.
From seemingly nowhere, he summoned a stream of water, forming high-pressure bullets that intercepted the lava orbs mid-air.
A cloud of steam billowed into the sky as the water evaporated instantly. The lava balls, however, cooled dramatically, turning into reddish-black stones and losing much of their danger.
"Take this!" shouted Uchiha Tetsuka.
Uchiha Four-Blade Style: Crimson Leaf Slash!!
Leaping into the air, Tetsuka wielded two blades in his hands, another beneath his arm, and a fourth behind his knee. Flames flared along the blades as he sliced the remnants of the cooled lava to pieces.
The brothers, perfectly in sync, had successfully countered Hiruko's attack.
"Not bad!"
Hiruko looked down with a condescending gaze as he commented.
Then—
A new wave of attacks descended.
———
Barrier Corps.
Under the jurisdiction of the Administration Department, logically, this department, which manages the large barrier encompassing the entire village of Konoha, would be more effectively used by the Police Force. After all, this large barrier isn't for defense or containment; it's a sensory barrier.
In other words,
Within the range of the large barrier, as long as there isn't any obstruction, the Barrier Corps can track someone's whereabouts in the village at any time.
Unfortunately, due to certain historical reasons, the Barrier Corps was placed under the Administration Department. If the Police Force wanted to use the tracking abilities of the large barrier, they would have to go through the Administration Department, a process so tedious that the Police Force has rarely relied on it for operations.
Although the situation has improved somewhat recently.
Even so, Uchiha Shisui, to be honest, was visiting the Barrier Corps building for the first time.
But—
What awaited him was not a welcoming party of comrades, but a floor covered with cold bodies.
"Damn it!"
Standing in the hallway, Shisui gritted his teeth, the sound of them grinding together filled the air, and his scarlet eyes seemed to blaze with fury. An intense anger burned in his chest, and he wished he could find the culprit right now and reduce them to ashes.
Today had started as an uneventful day,
He was at home, enjoying a rare moment of leisure, feeding his crows and sitting on a rocking chair, mulling over the difficulties he had encountered in the development of a new jutsu.
Then, disaster struck.
His peaceful moment ended.
After receiving orders from Sōgen, he rushed to the Barrier Corps' base as quickly as possible. But upon arrival, he was met with a scene too horrific to bear: all on-duty personnel of the Barrier Corps had fallen. He searched every corner of the building, finding not a single survivor.
The perpetrator was undoubtedly an expert in assassination.
After inspecting a few bodies, Shisui noticed that every one of the dead had been killed in a single strike. The wounds were all at the throat, punctured by a sharp, rod-like object without the victims even realizing it. However, not all of them were unaware; some bodies had clearly fallen during counterattacks.
But sadly, The skill gap between them and the attacker was immeasurable; even a jōnin couldn't escape a single, deadly blow.
"Who could have done this?"
Shisui tried to suppress the rage boiling within him, forcing himself to think calmly.
Truthfully, killing over thirty members of the Barrier Corps wasn't a particularly difficult task, and there were plenty of people in the shinobi world capable of such a feat. But to kill so many people without leaving a single trace… Shisui couldn't think of anyone who could pull that off.
He searched the scene thoroughly but couldn't find any clues about the attacker's identity.
The puncture wounds from the sharp, rod-like weapon were indeed unusual; shinobi typically used weapons like kunai or short swords. The only similar weapon he remembered was wielded by a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, who used the Longsword: Needle.
However,
The last generation of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist was crippled by an unknown Konoha genin during the Third Great Ninja War. The user of the Longsword: Needle was killed on the spot. Although the sword was later reclaimed by the Mist Village, no new successor had been selected for it.
Hōzuki Mangetsu could wield all seven swords but ultimately chose the Twin Blades: Hiramekarei.
So, If the intelligence was accurate, the Longsword: Needle was still sealed away without a master, and the Mist Village had no reason to turn against Konoha at this time. Since the establishment of the Konoha and Mist Rogue Ninja Joint Investigation Unit, relations between the two villages had grown stronger, making a sudden betrayal unlikely.
"It shouldn't be the Mist Village; it can't be the Mist Village. But if it's not the Mist Village, then who… Damn it, and there's no time." He'd been ordered to rush to Uzumaki Naruto's side if anything happened to the Barrier Corps, to protect the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails.
Shisui's lips were nearly bleeding.
He had no time to deal with the bodies on the scene. Pressing his hands together in apology, he said, "I'm sorry, everyone. I have an important mission. I'll come back to take care of you later." With that, he turned and leapt out of the window. After a few quick flickers, he was gone.
The Barrier Corps building was left with over thirty cold bodies.
Yet,
The next moment,
A voice echoed in the room where Shisui had last stood.
"I thought you were going to make a move back there!"
"No need to act without absolute certainty."
"If it were Uchiha Sōgen, that'd be one thing. But you lack confidence against just one Uchiha Shisui? That's hardly the spirit of Uchiha Madara." Speaking was a half-black-faced, pitcher-plant-like figure, who taunted Uchiha Obito without holding back.
Beside him, the masked Uchiha Obito emerged from the Kamui dimension.
"Shunshin Shisui isn't that easy to handle. In close-range combat, his speed isn't far off from the Yellow Flash of the past, and his Mangekyō Sharingan's jutsu remains a mystery. No need to take a risk here where the gains don't outweigh the losses."
Obito calmly explained why he hadn't acted, despite the taunt.
His past failures hadn't defeated him.
On the contrary,
The suffering he endured at Sōgen's hands only made him more resolute, seeing each setback as a test or trial on the path to that peaceful, ideal world where Rin existed, fueling his unwavering determination.
"So what's the plan? Go help Kazama deal with those kids?"
Zetsu knew when to stop, refraining from further provoking Obito.
"For now… Wait a minute. Why are there so many crows?" Obito happened to glance outside and noticed nearly ten crows perched on a cherry tree about three stories high. The crows were hidden among the leaves, and if not for the Sharingan noticing the unusually active chakra, they might have gone unnoticed.
"Zetsu, something's wrong. Let's—"
Before he could utter "retreat,"
Obito's vision blurred as Uchiha Shisui, who had supposedly left, reappeared in the room, standing by the window, his back to it. His scarlet eyes stared intensely at Obito and Zetsu, and the three black tomoe in his eyes fused silently into a pinwheel-like, four-bladed shape.
"So it's you two? The ones who slaughtered the thirty-seven members of the Barrier Corps, the villains who seek to stir up trouble in Konoha!!"
Shisui's voice was as cold as the biting wind from the northern ice fields in the dead of winter.
"A Body Flicker? No, that's not it. The Body Flicker Technique can't cover this distance. It's… the Flying Thunder God Technique? You had already marked this room!!" Obito's eyes widened, shock filling his red eyes.
To think,
He had encountered it once again.
The Flying Thunder God Technique.