Yujin found the North Polar Team with only twenty-five seconds left before free action began.
Twenty-five seconds.
A fleeting moment.
He was already prepared to strike back, his kagune coiled and ready. On the outside, it looked harmless, even fragile—yet that was its greatest deception.
If used at the right time, ninjutsu could turn the situation completely in his favor.
And if things went wrong, his skills would let him escape easily. If Yujin didn't want to fight, few could make him stay.
He waited in silence, the seconds slipping away.
Then suddenly—
"Wait, what the hell!? They ran!?"
Far off in the sky, three Green Goblin hoverboards sped side by side, each carrying five people, vanishing quickly into the horizon.
Those boards could reach speeds of a thousand kilometers per hour, capable of carrying up to a ton in weight.
Even if Yujin spread his Kagune wings, there was no way he could catch up to a full-speed hoverboard.
The howling wind filled the mouth of the white youth holding an ice spear, his cheeks shaking wildly as he laughed out loud.
"Hahaha! Last time, that Devil Team hit us hard—we even lost our old captain! But these Green Goblin boards are amazing! The Farming Team can't catch us now!"
Captain Gonniel of the North Polar Team frowned, his expression dark.
"Don't get too excited," he said flatly. "Our mission is to assist the Ghostface Killers in eliminating twenty targets. Before we return, they can't be captured. That means our task will definitely clash with the Central Continent Team."
He glanced down at his wristwatch. The muscle beside his nose twitched violently.
"If we fail, each of us loses three thousand reward points—and gets hit with a C-rank side story penalty. Damn it! That'll wipe out everything we earned from our last horror movie mission!"
The smiles on everyone's faces faded instantly.
The thin, student-like boy being dragged through the air by Gonniel's foot—Albert Allen—smacked his lips and asked,
"If the Central Continent Team is stronger than us, how did they start free action before we did?"
A large talking dog barked twice beside him.
"I told you already—they're the Farming Team! It means they raise one person to become their main fighter! The overall team rating might be low, but when the fight starts… you'll find out how painful it really is!"
Albert's expression turned grim. He looked toward the direction of the abandoned factory that had long vanished from sight.
"Then we'd better start running."
Town Police Station
When Yujin arrived at the police station, Chu Xuan had already used his exceptional hacking skills to forge the identity of the Chief Superintendent.
In just a few minutes, he had become the highest-ranking officer within three hundred kilometers—and taken full control of the entire department.
When Yujin returned to the police station so soon, Chu Xuan — who was currently checking surveillance footage like the genius detective from Detective Conan— glanced at him briefly before turning back to the files.
"You came back rather quickly," he said calmly.
"That means there must be details I don't know about. For example… some old issue within the Central Continent team's history that made the North Polar Team mistakenly believe we're much stronger than them."
He paused, pushing his glasses slightly up his nose.
"Or perhaps…" Chu Xuan's voice grew faintly amused, "you chickened out, took a walk around, and decided to come back."
Yujin laughed in disbelief.
"And what's that conclusion based on? Human nature is complex and unprovable, you know."
Chu Xuan didn't even look up.
He kept reading through the files and simply replied, "Then it must be the historical issue I mentioned."
Yujin clenched his fists, gritting his teeth.
"God, you're insufferable!"
Leaving the archive room, Yujin found the thirteen members of the Central Continent team scattered around.
Some were pacing restlessly, some sitting in silence, others pretending to nap.
When Zhang Jie saw Yujin come out, he immediately asked,
"Yujin, what should we do now? Just… keep waiting like this?"
"Yeah." Yujin nodded.
"We just wait for Chu Xuan."
Zhan Lan glanced around uneasily, her senses scanning the surroundings.
"I can't feel any enemies nearby. Does that mean the North Polar Team isn't going to fight us this time?"
Just as she finished speaking, Chu Xuan walked out of the archive room.
"They'll fight us," he said flatly.
"Most likely… at midnight."
Zheng Zha frowned.
He couldn't help but feel this new guy, Chu Xuan, was a bit too mysterious.
"How do you know they'll attack at midnight?" he asked.
Chu Xuan tapped the stack of police case files in his hand.
"These documents told me everything. The murders in this town are ridiculously easy to solve. That means the North Polar Team's mission can't possibly be the same as ours. My analysis? Their task is the exact opposite — to help the murderer escape justice."
He continued, tone steady and confident.
"At first, they misjudged Yujin's strength, thinking they'd fail and flee. But under the Lord God's influence, that misunderstanding won't last long. By midnight at the latest, we'll cross paths with them."
Everyone fell silent.
None of them fully understood what Chu Xuan was saying, yet the way he spoke made it sound so certain — so logical — that no one could bring themselves to doubt him.
They all began to think seriously about what would happen when they finally faced the North Polar Team that night.
Chu Xuan walked to the desk, opened a locked drawer with practiced ease, and pulled out a map of the town.
The map was hung up on the blackboard.
Chu Xuan pointed at it and said calmly,
"The residential area of this small town is concentrated here."
He tapped the spot near the abandoned factory.
"Seventy percent of the incidents happened in this area."
Yujin couldn't help but interrupt.
"Skip the small talk. Just tell us the conclusion."
Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses.
Even after being interrupted, he didn't show the slightest irritation.
"My guess is—" he began, his tone sharp and analytical, "They'll send out bait to lure you away. Once you're gone, the remaining forces will strike us with lightning speed and wipe us all out."
He paused for a moment, then added with a dry, mocking chuckle meant to unsettle the group,
"And when that happens… even you, with all your strength, will be at a disadvantage."
His expression turned serious.
"With the Central Continent team's current heavy penalties, North Polar Team only needs to finish their mission and return. When that happens, you'll be erased for failing to pay the 'fine.'"
Zhang Jie broke into a cold sweat.
"Y–You… how did you even come up with all that?"
Chu Xuan lifted his eyelids slightly, his tone calm and detached.
"I simply suppressed my intellect to an average human level. At that level, the optimal strategy any normal person would think of… is to strike while we're distracted chasing the Ghostface — and take the initiative."
Yujin exhaled slowly, then nudged Zheng Zha with his elbow.
"Has this guy always been this annoying when he talks?"
Zheng Zha shrugged helplessly.
"I don't even know him."
In the dense forest, six figures darted through the high branches with fluid grace.
At the front, Kimimaro glanced sideways while leaping through the trees.
He spoke softly to the man beside him — Uchiha Yujin, whose hands were forming the motions for Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.
"Not far ahead is Konoha," Kimimaro murmured.
"Once we reach the Valley of the End, we'll be heading back."
Uchiha Yujin reached into the air as if grabbing something invisible.
A thick, powerful snake appeared from the void, snapping its fangs into the empty space before vanishing again.
After finishing the motion, Uchiha Yujin turned to Kimimaro with a grin.
"Thanks for coming all this way. Really—our little group of six happened to run into Kakuzu. He ate five hearts and still had one in storage. Isn't that thoughtful of him?"
The words had barely left his mouth when a bolt of lightning tore through the sky— and crashed toward them!
Uchiha Yujin's mocking grin froze instantly, replaced by a look of disbelief.
That jutsu—
Lightning Release: False Darkness!
****
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