Fifty kilometers from the Land of Fire's border.
The four members of Iwagakure's "Earth Dragon" squad emerged from underground.
Their captain, Ishida, slowly scanned the terrain. This was a long, narrow canyon, sheer rock walls rising on both sides like giant blades cleaving the land.
"Captain, we've already entered the Land of Fire. Konoha's border patrols are even laxer than our intel suggested," one squad member reported quietly, almost whispering.
"We can't afford to get careless."
Ishida's voice was dry and rough, but there was no slack in it.
"Konoha's recent movements are very strange. This kind of unnatural calm usually means there's a trap under the surface."
His gaze swept back and forth along the dark gaps and shadows on either side of the canyon walls.
This kind of terrain was a natural passage—and a natural killing field.
Any patch of shadow, any protruding rock could be hiding an enemy.
For Earth Release specialists like them, this place was both an advantage and a disadvantage. Stone and earth were their weapon… but also their enemy's.
"Everyone, stay on maximum alert. We have to cross this whole mountain zone before dawn and rendezvous with the next intel team."
"Yes, sir."
Their responses were short and firm.
They were just about to weave hand seals again and sink back into the ground—their safest, most familiar way to move.
Ishida's hands stopped halfway through a seal.
The scene in front of his eyes… changed.
The moon hanging in the sky went from one to two, overlapping and blurring at the edges.
The outlines of the canyon walls began to ripple, like reflections on disturbed water.
This wasn't a normal visual phenomenon.
Genjutsu.
The thought detonated in his mind.
His reaction was the result of relentless training. Chakra surged, gathering to slam into his own consciousness and break the illusion by brute force.
It was the standard way to counter genjutsu. He had done it hundreds of times.
This time was different.
His chakra slammed into something invisible—like an unseen wall.
His spirit was pinned, forced to remain inside a twisted world.
In the instant his resistance stalled, several black shadows peeled away from the canyon walls.
They didn't "step out" of the rock so much as seep out of it.
The figures wore identical black combat uniforms and pure white masks with no markings at all.
Members of the [Divine Court].
Short blades glinted in their hands, their matte-black surfaces forged from some special alloy.
Three dull, heavy impacts rang out almost at the same time.
Ishida's three subordinates didn't even manage a scream.
Their consciousness was still frozen at the moment of struggling against the illusion… when the short swords slid into their backs and pierced their hearts.
The light drained from their eyes as their bodies collapsed forward, lifeless.
The entire strike was carried out without any wasted motion, without any wasted chakra—
Only pure, lethal physical attacks.
Only Ishida survived the opening strike, saved by an elite jonin's instincts and a powerful chakra network.
The moment the blade stabbed toward his heart, he broke free of the illusion's hold for a split second and twisted his body at the limit of human flexibility.
Agony exploded along his arm.
The blade ripped open his muscles; the wound was so deep he could see the white of bone. Blood soaked his sleeve, dripping onto the rocky ground.
He saw his comrades lying in their own blood. Their eyes were still open, their last expressions frozen in confusion.
He saw the white masks surrounding him. There was no emotion behind them—only cold, surgical killing intent.
They'd been exposed.
This was no coincidence, no unlucky meeting on the road.
From the moment they stepped into the Land of Fire, they had been walking into a carefully prepared trap.
Ishida didn't try to counterattack.
The enemy's numbers, their strength, their equipment—all of it was vastly superior.
The only thing he could do now was run.
Take this intel back to the village.
His hands moved instantly, fingers flying through Earth Release seals.
The Doton hand signs blurred in front of his chest as chakra rose in a tide.
He finished the seals.
The chakra was gathered.
But his body didn't move.
Some invisible force nailed him to the spot.
A single figure appeared directly in front of him.
This one wore the same [Divine Court] uniform as the others, but no mask.
His face was youthful and delicate, but his expression was ice-cold.
All of Ishida's attention was drawn into his eyes.
Red eyes.
On the scarlet background, three black tomoe turned at a steady pace.
Uchiha.
The name crashed into Ishida's mind like a falling boulder.
He knew, in that instant, that he would not be leaving this canyon alive today.
Every last trace of luck and survival instinct shattered the moment he saw those eyes.
He met the Uchiha's gaze.
The world in front of him collapsed—then reformed.
It was a completely unfamiliar space.
The sky was a congealed, suffocating blood-red.
A black moon hung at the zenith, radiating an ominous chill.
Ishida found himself fixed to an enormous wooden cross.
Thick metal spikes had been driven through his limbs, pinning him in place. He couldn't move. He could barely even feel his own body.
In this world, the other man's figure seemed clearer, more real, than anything else.
"This is my world," Uchiha Itachi said. His voice was utterly flat, stripped of any emotion. "In here, time, space, mass—everything is controlled by me."
Tsukuyomi (Moon Reader).
The name didn't need to be spoken. Ishida felt it in his marrow.
Terror flooded his heart.
He tried to struggle, to move, to gather chakra—
Nothing.
He couldn't even stir a ripple in his chakra.
He was no longer a fighter here.
Just an observer. A prisoner who could only endure what was to come.
"Answer me," Itachi said, his eyes glowing strange and otherworldly beneath the blood-red sky. The three tomoe spun on, their motion hinting at rules Ishida could not comprehend.
"What is your mission?
"What orders did the Tsuchikage give you?
"And every single military secret of Iwagakure."
"In here, the speed at which time flows… is also decided by me."
When he finished, Itachi drew a long katana from his waist.
The blade was bright and cold, reflecting the scarlet world in a blinding flash.
"I will ask you the first question," he said calmly. "If you refuse to answer, or if you lie, I will stab this blade through your body."
"Then, I will let you experience twenty-four hours of pain in that state."
"After that, I will pull out the blade… and ask you the second question."
…
Outside, in the canyon.
From the moment Ishida met Itachi's gaze, to the moment Itachi closed his eyes and then opened them again…
Only one second had passed.
The genjutsu was over.
The captain of the Iwagakure squad began to convulse violently.
His mouth hung open, emitting broken, meaningless sounds. Drool ran down his chin in wet streaks.
His eyes were unfocused, pupils blown wide.
His mind had been completely destroyed.
Kakashi stepped out from the shadow of the canyon wall.
He glanced at the four bodies on the ground, then at the lone "survivor" who was little more than a living corpse.
From start to finish, the entire battle had lasted less than thirty seconds.
No ninjutsu clashing, no roaring chakra, no explosions.
There had been none of the usual theatrics of a battlefield.
Only precise calculations.
Efficient execution.
And perfectly placed killing blows.
This was the unit personally built by Lord Shinju—
The [Divine Court].
Kakashi hadn't stepped in once.
His job was only to oversee the operation, to ensure the plan went smoothly.
Clearly, his caution had been unnecessary.
Looking at the team he'd brought out—every member so young, yet so terrifying—Kakashi felt shock and awe in equal measure.
The composure and professionalism they'd displayed during the mission already surpassed many veteran ANBU operatives.
His respect, his fear, his faith in Shinju all deepened further.
The first phase of the mission was complete.
But Shinju's plan to "make a statement" was only halfway done.
Kakashi's gaze left the broken shell that had once been Captain Ishida and moved to Itachi beside him.
"According to Lord Shinju's instructions," he said quietly, "it's time to send the Tsuchikage a present."
(End of Chapter)
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