"Jackpot! Absolute jackpot!"
"Hahahaha—move, move, faster!"
"I never thought a century-old clan could be this careless!"
Along the banks of the Naka River, deep within Konoha's outer restricted zone, a scar-faced man bearing the mark of Kumogakure raced through the moonlight.
From time to time, he glanced down at the small, blue-haired girl tucked beneath his arm.
Excitement and agitation twisted his features.
"Hahaha! The Hyūga clan's eldest daughter!"
"If the analysis succeeds, the Byakugan won't be a problem on the battlefield ever again!"
Just thinking about the impact this child would have on future wars made his heart race even faster.
His lips curled into a manic grin.
In his mind's eye, he could already see the proud Byakugan users being utterly suppressed.
But right in the middle of his laughter—
A shadow suddenly entered the corner of his vision.
"Who's there?!"
His expression changed instantly.
He twisted his body mid-run, squaring up to the shadow.
Crackle!
Threads of lightning spread across his body as his chakra surged.
His heart clenched.
The Hyūga girl he'd finally seized carried immense strategic value.
He absolutely could not afford to lose her.
But when he saw that the figure was just a child, his tension eased immediately.
"Hah, scared me for a second."
"Just a kid—hm? Wait… that fan crest is—!"
"An Uchiha brat?!"
The moment his eyes locked onto the Uchiha fan symbol, a brilliant light exploded in his gaze.
It was the look of a hunter stumbling upon unexpected prey.
No—more like an angler suddenly hooking a ten-kilo monster fish.
"Hahahaha!"
"Hahahahaha!"
"Today really is my lucky day! Two of Konoha's great bloodlines, handed to me on a silver platter!"
"Hahahaha! As expected—Kumogakure stands above all!"
He couldn't suppress his excitement any longer, throwing his head back in wild laughter.
The manic sound even crackled faintly with lightning.
First the Hyūga Byakugan—
And now the Uchiha Sharingan, delivered straight to his doorstep!
What kind of protagonist-level script did this take to happen?
As for resistance?
The kid in front of him looked only slightly older than the girl under his arm.
What kind of resistance could that possibly offer?
From the very beginning, he'd already claimed Uchiha Kai as his prize.
As he rushed past, he casually reached out with his free arm, grabbing at the boy.
Whoosh!
His arm swept through—
Nothing.
"Hm? Body Flicker?"
The scar-faced man's expression shifted as he halted, scanning carefully.
"Well, I'll be damned. That kind of talent at such a young age?"
"The Uchiha really are favored by shunshin."
His thoughts immediately drifted to a certain battlefield legend.
Elusive. Deceptive. Unmatched in speed—
Uchiha Shisui.
Still young, yet already infamous on the front lines.
Some even predicted that if he were allowed to grow unchecked, he might become the second Yellow Flash.
The White Fang.
The Yellow Flash.
Shisui of the Body Flicker.
Thinking of this, the scar-faced ninja couldn't help but sigh.
"Every time Konoha weakens, geniuses like these crawl out of the ground."
"It's a village people can't help but envy."
"But luckily for us—"
"The more gifted you are in Konoha, the shorter you tend to live."
He laughed again, unable to hold it back.
As a shinobi tasked with special missions, he rarely laughed—
Unless he truly couldn't help it.
If Konoha's prodigies actually survived to adulthood, would Kumogakure dare provoke them so openly?
Let alone raid them outright?
"Tch. See? I told you—Konoha's full of idiots. No wonder they got found out."
At this—
Kai nodded in agreement.
A tiny body.
A huge sense of validation.
After the laughter died down, the scar-faced man swept his gaze around.
Seeing no pursuers, he waved his hand.
"Alright. Since we've met, I'll take you along too. Time to change locations."
Crackle!
In the next instant, his body transformed into lightning as he shot forward.
Whoosh—whoosh—!
He was several times faster than before.
Yet—
He still missed.
Kai merely stepped half a pace back, casually dodging the grab.
Whooo—
The night wind passed.
Moonlight poured down, dyeing the Forest of Death in silver-gray.
Kai rested his fingers against a tree trunk etched with Flying Thunder God formulae and shook his head lightly.
"Uncle, aren't you getting a bit impatient?"
"How about we chat for ten minutes first?"
The Kumogakure envoy: ...
He took a deep breath.
When he looked at Kai again, the frivolity in his eyes had vanished—
Replaced by raw excitement.
"Looks like another little genius."
"My luck really is absurd today!"
"Lightning Release: Lightning Serpent!"
He abruptly set the girl down—
Hyūga Hinata—and formed hand seals.
Chakra surged violently through his body.
Crackle!
A massive purple lightning serpent materialized out of nowhere, lunging straight at Kai without warning.
Fast.
Precise.
Lethal.
"Oh? Lightning Release?"
Kai's eyes flickered.
He suppressed the urge to activate Body of Light, instead calmly spinning his Sharingan.
After years in this world—
This was his first true fight against a real enemy.
Was he nervous?
A little.
But not much.
The enemy was, at best, a special jōnin.
And Kai had an invincible golden body as insurance.
In other words—
He couldn't die.
So why not play?
Whoosh!
His figure flickered across the treetops, dodging the lightning serpent with ease.
At first glance, it looked like Body Flicker—
But anyone versed in space-time techniques would notice subtle distortions at every movement point.
Flying Thunder God.
With over a million chakra at his disposal, Kai could practically weave chakra threads through the air like a spiderweb.
"So fast!"
The scar-faced man's expression darkened.
He realized he couldn't keep up with Kai's movements at all.
A sense of danger crept into his chest.
This couldn't drag on.
There were pursuers behind him.
He inhaled deeply and formed the Boar seal.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Clone!"
Crackle!
An identical figure appeared beside him.
The two formed seals simultaneously.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Serpent!"
Two lightning serpents burst forth, even faster than before, crackling violently.
"Perfect!"
Kai halted his Flying Thunder God, excitement lighting his face.
It was time to try something else.
His pupils shifted—
Black fading into crimson.
The three tomoe spun rapidly.
Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
With Dynamic Vision layered on top, he could clearly track every flicker of the lightning serpents.
Crackle—!
In his vision, the lightning's path slowed into fragments.
Left!
At the moment of impact, Kai leapt sideways.
Boom!
The lightning struck the rock behind him, exploding into sparks.
"Three-tomoe Sharingan?!"
"When did Konoha produce another monster like this?!"
The scar-faced man's face twisted.
On the battlefield, three tomoe meant at least squad-leader level.
In other words—
This child, barely six or seven years old, already rivaled a special jōnin?
No—
He couldn't let this continue.
His eyes flashed with resolve.
Chakra roared.
Crackle—!
Purple lightning spread outward like a spiderweb, filling the entire area.
If the kid was fast—
Then he'd saturate the battlefield with lightning.
He could afford countless mistakes.
Kai only needed to slip once.
"Huh? Already catching up?"
Kai glanced behind him and stopped testing.
He didn't intend to truly expose himself under Konoha's watchful eyes just yet.
With a flick of his wrist, twelve shuriken flew out.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
They came from impossible angles.
As the scar-faced man tried to dodge, a sudden gust erupted behind him.
"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!"
Four years of "hard training," and one occasionally borrowed technique—
Finally found its moment to shine.
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