LRAB Chapter 10 Who exactly is the mysterious swift-escape ninja?
Chapter 10 Who exactly is the mysterious swift-escape ninja?
The defeat of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen greatly boosted the morale of the Konoha front, but the atmosphere on the Uchiha side was somewhat strange.
Konoha's position.
Uchiha's main tent.
Fugaku Uchiha's face was ashen, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table. Opposite him sat several elders of the Uchiha clan.
"Shisui's left eye injury has been confirmed to be caused by Izanagi."
"According to Shisui's description, he encountered an extremely dangerous and mysterious Kirigakure ninja. The opponent was not only incredibly fast and able to break through his genjutsu and Phantom Body Flicker Technique head-on, but also forced him to use Izanagi to escape."
Fugaku spoke in a deep voice: "Most importantly, there is absolutely no record of this person in Konoha's intelligence system!"
The atmosphere inside the tent was heavy.
Permanent blindness in one eye is no small matter for the Uchiha clan, especially when the blind person is Uchiha Shisui, the most brilliant new star of the Uchiha clan at this stage.
"What are the results of the investigation with the mountain tribe?"
An elder asked.
Fugaku shook his head, his face growing even more somber.
"The Kirigakure Jonin who covered the rear was named Yosuke Ōkawa. His brain was severely damaged before and after his death, making it virtually impossible to extract anything from it."
"Of the other two Chunin, one was killed without a complete corpse, and the other was killed by Inoichi himself, but there is very little usable information, and there is absolutely no information about that mysterious Mist Ninja."
"Their counterintelligence capabilities are truly impressive... No wonder they're Kirigakure..."
Among the five great ninja villages, Kirigakure, though located far overseas, was renowned throughout the ninja world for its ruthless methods and decisive nature.
Seeing that he was about to die, he directly destroyed his own brain tissue. This guy truly deserves the name of a Jonin from Kirigakure!
"What's the situation in Kirigakure?"
"Nothing's wrong, they're suppressing news of the Ninja Swordsman's defeat."
"Do you think it's possible that someone from Sunagakure or Iwagakure is disguised as a Kirigakure ninja? After all, the Swift Release kekkei genkai has never appeared in Kirigakure before."
"Swift Escape Bloodline..."
Another elder pondered and said, "Indeed, apart from the rumors about Amegakure during World War I, in recent decades, only Sunagakure has been confirmed to possess this bloodline."
"Could it be that someone from Sunagakure is deliberately disguised as someone from Kirigakure?"
But that's not necessarily true.
Fugaku spoke slowly, the three tomoe in his eyes slowly rotating.
"In the vast ninja world, it is not without precedent that bloodline clans may hide their identities or suddenly mutate and awaken."
"Moreover, Kirigakure is located far overseas. In order to develop, the Second Mizukage mainly adopted the policy of absorbing and cultivating bloodline limit ninjas. Even during the Warring States period, their Kaguya clan was once a ninja clan of our Land of Fire."
"That Swiftness Bloodline Limit might be a weapon they've been secretly developing!"
Silence fell again inside the tent.
A mysterious enemy, capable of forcing Shisui to use Izanagi to escape and with almost zero information about him, is like a thorn in the side of the Uchiha clan and the hearts of the Konoha leadership.
The appearance of this mysterious Kirigakure ninja is like the thick fog outside Kirigakure, making people unpredictable yet vaguely uneasy.
"We must find him no matter what, and confirm his identity and abilities!" Fugaku's voice was resolute. "This person is powerful, uses unpredictable methods, and even forced Shisui to use Izanagi. He must be listed as a top priority investigation target!"
"Intensify intelligence gathering efforts, especially within Kirigakure, particularly the Kaguya and Yuki clans, those with special bloodlines or secret techniques. Also, notify all frontline units that if any Kirigakure ninja suspected of possessing extreme speed abilities are discovered, report them immediately and avoid engaging them in one-on-one combat as much as possible."
"yes!"
The elders accepted the order and left.
Fugaku sat alone in the tent, his Sharingan with three tomoe spinning in his eyes.
He never imagined that the pursuit, which should have enhanced the reputation of the Uchiha clan, would instead nearly lead to the downfall of the Uchiha clan's most outstanding genius.
An ineffable power of vision filled his eyes, and the three rapidly spinning tomoe seemed to merge together at a certain moment, transforming into a strange pattern.
"Bloodline..."
……
Hozuki Mangetsu adjusted his training time.
He began practicing shuriken throwing on the path leading to the small building during the time when Makoto usually returned from fishing.
The boy's technique was precise and cunning; several shuriken sliced through the air and embedded themselves in the wooden target in the distance, making a series of sharp, clattering sounds.
However, occasionally one or two will deviate from their intended trajectory and fly towards the road. The angle is not fatal, but it is enough to make someone with a slightly slower reaction time panic.
Gouju Cheng walked over carrying a fish bucket, humming a little tune. Just then, a shuriken flew towards him diagonally. He seemed to trip over a pebble, staggered, and gently sidestepped the shuriken.
"Wow, Da Lang! Can you watch your shuriken technique? You almost stabbed me!"
Makoto, still shaken, started yelling, and Mangetsu Hozuki quickly apologized.
Gouju Cheng muttered as he drew his sword, tossed it back to Manyue, picked up his bucket, and left, still muttering to himself.
"With this kind of accuracy, he calls himself a genius? The quality of this ninja academy is getting worse and worse..."
……
"Water Release: Water Gun Technique!"
Two weeks later, Hozuki Mangetsu chose to practice Water Release techniques on the balcony below where Makoto Karatachi was taking a nap in the afternoon, where he was sensing chakra.
The compressed water bullets were quite powerful, striking the distant reefs with a dull thud.
But whether it was intentional or a mistake, one of the water bullets veered off course and shot straight toward the second-floor balcony railing with a whistling sound!
On the balcony, Gouju Cheng seemed to be awakened by the hat that had been blown off by the sea breeze. He groggily got up to pick it up and happened to bend down.
"Bang!"
The water jet grazed his scalp and shattered a Crystal Bro championship trophy on the other side of the balcony.
"Holy crap!"
Gouju Cheng was so frightened that he woke up completely and clung to the railing to look down.
Hozuki Mangetsu stood there with an apologetic expression.
"I'm sorry, Captain Makoto, I miscontrolled my chakra!"
"You made a mistake! I think you're trying to improve! Do you know how expensive these flowerpots are? You're punished by having to inventory the goods in the second warehouse this afternoon!"
"……yes."
Hozuki Mangetsu agreed, but his doubts deepened.
Is this luck or something else?
But he really couldn't sense any chakra fluctuations from the other person...
After several unsuccessful attempts, Hozuki Mangetsu became even more confused.
He decided to be more direct.
One evening after dinner, he found Gouju Cheng picking his teeth and looking at the stars on the balcony.
"Captain Cheng, I've recently encountered some bottlenecks in my swordsmanship training. Judging from your extraordinary demeanor, you must also have considerable experience in physical combat and adaptability. I wonder if you could offer some guidance?"
Makoto Koji paused in his teeth-picking motion, glanced sideways at Mangetsu Hozuki, sighed, stood up, and patted him on the shoulder.
"I'm not trying to be mean, but why are you always thinking about fighting and killing?"
"The bottleneck in swordsmanship is mostly due to a lack of mental tranquility. Look at this starry sky, so vast and boundless; how insignificant humans are within it."
"When you feel lost, you should look up at the stars, feel the vastness of the universe, broaden your mind, and many obstacles will naturally be resolved."
He pointed to the sky, exuding an air of superiority.
"This is called 'learning from nature,' a more sophisticated form of spiritual practice than simple sparring. Come, look at the stars with me and experience it."
"..."
Hozuki Mangetsu looked up at the starry sky, then at Makoto Karatachi, who was giving him earnest advice, and felt a sense of powerlessness well up inside him.
All the prepared rhetoric and the defiant tone vanished without a trace at that moment.
Could this guy really be a spoiled brat with incredible luck and a bunch of twisted logic?
But this is impossible!
Seeing Hozuki Mangetsu's expression of existential doubt and helplessness, Makoto Karatachi remained calm and composed.
"Young man, you have a long road ahead of you, take your time to understand."