“This mission is extremely important.” “There must not be any accidents.” Uchiha Yamagaku glanced at the three people behind him with a stern expression.
“Yes, sir!” Uchiha Mikoto and the others nodded in acknowledgment.
Their assignment this time was to scout the border of the Land of Wind and investigate whether the Hidden Sand Village was making any unusual movements.
Naturally…
It was also a dangerous mission.
No one knew whether enemy forces were lying in wait along the border.
As the group approached their destination…
Uchiha Yamagaku’s expression suddenly changed.
“Something’s wrong.” “It’s far too quiet.” This was the wilderness.
There should have been insects, birds, or at least some kind of natural sound.
Silence like this…
Was unnatural.
Could it be— “Not good!” “It’s an ambush!” Uchiha Mikoto shouted.
“Fall back!” “Tch.” “So they noticed.” A mocking voice sounded.
“Brothers…” “Kill them!” Several figures burst out from beneath the sand.
The forehead protectors they wore were all different.
“Rogue ninja?” Uchiha Yamagaku frowned.
Why would rogue ninja appear in a place like this?
He activated his Sharingan and examined the chakra of each opponent.
His face immediately darkened.
Two Jonin.
Three Chunin.
They really spared no expense…
“Everyone.” “We’re members of the Uchiha Clan of Konoha.” “If you withdraw now…” “I’ll pretend none of this ever happened.” Their side only had one Jonin.
Even if each Chunin fought one-on-one…
The enemy would still have an extra Jonin.
And the two younger boys on his team…
Their strength was still lacking.
“Heh.” Jonin Retsu sneered.
“Do you know why we’re here?” “You’re from the Uchiha Clan?” “Even better.” “We can sell your Sharingan for a fortune on the black market.” Everyone knew…
Sharingan eyes fetched an extremely high price.
“So…” “There’s no room for negotiation?” Uchiha Yamagaku’s expression became even colder.
“You understand the consequences of provoking the Uchiha Clan.” “Why waste time talking?” The other Jonin, Kai, stared coldly at the four of them.
“Kill them.” “The sooner the better.” “This is the border between two countries.” “If someone else arrives…” “It’ll become troublesome.” After all…
They were targeting the Uchiha Clan.
Nobody wanted to survive today only to be hunted down later.
But…
If every witness died…
There would be no problem.
Without another word…
The five rogue ninja charged.
“Wind Release: Air Rift Slash!” “Hmph.” Uchiha Yamagaku snorted.
Retreating while creating distance, he shouted, “I’ll handle the two Jonin!” “The three of you deal with the Chunin!” It was the only viable plan.
Mikoto nodded.
Given her strength…
Defeating a Chunin wasn’t difficult.
“What arrogance.” Retsu snorted coldly.
“If you’re in such a hurry to die…” “We’ll gladly grant your wish.” The two Jonin immediately engaged Uchiha Yamagaku.
Meanwhile…
The remaining six fighters instinctively separated into their own battles.
Coincidentally…
Mikoto’s opponent happened to be a puppet master.
“A puppet user?” “Scared already, little girl?” Chunin Sak looked at her mockingly.
“You’re quite pretty.” “It’d be a shame to kill you.” “How about this…” “Give up.” “Come with us willingly.” After all…
A living Uchiha woman was worth far more than a dead one.
“You’re asking to die!” Mikoto’s expression turned icy.
She instantly rushed forward.
Her short blade slashed mercilessly toward the puppet master.
“How naive.” Sak sneered.
He simply stood there as the blade sliced through his neck.
Crack!
The sword became lodged inside his body.
Only then did Mikoto realize— This wasn’t his real body.
It was merely a puppet.
“You actually thought…” “I’d stand in front of you myself?” Sak’s mocking voice came from inside the puppet.
“Die!” Several concealed blades shot toward Mikoto.
Instead of dodging…
She calmly pulled out an explosive tag.
Then…
She slapped it directly onto the puppet.
She intended to destroy it together with herself.
“What?!” Hidden beneath the sand, Sak stared in disbelief.
“What is this woman thinking?” Is she not afraid of dying?
She was willing to sacrifice herself just to destroy his puppet?
The problem was…
She couldn’t even touch his real body!
Boom!!
The explosive tag detonated.
Sak could only watch helplessly as his precious puppet was blown into countless pieces.
His heart nearly shattered.
Moments later…
An infuriated Sak emerged from the sand.
“You Konoha people are all lunatics!” Every bit of his savings had gone into that puppet.
Now…
It had been completely destroyed.
His heart was bleeding.
“Wonderful.” “I’ve lost my puppet…” “And now I can’t even sell your eyes.” “I’ve suffered a huge loss!” He looked ready to burst into tears.
“Then…” “You can go accompany your puppet.” A cold voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Sak’s pupils shrank.
A blade rested against his neck.
“W-What?!” “You…
weren’t you dead?” How was she standing here perfectly fine?
“Idiot.” “That was only my Shadow Clone.” Mikoto’s voice was ice-cold.
With one clean swing…
She severed his head.
After killing him…
She immediately leaped backward.
Just in case…
He had prepared some suicidal countermeasure.
Sure enough…
Moments after Sak died…
A strange liquid began leaking from his corpse.
Wherever it touched…
Even the sand began dissolving.
“As expected of Sand ninja…” “They’re quite skilled with poison.” She glanced at it briefly before looking away.
Turning toward the other battles…
She discovered they were also nearing their conclusions.
One-on-one…
The Uchiha Clan possessed overwhelming advantages.
Once the last enemy Chunin fell…
One of the young Uchiha said, “Let’s go help Captain Yamagaku.” “He’s facing two Jonin by himself.” “If we don’t hurry…” “He might be the one who dies.” “…Too late.” Mikoto’s eyes remained fixed on the distance.
Far away…
Two figures slowly approached.
One of them was dragging a body across the ground.
“So…” “Even an Uchiha Jonin can be killed this easily.” That…
Was truly terrible news.
“W-What do we do?!” The young Uchiha’s face turned pale.
“Are we…” “…going to die here?” Mikoto wasn’t feeling any better.
Her thoughts involuntarily drifted toward Akira.
I wonder…
Will I ever get to see him again?
Then…
She suddenly remembered.
Before she left…
Akira had given her something.