"Take her clothes off??"
Everyone present froze when they heard that. It took a moment for them to react, and when they did, a storm surged in their hearts.
Sōsen suddenly turned toward Uchiha Yu, gritting his teeth as his right hand quietly curled into a fist.
The Tsuchigumo clan's Grand Elder's face turned crimson with rage. Seeing the young lady about to be humiliated, he shouted furiously.
Uchiha Minami kicked the old man to the ground and pressed him down hard, saying in a deep voice:
"What are you yelling for? Quiet down!"
Among the Uchiha squad, Izumi, Kurenai Yuhi, and Nonō all showed changes in expression.
They didn't quite understand Uchiha Yu's actions.
Kurenai was the first to realize something. Seeing Yu's expression remain calm and indifferent, she relaxed.
Uchiha Yu never did anything pointless.
He wasn't the type to indulge in desire.
There had to be a reason for this.
"Tch, this is getting spicy," Nonō muttered as she adjusted her round glasses, thinking to herself, 'Looks like I ended up following a leader with some odd kinks… I wonder if he'll do this kind of thing to me one day too?'
With that thought, Nonō suddenly squeezed her legs together.
The rest of the caravan members and the guards were all seething with silent rage.
Surrounded by the Uchiha group, they were undeniably furious—but also deeply afraid.
Judging from their movements and body language, these people could absolutely take their lives with those ninja blades.
Having been called out by Yu, Uchiha Mikoto lowered her brows and, after steeling herself, slowly stepped forward to take Hotaru from Tamao.
Tamao stood to the side, grinning foolishly.
Seeing his boss show interest in a woman gave him peace of mind.
To restore the Uchiha clan's glory, they had to start by increasing the population.
Hotaru's face was deathly pale.
At the thought of what might happen next, her mind went blank. She trembled like a quail.
She had heard the clan talk about what rogue ninjas and mountain bandits did to young women.
Feeling the fear radiating off the girl beside her, Mikoto raised her head and looked directly at Uchiha Yu.
She spoke in a firm voice:
Yu remained calm and didn't give her the chance to finish. Seeing her hesitate, he stepped forward, grabbed the girl himself.
The hearts of the caravan members sank like stones.
Their last hope once again rested with the squatting figure beside Yu—Sōsen.
Sōsen clenched his teeth, fists tightening atop his head. It looked like he had made a decision and was ready to act.
If that man truly laid hands on Hotaru, Sōsen would step in.
That was his bottom line.
Yu glanced sideways at him and said flatly:
"I'm not interested in her."
"…Huh?" Sōsen blinked, caught off guard. His thoughts laid bare, sweat poured down his face.
After speaking, Yu placed his hand gently on Hotaru's back, sensing through her clothes. After a brief moment, he withdrew.
No sign of the "Forbidden Jutsu: Wrathful Web" seal.
He seemed slightly disappointed.
At this stage, it appeared that the heir of the Tsuchigumo clan hadn't yet had the clan's forbidden jutsu implanted by the patriarch.
Yu had only asked Mikoto to remove her clothes to check her back.
The seal caused horrifying spiderweb-shaped scars to twist across a person's back.
It was a truly terrifying forbidden technique.
The caster can absorb natural chakra into their body and store it—the longer it's charged, the more powerful it becomes. Its maximum destructive record? Upon release, it instantly annihilated everything within a radius of several hundred kilometers.
Comparable to a nuclear bomb!
If possible, Uchiha Yu naturally wanted to master such a forbidden jutsu. But if there was no opportunity, he wouldn't force it.
His current priority was to fend off Konoha's pursuit and complete his defection.
When the others saw Yu release Hotaru, they all finally let out a breath of relief.
Only Tamao still looked frustrated, wondering: Was big bro not interested in this girl because she wasn't pretty enough?
Hmm… next time, I'll catch someone even prettier for him!
Tamao made a firm mental note.
Yu approached the oldest white-haired elder of the Tsuchigumo clan, crouched in front of him, and said calmly:
"I have no interest in your young lady, nor in the Tsuchigumo clan."
"Then… what do you want?"
The Grand Elder of the Tsuchigumo clan nodded heavily.
From this young man's tone, he could tell that Yu genuinely didn't intend to cause them trouble.
Yu said indifferently:
"Keep moving. We'll blend into your caravan. Once we're past Mount Katsuragi, we'll leave on our own."
As he spoke, Yu raised his right hand and gave the Uchiha group a hand signal to withdraw.
The Uchiha sheathed their weapons and retreated to Yu's side.
The caravan felt as though they had just dodged death. Everyone was still in a panic, all eyes turning to the highest-ranking elder and the still-shaken Hotaru.
"Ahem… let's… keep moving!"
The Tsuchigumo Grand Elder flushed red with shame. Knowing he had no choice, he quickly began organizing the caravan to set off again.
No matter what, we must return to our territory.
Hopefully these powerful people will keep their word, and not have ulterior motives against our already-declining clan.
The caravan departed.
At Yu's request, they chose the middle of the three roads leading into Mount Katsuragi and slowly proceeded forward.
It was the route Yu had picked beforehand—after all, Izumi had said all three were viable.
The wagon wheels rumbled as the caravan advanced slowly.
But after that earlier chaos, the atmosphere in the caravan was thick with tension.
The Uchiha defector team, Kurenai Yuhi, Nonō, and the now-hostage Hotaru, sat in the bed of the second wagon, disguised as members of the caravan.
The original caravan members in that wagon had been pushed to the end of the convoy to walk.
Just then, a system notification popped up in Yu's mind.
> [Side Mission]: Disguise
[Objective]: Lead the team and infiltrate the Tsuchigumo caravan.
[Reward]: Ninja tool pouch.
Yu flipped his right hand. A ripple in space formed in his palm, and a plain white ninja tool pouch wrapped in bandages appeared in his hand.
It was heavy—clearly filled with tools.
The Uchiha members perked up immediately, fascinated again by their captain's seemingly magical "space-time ninjutsu."
Hotaru, who had never seen such a thing before, stared wide-eyed at Yu's palm, her gemstone-like eyes filled with curiosity.
Since it was clear these people had no ill intentions toward her, most of Hotaru's fear melted away. Still, she harbored a bit of unease—not knowing what their true goal was.
Yu opened the tool pouch and, by torchlight, peered inside.
He saw a kunai, ten shuriken, a coil of steel wire, and an explosive tag.
They looked ordinary.
He took the kunai from the pouch, and the moment his fingers touched the cold metal handle, the method of use instinctively surfaced in his mind.
Yu raised his hand and hurled the kunai at a tree outside the wagon. It flew straight and fast, embedding itself deeply into the trunk.
A perfect throw—swift and seamless.
He moved so fast that only a few nearby Uchiha members managed to react in time, instinctively dodging to the side.
It wasn't until the sound of the kunai striking the tree rang out that the little girl, Hotaru, suddenly turned around to look—but she couldn't spot any sign of a kunai or shuriken nearby.
Yu looked down at the ninja tool pouch.
The kunai he had just thrown had somehow returned to the pouch, as if it had never left.
All the ninja tools inside this pouch—including that explosive tag—could refresh and be reused after each use.
As for the moment when a thrown tool would disappear, Yu could control that as well. That's why Hotaru hadn't seen anything when she turned around—he'd intentionally concealed it.
'So that's its special trait.' Yu thought. Not bad—not amazing, but useful enough.
With that in mind, he was just about to strap the pouch to his right thigh when Kurenai Yuhi smiled, crouched in front of him, and said:
As she spoke, Kurenai took the pouch from Yu's hand, knelt before him, and carefully secured it to his leg.
The caravan continued bumping along the trail.
Upon entering Mount Katsuragi, they passed through a low-lying area—an ideal location for an ambush.
> [Side Mission]: Eliminate the Root Pursuit Squad
[Objective]: Destroy the Root operatives hiding in Mount Katsuragi
[Reward]: Forbidden Jutsu Replication Scroll!
Another mission prompt appeared before Yu's eyes, and his gaze lit up instantly.
1. Green Medicine: Refreshes daily at 6:00 a.m., can be used infinitely, and grants limitless strength enhancements.
When used on others, it only heals injuries and has side effects (to be explained later).
2. Storage Space: Will gradually expand over time.
Hungry for more chaps? Then check out our pătreon!
Link: Påtreon.com/BaphometFiction
I post 20 advanced chapters of this fanfic there.