A small black bird swooped down from above, fluttering its wings before landing gracefully on Kagetsu's finger. The bird gently pecked his fingertip twice, then flapped its wings once more. With a flick of Kagetsu's hand, the bird took off, soaring back into the sky.
"Someone's coming!" Kagetsu signaled suddenly.
Shisui and Anko, who had been traveling alongside him, immediately split up, concealing themselves within the thick leaves of the surrounding trees.
Kagetsu's skill in controlling birds no longer surprised them. If needed, Shisui could replicate such abilities with his Sharingan, though the level of communication and precision in gathering information wouldn't be quite the same.
"There are several chakra signatures ahead."
A team of four dark-skinned ninjas, all wearing headbands from the Hidden Cloud Village, sped through the forest, their feet lightly tapping the branches beneath them.
One of the Cloud shinobi, hands forming a quick seal, sensed something and warned his captain.
"Are they Konoha ninja?" The lead Cloud ninja, hearing this, didn't slow down. Instead, his pace quickened, pushing forward with even greater speed.
It wasn't long before the two groups spotted each other. Traveling at such high speeds, the encounter was inevitable.
"Konoha brats, huh?" The Cloud leader sneered as he saw Kagetsu, Shisui, and Anko forming a triangular defensive formation. His expression twisted into a cruel grin. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn NoveI~Fire.net
Slowly, he unsheathed the long blade from his back, pointing it directly at the three. A sinister smirk crossed his face. "I thought I'd run into Konoha's elite Jonin… but it's just a bunch of kids!"
Though he readied his weapon, the Cloud captain didn't immediately attack. His eyes flicked subtly toward his sensor ninja.
When the sensor gave him a slight shake of the head, indicating no hidden reinforcements were nearby, the captain's grin widened. He felt relieved—there were only these three to deal with.
"You look nervous. Is this your first time on the battlefield? Allow me to teach you something… at the cost of your lives!"
The Cloud captain's cold voice dripped with menace. A wave of killing intent flooded the area as he pressed off the ground and vanished in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, he reappeared right in front of Kagetsu, his blade crackling with electricity as it pierced Kagetsu's chest before the young ninja could react.
But as the captain withdrew his sword, he frowned. Something felt… wrong.
The sensation from the stab didn't match the familiar resistance of cutting into flesh. It was as though his blade had passed through nothingness—through air.
As the Cloud Ninja captain tried to retreat, he felt a sudden, powerful grip on his blade. It held the weapon tight, preventing him from pulling away.
The next second, a sharp pain shot through his ankle — something had pierced it.
Startled, he looked down to find a figure partially emerging from the shadows. It was none other than Kagetsu, holding a short blade that was now lodged deep into the muscle of his leg.
"Damn it!" the Cloud captain roared. In a flash, his entire body transformed into a blinding burst of lightning energy that exploded in front of Kagetsu.
The crackling lightning spread across the ground, radiating outward and stunning every living thing within its reach.
Lightning Release: Lightning Sphere.
A sizzling sphere of electricity descended from the sky, slamming into the spot where Kagetsu and his companions had been. The intense energy scorched the earth, leaving a deep, smoldering crater.
The Cloud captain, who had used a lightning clone as the first probing attack, descended from mid-air and regrouped with his team after releasing the sphere.
Before the captain could speak, the squad's sensor ninja suddenly paled, yelling out a warning while darting to the side.
From a hidden direction, a roaring pillar of flame burst forth, like a fiery dragon riding the wind. It surged toward the four Cloud ninjas, catching three of them within the inferno's deadly range.
The captain reacted swiftly, weaving hand signs in an instant. Leaning forward, he unleashed a spiraling wave of water to collide with the incoming flames.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
The clash between the searing fire and rushing water generated a thick mist, the vapor spreading through the air, heated and dense.
Using the momentary cover provided by the steam, the four Cloud ninjas immediately executed the Body Flicker Technique to escape from their current position.
As they repositioned, the sensor ninja's eyes widened in sudden realization. His gaze snapped toward a specific direction—and there, in the shadows, glowed a pair of blood-red eyes.
In the Land of Lightning, home to the Cloud Village, the Sharingan was no mere rumor. The sensor ninja instinctively tried to shut his eyes—but it was already too late.
Without warning, his consciousness was dragged into a genjutsu.
The next moment, blood sprayed through the air. The sensor ninja awoke from his agony, clutching his slashed throat as his body plummeted to the ground, kicking up dust on impact.
"Uchiha!" the Cloud captain growled, now locking eyes with Uchiha Shisui's unmistakable blood-red Sharingan. He hadn't expected to encounter an Uchiha here, of all places!
According to the intel, the Uchiha rarely teamed up with anyone outside their clan, and it was uncommon for them to leave the village to take on missions.
Encountering an Uchiha with the Sharingan while on an external mission was a rare event indeed.
In an instant, the Cloud Shinobi captain's body surged with flickering lightning. The electrical charge stimulated his cells, causing his speed to increase dramatically.
In a flash, he appeared behind Shisui, deliberately avoiding his direct line of sight to evade the Sharingan's gaze.
"Die!" The Cloud captain roared as his body crackled with sharp sparks. Swinging his arm, he slashed his longsword through the air, aiming to slice through Shisui's neck.
The blade cut into Shisui's neck without resistance—but in that moment, the captain's balance faltered. Black crows erupted into the air, scattering like a storm, forcing his pupils to contract sharply in shock.
The captain's mind raced to figure out how to break free from the illusion, but his body felt paralyzed, as if caught in a binding spell. He had lost control.
A layer of darkness crept up from his shadow, spreading along his body like creeping vines.
"What… is this?" The captain, now fully conscious but horrified, stared at the dense black tendrils entwining his limbs. Against his will, his body moved like a puppet and, with a sudden flash, he reappeared beside the two remaining members of his team.
The sound of flesh being cut was sharp and merciless. The two Cloud shinobi, startled by their captain's unexpected assault, collapsed to the ground, confusion still etched on their faces.
They had no time to process why their leader had turned on them before their lives were snuffed out.
In the next heartbeat, the final Cloud shinobi's eyes widened in terror as Shisui's blade sliced clean through his throat.
Blood sprayed into the air, and the sword tip emerged from the back of his neck, glistening with crimson.
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