Read ahead of public release on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley
Check out Chapter illustrations on Pixiv at unhinged_uchiha
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A few days later, somewhere within the Land of This—
After several days of travel, Souta, Satoru, Kurumi, and Might Duy had finally reached their destination. Hidden deep within a concealed campsite near a narrow mountain route, the four kept watch over the only bridge that connected the area to the main road beyond.
"Anything yet?" Souta asked while sharpening a kunai.
"Nothing so far…" Kurumi replied, her sharp eyes remaining fixed on the distant bridge.
Souta didn't seem disappointed. "Keep watching. This is the only crossing in the area. If the entourage plans to continue on their route, they'll have to pass through here."
"I know," Kurumi answered with a nod before returning her full attention to the road ahead.
Nearby, Satoru and Might Duy maintained their own vigilance, carefully monitoring the surroundings for any sign of movement.
As silence settled over the camp again, Duy suddenly muttered, "I honestly didn't expect we'd ever be assigned a mission like this…"
"Feeling regretful?" Satoru asked with a chuckle. "Or maybe sentimental?"
The mission they had received was a Rank-S assassination.
Their target was the diplomatic representative of the Land of That, a man currently travelling under heavy protection to sign a peace treaty with the Land of This. For decades, the two smaller nations had torn each other apart through endless war, raids, and border conflicts. Now, after years of bloodshed, both sides were finally attempting to establish peace and end the cycle of destruction.
And their mission…
Was to make sure that peace never happened.
Based on the intelligence provided in the mission scroll, the representative of the Land of That was the second son of the current Daimyō, and he was personally overseeing the peace negotiations.
The situation within the Daimyō's household was complicated as well.
The first son had been born from the Daimyō's concubine, while the second son, the one leading the talks, was the child of the Daimyō's legitimate wife. Normally, legitimacy alone would already place the second son in a stronger political position. But the first son is a strong contender for the position, and he is also highly capable. Of course, the second son is Daimyō's personal choice, thus he has given this chance to his second son.
If the second son successfully manages to forge this peace alliance between the Land of This and the Land of That, his prestige and influence would skyrocket.
And that was exactly what the concubine and her son feared.
If the peace treaty succeeded, the position of the next Daimyō would almost certainly fall into the second son's hands. Neither the first son nor his mother wanted that to happen.
So they arranged for his assassination.
At the same time, the mission also aligned perfectly with Konoha's own interests.
If the two nations entered a period of peace, the number of commissions flowing into the village would inevitably decrease. Wars, border skirmishes, escorts, sabotage, assassinations, and conflict generated money for shinobi villages. Peace did not.
More importantly, keeping the two border nations occupied with killing each other prevented either side from turning its attention toward the Land of Fire.
Although the Land of Fire did not fear either the Land of This or the Land of That, it was better to keep the two sides at conflict and be the beneficiary between the two.
That was why this mission existed.
And Might Duy, who had spent most of his life doing low-rank missions that can only be considered chores, naturally had little understanding of the political calculations behind high-level assignments like this one.
In Satoru's eyes, Duy probably hadn't even considered that shinobi missions could involve killing people like this, not bandits or enemy combatants on a battlefield, but political targets whose deaths would deliberately prolong a warm ensue conflict and so on.
Which was why Satoru wondered whether Duy was hesitating… feeling sentimental… or perhaps regretting coming along at all.
"It's not exactly that…" Duy muttered awkwardly. "It's just…" He struggled to find the right words.
He couldn't find the right words. But he also didn't have the luxury of searching for them.
"They're already here?" Satoru said a bit suspiciously and thought to himself, 'Wasn't there a land slide as per the intelligence that Natsuhi woman sent which has forced the entourage to stop for a while... so how come they appeared here this quickly?'
He noticed something suspicious and signalled a message to Souta who was equally suspicious and thet wo came to the same realization, "A trap, huh? So... have they acted..."
Satoru wasn't surprised since Kanzou had warned them of this possibility.
He glanced at Duy and gave a reminder. "Remember... this entourage is actually a fake one, a trap to eliminate us... so stay vigilant and do not hold back. The enemy will probably be stronger than we estimate… but it can't be helped."
"I know," Duy replied with a serious nod, pushing aside the turmoil in his mind.
'This is the moment… this is what it means to be a shinobi,' he told himself firmly. 'I have to do this, for my son… and for Uchiha Kanzou-sama, who entrusted me with this mission.'
With that resolve, he prepared himself for battle and was ready to unleash everything he had if necessary.
"Good," nodded Satoru in satisfaction and readied himself as well.
...
A tall, burly man dressed like a samurai walked at the front of the entourage, his full-face mask concealing every trace of emotion. Even so, the murderous aura radiating from him felt oppressive enough to make the air heavy. His eyes moved constantly, scanning the surrounding terrain with sharp vigilance yet eagerness.
Dense forest surrounded both sides of the road, while the cliffs and the bridge itself restricted movement. If anyone intended to strike, this was where they would do it.
'Come on…' he thought coldly, his grip tightening around the hilt of his blade. 'I know you bastards are hiding here somewhere. Stop wasting my fucking time and come out already for me to kill you lot!'
Beneath the mask, hatred and fury repeatedly twisted his expression, but he forcibly restrained himself and maintained his composure outwardly appearing as though he was completely calm, which really couldn't be far from the truth.
As the entourage continued to walk further, hidden within the forest, Souta, Satoru, Kurumi, and Duy silently observed the entourage entering the designated kill zone. The moment the center of the escort crossed the marked point, the ambush began.
"It's time... let's start!" Souta ordered and waved the hand sign.
Boom!
Explosive tags hidden beneath the road detonated violently, blasting dirt, smoke, and shattered stone into the air.
"Enemy attack!"
"Enemy attack!"
"Enemy attack!"
"Enemy attack!"
The escort ninjas shouted instantly, and the lips of the masked Samurai curved, 'You lot didn't disappoint me... good..' then he ordered the ninjas following him, "Kill all of them!"
"Hai!" the ninjas nodded, and they moved alongside him at once.
Before all the traps could fully activate, the masked Samurai and several accompanying ninjas moved with astonishing speed. Their kunai flashed through the air, slicing apart concealed wires and disabling several mechanisms before they could trigger properly.
"Tch…" Kurumi clicked her tongue in annoyance from her hiding spot. It was her who had set up most of these traps. She didn't feel happy that these traps were being disabled so easily like this.
"They are skilled ninjas... quite likely ANBUs... don't let it bother you," Souta said lightly.
"I know..." Kurumi said, and then, without hesitation, she yanked another concealed wire.
SHHHKKK!
A rain of kunai suddenly descended from above like a black storm, tearing through the smoke-filled air toward the entourage below.
"Defend yourselves!" the masked Samurai ordered.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The escort force was clearly prepared. Blades, kunai, and other chakra-enhanced weaponry were used to intercept the incoming projectiles before major casualties could occur.
At the same time, Satoru, having weaved the hand signs, slammed both palms onto the ground.
'Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!'
The earth beneath the escort ninjas instantly softened and collapsed into a massive swamp. Mud swallowed the legs of several shinobi as the ground beneath them gave way.
"Jump for the footing!"
There was no need to remind them, as everyone, already on high alert, reacted quickly. Chakra burst through their body and beneath their feet as they leapt out of the swamp before it could fully trap them.
And then the counterattack came immediately, "Attack them!"
Shunk! Shunk! Shunk!
Several escort ninjas charged directly into the forest toward the hidden attackers.
"Kill these bastards!!!" Souta also issued the order as he charged forward.
The battlefield erupted into chaos.
Souta clashed head-on with two enemy shinobi while weaving through incoming blades. Kurumi moved through the trees, throwing senbon and kunai from blind spots while constantly repositioning herself. Satoru manipulated the terrain and combined that with his fire release, forcing the enemy to divide their formation.
Even Might Duy joined the battle with his nunchucks.
Despite the tension in his heart, he launched himself forward with explosive speed, smashing a charging shinobi backward with a powerful kick.
Boom!
The enemy ninja crashed through a tree trunk before collapsing into the dirt.
Because of the sudden intensity of the battle, the carriage carrying the representative was left almost entirely exposed.
It was the perfect opportunity for Souta, Satoru, Kurumi, or Duy to attack the representative.
Any competent assassination squad would have rushed the carriage immediately, slaughtered the target, and escaped before the escort could reorganize.
The ninjas from the Land of That including the masked Samurai clearly expected exactly that.
But the Uchihas didn't even look toward the carriage.
Instead, they focused entirely on attacking the escort ninjas themselves.
"…What?" one of the enemy shinobi muttered in confusion.
The expressions of several others shifted immediately.
Why aren't they targeting the representative?
For a brief moment, suspicion surfaced in their minds.
'Did these Uchihas figure something out?' one of the ninjas thought.
But there was no time to think because the battle had already escalated into full combat.
...
There is a popular saying in the Shinobi World that fighting an Uchiha requires at least two shinobi just to offset the threat of their genjutsu.
And now, the supposed forces from the Land of That led by the masked Samurai were experiencing exactly why that saying existed.
Even though the escort ninjas were seasoned veterans who had survived countless battles, the Sharingan was simply too unfair to deal with in direct combat. One moment of eye contact, one tiny lapse in concentration, and death could come instantly.
Satoru and Kurumi completely dominated their side. Even fighting two against many... almost keeping the entire squad occupied by themselves, save for the masked Samurai.
The wheel of their Sharingan spun relentlessly as they chained together ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, and Shurikenjutsu with terrifying precision. They roared out fireballs from between the trees at unexpected moments, their illusionary feints disrupted enemy coordination that had been achieved with months if not years of training, and the volleys of Shuriken and kunai that they curved through impossible angles under their expertise.
It was truly a horrifying sight to behold.
Satoru and Kurumi moved through the battlefield with terrifying coordination, as though they could read each other's minds. One would force an opening while the other struck instantly to exploit it.
And because of that, lives were being reaped frighteningly fast.
"These… these monsters… gaaahhh—!"
Slash!
A shinobi's scream abruptly ended as Kurumi's blade tore across his throat.
"How the hell are they this strong?!"
"Weren't they supposed to be too youn—kofff!!"
Blood burst from another ninja's mouth as Satoru drove a kunai deep into his ribs before kicking him into the swamp below.
The surviving shinobi could hardly believe what they were seeing.
The two Uchihas looked far too young.
By all logic, they shouldn't possess this level of battlefield awareness, coordination, or killing efficiency. Shinobi usually required years of combat experience before reaching this level.
Yet these two fought like hardened veterans who had spent their entire lives drowning in blood and warfare.
"How are they fighting like this despite having so little combat experience…?"
That question began haunting the enemy force as one body after another collapsed beneath the relentless coordination of Satoru and Kurumi.
The answer was simply... they were talented... and their talent was nurtured to not be ordinary shinobi.
Indeed, they weren't some mere ordinary jōnin. Kanzou and his Zodiacs had personally trained both of them.
And the result showed with their monstrous skill level.
Every movement flowed cleanly into the next. Every attack carried killing intent. Every mistake the enemy made was punished immediately.
One shinobi suddenly froze after making brief eye contact with Kurumi.
That single hesitation cost him his life as a kunai sliced across his throat before he could even break the Genjutsu.
Slash!
Meanwhile, Satoru weaved through three attackers at once, predicting their movements with his Sharingan before they even acted.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several Shurikens covered in small fireballs were scattered through the battlefield, forcing the enemy to dodge, only for hidden shurikens concealed within the flames to shoot toward their blind spots.
"Gahhh!"
Blood sprayed across the ground as another ninja collapsed.
"This battle isn't all that difficult..." Satoru said, and Kurumi agreed while wiping the sweat from her forehead. And the two also turned their gazes towards Souta, who was fighting the most difficult guy.
Compared to them, Souta was visibly struggling.
"Will he be alright?" Kurumi mumbled.
"Not... sure..." Souta replied, his brows tensing a little as he wondered if he should go help out Satoru.
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Readers, please give me Power Stones. I am very short of them. Need fifty Power Stones!!!
Read ahead of public release on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley
Check out Chapter illustrations on Pixiv: unhinged_uchiha
If you like this story, then you might also like my other story: One Piece: The Incubus' Adventure. Give it a try.