At the east gate of the Grass Ninja Village, the torchlight cast a long shadow of a patrolling Jonin.
The man's left arm was wrapped in thick bandages, stained with dark red blood. He had clearly just withdrawn from the battlefield; his steps were unsteady, and his brow was etched with exhaustion.
He muttered the password "Galloping Across the Prairie" to the two Chunin guarding the gate, his voice as raspy as sandpaper. Then, he pulled back the curtain and entered the sentry post by the gate—his designated resting place for his shift.
In the shadows behind the sentry post, two figures in black were quietly lying in wait.
Uchiha Qi's Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun silently, taking in the position of the Jonin's bandages and his breathing frequency. He lightly tapped Genki beside him and signaled a "three" with his fingers—
A three-second countdown. Genki understood and brought his short flute to his lips, pressing his fingers lightly over the holes. A barely audible flute sound drifted toward the sentry post on the evening breeze, as unremarkable as the chirping of autumn insects.
"Three, two, one!"
The flute's pitch suddenly rose slightly. Inside the sentry post, the Jonin's body stiffened, and his eyes instantly glazed over—Genki's auditory genjutsu, "Cricket's Chirp," had taken effect, trapping him in an illusion where he heard a comrade calling for help.
Just as he struggled to stand up, Qi burst through the window like a ghost. He covered the man's mouth with his right hand while pressing a Kunai to his neck with his left. Chakra surged from his fingertips, and the Crimson of the Sharingan exploded before the man's eyes: "Genjutsu: Sly Mind Affect!"
The Jonin's body went completely limp, his eyes staring blankly at Qi.
Qi didn't waste words; he dragged the man by the collar and leapt out the back window. Genki had already set up a simple soundproofing barrier in the alleyway outside the wall.
The two pinned the Jonin against the corner. Qi's Sharingan locked onto the man's pupils, his voice cold as a blade: "Where are Uzumaki Karin and her mother being held?"
"The, the east side dungeon... third cell, it has a hidden lock." The Jonin's lips opened and closed uncontrollably; the power of the genjutsu made it impossible for him to hide anything. "The, the guards are one Jonin and four Chunin. There's a Chakra-sensing trap at the dungeon entrance."
"What is tonight's rotation password?" Genki added, his flute vibrating softly within the barrier to reinforce the genjutsu's effect.
"To, to enter the dungeon, you must say 'Wind Over the Meadow.' The rotation password is the same as the city gate, 'Galloping Across the Prairie.'"
Qi and Genki exchanged a glance, seeing confirmation in each other's eyes. Qi applied pressure with his fingertips again, the tomoe in his Sharingan spinning rapidly: "Genjutsu: Memory Erasure!"
The Jonin's eyes shifted from blank to confused, and his head swayed slightly as if he were drunk.
The two didn't linger. They propped him against the corner and vanished into the shadows of the alley, leaving the Jonin to mutter to himself, "Where was I... just going?"
Five minutes later, in the dense forest outside the Grass Ninja Village, Qi and Genki regrouped with Xiu and Yue.
Yue had just finished sensing Chakra. Seeing the two return, he immediately spoke: "After you left, two Chunin approached the sentry post, but they didn't notice anything unusual. The Chakra fluctuations in the east dungeon match what he said: one Jonin-level, four Chunin-level, and one faint trap signature."
Xiu crouched on the ground, using a twig to quickly sketch a layout of the dungeon, marking the "hidden lock" and "trap" positions with red dots.
After hearing Qi's report, he tapped the ground, a cold arc curling at the corner of his mouth. "The Grass Ninja Jonin are at most equivalent to Konoha's Special Jonin, half a tier weaker than us. Their Chakra fluctuations are messy; it's clearly a makeshift guard team with many holes."
He looked up, his gaze sweeping over the three of them as he laid out the tactical deployment clearly: "Yue, use your sensory abilities to lock onto the two faint Chakra signatures in the dungeon—that's the Uzumaki mother and daughter. Confirm the guards' positions and mark an extraction route for us.
In a moment, you'll be with me. We'll draw the attention of the four Chunin from the west side, using a combination of Wind Release and Fire Release to take them out quickly. Be careful not to damage the dungeon's structure."
"Qi, your opponent is that guard Jonin. Your Sharingan counters ordinary genjutsu, and he's no match for you in a direct confrontation. End it quickly; don't give him a chance to signal. Once he's dealt with, open the dungeon door immediately. Genki will go in with you."
Xiu's gaze fell on Genki, his tone becoming more emphasized. "Genki, as soon as you enter, use 'Cricket's Chirp' to control the Uzumaki mother and daughter. Don't let them make a sound—they've been imprisoned for days and might panic. The genjutsu will keep them calm and prevent us from being exposed."
"Once you have them, Qi will lead Genki and the two women to break out from the east. Crimson's rendezvous point is right there. After Yue and I finish off the Chunin, we'll intentionally cause explosions to draw the pursuers and buy you time to retreat."
Xiu snapped the twig, his voice suddenly turning firm. "Remember, do not get bogged down in fighting! The priority is the rescue. If anyone is injured, prioritize taking the targets and retreating. Yue and I will cover the rear!"
"Understood!"
Three voices rang out simultaneously without the slightest hesitation.
Qi gripped the tachi at his waist, the Crimson of his Sharingan flashing briefly in the night.
Genki brought the short flute back to his lips, his fingers ready.
Yue closed his eyes, his sensory range expanding once more, marking every Chakra fluctuation around the dungeon in his mind.
Xiu glanced at the waning moon in the sky. It was perfectly obscured by clouds—the ideal time for action.
He raised his hand and signaled. The three of them, like three bolts of black lightning, sped toward the east side of the Grass Ninja Village. Their footsteps were swallowed by the night wind, leaving only the swaying shadows of trees, foreshadowing the imminent raid.
The dead of night in the Grass Ninja Village was so silent that only the chirping of insects remained. The shadows of the rammed-earth walls crouched like giant beasts, with only two dim oil lamps flickering toward the east dungeon like the eyeballs of a dying man.
Four black figures glided along the base of the wall, their toes kicking up barely half a grain of dust as they touched the ground—Uchiha Qi, Xiu, Genki, and Yue were like ink blending into the night. The Crimson Sharingan loomed beneath their eyelids, capturing every Chakra fluctuation within fifty meters.
"Three o'clock, behind the battlement." Yue's voice was lower than the insects' chirp. His sensory Chakra spread out like a spiderweb, precisely locking onto the hidden Jonin sentry. "Chakra fluctuations are erratic; he's likely been drinking."
Upon hearing this, Qi's Three-Tomoe Sharingan snapped open. The Crimson light pierced the night, and the lopsided Chakra silhouette behind the battlement became clear—the man was dozing against a pillar, a wine gourd hanging from the ninja sword at his waist.
Xiu raised his hand to signal the "raid," and the four of them dispersed in perfect coordination.
Qi's toes pushed off with sudden force, the wind from his Body Flicker Technique swirling the withered grass at the corner of the wall. He shot toward the battlement like an arrow from a bow. His Sharingan predicted the moment the sentry would startle awake; the instant the man opened his eyes, the Crimson tomoe exploded in his pupils: "Genjutsu: Shackling Stakes Technique!"
...
Advance chapter available on pãtrêon Got1808