"Bastard! I'm going to teach these people a lesson today!"
A (Ei) roared loudly, completely unafraid of alerting the enemy.
It turned out that when he sensed something was amiss earlier, he didn't erupt immediately. Instead, he had returned to the border to mobilize Cloud reinforcements, preparing for a surprise raid.
Deep in Hell Valley, Night's Mind's Eye of the Kagura keenly picked up several chakra signatures approaching rapidly.
A had returned, bringing Cloud reinforcements with him. This was definitely not a decision a simple brute would make.
"It seems we all underestimated him," Night whispered to himself.
He quickly left the laboratory and went to the unconscious Yashiro, waking him up with just the right amount of force.
"Hachitsutsu, you dare... Hmm? Night Namikaze?"
Yashiro looked around vigilantly, his gaze finally settling on Night beside him.
Night tossed a scroll of experiment records obtained from the underground lab to him. "See for yourself. Hachitsutsu Uchiha was conducting forbidden human experiments on bloodline fusion, involving even Uchiha clansmen. This is the evidence."
Yashiro flipped through the records rapidly, his face growing uglier by the second.
The data regarding the fusion of Ketsuryūgan and Sharingan was so detailed that it could only have come from extensive human experimentation. It sent chills down his spine.
"How could he..." Yashiro's voice trembled with disbelief.
Just then, Night formed hand seals, gathering a massive amount of chakra.
"Earth Release: Moving Earth Core!"
As his palms slammed onto the ground, the entire mountain began to shake violently. The laboratory and the tunnel collapsed one after another.
Under Yashiro's horrified gaze, the underground space hiding countless bloody secrets was completely razed to the ground.
"Hachitsutsu Uchiha has been executed. He died in the laboratory."
Night's voice was calm, without a ripple. "This ending is best for everyone."
Yashiro's eyes were filled with complex emotions.
He understood Night's meaning. A scandal of this magnitude for the Uchiha had to be buried, and Hachitsutsu "dying in the line of duty" was the best cover-up.
Before he could digest this information, Night added, "A is rushing here with quite a few Cloud ninjas. They'll arrive in ten minutes at most. As the current highest-ranking officer of the camp, you'd better think clearly about how to explain this."
---
At the entrance of Hell Valley, A arrived swiftly leading two squads of Cloud elites. Seeing Yashiro Uchiha and Night Namikaze waiting for him at the camp, a glint flashed in his eyes.
"Captain Yashiro."
A's gaze swept over the two, pausing slightly when it passed Night.
"Where is Captain Hachitsutsu?"
Yashiro's expression remained normal as he replied with the prepared story, "Captain Hachitsutsu has returned to Konoha for rotation. This is Chunin Namikaze, temporarily taking over his duties."
A locked his gaze onto Night, a meaningful smile curling his lips. "Quite the 'wandering samurai from Konoha.' Didn't expect to meet again so soon."
Night smiled faintly, neither admitting nor denying it.
Yashiro feigned confusion and asked, "Why has the Cloud envoy returned? Is something the matter?"
"I felt there was something suspicious about my trip to Hell Valley."
A looked around and said solemnly, "Especially regarding that ninja who attacked me, and the mastermind behind him. It shouldn't be simple."
Yashiro was about to speak, but A raised a hand to interrupt. "No need for words. Let my men search the place, and the truth will reveal itself."
The Cloud ninjas immediately spread out and began a carpet search of Hell Valley. Night and Yashiro stood side by side, watching calmly.
"It seems this Raikage candidate is much sharper than we imagined," Yashiro whispered.
Night nodded slightly. "Sometimes you have to acknowledge the intuition of a beast."
With his Mind's Eye of the Kagura fully active, he sensed every movement of the Cloud ninjas. They searched extremely meticulously, from the settlement to the training grounds, not even sparing the cracks in the rock walls.
Time ticked by, and the Cloud ninjas' search radius expanded constantly. Night noticed several squads moving toward the abandoned campsite.
"Don't worry."
Seeing Night's gaze shift to that area, Yashiro explained thoughtfully, "Hachitsutsu was always cautious. Those places were cleaned up long ago."
In reality, Night wasn't worried. He was just testing his eyesight, which had greatly improved after fusing the new dojutsu, even without directly activating it.
But as Yashiro said, the Cloud ninjas found nothing at the abandoned campsite. Even traces of Night's earlier ninjutsu had been cleared, leaving not a trace of chakra fluctuation.
Three hours later, the Cloud squads returned one after another. The leading Jonin reported to A, "Lord A, no abnormalities found. The Chinoike clansmen are all in the settlement, and the Uchiha camp is normal."
A's face was somewhat dark. He looked at Night unwillingly. His intuition screamed that all these anomalies were related to this "wandering samurai" who was far from simple.
"It seems I overthought it."
There was suppressed anger in his voice. "However..."
He suddenly took a step forward, chakra surging around him. "I still want to personally experience the strength of this Chunin Namikaze. To be able to replace Captain Hachitsutsu, surely you aren't an ordinary Chunin."
He emphasized the word "Chunin" heavily, as if trying to tear open a breach with it.
The atmosphere instantly became tense. The Cloud ninjas stepped back, and the Uchiha clansmen also went on alert.
Night smiled calmly, unconcerned by A's provocation.
If it were A's father—the man with immense durability and impact force comparable to a humanoid Tailed Beast—Night would have to treat him with caution.
But facing the still somewhat green A, he truly didn't think much of it.
Just as swords were about to be drawn, Yashiro suddenly spoke up. "Lord A must be joking. Chunin Namikaze is merely an ordinary Chunin; how would he dare to fight the Cloud's Raikage candidate?"
His tone was calm, but his Sharingan had quietly activated, staring straight at A.
Seeing A remain silent, Yashiro continued, "Lord A, since the search is over, please do not create further complications. After all, this concerns the peace between our two nations."
A clenched and unclenched his fists. He understood the deeper meaning in Yashiro's words. If he attacked without cause in the sensitive zone of Hell Valley, it could indeed trigger a conflict between the two nations.
"Very well."
A finally snorted coldly, locking his gaze on Night. "I'll let it go this time. Next time we meet, it won't end so simply, Chunin Namikaze!"
With that, he turned and led the Cloud ninjas away. Amidst flashes of lightning, their figures soon disappeared over the horizon.
Once the Cloud group was far away, Yashiro breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close. If a fight had really broken out..."
"It wouldn't have mattered." Two simple words, filled with unparalleled confidence.
Yashiro couldn't help but recall his own helplessness in front of Hachitsutsu. Yet that opponent, who had left him with almost no ability to fight back, had been defeated and killed by Night in such a short time.