Five full days of preparation had passed.
"I've completed it."
Uchiha Kin opened his eyes and looked at White Fang, who was leaning against the cave wall.
During these five days, White Fang had kept watch while Kin focused solely on his training.
Finally, he had mastered the basics of the newly developed jutsu.
"You really do have everything you need," White Fang muttered sarcastically.
In a way, it was the truth.
Since teaming up with Kin, White Fang had witnessed not only his endless stream of jutsu but also the bizarre tools he crafted. It was clear that Kin had access to many valuable resources.
With someone like Kin in Konoha, it was almost impossible for the village not to grow stronger.
If Kin had shared his creations with the village, Konoha's power would have surged.
But Kin had no such intentions.
He no longer had any need for the village's techniques.
He didn't even bother submitting his newly created jutsu to the archives.
After all, he had already obtained every technique recorded in the Scroll of Seals.
Returning to the present, Kin walked over to the two unconscious figures.
"Do you need me to release the genjutsu?"
White Fang's genjutsu had kept the two in a deep slumber for the past five days.
"No need," Kin refused with a shake of his head.
The jutsu he had developed didn't require the targets to be conscious.
"In fact, unconsciousness is ideal."
Kin raised his hands, which were now enveloped in a dark, translucent glow.
Originally, he had intended for the energy to be blue, but for now, he couldn't control its color—everything manifested as an inky black.
He pressed his palms against the foreheads of the two captives.
"Soul Illumination Technique!"
This jutsu was built upon the foundation of the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques, augmented by the Soul Transformation Technique and fused with other soul and mind-related ninjutsu.
It was a technique capable of manipulating souls—even altering a person's cognition.
Unfortunately, those were advanced applications.
At its basic level, it could only pry into memories.
The training method relied on sealing techniques as a base, incorporating the essence of other jutsu.
As Kin activated the technique, the memories of the two individuals flashed before his eyes at a rapid pace.
From birth to the present, the sheer volume of memories a person possessed was unimaginable. Most were forgotten but not erased—merely stored deep within the mind.
These were the memories Kin needed to filter out. Fortunately, the technique scanned memories in reverse chronological order, sparing him an overwhelming workload.
He focused on their most recent memories—the key intelligence they sought.
Soon, critical information was extracted.
The specifics were limited—the two didn't know much.
But from indirect analysis, an unexpected conclusion emerged.
Months ago, Iwagakure ninja had begun appearing frequently in Kumogakure under the guise of "visits."
Soon after, Sunagakure ninja arrived, followed by Kirigakure shinobi.
These ninja often appeared in Kumogakure together, sometimes even simultaneously.
This information was known only to Hidden Cloud ninja, but the frequency of these visits had caught the attention of civilians in the Land of Lightning, leading to rumors.
And these "visits" were happening during wartime.
That changed everything.
The Five Great Nations were currently locked in conflict, with four villages围攻 Konoha. But those four villages were far from allies—they harbored deep grudges against each other.
For them to gather peacefully in one place, there was only one possible explanation:
An alliance.
And that spelled disaster for Konoha.
Konoha was already stretched thin. If the four villages launched a coordinated attack, the village might not survive.
Kin relayed the intelligence in full. After all, if Konoha fell, the other villages wouldn't welcome him with open arms.
White Fang's expression darkened.
The last time the four villages allied against Konoha was during the First Shinobi World War.
Back then, they had turned on each other after failing to breach Konoha's defenses.
Since then, the villages had nurtured mutual hatred.
But now, Konoha's frontline strength had forced their hand.
If the four villages had formally allied, they would have announced it outright to pressure Konoha from the start.
This suggested negotiations were still underway.
"This intelligence must be delivered to the village immediately," White Fang declared.
"I have one more piece of information," Kin added.
During his probing, he had uncovered another critical detail.
"Just say it all at once," White Fang snapped, eyeing Kin impatiently.
He had been about to summon a messenger to relay the intel in two batches, but something felt off.
"Kumogakure plans to deploy the Two-Tails' Perfect Jinchūriki directly against Konoha."
This mission had been passed down to the two captives from their superiors:
Escort the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki into the Land of Fire and commence destruction.
They were part of the first wave—a near-suicidal vanguard.
White Fang fell into deep thought.
"A Perfect Jinchūriki…"
He glanced at Kin. The concept of a Perfect Jinchūriki was closely tied to the Basic Internal Energy Technique.
He was aware of the leaks regarding that technique.
He also knew Konoha had its own Perfect Jinchūriki—the Nine-Tails' host, though he didn't know their identity. That Jinchūriki could wield the Nine-Tails' power freely.
"How many are in their force?"
"One jonin squad, five chunin squads, and ten genin squads."
With three ninja per squad, that totaled forty-eight combatants.
"We can take them," White Fang concluded.
If they could repel the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki here, it might force Kumogakure to withdraw.
The Hidden Cloud's forces were already weakened. If the losses outweighed the gains, they would likely retreat.
Kin wasn't so optimistic.
Wouldn't that put me in danger?
But White Fang was the team leader. His decision stood.
"First, let's send the intel back."
Transmitting the intelligence was simple.
White Fang performed a summoning jutsu, calling forth a messenger hound. He encoded the details on a small scroll and attached it to the hound before dismissing the summon.
The information was on its way.
"Now, it's our turn."
White Fang began organizing his tools.
"Hand over any of those strange gadgets of yours."
Kin's devices always seemed useful.
Kin stared at him blankly. So this was his plan all along?!
But enhancing White Fang's combat ability would improve his own survival odds. Reluctantly, he handed over a few select items.
"Here's what we'll do next."
A blade-like aura erupted from White Fang's body.
Even standing beside him, Kin felt as if his skin were being pierced.
"We eliminate the Jinchūriki squad."
...
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(End of Chapter)