If this had happened a few months earlier—if Uchiha Feiyu had sensed this many unfamiliar souls nearby—he would've already slipped away and pretended he'd never been there.
But now?
His skills were sharp, his confidence even sharper. After only a brief pause, he sped toward the cluster of unfamiliar soul-signatures he'd sensed.
When he arrived at the spot, Feiyu frowned.
"…Huh? What's this? Invisibility?"
To his naked eye, there was no one there. Not a trace of a human silhouette.
But through his soul sensing, he could clearly feel four unfamiliar souls hunkered down in a patch of brush.
When he focused his gaze on that exact area, he faintly felt something wrong with the outline of the shrubs.
The double tomoe in his Sharingan began to spin, and after a moment, the contours hidden there became subtly distorted in his vision.
"This is… Camouflage Hiding Technique?"
At the Academy, they'd taught some simple non-chakra concealment tricks—like using camouflage cloth and terrain to blend into the environment. But that kind of thing only worked at range; up close, any proper ninja could spot the flaws.
In the shinobi world, though, there existed a jutsu called the Camouflage Hiding Technique—a half-invisibility Wind Release technique based on the same idea.
By using extremely precise manipulation of wind-nature chakra to guide the tiny, invisible water droplets suspended in the air and wrap them around the body, it could create something close to true optical camouflage.
Despite being Wind Release, the technique was actually a signature jutsu of Iwagakure.
If Feiyu hadn't had soul-sense, even with his Sharingan he probably would've missed these four completely.
"We're only two, three kilometers from the Konoha camp," he thought.
"Iwa-nin showing up here… looks like they're planning a surprise attack."
Once he'd made up his mind, wind and thunder roared quietly over Feiyu's skin. His body blurred—then shot straight toward the hidden Iwa-nin.
The moment they heard the wind-and-thunder crackle rushing up behind them, the hidden Iwa-nin reacted instantly, scattering in all directions.
Under high-speed movement, their Camouflage Hiding Technique collapsed, revealing four Iwa-nin.
At the very front was a towering Iwa-nin, broad-shouldered and thick as a stone wall. With a guttural roar, his entire body turned pitch-black, just as Feiyu's short blade came cleaving down.
"Not bad reflexes… he actually reacted under my first swing.
At the very least, he's tokubetsu jōnin level."
As the blade flashed, Feiyu felt a surge of resistance through his hand.
Under normal circumstances, cutting through a human body with White Fang's sword style felt like slicing tofu. But now, it felt more like cutting into rotten wood—there was give, but also real weight.
This burly Iwa-nin had used Earth Release: Hardening Technique, one of the simplest—and hardest to master—earth-style defensive jutsu.
Basic Hardening was like forming a layer of iron armor over the body. The stronger the caster, the tougher that armor.
In the manga, Kakuzu's Earth Spear was an advanced variation of this same principle—an earth-style hardening powerful enough to tank standard A-rank techniques, only cracking under A-rank lightning or S-rank attacks.
Of course, that Kakuzu was a full-on Kage-level monster.
Feiyu's current opponent was only a regular Iwa jōnin. So while the Hardening added resistance, it didn't fully negate Feiyu's slash.
The big man grunted, the impact driving him back.
The hardened earth-armor blunted the cut just enough that he wasn't bisected on the spot, but a deep, bone-revealing gash tore open across his chest as he retreated.
At the same time, the other three Iwa-nin rushed in without hesitation.
The two who arrived first were near-identical in appearance—clearly brothers. One on the left, one on the right, both drawing long blades and chopping down at Feiyu in perfect sync.
Feiyu's short sword flared with white light, extending into a longer blade of chakra and easily parrying the twin strikes. His counter-swing forced them both to fall back.
Even so, he couldn't help but be impressed.
"They can actually trade blows with Hatake Sakumo's sword style…
These guys are all solid jōnin-level."
Considering why they were here, it made sense.
This wasn't some random patrol—they were a strike squad sent to raid Konoha's main camp. Iwa wouldn't use anything less than their elites. Anything below jōnin would just be dead weight.
As he thought that, Feiyu flipped one hand and fired a signal flare into the sky.
With a sharp whoosh, the flare exploded above the forest, and the entire Konoha camp snapped awake like a waking giant.
"Damn it! The plan's blown—retreat!"
The only Iwa-nin who hadn't yet moved—the one hanging back—went pale. He was clearly the captain.
At the same time, Feiyu's gaze locked onto him.
Earlier, the Camouflage Hiding Technique had clearly been cast by this one. Judging by their positions, he had been standing at the center, extending the camouflage field around the others.
A jutsu that was originally single-target, forcibly expanded into a group invisibility?
That alone said plenty about his skill level—this captain wasn't just "some jōnin".
"You think you can run?
You're not going anywhere."
Feiyu's lips curled in a cold smile.
The Iwa brothers lunged at him again, blades humming, trying their best to pin him down.
The heavily wounded big man behind them had light-green chakra blooming around his hands as he pressed them to his chest wound, using an earth-style medical technique to stabilize himself.
As for the Iwa captain, he formed hand seals with crisp, practiced speed.
"Earth Release: Light–Heavy Rock Technique!"
"Earth Release: Earth Splitting Palm!"
The ground shuddered. A massive crack tore open between the two sides, forming a deep, jagged chasm that stretched across the forest floor—cleanly separating Feiyu from the retreating Iwa squad.
The twin-sword brothers disengaged at the last instant, leaping back across the gap. Each had a fresh, bone-deep slash along his body, but they'd at least gotten away intact.
Originally, Earth Splitting Palm was an offensive technique—a way of tearing the ground apart under the enemy's feet.
But this captain had clearly retooled it for tactical retreat, opening terrain to block any pursuit.
He stood on the far side of the chasm and glanced at Feiyu, a wry admiration in his eyes.
"Konoha really is a cradle of geniuses…
To reach this level at your age—practically Kage-class already…"
He raised his voice.
"Young man, can you tell me your name?"
Feiyu snorted coldly.
The man wasn't suddenly feeling sentimental. He just thought the huge crack between them meant he was safe now, and was trying to get intel before he left.
If this had been a month or two ago, Feiyu—a close-combat specialist—really would have been stuck.
But now…
Feiyu slowly lifted his head.
In his blood-red Sharingan, the twin tomoe began to spin faster and faster.
The Iwa captain's face changed.
"Sharingan…! Damn!"
Unfortunately, the moment he realized the danger, his consciousness was already sliding into a genjutsu.
On Feiyu's side of the chasm, his short blade swept horizontally in a smooth arc.
Chakra surged, shaping into a crescent of compressed wind—a massive half-moon wind blade that roared out over the chasm toward the trapped Iwa-nin.
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