The next day.
After resting and reorganized, the two continued their mission. The scrolls in their hands marked several temporary Hidden Mist outposts, and their task was to eliminate them.
With Makiya and Shisui's cooperation, the Mist outposts stood no chance. In a single morning, they traveled twenty kilometers and pulled three 'nails.'
Fierce fires burned as thick trees collapsed to one side. This outpost had been very well-hidden; the Mist ninja had hollowed out the roots of a massive tree to build a safe house.
Heaven knows how the scout team discovered this place, but the Mist ninja here had now been completely wiped out. One moment they were eating food pills and humming songs; the next, they were all becoming one with the fire, turning into charred remains scattered into the soil.
"Makiya, your Fire Style has become even more impressive," Shisui praised sincerely as he finished gathering intelligence from the outpost and walked over to Makiya.
He saw Makiya's progress with his own eyes and secretly marveled that genius simply defies logic. Makiya's control over flames had strengthened further; when releasing Fire Style, he could control the fire to pass through tiny ventilation ducts, burning directly into the interior of the outpost.
The surging fire was like a tsundere little girl; she had a special fondness for Makiya, letting him manipulate and toy with her as he pleased, yet showing her most ferocious side to his enemies.
In the history of the Uchiha, Shisui had never heard of anyone who could play with Fire Style to such a degree.
"Fire is birthed by chakra; by controlling the chakra, one can shape the flames," Makiya casually flicked a wisp of fire, making it dance between his fingertips. "And Shisui, is your Body Flicker technique getting even faster? My eyes almost couldn't keep up."
Shisui only noticed Makiya's progress, but in reality, he himself was also a monster. His Afterimage Body Flicker was even more refined than it had been a month ago. After Makiya set the fires to blow the outpost, Shisui was the first to charge into the flames. Countless clones appeared and vanished, and in an instant, sword light flashed across everyone.
The Mist ninja scorched by the flames stopped screaming, expressions of relief appearing on their faces.
Just as Makiya and Shisui were exchanging professional compliments, a faint explosion in the distance caught their attention.
Makiya and Shisui jumped to high ground and looked up. The sky was bright and cloudless, and a massive firework hung clearly in the air.
"That is..."
"Yes, a Konoha distress signal."
This was sent by a Konoha ninja squad on a dangerous mission, indicating that their own people were facing a life-and-death crisis, and it was likely that team members had already been sacrificed.
Makiya looked at the signal and silently packed up the battlefield, preparing to move.
"Makiya, are you planning to provide backup?" Shisui asked.
"Of course," Makiya stowed away the sealing scroll and asked Shisui in return, "Are you not planning to go?"
Shisui's face was full of conflict. "I want to go, of course, but the village... I mean, that incident with Senior Sakumo... we still have a mission. Intel shows the Mist is withdrawing. If we go to save our comrades, the mission might fail, causing losses to the village..."
The renowned White Fang of Konoha, Sakumo Hatake, had chosen to abandon an important mission to rescue his teammates. This led to the mission's failure and caused significant losses to the village, for which he was condemned by everyone.
Even the teammate he saved accused him of not being a proper ninja. Public opinion fermented rapidly, and the situation escalated until Sakumo Hatake eventually chose to commit suicide. The White Fang, who had once struck fear into the hearts of the Sand ninja on the battlefield, died miserably in his own home.
The Konoha high command used the White Fang's death to tell everyone: the mission is more important than a comrade's life.
"Don't think so much!" Makiya interrupted Shisui loudly. "Put aside the village, put aside Sakumo Hatake's matter, put aside others' opinions. Just look at yourself, Shisui. Do you want to go or not?"
"...I want to!"
"Then what are we waiting for, Shisui? How fast can your Body Flicker be? Let me see your limits."
As the words fell, Makiya turned into an afterimage.
Shisui dazed for a moment, then suddenly broke into a relieved smile. "Then you'd better keep up."
While the hearty voice still echoed in the forest, the figure had already vanished.
On a distant hilltop, the two Root ninjas who had pretended to leave the night before were watching Makiya and Shisui's every move through binoculars.
"They've moved. The direction is wrong; they aren't continuing the mission."
"Heh, they're probably heading toward the distress signal."
"As expected of the naturally evil Uchiha, abandoning the mission so easily and harming the village's interests."
"Record it and report it to Lord Danzo!"
"Hehehe, as long as we play this right, even if he doesn't die this time, he'll lose a layer of skin."
"It's best if we can get rid of him this way. Makiya and Shisui are growing too fast. I feel even Lord Danzo might..."
"Shut up! Lord Danzo was a member of the Second Hokage's guard unit; do you really think he'd lose to two Uchiha kids?"
"Sorry, sorry, it was a slip of the tongue. Please don't let this get out. I'll treat you to the sauna after we get back to the village, please!"
"Hmph hmph hmph..."
On the other side, Might Dai and his two teammates stopped in their tracks.
"It's a distress signal from our own people. Let's go!" Might Dai said immediately.
His two companions looked at each other but didn't move. "Dai, we are ninjas. We still have a mission."
"Youth doesn't allow me to abandon my comrades." Might Dai was very firm. Although he was only a genin, some things have nothing to do with strength and only depend on one's heart.
"You guys continue the mission. I will rush back with all my might after the rescue."
Both knew that Dai was extremely stubborn about certain things, so they could only nod.
In the dense forest where the distress signal rose, three figures were fleeing in panic.
"Unfortunate, cough, cough," sighed Genma Shiranui, who was biting on a senbon, as he destroyed the signal launcher in his hand. The launcher had a special structure with hidden mechanisms to prevent outsiders from using signal flares for 'fishing.'
"Genma, the traps are ready. Let's get out of here," Guy and Ebisu whispered. The three continued their pathetic escape.
It was originally a simple supply delivery mission. They hadn't expected that as soon as they reached their target, the outpost would be raided.
Konoha and Mist outposts were interlocked, and battles happened every day. Attacks on outposts were common. The guarding ninjas told them to rest well and went out to fight with confidence.
And then, there was no 'then.' Just as the Mist outposts had encountered Makiya and Shisui, this Konoha outpost had also met an unbeatable enemy: the elite Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!
The outpost was destroyed. The guarding ninjas used their lives to stall until the last second to send the three away. But even though the three were using every bit of strength they had, they were still easily caught by the enemy.
Cruel laughter echoed from all directions. The enemy could clearly kill them instantly but chose not to, playing with them like a cat with mice, fully enjoying the thrill of the prey's struggle.
"Damn it, what are they waiting for? Why don't they just kill us?" Guy's face was filled with resentment, his clenched fists trembling as a sense of powerlessness filled his heart.
"They are toying with us. The more afraid we are, the happier they get. People from the Mist are all mentally unstable," Genma Shiranui gritted his teeth, his face full of indignation.
"No, they're waiting for backup—our backup," Ebisu pushed up his sunglasses, the smooth surface reflecting a light of wisdom. "Surrounding a point to strike at the reinforcements. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist are powerful, and the three of us are too weak for them to care about. Their goal is our reinforcements!"
Guy and Genma had complex expressions. Their survival instinct had driven them to fire the signal flare, and they hadn't expected it would instead make them accomplices in the deaths of Konoha ninjas.
"Oh? Have we been seen through?" a mocking voice came from the woods. Fuguki Suikazan grinned, his shark-like teeth gleaming coldly. He carried the Great Sword Samehada on his back. Standing 2.5 meters tall with a thick, powerful build, he was immensely oppressive.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Six figures appeared simultaneously, standing, crouching, leaning, or sitting. They all carried uniquely shaped ninja swords on their backs, and their hairstyles were even more bizarre, showing that the barbers in the Land of Water were quite ambitious.
The seven surrounded Genma's trio in a semi-circle. Since the distress signal had been sent, the three little mice had lost their utility. They were now like fish on a cutting board, at the mercy of their captors.
Genma and the others gripped their kunai. Ebisu's legs went weak, and he sank to one knee. Faced with the pressure of death, no one could remain elegant; they were, after all, still children of school age.
Guy moved his body to shield Genma and Ebisu, signaling them with one hand to take any chance to escape while he bought them time.
Ebisu and Genma looked at each other, then gritted their teeth and stepped forward to stand side-by-side with Guy.
"Don't look down on me, Guy. If we die, we die together," Ebisu pushed his sunglasses with a trembling hand, sweat pouring from his forehead.
"Exactly, stop trying to act cool," Genma spat out the senbon in his mouth, his perennially dead-fish eyes widening significantly.
"Oh, I'm so moved. Such burning bonds. Let me sew you all together," the mask-wearing man with chestnut-colored explosive hair, Kushimaru Kuriarare, twisted his body and slowly drew the Longsword Nuibari from his back.
"Let me think... I'll sew your mouths to your butts, and the three of you will form a perfect circle. How about that?"
Because he put on a mask, Kushimaru Kuriarare effectively removed his 'mask,' nonchalantly making an incredibly depraved statement: "No, Konoha's reinforcements must be on the way. Sewing all of you together later will surely be a magnificent sight!"
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