Inside the Daimyo's mansion, Uchiha Kokuya, who had removed his mask, stood in the room, quietly looking out the window. Behind him, the expressionless Daimyo sat on a chair, looking somewhat dull and motionless.
After his return, Uchiha Kokuya used his Mangekyo Sharingan to control the Daimyo. Dealing with an ordinary person was naturally as easy as flipping a hand. The only concern was whether he would be discovered by the Daimyo's guardian sorcerers, but Uchiha Kokuya dealt with them using his own methods.
Since entering the Daimyo's mansion, Uchiha Kokuya had always worn a mask when meeting people. To be honest, it was a bit stifling, and now he could finally breathe properly.
Of course, even though the hidden dangers around the Daimyo were resolved, it didn't mean that no one would notice the Daimyo's abnormality. But even if they did, as long as there was no conclusive evidence, they wouldn't act rashly, unless they were confident of a decisive blow.
The people around must have realized the Daimyo's strangeness, but no one dared to step forward, because Uchiha Kokuya was present in the Daimyo's mansion, along with the trained Chakra Samurai. This was the strongest force in the entire capital.
The only one who could challenge them was the Konoha Ninja Village. The Konoha Ninja Village would either send people to infiltrate and obtain evidence that the Daimyo was controlled by genjutsu, or take armed measures to surround the Daimyo's mansion and expose the fact that the Daimyo was controlled by genjutsu in front of everyone.
Uchiha Kokuya was very wary of the former. With Black Zetsu's help, no one infiltrated the Daimyo's mansion. The Konoha Ninja Village also didn't seem to plan to take such an approach. Although he didn't know what the Konoha Ninja Village was thinking, they seemed to be planning to take armed action.
And this was exactly what Uchiha Kokuya wanted. He wouldn't sit idly by. Before the Konoha Ninja Village acted, he would launch a suppression, accusing the Konoha Ninja Village of treason.
Because only a large-scale war causing a large number of deaths would allow Uchiha Kokuya to draw strength from the deceased, enhance his own power, and fight the Hokage.
Before that, what Uchiha Kokuya first needed to resolve were the Konoha members in the capital, because they were a good bargaining chip, which could add more variables to the civil war, and also allow him to take good revenge.
Black Zetsu emerged from the ground. Uchiha Kokuya, sensing him, turned around and asked, "How are they doing?"
"As before, they hardly ever come out," Black Zetsu replied.
As the situation in the capital gradually became turbulent, Asuna and the others lived in seclusion. Because they had purchased enough food early on, they no longer needed to go out to buy anything. Recently, they basically didn't come out at all, at most just strolling in the courtyard.
"They also sensed the unusual atmosphere. They must be planning to leave the capital. Have you found any clues?" Uchiha Kokuya asked.
"No, their means of communication should be a special technique of the Konoha Ninja Village. We still haven't found it. Perhaps it would be easier to find if we went inside, but I can't go in easily," Black Zetsu said.
Uchiha Kokuya nodded slightly. He knew that to prevent eavesdropping and intelligence theft, the Konoha members had set up barriers in their dwelling, and there were also the parasitic insects of the Aburame clan heir and the Byakugan of the Hyuga main family candidate on rotation. If Black Zetsu rashly entered, he might be noticed.
"Although we can't get clues about their communication, you should still be able to judge how far along they are, right?" Uchiha Kokuya said.
"You should also have a judgment. From their current behavior of hardly ever leaving the courtyard, even if they haven't made preparations for evacuation, they should be close," Black Zetsu said.
"Hmm, it's a good thing my body has recovered. It's almost time to make a move." Uchiha Kokuya showed a slight smile, "We don't need to wait for them to be ready."
"You are right," Black Zetsu said respectfully.
"Alright, go and order our soldiers to attack." Uchiha Kokuya glanced at the sitting Daimyo and commanded. The Daimyo, controlled by genjutsu, then stood up and walked outside.
"Tell Ryoma and the others to first attack the courtyard and stop them from leaving!" Uchiha Kokuya then said to Black Zetsu. He knew that the Konoha members had the Byakugan and couldn't be caught off guard. Before the main force arrived, someone had to temporarily hold them back.
After Black Zetsu agreed, he re-merged into the ground to carry out Uchiha Kokuya's instructions. As for Uchiha Kokuya himself, he planned to personally lead the troops to prevent any unexpected incidents along the way.
As the soldiers in the Daimyo's mansion were being mobilized, some insects quietly drifted out of the mansion, returning to their master—Aburame Shibi—without any sense of presence.
The Konoha members were not waiting for the enemy to attack. They also planned to actively investigate the situation, but because the Daimyo's mansion was very dangerous, they couldn't easily go in person. At this time, Aburame Shibi's parasitic insects came into play.
The parasitic insects were very small and inconspicuous. Even chakra sensors would find it difficult to detect their traces. The Aburame clan members could also understand the language of the parasitic insects. The parasitic insects, cultivated in the body through the Aburame clan's secret techniques, were very suitable for secret reconnaissance.
Even if discovered by the enemy, either the enemy would kill the parasitic insects and then rush to attack using the time difference, or if the parasitic insects did not return for a long time, Aburame Shibi would also notice the abnormality.
Fortunately, there were no people in the Daimyo's mansion who were so skilled in sensing, including Uchiha Kokuya and Black Zetsu, who did not have such abilities. For the parasitic insects to be able to scout like this, it should be said that they were indeed the parasitic insects cultivated by the heir of the Aburame clan, and their abilities were truly outstanding.
Aburame Shibi was usually silent and seemed to have no presence, but none of the Konoha members underestimated this heir of the Aburame clan. In terms of population, the Aburame clan was not very large in the Konoha Ninja Village, but their bizarre insect secret techniques made their family's combat abilities very comprehensive, and the probability of elites appearing was very high.
In the room, everyone was talking and chatting. Because of the critical situation, they were not in a relaxed mood. The silent Aburame Shibi sat by the window, staring at the moon outside.
At this moment, Aburame Shibi noticed some parasitic insects returning. He quickly raised his hand, and the parasitic insects landed on his hand, making sounds that ordinary people couldn't hear.
This was a language that only those who practiced the Aburame clan's insect secret techniques could understand. To gain the assistance of the parasitic insects, the Aburame clan fed them their own chakra and allowed them to live on their bodies. Their methods were bizarre, and the Aburame clan members also paid a considerable price.
The most important thing was the appearance of the Aburame clan. Every clan member wore thick clothes and sunglasses. This was not their preference, but because they nurtured parasitic insects in their bodies, which would scare ordinary people. Because of this, very few people dared to marry into the Aburame clan.
Aburame Shibi listened for a while, then immediately said to the others, "The situation is bad. Tobi has started to act. We must prepare to leave immediately."
Hearing Aburame Shibi's words, the others were all startled. Although it was unexpected, it was not entirely unforeseen, as the enemy would certainly not follow their plan. Hyuga Hiashi hurriedly asked, "What's the situation now?"
"Tobi won't come out for a while. He's still mobilizing soldiers. If we're going to leave, now's the time," Aburame Shibi said.
"Although it's not time yet, this is the only way," Hyuga Hiashi said. "Everyone, prepare to leave immediately."
Everyone was prepared for unexpected situations. They quickly put on their gear. Just as they were about to ask Hyuga Hiashi about the weak points in the cordon, Hyuga Hiashi suddenly widened his eyes and shouted, "Not good, get out of the room quickly!" With that, Hyuga Hiashi rushed out of the room.
The others were all battle-hardened ninjas and understood the meaning of Hyuga Hiashi's words. They all headed for the nearest exit. Hyuga Hiashi directly broke through the door. Asuna, Mizuki, and Uchiha Ken leaped out of the window. Fujimura Yuuki, who was further inside, directly used a simple Earth Release to break through the wall and left with Aburame Shibi.
Almost in the next moment, a large number of arrows shot into the room. The people who had run outside were also somewhat affected, but only scattered arrows were blocked.
However, what followed was a series of Lightning Release, Fire Release, and Wind Release. A huge explosion immediately occurred in the courtyard, and the house directly collapsed by half under the tremendous impact.
Two figures leaped onto the wall in the courtyard. They were two of the four guardian ninjas who had pledged allegiance to Uchiha Kokuya. They were loyal to the Daimyo's mansion, and any abnormality in the mansion had nothing to do with them. They just had to obey orders, and in any case, the Daimyo's mansion's target was also Konoha ninjas.
"Are they dealt with?" Ryoma, the leader, muttered to himself. He felt that the Konoha ninjas shouldn't be eliminated so easily. After all, they were chosen elites.
Then, everyone felt the ground tremble, and the wall they were standing on immediately swayed precariously. At the same time, a ball of orange flames came rushing towards them, rapidly expanding with the enhancement of Wind Release. The female guardian ninja immediately stepped forward and used Water Release, but the amplified Fire Release was terrifying and could not be blocked by ordinary Water Release.
The guardian ninjas had no choice but to retreat, creating distance with their agile movements. The samurai soldiers who were on the ground shooting arrows were not so lucky. Even if they saw the fire and dodged, they were too late to avoid being caught in it.
If ordinary people were engulfed in flames, they would surely roll on the ground in pain. But these samurai soldiers, after being caught in the flames, did not cry out in pain but calmly extinguished the fire on themselves.
The ones screaming were some hired ninjas. They were not strong enough and were not the samurai trained by Uchiha Kokuya, suffering greatly.
The retreating guardian ninjas immediately realized that these were the techniques used by Asuna and Mizuki. Looking at the direction the ninjutsu came from, they realized that the enemy must have run in the opposite direction, and quickly called for people to pursue.
The Daimyo's mansion had been monitoring Asuna and the others for more than a day or two. There were naturally arrangements in the direction Asuna and the others left, but having lost the advantage of a sneak attack, they could only choose to confront them head-on.
The other two guardian ninjas were also among them. Hyuga Hiashi raised his hand and delivered two Eight Trigrams Empty Palms, forcing the two to separate, while Asuna and Mizuki immediately confronted them.
Facing the Chakra Samurai in front, Aburame Shibi summoned a large number of parasitic insects to sweep them away. The parasitic insects were numerous and small in size, making it difficult for ordinary blades to harm them. Although the Chakra Samurai could use nature transformation, they could not use large-scale elemental ninjutsu attacks.
Moreover, the Aburame clan's parasitic insects could also absorb chakra. Due to their size, they could infiltrate everywhere. However, these Chakra Samurai, even when invaded by parasitic insects, did not make any sound. Instead, they calmly wielded their swords, using chakra nature transformation to stimulate the parasitic insects and kill them.
Among them were also some Chakra Samurai who could use fire, wind, and lightning nature transformations. These individuals posed a higher threat to the parasitic insects.
Aburame Shibi frowned slightly. He had a telepathic connection with his parasitic insects and could feel how abnormal the chakra they absorbed was, which made him very uncomfortable.
Before Aburame Shibi could grieve for his parasitic insects, Hyuga Hiashi darted out, gliding past the Chakra Samurai like flowing water, sealing their chakra points, physically forcing them to kneel on the ground. Although these Chakra Samurai might not fear pain or fatigue, they still relied on their nervous system to move. Coincidentally, the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist had achieved considerable success in this area.
After Aburame Shibi took control of the field, the Chakra Samurai's formation advantage could not be utilized. They were knocked down by Hyuga Hiashi and Uchiha Ken using Gentle Fist and genjutsu, demonstrating the ninjas' individual combat capabilities.
The remaining two guardian ninjas were also no match for Asuna and Mizuki. They were repelled one after another. Without getting entangled with these people, Asuna and Mizuki followed after the others had cleared a path. Although the guardian ninjas couldn't defeat them, they could still stall for some time, and now, time was the most important thing.
The pursuers behind them followed closely, while Asuna and the others moved quickly through the complex environment of the capital's densely packed houses. Besides ninjas who could keep up, Chakra Samurai, even if they could keep up, would lose their formation advantage, and such Chakra Samurai posed little threat.
Asuna was charging forward when a shadow suddenly darted out in front of her. This shadow seemed to have no physical form and swept towards Asuna.
Asuna was very familiar with this, and her heart skipped a beat. She shifted her body and avoided the shadow, but the shadow seemed to have no inertia, stopping abruptly and rushing directly towards Asuna.
Asuna gripped her sword tightly, her body spinning like a whirlwind. The shadow was instantly torn to shreds. Asuna landed on the rooftop, looking in a certain direction.
There, Uchiha Kokuya appeared, wearing a mask. He looked at Asuna and smiled slightly, "The moon is beautiful tonight, Miss Asuna. Why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
"What beautiful moonlight? My father always said, 'A dark moon and high winds make a night for murder,'" Asuna said, observing her surroundings. She needed to understand the situation of the others and had to stabilize the opponent first, otherwise she wouldn't bother speaking a single word to him.