Chapter 11: Soaring Strength, A Spy’s Infiltration
Notes
The tantō is a short sword, designed primarily as a stabbing weapon, but the edge can be used for slashing as well.
A few days later.
Late at night, silence reigns supreme. Uchiha Tonan sat under the eaves, maintaining a steady tempo in forming hand signs. His pace was neither fast nor slow, and his eyes were closed as he devoted all his attention to sense the chakra flow.
Finally, he completed making the last hand sign. He looked at his right hand and spread open the five fingers.
Crackle, crackle, crackle
Electric sparks appeared on his fingertips as if sharp needles had sprouted from the fingernails.
“Is this chakra transformation? It’s a pity these lightning needles can’t be used as projectile weapons,” Tonan muttered and stopped the technique.
Lightning Style – Lightning Needle didn’t have many hand signs. As long as his spiritual power increased a little, and he became familiar with the chakra flow, he could use it without making any signs.
This move was a good choice to trap people. While talking and laughing with his prey, he could inadvertently poke them with the lightning needle.
Since lightning-attributed chakra could numb the body, the prey wouldn’t immediately feel the pain, and hence wouldn’t scream. Before one could react, coupled with Lightning Style – Ground Travel, the opponent would be completely paralyzed.
That’s not bad at all.
Tonan had grasped several ninjutsu techniques by now. Fire style consisted of Great Fireball Technique, Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, and Phoenix Sage Nail Crimson Technique.
Lightning style comprised Ground Travel and Lightning Needle. And genjutsu included Hell Viewing Technique and Mirror Heaven and Earth Change. There was also hypnosis that came along with the Sharingan.
As for his chakra, the amount was comparable to a special jonin, but the concrete level of the spiritual power was unknown. Despite this, his current strength gave him a sense of security.
In the past few days, Tonan had also trained a few more pigeons. The ninja beasts were high maintenance, mainly because their special feed was expensive.
Tonan was a very insecure person. He placed great importance on the lookout ninja beasts, and therefore, he bought their efficiency and loyalty with the most expensive feed.
Even though the ninja beast like the white pigeon didn’t eat much, the living expenses left by his parents were used up completely. If it weren’t for Sarutobi Hiruzen often delivering food to him, perhaps, Tonan could only go to the forest to hunt wild beasts to fill his stomach.
He wondered when his parents’ death compensation would arrive. Tonan looked up at the sky, got up, and went back to his room to rest.
Just when he had entered the bedroom and prepared to turn off the lights though, he suddenly paused and the three tomoe appeared in his eyes.
“I hope the person didn’t come for me.”
Tonan left the lights on, picked up his ‘Will of Fire’ summary, and began reading out loud.
Meanwhile, in the forest outside the Uchiha clan.
A Konoha ninja wearing a standard chunin uniform pushed aside a thick clump of grass and stealthily raised his head.
“I hope the Uchiha clan didn’t arrange for that person to live in the clan’s central area.”
He looked at the small courtyard at the edge of the clan’s territory. The house in the courtyard was lit up with dim light, and a hazy figure reflected on the window.
“It should be that room. It’s already so late and he’s still not asleep yet. Why is this genius working so hard?”
This chunin was called Inoue Shinoda. His real identity though was a Kiri spy assigned to infiltrate Konoha just after the first war ended.
During the second war, Shinoda passed only inconsequential information and had not received any new espionage mission. Ever since the war between Konoha and Kiri was nearing its end, the latter was planning to carry out assassinations, specifically targeting Konoha’s geniuses.
Among them, a jonin spy had gone to Kakashi’s house, and Shinoda was arranged to assassinate Tonan, which should be easier comparatively.
After all, Kakashi’s father was Konoha’s White Fang, and his child was very likely to be guarded by an Anbu.
Tonan was different.
He was from the Uchiha clan, and it was very unlikely for an Anbu to come to the clan’s territory. Most of the guardian ninjas of the clan were focused on the central area.
The howls of wild beasts resounded in the forest on and off. It would terrify most people but it made a chunin like Shinoda feel at ease.
He carefully observed for a while and made sure there was no human presence nearby. Only then, he laid down his guard. Jumping out from his hiding place, he turned into a black shadow, and stealthily advanced towards Tonan’s residence.
However, unknown to him, each of his actions had long fallen into the eyes of a white pigeon perched on a branch behind him. That pigeon quietly stood, using thick leaves to cover its figure. Only its ice-cold and serene Sharingan was visible.
“Adhere ninja principle and resolutely implement the Will of Fire with Sandaime-sama as the center…”
“Closely follow Sandaime-sama’s steps…”
Shinoda lay on the roof, listening to the slightly high-pitched voice coming from the room, and couldn’t help but sneer in his heart.
“Another pitiful little thing brainwashed by the Will of Fire1”
Without delaying further, he slowly drew out his tanto, jumped down the roof, and gently landed on the floor. The movement was fluid and precise. With a hideous grin on his face, he walked to the door and pushed it open.
This place was far away from the central area of the Uchiha clan. Even if there was noise, the clan’s ninjas wouldn’t be able to arrive here in time.
In his eyes, Tonan was a student, who had just entered the Ninja Academy. So what if he awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, that was just empty potential. He was not even a genin right now.
Just three basic taijutsu should be enough to end him.
At this moment, Shinoda was already imagining the horrified look on Tonan’s face when he stabbed the tanto in him.
The moment the door was pushed open, the bedroom’s lights suddenly went out. The entire room fell into darkness and the reading also ceased abruptly.
“As expected of a genius. This fellow is alert but in the face of absolute strength, it’s still a dead end.”
Shinoda held the tanto tightly and entered the pitch-black room, step by step.
Drip, drip…
His ears moved as he heard water dripping from the kitchen tap. He subconsciously felt irritated, but this mission was very important. Therefore, he didn’t focus on these trifles.
He could vaguely make out the room layout in the dark. With his gaze firmly locked on the bedroom door, he walked over and slowly turned the doorknob.
“Little devil, say goodbye to the world.”
A cruel smile appeared on his face, as he suddenly pulled open the door. His right hand had raised the tanto high, ready to split open Tonan, whom he imagined putting on a desperate struggle.
However…
No one!
Shinoda was shocked. Standing in the doorway, he didn’t move. He began thinking about where Tonan could be hiding. From what he could, the bedroom’s layout was very simple. Except for the closet, there was nowhere to hide.
“If it were me, I would have hidden by the door. Using the blindside for cover, I would launch a surprise attack from the flank as the enemy walked in.”
“But this little devil is still a student after all. If he is not being too bold, he should be hiding in the closet.”
Shinoda put himself in Tonan’s position and thought for a while. He took a deep breath, calmed his heart, and listened attentively.
Years of being a ninja had made him accustomed to being cautious. If Tonan was hiding by the door, then he might suffer a surprise attack, even if the kid’s sneak attack was very unlikely to succeed.
What he needed to do now was to locate the sound of his breathing and determine the position, thereby killing his target in one move.
Drip, drip…
Other than the dripping water sound, there was nothing.
“As expected of a genius. Did he see through my intentions? But that’s also useless. You can’t hold your breathing forever. I’ll just wait until you can’t hold your breath!”
Shinoda’s eyes flashed with a playful smile as if he was mocking Tonan’s foolish response.
Drip, drip…
Time slowly ticked by. Shinoda seemed to have turned into a top hunter’s incarnation, calmly waiting in the dark for his prey to give itself up.
Suuu
A suppressed exhaling sound finally came from the closet.
