Espionage really isn't a job for humans!
Midnight. Twelve o'clock.
After silently repeating those words to himself, Kei Yamanaka cast a Genjutsu on Musai, who had been dragging him into an extended conversation about "cattle farming."
He used the Transformation Jutsu to become an exact copy of a Kumogakure Anbu member.
Then, using the Flying Thunder God Technique, he instantly teleported to the corner of the cemetery he'd visited that morning.
Carefully scanning the cemetery's surroundings with Sensor Ninjutsu,
once he confirmed the area was clear, Kei finally rose and casually wiped away the Thunder God Mark on the gravestone's edge.
Clapping his hands together, he summoned a cloud of chakra mist, from which eight shadow clones emerged beside him.
As soon as they appeared, the shadow clones sprang into action, following the assassination plan devised that morning, disappearing swiftly into the night via Body Flicker Technique, scattering across the cemetery.
As for Kei himself, his figure flickered and reappeared near the water fountain at the training ground in the cemetery's southwest corner.
Using the Hydrification Technique, he slowly merged into the water pipes piece by piece.
Following the winding pipes, he gradually made his way toward the home of Dodai—one of the assassination targets, the only one requiring deception, where failure had to seem intentional—a Kekkei Genkai wielder.
Dodai!
A Kumogakure Jonin, master of the Lava Release bloodline limit, and one of the Third Raikage A's closest aides.
Within Kumogakure, his status is nearly equivalent to Nara Shikaku during Tsunade's Hokage era, who managed all Jonin affairs comprehensively.
A fervent supporter of the "Attack Konoha" initiative.
Tonight, Kei's mission was to impersonate a Konoha ninja and eliminate him.
The mission required the attack to immediately appear as though executed by a Konoha ninja, yet further analysis should reveal clues pointing to Mist shinobi involvement. It also needed to be staged as a failed assassination before successfully escaping.
If a Root ninja were to complete such a mission,
they'd likely leave behind some trivial mark identifying themselves, and on failure, perform a standard Mist shinobi suicide on-site.
But Kei hadn't been brainwashed, so naturally, he refused to do something so idiotically stupid.
Therefore, such a delicate mission had to be handled personally by his main body.
Weaving through many twists and turns,
as he neared Dodai's residence, Kei—still concealed within the water pipes—detected both a Sensing Barrier and a warning trap covering the entire house.
It was obvious—the previous night's assassination attempt had already rattled Kumogakure's leadership.
Even someone of Dodai's elite Jonin level was now fully alert.
But actually, that worked out perfectly—
there'd be no need to subtly imply the Mist shinobi's involvement later on.
Avoiding the barriers above ground, Kei entered Dodai's home via the water pipes.
Kei maximized the [Silent Walker] skill listing's potential, silently reconstructing his form inside the dishwashing basin.
Glancing toward the still-illuminated study room,
he crept toward the door and peered inside through the crack.
Dodai, whose left eye had long gone blind, still wore that small wooden plaque marked with the character for 'Thunder,' seated upright before his desk, writing rapidly with his brush pen upon a scroll.
His presence was completely indistinguishable from Dodai's, and his appearance showed absolutely no signs of abnormality.
Yet the System Interface showed no response whatsoever.
[Lava Release: Rubber Clone]?
"Indeed, no renowned ninja is simple."
Kei Yamanaka thought to himself, not eager to expose himself or pinpoint Dodai's true location.
Sometimes, you had to go along with your opponent's act to make the charade believable.
Ding-dang~
At one o'clock in the morning, an old wall clock chimed precisely on schedule.
Seated at the desk, Dodai shook off a wave of drowsiness, looked at the pile of documents still waiting for him, and closed his eyes while slapping his cheeks, trying to clear his head.
But the moment he shut his eyes,
Kei Yamanaka executed a one-handed seal, activating his Sensor Ninjutsu at full power as he simultaneously pulled out the kunai strapped at his waist.
[Moon Shadow]!
Using the kunai like a sword, he performed the somewhat clumsy Konoha-style sword techniques.
Kei's figure darted like a phantom, leaving behind trails of afterimages. In an instant, he was already beside Dodai.
Even though he wasn't particularly skilled in swordplay, the flawless physical control granted by [Zero-Frames Start] and the physical enhancements from Sage Transformation made him truly fit the image of a sword-wielding ninja.
Shira~
The kunai slashed through Dodai's neck, cleanly separating his head from his body.
But this Rubber Clone immediately liquefied into flowing rubber, surging toward Kei's figure.
Vanishing with a vanish-in-a-flash technique to dodge, he rapidly formed seals with his free hand.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
Boom~~!
The incoming mass of rubber was violently blown away by the Wind Release jutsu. A deafening explosion reverberated through the mansion, triggering piercing alarms from both the Sensing Barrier and the warning trap.
The study, which had appeared wooden from the outside, gradually transformed into a rubber-like state under the Wind Release assault.
The entire room was made of rubber!
"Truly, every ninja who has earned a reputation in the ninja world is no pushover."
Kei's Sensor Ninjutsu had already locked onto Dodai hiding within the attic compartment.
Facing the thick layers of rubber closing in around him,
He performed dual-hand seals and released another Wind Release jutsu.
Wind Release: Multiple Razor Winds!
Countless razor-sharp gusts tore forward, slicing toward Yamanaka just after he entered the study,
Quickly shutting the door behind him.
Zizi~~~
Beneath screeching friction sounds,
Yamanaka evaded sideways, bursting through the gap torn open by the Wind Release.
Facing Dodai, now dropping down with a kunai aimed directly at his face,
He swiftly parried with his own kunai, sidestepped to neutralize the force, and retaliated with a kick aimed at Dodai's lower body.
Dang!
Dodai ducked low, patting Kei's foot with his left hand to spring upward, minimizing the impact while deliberately taking the blow, fingers tightly gripping the edge of Kei's ninja shoe.
Grimacing through the blinding pain,
With his right hand, he reversed his kunai and slashed directly at Kei's Achilles tendon.
Even the strongest ninja would suffer a significant drop in combat power if their tendons were crippled.
Peng!
Kei kicked out with his other foot, slamming hard into Dodai's wrist and knocking the kunai away. Using the recoil, he spun around, breaking free from the grip and flipping backward repeatedly to retreat.
Damn it!
Fought a tough one!
Better to turn into a bouncing rubber ball than let him cripple a leg.
[Lava Release: Constricted Rope]!
Dodai paled, legs trembling beneath him, but his hands continued forming seals rapidly.
The rubber from the room behind him twisted into thick and thin rope-like tendrils, assailing Kei Yamanaka from all directions as he had retreated to a corner of the room.
Swish~ Swish~ Swish~
Kei swiftly dodged the attacks, kunai after kunai flying from his waist, still seeming determined to land a killing blow on Dodai.
His outward-projecting sensor ninjutsu, however, remained focused on the happenings within Kumogakure.
When he spotted two figures clad in crackling lightning armor less than a kilometer away, blitzing toward him like thunderbolts across the sky,
he began forming hand seals rapidly while evading attacks.
Snake–Horse–Snake–Dragon–Rat–Ox–Tiger—
[Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!]
Kei bellowed, exhaling a torrent of flame.
Dodai's heart leapt in alarm. He quickly raised [Lava Release: Lava Sphere] to shield himself.
But before him, the Anbu-clad ninja clapped his hands together and immediately vanished underground!
Fire? Earth? Earth Release?!
Dodai could only watch helplessly as the enemy vanished before his eyes.
The hand seals were correct, the technique announced properly—
You gotta be kidding me!
Are you trying to mess with me?
[Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears!]
With both hands slamming onto the ground, Dodai caused earth and stone within a radius of dozens of meters to roll upward.
As a wielder of the Kekkei Genkai [Lava Release], which combined fire and earth natures, he had considerable mastery over Earth Release techniques himself.
Even though the opponent had struck first and burrowed underground, he was confident he could flush them out directly!
Yet as the rising spires continued climbing higher and higher, having already hollowed out an area nearly a hundred meters wide underground, Dodai was forced to admit—
The enemy escaped right under his nose!
Escaped!
Hiss~ hiss~
Underground water pipes burst under the immense pressure, spraying water everywhere.
The upheaval left the entire area in ruins.
The adrenaline surging inside Dodai's body finally started fading.
He glanced at his aching crotch, and when he saw the blood soaking through his pants entirely, his pupils quivered violently.
Th... that bastard had freaking blades hidden in his shoes?!
Blades?!
Dodai felt dizzy, suppressing his fear with great effort as he unfastened his belt. Just one glance made him collapse to his knees in agony.
What little punk from which hidden village dares to go straight for the crotch AND has freaking blades on his ninja shoes?!
Not human!
That's not even human!
Waaahhh~
Swish swish~
Crackling electricity flashed in the air as A, the Third Raikage, arrived with his son in hot pursuit, witnessing Dodai kneeling on the ground crying bitterly. Their expressions darkened instantly.
Dodai was one of the essential leadership members of Kumogakure—if anything happened to him, chaos would surely engulf the entire village!
"Dodai! Where are you injured? Dammit! Who's the ninja from which hidden village?!"
"Boss, quickly call over a male medical ninja…"
Dodai struggled to speak.
"A medical ninja! Yes yes yes! Get a medical ninja!"
"Male!"
"At a time like this, does gender really matter anymore?"
"It has to be male!"
Veins throbbed visibly on Dodai's neck, and his voice cracked with sobs.
We're doomed!
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