"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death—"
A large tree grew rapidly from behind Uchiha Nagi, its vines extending to wrap around him. Then, from behind the tree, a figure emerged—Kurenai herself.
Throughout this entire process, the tree's growth was completely silent. In the world of genjutsu, there is no sound, allowing one to fall into the trap without a whisper of warning. Only after being caught does one realize they are already in an illusion.
But inside the genjutsu world, Uchiha Nagi suddenly turned his head, flashing a grin with eight perfectly white teeth at the Kurenai on the tree. "Kurenai, let me teach you a lesson. Remember this for the future: when you encounter a Sharingan, especially one with three tomoe or more, never, ever show off your genjutsu in front of it."
"What?" Kurenai was utterly baffled. The world suddenly spun, and when she focused again, she found that she was the one who was bound.
She had somehow switched places with Uchiha Nagi.
And now, Uchiha Nagi was mockingly holding a kunai, tracing the lines of her beautiful face with its cold, sharp edge. The chilling steel stimulated her skin, making the fine hairs on her neck stand on end...
In the real world, Anko Mitarashi had been momentarily shocked when Uchiha Nagi revealed his Sharingan, but she quickly snapped into a battle stance.
"Kurenai-nee, we..."
Huh?!
Anko glanced over and saw that, at some point, Kurenai's hands had been twisted behind her back as if bound, and her legs were pressed tightly together without a single gap.
Her body was struggling, her mouth looked as if it were gagged by something, and her eyes were desperately trying to send a signal to Anko...
"Mmph, mmph..."
Anko, get out of here!
Inside the genjutsu, Kurenai struggled with all her might, trying to warn the real Anko to run.
"Genjutsu?" Anko gasped and was about to move forward to break the illusion. Breaking a genjutsu wasn't difficult; all it took was a teammate infusing some of their own chakra into the victim to disrupt it, and it would immediately be released.
However, Uchiha Nagi wasn't about to stand there foolishly and let Anko do as she pleased.
Swoosh—
Several kunai shot swiftly toward Anko Mitarashi. Before she could even inject her chakra into Kurenai, she was forced to leap backward to dodge.
"Serpent—Boar—Ram—Tiger! Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique—"
Anko was a jonin, after all. Before her feet even hit the ground, she had already completed the hand seals and unleashed a fire-style ninjutsu.
Fire was an excellent choice for blocking an enemy over a large area. It could also obscure the enemy's vision, giving her a chance to rescue Kurenai.
But it was a well-known fact in the ninja world that Fire Style jutsu rarely killed anyone.
A tall wall of water rose to meet Anko's fire. As water and fire collided, steam instantly flooded the small grove.
"Kurenai!"
Anko rushed toward Kurenai's position, hoping to use this brief window to break her out of the genjutsu. However, the entire process took only a few seconds. As she leaped toward Kurenai, she was stunned to find that she had vanished.
"Kurenai-nee??"
A calm voice sounded from behind Anko. "Have you forgotten the rules of a ninja? The first rule is to be ruthless. In battle, you must never let a teammate's injury or sacrifice affect your judgment..."
Anko's heart leaped in shock. How did he get behind me? He had appeared without a sound, something even the Body Flicker Technique couldn't achieve. And he had just been in front of her, casting a Water Style jutsu...
"Striking Shadow Snakes—" Without a second thought, Anko unleashed her teacher's signature ninjutsu.
But in the next instant, Uchiha Nagi cut through them like a hot knife through butter, decapitating all the snakes.
A taijutsu master, skilled in swordsmanship.
In a single exchange, Anko had analyzed a key piece of intelligence about her opponent. She immediately jumped back a good distance and then unleashed an even larger-scale ninjutsu into the thick mist.
"Multiple Striking Shadow Snakes—"
Similar to the previous technique, but this one released a far greater number of snakes over a much wider area. However, the wide-range attack was like a stone sinking into the ocean; it made no splash at all.
Just as Anko was concentrating, bracing for the enemy's next move, the surrounding mist, instead of dissipating, grew even thicker.
"Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu..."
Watching the ever-thickening mist, Anko Mitarashi cursed inwardly. This was the signature jutsu of Kirigakure. The mist was infused with chakra; even if dispersed by a Wind Style jutsu, it would quickly reform. The only counters to this technique were sensory ninja or the Byakugan.
Anko Mitarashi was frantic, primarily worried about Kurenai's safety. She had no idea what had happened to her.
Just as she was hesitating, debating whether to abandon Kurenai and go for help, hundreds of kunai flew toward her. Shrouded in the dense fog, Anko couldn't see them. By the time the sound of hundreds of kunai reached her, it was too late.
Her only option was to use one of Orochimaru's no-hand-seal jutsu.
"Fierce Snake Rampage!"
The technique was meant to summon a giant snake to attack an enemy, but sometimes, a giant body could also be used as a shield. Anko ducked behind the massive snake's body as hundreds of kunai, like a hail of bullets, tore its flesh to ribbons.
But there were simply too many. Several of them grazed Anko, and one even slashed across her cheek, leaving a thin line of blood.
Without time to worry about whether she'd be scarred, Anko stood up as soon as the kunai gatling-gun rain ended, intending to get out of there fast.
She couldn't understand how her opponent, without a Byakugan, could so accurately pinpoint her location, but staying put was undoubtedly a death sentence.
When Kakashi fought Zabuza, even with his three-tomoe Sharingan, he could only remain on the defensive. It was clear that in the Hidden Mist, the Sharingan couldn't see through it to find the enemy like the Byakugan could.
This was the source of Anko's confusion. In every Great Ninja War, the nemesis of the Hidden Mist Jutsu had always been the Byakugan. The Sharingan was completely useless. Could it be that her opponent was also a sensory ninja?
"That's right, little Anko. Just as you thought, I am a sensory ninja," Uchiha Nagi's voice appeared behind her.
Then, he mockingly stuck out his tongue and licked the blood from her cheek...
Throughout this, Anko didn't move a muscle. It wasn't that she didn't want to counterattack, but that a bright samurai sword was resting against her neck, its bone-chillingly cold blade pressing against her skin and pores.
"You should lose some weight, little Anko. If you improve by next time, I'd be happy to fight you again. I'll be taking Kurenai with me. She's much more... delectable than you are," Uchiha Nagi said with a grin. The moment he finished speaking—
Smack!
He gave Anko's rear a firm slap, sending her stumbling a few steps forward. By the time Anko came to her senses, Uchiha Nagi had vanished...
"Kimimaro, you take Yukihime and go on ahead to the Land of Iron. Wait for me there. If you run into an enemy you can't handle, just channel your chakra into this kunai, and I'll come and save you."
On the road, Uchiha Nagi handed a seemingly ordinary kunai to Kimimaro. Kimimaro nodded and left with Yukihime.
Yukihime's eyes darted back and forth, looking at Kurenai, wondering if he was planning to do something... special. Why else would he have specifically captured a female ninja?
Thwack!
Uchiha Nagi gave her a firm flick on the forehead. Yukihime clutched her head and obediently went with Kimimaro.
After they left, Uchiha Nagi leisurely mounted his horse, bringing Kurenai with him, and headed in another direction. Along the way, he didn't forget to drop a few strands of Kurenai's hair to make sure Konoha could follow.
The formula on the kunai he had just given Kimimaro was his own custom design. It looked like a regular kunai, not one of Minato Namikaze's three-pronged ones.
Having played the role of the opportunist in games in his past life, he never quite understood why Minato was so flashy, using such distinctive kunai that enemies could spot a mile away.
Uchiha Nagi's Flying Thunder God kunai were perfectly ordinary. After carving the formula, he coated them with a layer of black paint, making the formula completely invisible. This way, when mixed in with a shuriken volley, they were perfect for ambushing people.
This was why Anko had been defeated so easily. She had insufficient intelligence and had no idea that Uchiha Nagi knew the Flying Thunder God technique.
"This thing is really useful..." Uchiha Nagi mused. He barely had to use his Breathing Style swordsmanship. With the Flying Thunder God, he could be behind an enemy and slitting their throat in seconds.
If it weren't for his respect for Orochimaru, Anko would have lost her head in the second exchange.
"What do you want? What is your purpose in coming to Konoha?"
A pleasant voice came from below him. Kurenai had been sealed with a fuinjutsu and was now draped over the horse's back as they rode.
By now, Kurenai had finally managed to break the genjutsu on her own, only to find that her chakra had been sealed and she was tied up on a horse.
"If you say things like that, you'll hurt my feelings. I remember you didn't have this attitude toward me before. A new love replaces the old... how heartbreaking," Uchiha Nagi said with a laugh.
The reason he had made the sudden decision to capture Kurenai and not kill Anko, instead letting her go back for help, was, of course, to fish. And what was he fishing for? A big one...
"Hmph. You are a rogue ninja of Konoha. We have nothing to talk about," Kurenai said coldly.
"Heh. If I hadn't become a rogue ninja, you wouldn't be seeing me at all. Didn't you see how the Uchiha clan, over a thousand people, even the unarmed civilians, the old, the weak, women, and children, all ended up as corpses? Or do you really think I'm the one who murdered my own clan?" Uchiha Nagi retorted.
"......" Kurenai fell silent. The rescue fireworks that had blossomed in the sky that night could not cover up the Third Hokage's excuses.
Besides, how could Uchiha Nagi and Uchiha Itachi, just two people, slaughter the entire Uchiha clan? Over a thousand people—even if they were pigs, they would have been scared and run away. Why hadn't a single one of the thousand people escaped the Uchiha compound to seek help in the village?
The Anbu and Root must have been involved. The Third Hokage could never shake off that blame.
Of course, what they didn't know was that, in reality, the Third's Anbu and Root forces had not participated in the Night of the Massacre. It had been entirely Obito and Itachi. The other ordinary people had been dealt with by the White Zetsu army. Konoha's barrier didn't extend deep into the earth's core. As long as the White Zetsu stayed deep enough, they could come and go freely in all the major villages.
Seeing Kurenai's silence, Uchiha Nagi suddenly blurted out, "I heard you got a boyfriend?"