In the darkness, two parts of the village were ablaze, thick plumes of smoke merging into the endless night, stirring an indescribable sense of panic.
There was no doubt—they were under attack by an external enemy. Shinobi might have anticipated the worst-case scenario of their stronghold being directly assaulted, but ordinary civilians could hardly endure such a sudden upheaval.
Casualties had already occurred, and the graver issue was that the village's critical reserve supplies had been destroyed.
Anyone with keen eyes could see that they might salvage some war materials, but the vast stores of daily necessities hoarded by the Tsugawa Clan were likely reduced to ashes in a single blow.
Water Release shinobi were being used as makeshift "firetrucks," but goods like grain, after enduring a trifecta of explosions, fire, and water dousing, were reduced to soggy, charred remnants. What use were they now? They were probably less edible than tree bark.
Tsugawa shinobi struggled to control the flames, desperately trying to rescue teammates who had just entered the underground storage, while simultaneously clearing the battlefield, digging out several bodies buried under the rubble.
It seemed a high-ranking figure had arrived to take command. After the initial chaos from the sudden attack, the shinobi began to perform their duties under his direction.
This figure crouched beside the neatly arranged corpses, inspecting them briefly. He noticed that the manner of their deaths was almost identical.
"All four died from sneak attacks from behind, killed instantly with a single lethal strike…"
"Three had their kidneys pierced, one had their throat slit."
"Yet there was unnecessary overkill, as if the attacker feared they wouldn't die… A novice? Or obsessive compulsion?"
"Regardless of the enemy's identity, origin, or strength, one thing is certain—they're exceptionally skilled at concealment and ambush."
"Death came so suddenly that our people likely never saw their attacker's face… They were taken out one by one, probably without making a sound."
"And the enemy infiltrated the underground storage without a trace, set traps, deliberately triggered the barrier, and used it to eliminate several of our shinobi."
"If not for that, we might not have realized someone had infiltrated the village in time."
"Report this to the clan leader."
"Yes, Elder." One shinobi hurried off.
"Everyone, intensify the search. Our top priority is to track the enemy and confirm whether they're still lurking in the village."
"Understood, Elder!"
After the elder issued his orders, another shinobi rushed to his side, delivering more bad news:
"Elder, Captain Daisuke is dead."
At those words, the middle-aged shinobi, who had been trying to glean more from the corpses, shot to his feet.
"Who? Daisuke? Tsugawa Daisuke is dead?"
He seemed unable to believe that a combat captain had perished so silently.
"Yes, Elder, unfortunately… it's indeed Tsugawa Daisuke."
"Killed by a sneak attack from behind?" the elder asked instinctively, his voice trembling slightly.
The shinobi nodded. "He had just left his home, likely heading here, when he was ambushed."
"Take me to the scene… You lot, guard their bodies."
The shinobi who brought the news froze, seemingly unprepared for the elder's decision. Under the elder's piercing gaze, he snapped to attention.
"Elder, please follow me."
Led by this shinobi, the two hurried to the other incident site.
Soon, they found a body lying at the corner of a narrow alley. His legs were splayed, his upper body slumped against a wall, a large smear of blood painting the white surface behind him.
This "Tsugawa Daisuke" was a shinobi the elder had held in high regard, someone he believed could one day shoulder the clan's future. Who could have imagined he'd die so pathetically?
He hadn't even put up a fight, just like the shinobi in the storage.
Reeling from the loss of a prodigy and the pain of an elder outliving the young, the elder was visibly anguished. He took a few quick steps to the body, crouching to inspect the corpse's waist.
"The kidneys again? If the enemy is skilled at ambushes, why are they so fixated on targeting the same spot? Wouldn't piercing the heart be simpler and more efficient?"
In his view, a stab to the heart would be far more decisive than targeting the kidneys. Why was the enemy so obsessed with the lower back?
The shinobi behind him hesitated, then cautiously offered an explanation:
"Could it be to minimize struggle? Someone who's neither a medic nor an assassin might have only heard that attacking the kidneys reduces a victim's ability to resist more than targeting the heart. Not everyone understands the human body's anatomy in detail…"
"Hmm…"
The elder's expression grew thoughtful. He studied the corpse's face, frozen in a mix of pain and confusion, when something struck him as off.
Wait. The way this shinobi spoke felt unfamiliar. The Tsugawa Clan had just over a hundred shinobi, and while the elder didn't know every one intimately, he could sense something amiss.
And the bloodstains on the ground… they seemed excessive for a single person.
"You…"
But as his mind raced, a soft pfft sounded behind him. The elder felt a chill at his back, and no matter how he tried to move his lips, no sound came out.
Instinctively, he looked down at his waist, where blood was gushing out…
So, I've been backstabbed too?
Yes, now he was certain—the enemy's so-called "hearsay" was likely correct.
Then, a hand rested on the elder's shoulder, and he felt his vitality and chakra rapidly draining from his body.
With great effort, he turned his head and saw the face of what had been one of his clansmen morph into something entirely unfamiliar.
For Genma, a "broken butt" was a flaw to exploit—he was far too adept at striking from behind.
As the elder's consciousness faded, something even more shocking occurred. The infiltrator's figure stretched taller, his face shifting back into a familiar one… The elder's oxygen-starved brain struggled to process it, but then he realized—it was his own face.
"What kind of Transformation Technique…"
That fleeting thought was the elder's final question in life, one destined to remain unanswered.
Genma had already noted that these shinobi wore standardized clothing, so he didn't need to do much. After ambushing and killing the elder, he transformed into his likeness and swiftly moved the body to a nearby courtyard.
Inside a room, he hurriedly dug a pit and buried the elder's corpse.
This courtyard belonged to the captain named "Daisuke," a bachelor. With Daisuke dead, there was little chance the elder's body would be discovered anytime soon.
The village was already in utter chaos.
The first person Genma had impersonated was a shinobi accompanying Captain Daisuke. From him, Genma learned Daisuke was a captain. After ambushing both, leaving one body in the open and hiding the other, he returned to the first crime scene.
From the surrounding shinobi, he learned of the elder's identity.
But the elder choosing to follow Genma to inspect Daisuke's body? That was unexpected.
Captain Daisuke, what a helpful guy. He'd done Genma quite a favor.
It seemed Genma wouldn't need Uchiha Nanami's summoned beast for this mission. Remarkably, despite this being his first time, Genma felt oddly at ease stirring up trouble.
Next, he'd start impersonating this elder, whose name he still didn't know.
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