Naruto: The Shadow Lord of the Nara Clan

Chapter 31 Strength Assessment

The leaves rustled.

Bathed in moonlight, Itachi looked at the boy under the tree, his face expressionless, his eyes indifferent, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

He didn't answer the question immediately, but instead looked at Lu Ying, who was only a year younger than him.

That look made Lu Ying uncomfortable.

Just as he was about to speak, a shadow loomed over from the horizon.

The deer shadow didn't look up, but quickly dodged, landing on the towering treetop after several dodges.

The next second, there was a loud bang.

A deafening explosion rang out, sending dirt and rocks flying everywhere.

Deer Shadow looked down at the dust and mist at his resting place, and several black crows emerged from it and flew straight toward him.

With a sideways movement, several kunai shot out from his waist, striking the crow's body squarely.

At the moment the metal collided with the chakra, several more explosions rang out.

The aftershocks ruffled the tips of Lu Ying's hair. He lowered his eyes, channeled his chakra, and stirred his muscles, instantly flashing into the dust.

Holding the kunai upside down, he thrust it towards Itachi's neck without hesitation.

The pain is so intense that it doesn't penetrate the flesh, yet there's no real feeling of flesh and blood.

The weasel glanced at him indifferently, then transformed into dozens of crows and scattered away.

Just as the crows began to flap their wings, that familiar feeling returned.

Lu Ying stared at the crows surrounding him and their scarlet eyes. Although a frantic warning was blaring in his mind, he remained unresponsive.

He watched thoughtfully as the flock of crows once again turned into bombs, blasted into dust in a flash of fire.

After a loud bang, two figures emerged from the dead silence of the forest.

It was the unharmed weasel and deer shadow.

Itachi stared at the deer's shadow and spoke for the first time:

"Not bad, a shadow clone."

The deer-like figure chuckled softly, lowered its body, and dashed towards the weasel:

"Your Raven Bomb is pretty good too."

Instead of dodging, Itachi threw out several shuriken and closed in on Shikakage in close combat.

Amidst the exchange of blows, Itachi, unusually, began chatting with Shikakage:

"That's not called a crow bomb, it's a clone explosion."

Seizing an opening, Lu Ying turned and unleashed a powerful whip kick:

"It works great, can you teach me how to use it later?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow slightly and raised his arm to barely block the kick:

"Can."

Using the momentum from his whip kick, he skillfully leaped backward and performed several somersaults.

After creating some distance, Itachi pursed his lips and formed hand seals:

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball scorched the air as it hurtled toward the deer's shadow amidst swirling steam.

Dexterously dodging the fireball, Lu Ying didn't hesitate and immediately darted forward.

He was well aware of his strengths; if he tried to keep his distance from Itachi, he would only be worn down by him.

The flames that erupted behind him stretched the deer's shadow into a narrow and long shape, with the tip of the shadow landing precisely on the eagle's shoe.

Itachi wasn't surprised that Shikakage was able to dodge the Great Fireball.

So after unleashing the Fire Release technique, his hands kept moving, and as the deer dodged, his second ninjutsu was about to be completed.

Cover your mouth with one hand, and open and close your lips:

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Fire..."

The chakra that should have been gathering in his mouth suddenly paused for a moment.

Itachi, who had been handling things with ease, suddenly widened his eyes in surprise.

He watched helplessly as Lu Ying rushed up to him and punched him in the right cheek.

Snapped--!

The weasel transformed into a flock of crows once more, scattering and flying in all directions.

A moment later, the flock of crows gathered on the treetops and reformed into the shape of a weasel.

A burning pain shot through his right cheek, and Itachi's calm eyes flickered with a thoughtful light.

—That feeling just now…

Lu Ying didn't give him any extra time to think. By the time Itachi re-formed, he had already caught up.

However, due to the backlighting, he was unable to catch Itachi's shadow and could only rely on pure physical skills to fight him.

The same scene played out again, with Itachi once again using Shikakage's punches and kicks to widen the distance between them.

This time, Itachi was not careless. Instead, he focused intently on observing the deer shadows and the battlefield.

The three jet-black tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly amidst the blood-red light.

Counting with one hand, fingers moving swiftly like a shadow.

"Fire Release: Red Phoenix Claw!"

Dozens of shuriken, wreathed in flames, spun and flew.

A dense net of fire rushed towards him, and the scorching heat made it difficult for Lu Ying to breathe.

But he smiled again, looked up at Itachi, and said softly:

"The clouds have moved."

As soon as he finished speaking, the deer shadow, which had been secretly preparing, leaped up.

He had calculated the relationship between the clouds, the moon, and the forest, and even though Itachi reacted quickly, he couldn't escape his shadow.

This time, instead of using "Lag," he used [Shadow Imitation Binding Technique] to disconnect Itachi from the internet.

Itachi stood still, not struggling, letting his shadow bind him tightly.

He watched as the deer-like figure charged towards him, saw the cold light reflected in the kunai in the deer's hand, and looked into those rational eyes.

He thought to himself:

—So, it really is a no-seal ninjutsu?

So he closed his eyes.

……

Moon stars are rare.

Deer Shadow opened his eyes and looked at Itachi, who was sitting by a campfire, without any surprise:

"So, what is my Dark Side assessment task?"

Itachi held a wooden branch, roasting something. His eyes were serious, but his tone was quite casual:

"The Hokage instructed me to assign you tasks based on your strength."

"It seems that you are no weaker than a formal Jonin."

He paused, then gave Lu Ying a meaningful look:

"Especially your ninjutsu, it's very impressive."

"So, your mission is to participate in the Chunin Exams."

Lu Ying spread her hands and said helplessly:

"Just say it straight, stop hiding it."

The weasel, seemingly oblivious to the deer's impatience, continued to warm itself by the fire.

"During this Chunin Exam, the leader of Takigakure will make a secret deal with certain people in the village."

"The item being traded is the Hero's Water from Takigakure, a very dangerous drug."

"Your mission is to ensure the Chunin Exams proceed smoothly and to prevent any accidents from happening to the participants from Konoha or other ninja villages."

Lu Ying pondered for a moment and quickly understood what she needed to do.

"You mean someone will use the Hero's Water during the Chunin Exams?"

Itachi nodded silently.

This silence left Lu Ying feeling utterly helpless.

"By the way, why did the Hokage specifically ask me to come find you?"

"Couldn't he just tell me the task directly?"

Itachi replied succinctly:

"If you join the Dark Side, I'll be your teammate."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ying raised an eyebrow.

Is Sarutobi Hikaru trying to build connections for him?

But his relationship with Itachi didn't mean anything to him.

He didn't have a good impression of Itachi.