Naruto: The Shadow Lord of the Nara Clan

A voice, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, rang out from beneath the deer-head mask.

Wuwei, whose expression had remained indifferent throughout, frowned at this moment.

Because he recognized the person in front of him.

These are Konoha's ANBU ninjas!

When Konoha is involved, what should have been a simple matter suddenly becomes incredibly complicated.

To be honest, Wuwei didn't want to antagonize Konoha.

After the Third Shinobi World War, the relationship between Kusagakure and Konoha developed relatively well, with frequent communication and contact in economic, political, and military fields.

If a conflict is instigated between the two villages without authorization, it could very well lead to a war between the two countries.

This is not something anyone would want to see.

However, Wuwei is not prepared to abandon this operation.

Once he misses this opportunity, it will be very difficult for him to capture the leader of Takigakure Village again.

In order to open the Box of Bliss, he needs to sacrifice a large amount of chakra.

He even sacrificed his own son for this.

Now that things have come to this, Wuwei has no way out!

He must obtain the Hero's Water from Takigakure Village!

"Take him down!"

"Force them to reveal Zelin's location!"

"They can't have gone far; we must finish this quickly!"

……

the other side.

Zelin, who had been traveling through the night, could no longer suppress his doubts.

"Deer, how did you discover that Shuiyan had betrayed you?"

Lu Ying casually replied:

"Secrets of the Dark Side."

Seeing that Zelin and Shemu were absent-minded and looked worried, Luying comforted them:

Don't worry.

"With me here, no one can stop you from returning to the village."

Zelin forced a smile and sighed inwardly.

—I never imagined that Konoha knew their ninjas better than I, the leader of Takigakure…

Unlike Zelin, Shemu was on the verge of collapse.

My heart, which was already trembling, started pounding wildly after learning that an attack was imminent.

Any slight disturbance could cause panic among the people of Shemu.

The deer-headed masked man leading the way gave him an indescribable, soul-chilling dread.

With a mournful face, Shibuki repeatedly asked Zelin:

"Father, we'll be alright, right?"

"Yes, it will be alright."

Zelin looked at the calm deer figure ahead and placed all his hopes on him.

He comforted himself in his heart.

—Yeah, it'll be alright…

……

boom--!

A fiery chain twisted like a giant python, drawing out the air with a hissing sound.

One of the shadow soldiers was unable to dodge in time and was sent flying several meters away.

The chains followed closely behind, binding the shadow soldiers tightly in an instant.

But Wuwei's face showed no sign of joy.

He spread his five fingers, and hot chakra flowed in his palm. Under his control, the fiery chains tightened their binding force.

The friction between the fire and the chains produced a series of hissing, burning sounds.

Just as the shadow soldier was about to be severed in two by the chains, the bound entity turned into liquid-like black water and disappeared into the shadows on the ground.

Seeing this, Wuwei frowned and muttered to himself:

"As expected, this 'creature' has no chakra."

His Fire Release: Heavenly Prison can restrict the enemy's chakra gathering, preventing them from using ninjutsu.

But the shadow soldier was unaffected.

Wuwei had never seen such a situation before.

He guessed that perhaps these soldiers were not living beings, but merely the "summoning beast" or something similar to that Konoha Anbu ninja.

With that in mind, he decided to focus all his attacks on Lu Ying.

However, this is also what gives Wuwei a huge headache.

Because he couldn't spare the resources to target Lu Ying.

As far as the eye could see, twenty shadow soldiers had already surrounded them.

Not to mention Wuwei, even the Grass Village ninjas he brought didn't have the strength to attack Shikakage.

The shadow soldiers alone were already too much for them to handle!

Wuwei pursed his lips, just about to make a move against Lu Ying, when the vanished shadow soldier emerged from the shadows again and engaged him in battle.

Lu Ying did not join the battle, but instead observed the enemy in front of her from the side.

After looking around, he realized that only two people posed any real threat to him.

One is Wuwei, the lord of Hozuki Castle, who is also the mastermind behind the assassination plot against Takigakure.

The other person was a Jonin from Kusagakure. Although Shikakage did not know his name, he deduced from his appearance that this person was the unfortunate one who would later be turned into the Preta Path by Nagato.

As for the rest, whether they were hookahs or Kusagakure ninjas, their strength was basically around the level of special jonin.

Although his shadow clone is only half the strength of his original body, it is more than enough to deal with the group of enemies in front of him.

Slowly rising, the deer's shadow strolled forward.

Under the moonlight, his shadow was stretched long and thin.

Like a sharp, pointed blade, it tore open the earth beneath our feet.

With each step he took forward, there was a crisp sound of flesh being torn apart.

despair--!

Sizzle—!

despair--!

Sizzle—!

The shadow soldiers die, but are repeatedly resurrected with the replenishment of MP.

The Grass Village ninja also die, and with the replenishment of MP, they are constantly resurrected.

However, after they are resurrected, they are no longer themselves.

As he watched the ever-growing number of shadow soldiers before him, Wuwei lost his indifferent expression for the first time, and his facial muscles began to contort.

He felt fear!

—What's wrong with this guy?!

What kind of monster is Konoha raising?!

At this moment, Wuwei no longer cared about whether the plan would succeed or not.

He just wanted to escape this dark hell before him.

"Stop him."

Having pulled out the [Kassaka's Venomous Fang] inserted into his chest cavity, Lu Ying no longer looked at the Hungry Ghost Path, whose face was contorted with pain.

He turned his gaze to Wuwei, who was about to escape, and in a flash, he was already behind Wuwei.

"Kusakuza Style: Hair-Breaking Palm!"

The moment Lu Ying appeared, Wu Wei suddenly turned around and struck Lu Ying in the chest with a palm.

He appeared to be running away, but he was actually waiting for this opportunity!

But it was just a millimeter off!

Wuwei's right palm remained in front of Lu Ying's chest, unable to advance any further.

Only the green chakra rising from his palms stubbornly continued to evaporate.

Lu Ying smiled gently, casually pushed Wu Wei's hand away, and was about to speak when she noticed that the corners of Wu Wei's mouth were subtly turning up.

It turns out that Wuwei had already prepared a ninjutsu, which he was about to unleash!

Streams of scorching, blinding chakra erupted from Wuwei's palm, transforming into fiery blades aimed directly at Shikakage's heart.

"Fire Release: Heavenly Prison Fire Sword!"

Sizzle—!

The flaming sword pierced through flesh and blood, and Lu Ying frowned slightly.

hurts a little.

—I won!

—Severe heart injury, certain death!

Just as Wuwei was overjoyed, Luying spat out several mouthfuls of blood, then patted her wounds as if nothing had happened.

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you."

Lu Ying wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and said with a smile:

"I am just a shadow clone."

"Also, a severe heart injury is a minor matter for me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wuwei saw a pair of blood-red eyes open in the shadows behind Lu Ying.

"Alright, you can kill yourself now."