Konoha: Uchiha, I get stronger by causing trouble.

Chapter 172, Second Movement

"The hidden sentries have been cleared out."

After the three of them arrived, Qianhe said in a low voice, "Your task from now on is to guard the area."

"If any Sand Ninja breaks through the range of my genjutsu, you should eliminate them."

Although Chiga's genjutsu was greatly enhanced by the Sage Art and the three-tomoe Sharingan.

However, Chiga also considered the possibility that someone could break the illusion, so having the three of them surround her was to prevent that from happening.

Moreover, if any ninja manage to escape, after they return and report the information, the Sand Village will know how the ninja in this base died.

This would make it difficult to carry out the subsequent plan to destroy the stronghold.

This is also a limitation of illusion.

"yes!"

After the three responded, they stealthily moved in three other directions.

Including Chiga's location, the four of them had surrounded the base from four directions.

"Now it's my turn to perform!"

"Crow Secret Technique: Shadow Crow Art!"

After Chiga unrolled the scroll, nearly two thousand crows flew out.

Then these crows split into countless clones.

Without Chiga saying a word, these crows, who had followed him for many years, understood his thoughts and sped off towards the base without lingering.

After finishing this, Chiga sat down cross-legged to collect natural energy.

With such a large number of crows appearing, even the most oblivious Sand Ninja would have noticed.

The urgent alarm sounded throughout the night, instantly waking up the sleeping Sand Ninja who rushed to their houses, fully prepared.

When they saw the sky full of crows, their faces showed astonishment; crows filled almost their entire field of vision.

"It's a crow!"

"With so many crows, someone must be keeping them. Everyone on high alert!"

"Get rid of the crows first!"

A vast swarm of crows circled above the stronghold, a dark, oppressive mass.

Upon seeing the Sand Ninja emerge from the stronghold, the crows immediately flew down.

Faced with an overwhelming swarm of crows, the Sand Village ninja remained calm and began using various methods to clear them out.

However, the crows surrounding them were all clones, while the real crows all perched on nearby eaves, trees, or even in certain corners.

They stared intently at the Sand Ninja in the stronghold, their black eyes fixed on them.

"What's going on? Are they all crow clones?"

"What are the enemy up to? Are they trying to distract us?"

"Be careful, everyone. I have a feeling that the other side is using crows as their first move, there's definitely something wrong with that."

Just as the group of Sand Ninjas were getting curious about what the other party wanted to do, a faint voice came from the perimeter of the base and reached their ears.

"Immortal Technique: Crow Secret Art - Second Movement: Hell of Evil Spirits!"

"Gah~"

"Giggle giggle~"

"Giggle~"

At the same time, the crows began to caw in unison. To the astonishment of the Sand Ninja, all the crows' eyes turned crimson, and the three tomoe swirled incessantly.

In an instant, demonic shadows filled their ears, and that wasn't all. Pairs of scarlet Sharingan with three tomoe gathered in front of them, and the entire space was plunged into a crimson hue.

Then, they felt their feet begin to shake.

Suddenly, pairs of rotten, foul-smelling arms reached out, grabbed their trouser legs, and slowly climbed upwards.

One of the Sand Ninja who was the first to enter the genjutsu kept pulling at his neck with both arms, as if something was wrapped around his neck.

His eyes suddenly filled with terror, as if all his blood had frozen.

In no time, his face turned deathly pale, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Well"

He tried to scream, but his throat seemed to be blocked by something, and he could only make weak whimpering sounds.

Slowly, his eyes began to glaze over, his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

At this moment, his eyes were still staring wide-eyed, but the pupils had already lost their vitality, and a look of terror remained on his face.

With the death of this Sand Ninja, all the Sand Ninjas who had entered the genjutsu began to fall to the ground one by one.

The expression on his face was exactly the same as that of the Sand Ninja.

"Is it over?"

Hyuga Hizashi, who was on guard outside, came to Chiga's side. He had already observed through his Byakugan that the Sand Ninja inside had all lost their lives.

At this time, the other two also returned to the place.

They followed Chiga's instructions, but to their surprise, not a single enemy escaped the illusion's range.

"Okay, you guys go in and clean up the battlefield!"

Chiga nodded upon hearing this, and then sat down to recover his chakra.

Upon hearing this, the three exchanged glances and then entered the stronghold.

However, the scene at the outpost left the three of them speechless for a long time.

This moment completely changed their definition of illusion.

In the command center of the Sand Village front.

"Lady Chiyo, the Stone Forest stronghold has been destroyed; not a single person survived!"

A ninja delivering intelligence reported to Chiyo.

Upon hearing this, Chiyo's face showed little anger. After all, the destruction of a stronghold was a normal occurrence in war. She asked, "Be more specific, how many people did the other side have, and who led the team?"

The Sand Village ninja said with difficulty, "I'm sorry, we don't have any of that information. It was the supply team that delivered supplies to this base that day that discovered it. When they arrived, the base was already empty!"

"What?! A ninja in a stronghold was wiped out without a trace? Didn't any of the surrounding strongholds notice?"

At this moment, a serious expression appeared on Chiyo's face.

Although the number of Sand Ninjas in the Stone Forest stronghold was not large, they were able to be eliminated silently by the enemy. The ninjas dispatched by Konoha were either numerous or led by one or more powerful ninjas.

Chiyo leans more towards the latter.

After all, ninjas are responsible for infiltration, stealth, and intelligence gathering, and it is difficult to keep the movement of a large number of ninjas a secret from the enemy.

Chiyo hasn't received any news recently about any large forces from Konoha appearing at the Stone Forest base.

After thinking for a moment, she walked to the edge of the sand table and looked at her side's entire defensive line in the Land of Rivers.

"Stone Forest Outpost."

Chiyo glanced at the location of the Stone Forest stronghold, then recalled the location of Konoha's White Fang, and ruled out Konoha's White Fang.

"Hmph, so they've assembled a new elite squad?"

"It seems Tsunade has changed her strategy!"

Chiyo sneered; she was actually annoyed by Konoha's constant defensive approach.

Now that the enemy has intensified their attacks, Chiyo immediately felt that her opportunity had arrived.

"Send the first and second sniper teams to locate this Konoha team. There must be a skilled ninja in that team. Capture him alive and exchange him for Pakura!"

(End of this chapter)