Yang Jiu still chose mission Two—capturing the Root Ninja.
Kill them? There was no need.
With the wolf god statue here, as long as they were locked up long enough, even the hardest bones could be softened. In his eyes, these Root Ninja were not enemies, but—resources.
And high-quality resources at that.
The Root Ninja were, at the very least, Chunin. Outside, they were combatants capable of handling things on their own. Killing them all was too wasteful; keeping them was the long-term plan.
He silently did the math in his mind.
The Konoha Ninja captives previously imprisoned: Kurenai Yuhi's squad of 4, the search team of 11, and Kakashi's squad of 5—a total of 20 people.
Plus this batch of 12 Root Ninja.
A total of 32 people.
Yang Jiu's eyes lit up slightly.
The progress for the "Village of a Hundred Ninja" mission was still far from complete. If these 32 Konoha Ninja could be completely converted...
Even if only half were converted, it would push the progress forward significantly.
He looked up, gazing in the direction of Wolf Ninja Village.
He wondered how Kawajūrō was doing over there.
Yang Jiu narrowed his eyes.
After dealing with this batch of Root Ninja, he would have to go to Wolf Ninja Village to check on things.
Afterward, he walked out of the Beast King Hall.
He came to the side of the cage and looked at Great Remnant, who was guarding it.
"Great Remnant."
"Here!"
Yang Jiu's voice was calm but unquestionable:
"Watch the cage well. Not one of the people inside can be missing, and not one can die."
"Understood!"
"Also—" He paused, "Select sixty members from the clan with the highest strength, and have them focus on training, diligently practicing the Chakra Refining Technique."
"They don't need to worry about anything else."
Great Remnant's eyes lit up, and he nodded heavily: "Understood!"
Yang Jiu didn't say anything else.
He turned around, pushed off with his four paws, and his silver-white figure transformed into a bolt of lightning, streaking out of Wolf Valley.
The direction—west.
—
In the dense forest outside Yufu Forest, black figures leaped rapidly between the branches.
They wore various animal masks—cat, dog, fox, crow—flashing through the dappled tree shadows, their speed so fast that their outlines were almost impossible to see.
Their black tight-fitting clothes blended into the shadows, and even the sound of their clothes fluttering was suppressed to the minimum.
Twelve people.
Silent and soundless, like a group of ghosts wandering through the forest.
The leading Ninja wore a cat mask, his eyes flashing with sharp light beneath the mask. He stopped abruptly on a thick tree branch and raised his right hand.
The eleven people behind him stopped in unison, without making a sound.
"Ahead is Yufu Forest."
The Cat-faced Ninja's voice was hoarse and low, like sandpaper rubbing against stone.
"That wolf is inside. Follow the plan; once the target is found, deploy the barrier immediately."
He paused, his tone becoming more solemn:
"Remember Lord Danzo's order—we need it alive."
Everyone nodded silently.
The Cat-faced Ninja took a deep breath, his hands quickly forming hand seals in front of his chest.
The next second, a dense black curtain surged out from his body!
It was countless black insects, as thin as hair. They were almost invisible in the sunlight, yet they gathered in the air into a flowing shadow, spreading toward the Yufu Forest ahead like a living creature.
Reconnaissance.
Silent, soundless, and undetectable.
The Cat-faced Ninja narrowed his eyes, peering into that unknown forest through the insects' vision.
—And they did not notice.
Hundreds of meters above in the sky.
A huge, silver-white figure was floating quietly.
Lightning supported his body, blue electric arcs jumping around him, making his silver-white fur shine like a god descended. His golden eyes pierced through the clouds, looking down at the figures below, who were as small as ants.
"As expected of the Pot Shadow-created Root organization..."
Yang Jiu muttered, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"In some aspects, they are indeed quite excellent."
Those black insects, those concealment techniques, that silent cooperation—if it were an ordinary Jonin, they probably wouldn't even know if someone had snuck up behind them.
Unfortunately.
In front of him, these meant nothing.
Because—
His "sight" had never been something he used his eyes for.
Under his electrical wave perception, everything within a one-kilometer radius had nowhere to hide.
"I just don't know—"
Yang Jiu licked his lips, a hint of playfulness flashing in his golden pupils.
"How their strength is."
As soon as he finished speaking.
He moved his mind.
Bzz, bzz, bzz—
On his silver-white body, countless blue lightning bolts began to rise!
Those electric arcs jumped, gathered, and expanded around him like living things, becoming brighter and more violent, dyeing the entire sky a deep blue!
The originally gloomy sky was instantly illuminated by this dazzling lightning!
The next moment.
"Ten Thousand Thunderbolts—!!!"
Rumble!!!
One terrifying pillar of lightning after another crashed down from his body!
Dense and numerous, like divine punishment, they swept toward the twelve black figures below!
The lightning illuminated every shocked mask.
It illuminated every pair of constricted pupils.
It illuminated every reaction they hadn't yet had time to make.
The lightning illuminated the entire forest.
The first pillar of lightning crashed down!
"Scatter!"
The Cat-faced Ninja roared, and the twelve black figures instantly exploded outward, fleeing frantically in all directions!
Boom!!!
The lightning pillar smashed into the spot where they had just been standing. An ancient tree that took several people to embrace instantly shattered, wood chips flying everywhere. The charred trunk fell to the ground, bursting into raging flames.
"What is this thing!"
A Root Ninja wearing a fox mask looked up in horror, and before he could finish speaking—
The second lightning pillar had arrived!
He rolled violently to the side. The lightning pillar grazed his shoulder and struck the ground, the scorching heat burning his skin. He let out a muffled groan, and before he could stand steady, the third lightning pillar came!
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—!!!
The dense lightning pillars poured down like a rainstorm, each one precisely chasing the twelve figures fleeing frantically!
A dog-faced Ninja had just leaped onto a tree branch when a lightning pillar split the tree in half! He forcibly twisted his body in mid-air and landed on another branch. Before his feet even touched the ground, another lightning pillar came!
"Damn it—!"
He gritted his teeth and burst out Chakra, his body turning into an afterimage as he dodged continuously. Three lightning pillars landed in succession behind him, blasting out three charred craters!
But the fourth one—
It was too fast.
His dodging movement was 0.1 seconds too slow.
The lightning pillar grazed his left leg. He screamed, falling from mid-air. His left leg was charred black, smoking, and he couldn't put any strength into it at all.
On the other side.
The Cat-faced Ninja was weaving frantically through the forest. He was the fastest and most experienced, managing to narrowly dodge just before each lightning pillar fell.
One.
Two.
Three.
He had dodged five lightning pillars and had already rushed out two hundred meters—
The sixth lightning pillar crashed down!
His pupils constricted, and his body instinctively rolled to the side. The lightning pillar struck half a meter to his side!
The shockwave blew him away, and he slammed heavily into a tree. He coughed up blood, and before he could get up, the seventh lightning pillar had already locked onto him.
Boom!!!
He rolled with his last bit of strength. The lightning pillar struck down, grazing his back. His back was charred black, his clothes were shredded, and he collapsed to the ground, twitching uncontrollably.
—The same scene was playing out all over the forest.
The fox-faced Ninja dodged three lightning pillars but was hit on the right shoulder by the fourth. His entire arm was ruined, and he lay on the ground wailing in pain.
The crow-faced Ninja used Substitution Jutsu to dodge once, but was struck in the back by the second lightning pillar that followed, lying on the ground and unable to get up again.
The dog-faced Ninja dodged four times in a row, but stepped into a charred crater he had just created by lightning, stumbled, and was directly flipped over by the next lightning pillar.
...
Thirty seconds later.
The lightning dissipated.
The forest was in shambles.
Charred trees were still burning, thick smoke billowing, and the ground was covered with charred craters of various sizes, each one emitting smoke.
Twelve black figures lay scattered in different positions.
Some were clutching their charred legs and screaming, some were twitching on the ground, some were coughing up mouthfuls of blood, and some were already unconscious.
Not a single person could stand up anymore.
Not a single person could run away anymore.
Hundreds of meters above in the sky.
Yang Jiu slowly withdrew his lightning, looking down at the devastated battlefield below, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"The Root organization?"
He shook his head.
"Is that it?"
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