Kapitel 324: 323-You want a fight?

Jei Kaguya's eyes narrowed as she gazed at the masked figure perched high atop the ridge, silhouetted against the dim glow of the moonlight. Below him, countless bone protrusions jutted out from the rocky terrain, forming a jagged, grotesque forest.

Each one gleamed like ivory under the faint light, a chilling testament to her kekkei genkai. The air was thick with tension, the faint rustle of the wind the only sound amidst the stillness.

Her lips curled into a smirk as she let her gaze linger on the intruder. "So, you're Uzumaki Renjiro," she murmured, the words meant more for herself than for him.

The name carried weight—whispers of potential and a growing reputation, enough to catch the attention of her superiors. And now, here he was, the prize she had been tasked to kill or capture, standing right before her.

'He is more of a threat to Suna and Kumo with his chakra natures, I wonder why they wanted me to kill him.' Je could not help but think.

Her squad's attack on the Kumo outpost had been a diversion, a calculated risk to flush out their true target. Their orders had been clear: if Renjiro appeared, they were to abandon the outpost and focus entirely on capturing him.

If he didn't, they would continue the assault and retreat after inflicting as much damage as possible. It had been a gamble, and when Jei first sensed the foreign chakra signature encroaching on their location, she had decided to play her hand.

She wasn't entirely sure it was him at first—it could have been a returning Kumo shinobi or reinforcements sent to flank them—but something about the way his chakra felt, sharp and controlled, made her decide to take the chance.

Jei's smirk deepened as she adjusted her stance, her grey hair whipping around her face in the wind. 'He's a bit shorter than I thought,' she thought as she sized up the figure before her.

His build was lean but not frail, and the black mask obscured most of his features. 'Well, he is quite young, so that makes sense. But didn't they say his hair was red, not black?' she wondered, her sharp gaze locking onto the short strands that peeked out from beneath his hood.

Renjiro seemed to hesitate for a moment, his crimson Sharingan glinting faintly as he assessed her. Then, with a flicker of movement, he attempted to leave, vanishing into the shadows.

Jei's smirk turned into a grin as she matched his speed, her form blurring as she gave chase. "What's the matter?" she called out, her voice laced with mockery. "Running away already? I thought the great Uzumaki Renjiro would put up more of a fight!"

Renjiro's eyes darted to her, annoyance flashing across his features. 'She's fast,' he thought, his muscles tensing as he pushed himself to move faster. 'But I need to get out of here. Fighting this close to Kumo won't serve the mission well.'

Jei's laughter echoed behind him as she closed the distance between them, matching Renjiro's speed. "What's the rush? The bounty on your head is too tempting to let you slip away!" she taunted, her voice carrying an edge of amusement.

Renjiro gritted his teeth, considering his options.

The terrain was rough, the jagged peaks offering little cover. If he wanted to escape, he needed to create some distance. Summoning his chakra, he began to open the gates. The first two burst open within him, flooding his body with energy and propelling him forward at an incredible speed.

Jei's eyes widened slightly as she felt the sudden surge of power radiating from him. "Interesting," she muttered, her grin never wavering. Her own chakra flared as she activated Dance of the Willow, her movements becoming smoother and faster as she manipulated her bones to form long, blade-like extensions from her forearms. The sharp edges gleamed as she swung them effortlessly, her strikes aimed at cutting off Renjiro's escape.

Renjiro glanced back, his Sharingan catching the fluid grace of her movements. She wasn't just fast—she was precise, every strike calculated to corner him.

"Fine," he muttered under his breath, skidding to a halt. "You want a fight? Then I'll give you one."

The Sharingan in his eyes spun ominously as he turned to face her, his chakra coiling like a spring ready to unleash.

Jei's grin widened as she noticed the change in his stance. "Finally," she said, her voice dripping with anticipation. "Let's see what all the fuss is about."

Their clash was instantaneous. Renjiro darted forward, his speed enhanced by the opened gates, while Jei met him head-on, her Dance of the Camellia creating a flurry of bone blades that clashed against his kunai with sharp, metallic clangs. Sparks flew as their weapons collided, the sound reverberating through the rocky terrain.

Renjiro's strength was undeniable. Each strike he delivered carried the force of his enhanced chakra, his blows creating shockwaves that echoed across the ridge. Jei, however, was unfazed. Her bones, hardened to an almost indestructible level, absorbed the impact with ease. "Is that all you've got?" she teased, ducking under a swing and retaliating with a bone blade aimed at his side.

Renjiro twisted mid-air, narrowly avoiding the strike. His Sharingan flared as he read her next move, countering with a spinning kick that Jei blocked with her forearm. The force sent her skidding back slightly, but she recovered effortlessly, her grin never faltering.

"You're strong," she admitted, lunging forward with another series of attacks. "But strength alone won't save you."

Renjiro growled in frustration as he attempted the Front Lotus, wrapping Jei in a tight hold and spinning her toward the ground with incredible speed. At the last moment, Jei activated Dance of the Larch, her body sprouting sharp bone spikes that forced Renjiro to release her. She landed gracefully, her bones retracting as she prepared her next move.

"Nice try," she said, brushing a strand of grey hair from her face. "But my defences are a bit tougher than that."

Renjiro's eyes narrowed as he landed, his mind racing. 'I need to find a way through her defences,' he thought, summoning his adamantine chains to assist him. The silver chains shot forward, wrapping around Jei's limbs and pulling her toward him. Jei gritted her teeth as she activated Dance of the Clematis: Vine, using her bones to form a whip-like appendage that severed the chains with a sharp crack.

Their battle continued, a blur of speed and precision. Renjiro's Sharingan gave him an edge, allowing him to predict Jei's movements and counter her attacks. Yet her resilience and adaptability kept her in the fight, her bones shifting and reshaping with every clash.

Suddenly, Jei noticed a swirling ball of chakra forming in Renjiro's hand. Her eyes widened slightly, but she trusted her defences. 'Whatever that is, it won't work,' she thought, her bones forming a shield in front of her as Renjiro lunged forward with the Rasengan.

The moment the Rasengan connected, Jei's confidence shattered. The swirling chakra drilled through her bone shield, the force sending her flying backwards and slamming her into the rocky ground. A sharp gasp escaped her lips as pain shot through her body.

"What…what kind of jutsu is that?" she thought, panic flashing across her features.

Renjiro didn't let up. Impressed by the Rasengan's effectiveness, he formed another and charged at her. Jei scrambled to her feet, creating distance between them as she activated Dance of the Seedling Fern, summoning a forest of bone spikes that erupted from the ground. Renjiro weaved through them with ease, his silver chains snaking around her and pulling her toward him once more.

"You're persistent," Jei hissed, slashing at the chains with her bone blades. But Renjiro was relentless, his Sharingan glowing as he calculated his next move. Summoning his chakra, he formed the Chidori, the sound of crackling lightning filling the air.

Jei's eyes widened in horror as the Chidori pierced through her bone defences like a hot knife through butter. The force of the attack sent her crashing to the ground, her body limp and battered and bleeding from the chest. Renjiro stood over her, his breathing heavy as he deactivated his Sharingan.

Without a word, he sealed Jei's corpseinto a storage scroll, his movements quick and efficient. Then, with a flicker, he vanished into the shadows, leaving behind the eerie forest of bones and the faint echoes of their battle.

=====

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Kapitel 325: 324-Propaganda

The chill of the mountain air carried faint echoes of something unnatural. Shinbo Amai, a tall and wiry Kumo shinobi, stood at the edge of a narrow cliff path, gazing toward the direction of the distant peaks.

Beside him, his companion Taro leaned casually against a jagged rock, twirling a kunai between his fingers. The two were sensory shinobi assigned to monitor the border post to raise a signal if Kiri decided to attack again.

Amai's brow furrowed as he pressed his hand to the ground, feeling the faint vibrations of chakra rippling through the terrain.

"There it is again," Amai muttered, his eyes narrowing. "Massive chakra fluctuations, just past the range of our field."

Taro scoffed, flipping the kunai into his pouch. "You're always so jumpy, Amai. It's probably those Kiri shinobi tearing each other apart. Don't they always solve their problems with violence?"

"This isn't normal," Amai insisted, his tone sharp. "The magnitude of these fluctuations… it feels deliberate. Controlled. Like someone's fighting, not just throwing wild jutsu around."

Taro rolled his eyes, folding his arms as he stared into the distance. "Relax. If they want to thin their own ranks, that's just one less squad for us to deal with. No need to ruin our night worrying about it."

"But what if it spills over here?" Amai countered, standing abruptly. "If someone's pushing that much chakra, it could bring trouble straight to our post. We're not exactly fortified up here, especially after their last visit."

Taro chuckled, shaking his head. "You're hopeless, you know that? Always thinking the worst. Look, even if something does come our way, we're Kumo shinobi. We're tougher than most. Let them come."

Amai clenched his fists, frustration flickering across his face. "You don't understand. This isn't just reckless chakra use; it's precision. Whoever's out there knows exactly what they're doing. And if we don't figure it out, we'll regret it later."

Taro smirked, patting Amai on the back. "Fine, fine. You win, worrywart. Let's go check it out if it'll make you feel better. But I'm telling you, it's nothing to lose sleep over."

The two shinobi moved cautiously toward the source of the disturbance, their steps light against the uneven terrain. As they approached the clearing, the faint scent of burnt earth and crushed stone reached their nostrils.

Amai's eyes darted to the ground, where countless jagged bone protrusions jutted from the soil, glinting in the moonlight.

"What the—?" Taro murmured, his bravado faltering as he took in the destruction. "This… this isn't Kiri infighting."

Amai's gaze sharpened as he knelt to inspect the bone structures. "No," he said grimly. "This is something far worse."

Farther north, near the snowy peaks of the Land of Frost, the tension in the Kiri camp was palpable. Shinobi milled about, their hushed conversations occasionally punctuated by the crackle of a campfire. Harumi Higashi, a young and eager kunoichi, leaned toward her squadmate Kaito, her eyes wide with concern.

"Shouldn't we go back her up?" Harumi whispered, glancing toward the direction where Jei's chakra had flared. "It sounds like she's fighting someone serious."

Kayo, a broad-shouldered man with a perpetually skeptical expression, shook his head. "Our orders were clear, Harumi. Jei's squad was the diversion. We're the fallback. If we rush in without a plan, we'll just complicate things."

"But what if she's in trouble?" Harumi pressed. "She's still our leader. We can't just sit here."

Kayo snorted. "Jei Kaguya in trouble? Have you seen her fight? She could probably take on half of Kumo's forces by herself."

Another shinobi, a wiry man named Haru, joined the conversation with a smirk. "You're overthinking this, Harumi. Jei's probably cutting down some poor sap who thought they could outsmart her."

"Or," a fourth shinobi, Akane, interjected with a conspiratorial tone, "she's fighting one of those Konoha monsters. You know, they're always popping up out of nowhere."

"Konoha monsters?" Haru repeated, raising an eyebrow. "You mean like the Yellow Flash? Don't tell me you believe those stories."

Akane crossed her arms, her expression smug. "Believe them? I've seen the aftermath. Whole battlefields wiped out in seconds. If that's not real, then what is?"

"Propaganda," Haru declared, waving a dismissive hand. "Konoha's just trying to scare the other villages. I bet the Yellow Flash isn't even that fast."

This sparked an argument that rippled through the camp. Some shinobi insisted that the tales of the Yellow Flash were exaggerated, while others pointed to the infamous legends of the God of Shinobi and the current Hokage as evidence of Konoha's power. The debate grew louder, with accusations and counterarguments flying back and forth.

Amid the chaos, the squad's second-in-command, Ryota, stood silently by the fire, his expression dark. The faint chakra fluctuations from Jei's location gnawed at him. Something felt wrong—terribly wrong.

"Enough!" Ryota barked, silencing the camp with a single word. "This isn't the time for arguments. Jei's out there, and if she's fighting someone, we need to know who it is."

The shinobi exchanged uneasy glances but nodded in agreement. Ryota rallied a small group, and they set off toward the source of the disturbance, their steps quick and purposeful.

Thousands of miles away, in a cavern deep between the Lands of Earth and Wind, the air was heavy with an oppressive stillness. Two figures stood facing each other, their silhouettes illuminated by the dim glow of a distant fire.

"Report," the older man commanded, his voice cold and commanding. His long white hair framed a face etched with age and power.

The cloaked figure bowed slightly before speaking. "Progress in Kiri is steady. We've narrowed down potential targets to destabilize the Mizukage's regime. One name stands out: Yagura."

"Yagura," the old man repeated, his voice laced with intrigue. "The young boy… deputy of the Anbu, if I recall correctly."

"Yes," the cloaked figure confirmed. "His age makes him vulnerable. His mind is still malleable, and his loyalty could be swayed."

The older man, Madara, nodded slowly, a sinister gleam in his eye. "Good. A young mind is like clay, easily shaped. We will tempt him with power. And if he resists…"

"We'll use force," the cloaked figure finished, his tone resolute.

Madara turned, his gaze distant as he considered the possibilities. "Kiri is a tool. Nothing more. If we break Yagura, the rest will follow."

The cloaked figure hesitated before speaking again. "There is one more matter. While spying on the Mizukage, I intercepted information about a young Uchiha jounin. Uzumaki Renjiro."

Madara's eyes narrowed, his interest piqued. "Danzo," he muttered, almost to himself. "What has that fool done now?"

"The information was leaked to Kumo and Kiri," the figure explained. "Renjiro's movements are being tracked."

Madara sighed, his expression a mix of annoyance and amusement. "Yet they say I'm the one who doesn't care for the village."

For a moment, silence hung between them, broken only by the distant crackle of fire. Then Madara spoke again, his tone decisive. "This… Renjiro. He may prove useful. I've been seeking someone to assist with what I have in mind."

The cloaked figure nodded, a glint of understanding in his eyes. "Shall I proceed?"

Madara's lips curled into a faint smile. "Yes. But carefully. We must not tip our hand too soon."