The Essence
After hiding their wounded clansmen deep within the forest, the three Hagami survivors acting as bait sprinted in different directions, intentionally making no effort to conceal their movements.
The enemy pursuit was already closing in. Yu Gong Yuanzhen planned to divide the enemy forces and take them down one by one. The other two were prepared to sacrifice themselves if it meant buying even a few extra minutes for their clansmen.
Whether the Tsugawa clan would actually split their pursuit teams was almost certain. It wasn't just because of the immediate battlefield situation—it was due to the nature of clan warfare itself.
At this time in history, wars were fought between clan militaries. Every ninja clan trusted only their own members. Outsiders were rivals at best, enemies at worst. Under these conditions, the survival of small clans was brutally difficult; they had to eliminate any threat before it grew.
The Hagami clan was like a dying flame—something as small as a breath could extinguish it. A large clan like Tsugawa had no reason not to split up their forces.
The Hagami possessed no Kekkei Genkai, no secret arts—only above-average skill in Fire Release. But Fire Release varied wildly in quality; the Sarutobi and Uchiha clans were masters of it, yet even their abilities differed immensely.
The Tsugawa clan, a medium-sized clan capable of mustering over a hundred shinobi, vastly outclassed them. It was the Tsugawa who had razed the Hagami village. There was no deep grudge—only territorial expansion.
A big fish eats a small fish. They would never dare invade a major clan, so they consumed the weak ones instead.
Once a safe distance from his hidden clansmen, Yu Gong Yuanzhen moved quickly across the treetops, deliberately exposing himself.
And, as expected, scouts spotted him within minutes.
To the northwest of the forest, the Tsugawa squad arrived.
"Captain, we've confirmed three targets fleeing in different directions. One of them is the young clan head who escaped earlier. Besides these three, no other survivors detected. They're deliberately exposing themselves—buying time."
The squad captain—broad-shouldered, in his thirties—listened without breaking stride.
"A bait tactic. The same trick as before."
"Yes, Captain."
"Then the rest of them should be hiding nearby. They don't have the strength to relocate. These three are all that's left of their fighting force. Once they fall, the rest—no matter how deep this forest is—are finished."
His judgment was accurate. The Hagami's "resistance" was simply their last gasp.
"I remember that young clan head. A clever brat, but nothing impressive. Split into three teams—five each. I'll take the boy myself. Recon team, cover long-range support."
"Yes, Captain!"
Just as Yuanzhen predicted, they divided their forces—and the captain himself moved to intercept him.
Among the fifteen Tsugawa shinobi, the captain was the only full jōnin. Two special jōnin commanded the other squads. The rest were a mix of chūnin and genin—more than enough to erase the Hagami.
"Captain, he's up ahead!"
Yuanzhen slowed periodically to maintain just enough distance. Capture was inevitable—because he wanted it to be.
"Surround him," the captain ordered.
Five Tsugawa shinobi closed in, encircling him. A kunai whistled through the air toward his chest. Yuanzhen twisted mid-jump, narrowly avoiding the strike—but losing balance and dropping into the underbrush.
And then he vanished.
"What—? He's gone!"
"A clone? No… it didn't disperse."
Confusion rippled through the squad. But the captain remained steady.
"Get to higher ground and hold position. Don't move carelessly. He's nearby. He can't escape."
Under normal circumstances, he would have been right.
But the captain had no way of knowing—
Yuanzhen was no longer fighting with normal circumstances.
The Mayfly Technique, a mutation brought about by the White Zetsu-infused cells grafted into his body, allowed him to merge completely with the ground and vegetation. By erasing his chakra signature, body heat, and physical presence, he could travel through the roots and soil unnoticed.
A broken-human, half-Zetsu state—but a perfect assassination tool.
And it required no hand seals.
Yuanzhen slipped beneath the forest floor, reemerging silently behind the captain—visible, yet completely devoid of presence, like a ghost without breath.
Time seemed to halt.
His heartbeat paused for a fraction of a second—enough to create a moment between life and death.
He struck.
The kunai in his right hand drove deep into the captain's kidney. The short blade in his left slid between vertebrae, piercing the base of the neck cleanly and severing the spine with surgical precision.
The Tsugawa captain died instantly, without even enough time to exhale.
Yuanzhen had targeted the strongest enemy first—because he knew he could only perform such a perfect assassination once. His control over Mayfly was far from complete.
But he succeeded.
Unfortunately, a chūnin watching the clearing turned at the exact moment the captain's body sagged.
"Enemy attack!!"
Shuriken and kunai rained down violently—hitting both Yuanzhen and their own captain's corpse. They didn't hesitate; shock had reduced them to pure instinct.
A Water Release user finished his seals.
"Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!"
A sphere of compressed water blasted toward Yuanzhen. He dropped the kunai lodged in the captain's waist and kicked off the ground, dodging left as chakra exploded from his feet.
At the same time, he snagged the hilt of the short blade still inside the captain's neck. The force twisted the blade—
—and severed the head cleanly.
Always finish the kill.
Yuanzhen landed lightly. A moment later, the captain's head toppled onto the leaves with a soft, wet thump.
All enemy attacks ceased instantly.
Yuanzhen grinned, blood drying on his lips.
In his previous life, he had lived peacefully—never fighting, always kind, gentle, and honest. But peace only masks the darker facets within humans.
Environment reveals different versions of a person.
Ninjutsu can be flashy.
Genjutsu can be silent and deadly.
Taijutsu can be brutal or elegant.
But strip away the aesthetics, and all war—no matter the world—reveals the same, cold core:
iron and blood.
The ninja world was no exception.
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