Seeing the stinky foot flying toward his face, Akisawa Uchiha's expression twisted into a ferocious scowl. "Don't you look down on the Uchiha!"
He rapidly formed hand seals, his chest expanding as he spat a massive dragon of flame from his mouth.
"Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!" (Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!)
Souji couldn't dodge in time and took the full force of the jutsu head-on.
Shiroku and Yūhaku leaped to safety in the distance, small smiles playing on their lips.
"Pretty capable," Yūhaku remarked. "For a mere Chunin to release a ninjutsu of that caliber... he can be considered qualified."
"What do we do next?" Shiroku asked. "Capture him and take him back?"
Yūhaku looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook her head. "Let's watch the situation first. Let Souji be a bit more vicious; maybe there will be some unexpected gains."
As the flames of the Dragon Flame Jutsu dissipated, they revealed a completely charred Souji standing amidst the smoke.
Akisawa jumped back, the three tomoe of his Sharingan spinning frantically as he tried to analyze the damage.
Suddenly, Souji coughed out a puff of black smoke. "Hey, hey... I was kind enough to let you off, but you didn't appreciate it and actually used Fire Style on me. You bastard, that hurt!"
As he spoke, the charred, blackened skin on Souji's body began to peel away like dead bark. In the blink of an eye, fresh, white, and tender skin grew back in its place.
Witnessing this scene, Akisawa's mind raced. No matter how fast his Sharingan spun, he couldn't figure out what kind of ninjutsu this was.
Healing severe burn injuries instantly without any hand seals? Was this guy even human?
Once his skin was fully restored, Souji clenched his fist, a look of dark satisfaction in his eyes.
He stomped lightly on the ground, his breathing shifting slightly. In a blink, he vanished and reappeared right in front of Akisawa.
Akisawa's eyes widened in disbelief. "How is that possible..."
Before he could finish, a fist slammed into his gut, folding him like a boiled shrimp.
Souji didn't stop there. He grabbed Akisawa by the hair with his other hand and spat right in his face.
"Uchiha... nothing special."
He began to punch Akisawa in the stomach repeatedly, mocking him with every strike. "Are the Uchiha so amazing, huh?"
"Idiot, fight back!"
"I told you not to use Fire Style on me! I told you not to push your luck!"
After hundreds of brutal punches, Akisawa was spitting blood, gasping for air like a dying fish.
Souji finally shook his head in boredom. He tossed the battered Uchiha to the ground like a ragdoll, stepped on his face, and called out, "Big Sister Yūhaku, how about we use this guy to lure out more Konoha ninjas?"
Yūhaku made a surprised sound. "Although your personality is terrible, your brain works pretty well!"
She walked over to Akisawa, smiling sweetly down at him. "Sorry, you seem to be in pain, but it's going to be even more painful next."
Yūhaku formed a single seal with one hand and pressed it against his forehead.
Akisawa's eyes rolled back, and he gradually fainted.
The three exchanged knowing smiles.
"Ninpō: Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" (Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!)
With a poof of smoke, Gisei Shiraishi appeared.
He looked down at the unconscious Uchiha and clicked his tongue. "I didn't expect this guy to be so tenacious. Is it possible for him to awaken the Mangekyō? Let's try it."
The moment Gisei appeared, the light faded from the eyes of Souji, Shiroku, and Yūhaku. They froze in place—obviously, they were just puppets all along.
Gisei arranged the scene carefully, leaving faint, deliberate traces for trackers to find, and then vanished with Akisawa.
Konoha, which had been calm for a long time, suddenly became lively again.
The disappearance of four Uchiha clansmen was no small matter.
In the Hokage's office, the Uchiha Great Elder, Masaen Uchiha, pushed open the door without knocking.
The Third Hokage frowned. "Elder Masaen, what happened to make you come here personally?"
"Lord Hokage, you should have heard by now that four Uchiha clansmen are missing."
"Didn't you already send people to look for them?"
"The search party returned empty-handed. They only found the corpse of the employer for the escort mission. Not a single clansman was found."
"Are there no clues at all?"
Masaen shook his head gravely. "That is exactly why I came. I would like to request Lord Hokage to send ninjas skilled in intelligence gathering to assist our investigation. If they are still alive..."
Masaen hesitated, the weight of the situation pressing on him. "In short, we need to see them if they're alive, or see their corpses if they're dead."
"You suspect they were captured?"
"It is very likely, Lord Hokage. If they were taken to other places... in just ten years, a new Uchiha clan could appear elsewhere."
The Third realized the severity of the threat immediately. "Wait a moment. I will select suitable candidates from the Anbu right now."
Soon, Masaen left the Hokage's office with a squad of Anbu in tow.
No one noticed a single butterfly quietly fluttering away into a dark corner.
Gisei sat on a reclining chair in his yard, a thoughtful expression on his face.
It seems the matter has blown up a bit more than I expected. If I had known, I would have just left the three corpses behind.
Hmm... forget it. When they find the people, I'll just kill everyone. This time, I won't leave any clues for them.
Reika Uchiha hadn't eaten for a day and a night.
Ever since the news of her brother's disappearance reached Konoha, she had gone to the Police Force station and sat there without saying a word.
When people advised her to go home, she would just glare at them fiercely with her newly awakened single-tomoe Sharingan.
Sitting with her were over a dozen other Uchiha clansmen, all family members of the missing.
When Masaen arrived at the station with the Anbu and saw this scene, anger flashed across his face.
"Sitting here like this is disgraceful! Go home immediately! Whether they are dead or alive, I will find them!"
Seeing the Great Elder angry, the Police Force members quickly moved to forcibly escort the families away.
The station quieted down, leaving only one girl who refused to budge.
Reika held a shuriken to her own neck, her eyes burning with determination. "Elder, I want to go out and look for my brother."
Masaen frowned deeply. "Put down the shuriken. I said I would definitely find them."
"No! I must go look for him myself!"
Masaen was so angry his beard practically curled up. The Sharingan in his eyes spun slightly, and he cast a silent genjutsu.
How could the newly awakened Reika be a match for the Great Elder? She fell into the illusion before she could even react.
Masaen walked over and knocked her out with a swift chop to the neck.
"Watch her closely until there is news. Don't let her run around."
After arranging everything, Masaen personally led his clansmen and the Anbu squad out of Konoha.
Arriving at the incident location, they launched a massive search, even using genjutsu on the ordinary civilians of Asahi Town to extract information.
Soon, a portrait of a little girl fell into Masaen's hands.
Staring at the drawing, Masaen frowned tightly.
The little girl's dress and style were consistent with the folk fashion of the Land of Fire, but that didn't mean she was actually from here.
Moreover, no one in Asahi Town knew who she was. It was as if she had appeared out of thin air.
Everything about this situation reeked of a strange, ominous aura.