Chapter 158: The Genius Magnetic Release Ninja's Curtain Call
Capturing enemy ninja for inhumane research wasn't anything rare. Moreover, compared to the Warring States period, this current era saw the Five Great Shinobi Villages gathering the vast majority of the shinobi world's strength. Any single Great Village possessed far more power than individual Warring States clans, making such activities increasingly professionalized.
Cloud ninja invested tremendous energy in this area. They weren't satisfied with their own Storm Release and Magnetic Release bloodline limits—they craved more, stronger bloodline limits. To this end, they exhausted every method to collect bloodline limits possessed by hostile shinobi villages.
Konoha's Byakugan and Sharingan were two of the legendary Three Great Dōjutsu. The Hyuga clan's Byakugan proved difficult to obtain due to Caged Bird Seal protection. By comparison, the seemingly more formidable Uchiha clan was actually easier to target—especially with powerful figures within Konoha hostile toward the Uchiha, even betraying clan intelligence to enemies to weaken their strength.
Therefore, Cloud ninja had acquired over ten Uchiha corpses these past two years. Though they'd yet to research any useful results, the number of Cloud ninja participating in this operation was genuinely substantial.
The deceased Thunder Beast Sawai was one such participant.
Beyond him, Deputy Commander Troy at the front-line camp was likewise a participant—or more precisely, he was the highest-ranking person responsible at the front. Thunder Beast Sawai had been dispatched by him to capture and hunt Uchiha Torajiro. When Konoha's front line briefly showed vulnerabilities, he'd judged that Sawai not only succeeded but apparently disrupted Konoha's defenses.
Troy had then believed it an excellent opportunity to pierce Konoha's defensive line. But due to Supreme Commander C's refusal, they hadn't seized that fleeting chance. Of course, one could also say they'd avoided Konoha's trap—Sawai's subsequent failure to return made Troy realize that "opportunity" he'd discovered might not have been an opportunity at all.
This dealt Troy no small blow. The village dispatched an emissary from the Raikage, but the visitor didn't come to discipline Commander C based on Troy's accusations. Instead, they praised C for possessing a great general's bearing and composure. This undoubtedly struck Troy an even greater blow, deflating his ambitions.
From the Raikage's emissary's attitude, Troy finally understood—not only did C lack desire to continue warring with Konoha, but the recently inaugurated Raikage likewise had no intention of erupting into conflict with them.
After comprehending all this, Troy realized this standoff would likely quietly conclude without fanfare someday. He became quite negligent. After all, he was merely deputy commander—as long as the supreme commander remained reliable, even if he neglected his duties, it wouldn't hinder the front-line camp's normal operations.
Thus, Troy simply let go, no longer managing camp affairs. Daily, he threw his energy into the training grounds, training and tempering his Magnetic Release bloodline limit. To avoid exposing his intelligence, every training ground in camp was equipped with barriers preventing others from spying.
Bang!
A massive diamond-shaped shuriken over a meter in diameter flew out, carving a strange arc through midair before heavily striking a wooden post at his side-front, splitting it in two before deeply embedding into the winter-hardened, iron-like earth.
Troy looked at the severed post and the diamond shuriken embedded fifty centimeters deep, satisfaction appearing on his face.
As expected—strengthening magnetic traction let thrown diamond shuriken unleash greater destructive power. His Magnetic Release bloodline limit's essence fundamentally remained magnetic force strength. Those Sunagakure people's sand techniques developed using Magnetic Release were complete heresy.
Unfortunately, Kumogakure and Sunagakure were too distant. Otherwise, he'd very much like to see how many pounds and ounces the Sand ninja's Magnetic Release possessed... Hmm?
His thoughts froze forcibly in this instant. The sound of footsteps came from the training ground entrance behind him.
Trouble!
He'd left guards outside the training ground before entering, instructing them not to disturb him without urgent matters. Now these unhurried footsteps obviously didn't belong to subordinates reporting emergencies.
He turned around.
As expected, what entered his vision wasn't a subordinate—nor any Cloud ninja from the camp. Instead, a black-haired middle-aged man with cold, merciless eyes, gloomy features, wearing black-gray Konoha old-style standard combat attire, his entire body exuding thick killing intent.
"Konoha ninja?"
Troy frowned, scrutinizing this unfamiliar man. Among the many Konoha powerhouses in his memory, no one matched this figure—though his bearing somewhat resembled Konoha's Shinobi of Darkness, the age obviously didn't match.
"You're from Shimura Danzo's clan? How did you infiltrate? What are you here to do? What deal does Danzo intend?" Watching the Konoha ninja before him, Troy remained composed, skillfully throwing out a series of questions.
However, his hand hidden behind his back subtly hooked, mobilizing chakra. The diamond shuriken embedded in the distant ground silently extracted from the iron-hard frozen earth, then suddenly erupted with shocking speed under magnetic traction, directly severing the Konoha ninja before him at the waist.
This training ground was his home turf.
Nearly every location contained his magnetic force. His Magnetic Release bloodline limit could utilize these magnetic forces to guide his specially-made diamond shuriken, attacking along inconceivable trajectories.
This Konoha ninja—who somehow infiltrated—obviously didn't understand this intelligence. Therefore... Hmm?
The smile just blooming at Troy's mouth corners froze as if caught by sudden late-spring cold.
Because the Konoha ninja severed at the waist by his diamond shuriken didn't spatter blood or spill messy entrails. Only dense fine white threads wriggled in midair, connecting and pulling upper and lower halves together. Then this Konoha ninja resembling the Shinobi of Darkness simply stood up again.
Troy's pupils sharply contracted. His heart felt chillingly dangerous aura. But he maintained composure without panicking, calmly analyzing. "Doesn't seem like a clone. A puppet? Or genjutsu?"
He couldn't help suspecting he'd fallen under genjutsu, instinctively disrupting his body's chakra flow. But the scene before him showed no changes.
Moreover, this Konoha ninja—possibly drawing his attention frontally—attacked.
Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere.
Wind spheres as sharp as bullets shot toward Troy. He stood without moving erratically. His finger lightly hooked—another diamond shuriken flew before him, precisely colliding with the incoming wind sphere, blocking this wave of attacks. Simultaneously, another diamond shuriken flew back, preparing to sever replica Danzo at the waist again.
Wind Release: Vacuum Blade.
Replica Danzo lacked thinking ability, but he possessed combat instincts cultivated through Danzo's lifetime hundreds of bloody battles. He drew out the kunai Uchiha Tatsuhata gave him. Wind Release chakra infused it, forming a blade sharp enough to cut iron like mud. He blocked the approaching diamond shuriken. However, the impact force of the magnetically accelerated shuriken proved truly powerful, forcibly pushing replica Danzo staggering five or six steps before barely stabilizing.
But this didn't signify an ending—only the attack's beginning.
As stated—this training ground was Troy's home turf. The reason he didn't immediately attempt escape or call for help after discovering Konoha ninja infiltration was his abundant self-confidence. On this ground, he absolutely wouldn't lose.
As Troy's five fingers moved, massive diamond shuriken rose into the air one after another, then erupted with shocking speed under magnetic traction. Speed reaching certain levels equaled destructive power.
Replica Danzo was cut into pieces by seven diamond shuriken.
Troy looked at replica Danzo's remains scattered across the ground, his gaze cold. "I refuse to believe you can still recover from this... Hmm?" His words remained incomplete—the shattered remains reconnected through Life Threads, fusing together once more.
This shouldn't be genjutsu. So was this Konoha ninja before him a puppet? Or did he master a secret technique like Kirigakure's Hōzuki clan Hydrification Technique, capable of negating physical attacks?
Troy's brain raced frantically.
However, intelligence remained too scarce for him to analyze the replica's true nature. Nevertheless, he silently extracted kunai and explosive tags from his ninja pouch. If merely cutting couldn't kill this humanoid monster, he'd try using explosive tags to blast it apart!
At this moment, a seemingly young male voice came from the training ground entrance. "Kumogakure's genius Magnetic Release ninja Troy—your abilities are truly impressive. Though replicas lack wisdom, steadily suppressing Shimura Danzo's replica proves your strength is quite formidable!"
Accompanying this voice, tiger-masked Uchiha Tatsuhata—leaving bloody footprints with each step—walked into the training ground.
"You again are... Hmm? Uchiha?"
Troy's question barely emerged before he glimpsed two points of crimson at the tiger mask's eye positions. His heart alarmed, he sharply lowered his head without daring another glance. Not making eye contact with Uchiha Sharingan was a universally acknowledged shinobi world iron law—only the Hyuga clan's Byakugan could disregard this rule.
Confusion filled his heart.
Though the training ground he used was located behind camp rather than within it, it shouldn't let Konoha ninja enter as if uninhabited territory! What the hell was that old bastard C doing?
Though his heart brimmed with confusion and dissatisfaction.
He understood clearly—since the opposition brought reinforcements, moreover Uchiha reinforcements, even occupying home turf advantage, the situation still began sliding in directions unfavorable to himself. Uchiha genjutsu threats were too tremendous. With companion cooperation, he wouldn't fear them. But now alone, once caught, his fate would most likely be certain death.
Troy lowered his gaze, demanding in a deep voice, "How did you infiltrate?"
While speaking to divert the opposing Konoha ninja's attention, he simultaneously exerted full effort controlling the seven diamond shuriken on scene, shooting toward the two figures ahead.
However—
Uchiha Tatsuhata possessed methods to defend against Troy's move.
Wood Release: Adamantine Recruiting Timber.
Thick, square timber erupted from the ground, colliding with the seven diamond shuriken. With tremendous force, it disrupted the shuriken's trajectories, flinging them all skyward.
At the same moment, replica Danzo beside him opened full fire.
Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere.
His chest first rose high before suddenly collapsing. His open mouth expelled high-pressure wind bullets like large-caliber grenades. Sensing this technique's formidability, Troy didn't dare block directly. Lightning flickered across his body—he used Lightning Release chakra to stimulate bodily cells, instantly erupting with shocking speed as he moved backward.
His reaction was fast enough, barely dodging the Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere bombardment. Simultaneously, he joyfully discovered three Cloud ninja appearing in the training ground, rapidly closing toward him.
However, when these three Cloud ninja approached, he suddenly discovered their expressions rigid and cold—they didn't even breathe through mouth or nose. Just like that unkillable Konoha ninja.
His heart alarmed.
The kunai in his hand shot out under magnetic traction at extreme speed, striking one person's head like a rifle bullet, blasting through with a penetrating wound. Inside were no blood or brains—only frantically wriggling pale threads.
"Monsters!"
Troy could barely hold composure at this moment.
Unable to maintain his previous ease and calm—because the number of Cloud ninja appearing around him increased, including many familiar faces. Subordinates he'd arranged to guard outside the training ground were unmistakably among them.
"Who exactly are you? What are you doing? Are you preparing to declare war on Kumogakure?"
Troy demanded loudly.
He exerted full effort controlling diamond shuriken to clear these encircling "Cloud ninja." But these replica Cloud ninja simply couldn't be killed—at minimum, such cutting damage proved meaningless.
"Wasn't it you Cloud ninja who first used our Uchiha corpses as research materials?"
Uchiha Tatsuhata looked coldly at Troy, his voice cruel. "This isn't declaring war—it's revenge!"
The instant these words fell, he shifted steps, changing positions, actively meeting Troy's unavoidably dodging line of sight. In just an eyeblink, he used genjutsu to capture this expert famous even within Kumogakure. Troy stood rigidly in place like a wooden post, motionless.
Immediately after, Tatsuhata raised his hand, releasing dense pale Life Threads. Like old tree roots, they deeply embedded into Troy's body, beginning to copy his chakra.
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