As the sun set, several bonfires were lit in the central clearing of the Chinoike settlement.
The flickering firelight danced on the faces of the gathered clansmen, casting shadows that accentuated their anxious or confused expressions.
Momoe Chinoike stood in the center of the crowd, the unconscious assassin still lying at her feet. She scanned her clansmen, her voice exceptionally grim. "Take a good look at this face. Does anyone recognize him?"
A commotion stirred through the crowd, discussions rising and falling.
Night, hidden on a distant rock face, had his Mind's Eye of the Kagura fully active, carefully sensing the emotional fluctuations of every individual.
Just then, an elder with white hair and beard walked forward tremblingly. His gaze lingered on the assassin's face for a long time, his suspicious look gradually turning into certainty.
"Matriarch... this person... this person seems to be Kentaro, who tried to escape Hell Valley three years ago."
The elder's voice was full of disbelief. "He lived right next door to me. I remember that scar on the back of his hand. But..."
He paused, his tone becoming even stranger. "When he tried to escape back then, he was discovered by the Uchiha patrol. I saw with my own eyes a ninja sword pierce his heart. His corpse was dragged away."
These words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake. The crowd exploded instantly.
"How can a dead person come back to life? Elder, are you mistaken?"
"Could it be a conspiracy by the Uchiha clan to frame us?"
"Or perhaps... a vengeful spirit returning?"
Momoe frowned tightly. She crouched down and loosened the assassin's clothes.
His torso was covered in crisscrossing scars. On the back of his hand, the faint trace of an old injury was indeed visible.
"Kentaro?"
She tried calling the name. However, the assassin on the ground showed no reaction. His eyes were empty and lifeless, like a shell without a soul.
Night narrowed his eyes in the darkness.
His sensory perception told him that although this "Kentaro's" chakra shared the same origin as the Chinoike, it felt forcibly infused, not fully compatible with the body.
Even more bizarre was that he couldn't sense any mental fluctuations from the man. It was like a walking corpse.
"Listen to me, everyone."
Momoe stood up, her voice carrying unquestionable authority. "Until this matter is clarified, no one is allowed to leave this clearing.
I will personally search everyone's living quarters to see if anyone is truly hiding suicide soldiers, or if someone is framing us..."
Her gaze was like a knife, slowly sweeping over everyone present. "But if I find someone playing tricks in the dark..."
Before she finished speaking, Night keenly caught an anomaly from a young clansman in the crowd.
Upon hearing "search living quarters," the man's pupils constricted violently, and his right hand unconsciously reached for his chest.
Although he quickly regained his composure, that moment of panic didn't escape Night's senses.
---
Meanwhile, in the Uchiha camp, Yashiro finally found Hachitsutsu at a remote outpost.
"What exactly are you plotting?"
Yashiro got straight to the point, the three tomoe in his Sharingan spinning slowly. "Concealing intel about the Cloud envoy—this is a serious violation of the Uchiha's stance."
Hachitsutsu kept his back to Yashiro, looking toward the distant Chinoike settlement. His tone was calm. "Everything I do is for the benefit of the Uchiha."
"Benefit? Bowing and scraping to lead the Cloud envoy into Hell Valley—is that what you call benefit?"
Hachitsutsu turned slowly, a meaningful smile on his face. "Do you really think I would let these lunatics of the Chinoike return to the Cloud?"
He took a step forward, lowering his voice. "Once the Chinoike return to the ninja world, with the Cloud's support, they will inevitably become a formidable rival to the Uchiha.
I'm merely... delaying that process slightly."
Yashiro narrowed his eyes. "That assassin—you arranged it?"
"Does it matter?"
Hachitsutsu chuckled lightly. "What matters is that the Cloud's trust in the Chinoike has been shaken.
As long as a few more 'accidents' happen within these three days, this recruitment will naturally come to nothing."
"You're playing with fire! If the Cloud finds out..." Yashiro said coldly.
"They won't find out. I have my arrangements."
Hachitsutsu interrupted him. "Besides, this doesn't conflict with Konoha's interests, does it?"
Yashiro fell silent for a moment. Indeed, from the village's perspective, preventing the Chinoike's return to the Cloud aligned with Konoha's interests.
But he felt Hachitsutsu's motives were far from that simple.
---
Just as Momoe began leading the team to search the residences, that specific Chinoike clansman slipped out of the clearing while no one was watching. He was a marginalized figure, so no one paid him special attention.
Night moved silently among the rock faces, his Mind's Eye of the Kagura firmly locked onto the young clansman acting suspiciously.
In front of a hidden crevice, the young man stopped. After looking around nervously, he took a scroll from his chest.
"Looks like I caught a fish..." Night shook his head in the darkness. He hadn't expected it to be this easy.
Just as the young man prepared to place the scroll, Night appeared behind him like a ghost.
"It's so late. Why aren't you continuing with the clan meeting?"
The young man trembled in fright, nearly dropping the scroll.
He whirled around, crimson flashing in his eyes. The next second, his Ketsuryūgan activated instantly.
But how could Night be unprepared? His movements were faster. A golden bone chain shot out like a viper, precisely wrapping around the man's throat.
The sealing power imbued in the Yomotsu Hone instantly halted his chakra flow, making even breathing difficult.
"I suggest you calm down."
Night's voice remained even. "After all, I don't mind adding a pair of Ketsuryūgan to my collection."
The young man's Ketsuryūgan gradually dimmed, and a look of despair appeared on his face.
Night picked up the scroll from the ground and gently unrolled it.
"Don't... please..." the young man choked out through his constricted throat.
Night ignored him. As his gaze swept over the scroll's contents, his pupils contracted slightly.
"I see. No wonder you were willing to hide your awakened Ketsuryūgan and continue living at the bottom rung, even when you could have elevated your status."
The scroll recorded a list of missing Chinoike clansmen over the years. It even included deceased clansmen whose graves had been dug up.
At the end of the scroll, he was urging the other party to let him defect tomorrow, asking them to use an excuse to "kill" him so he could leave this prison completely.
Although the scroll implied a single-line connection without direct evidence pointing to the mastermind, in Hell Valley, there was only one person with enough influence to pull this off. It was practically an open hand.
He murmured softly, "This is interesting. Even more spectacular than I imagined."
The night wind picked up, and undercurrents surged in Hell Valley.
The three-day countdown continued, and the truth hidden behind the scenes was surfacing bit by bit.
Night looked at the lights of the Uchiha camp in the distance. He was curious to see just how skilled his opponent truly was.