Chapter 189: Crimson Night (Part 2)

Outside the Hokage Tower, beneath the "Unagiya" Tavern.

As the base for the First Squad, this place had become the temporary operational center for the Anbu after the Nine-Tails' attack.

Anbu members, each wearing a mask, gathered here. Most of them were injured and covered in dust.

During the Nine-Tails' rampage, every move it made stirred up massive chakra storms. Even the slightest contact with it could break bones and tear muscles. Although the Anbu were all elites, they couldn't possibly withstand such an attack head-on.

The wide secret chamber was unexpectedly quiet. A few minutes ago, Yuto had gone to the head office to retrieve the "Emergency Procedures Manual." The Anbu members were waiting for his return. Now, the five squad captains were either dead, lying in the Konoha Hospital, or searching for the Fourth Hokage on the surface. In short, the Anbu was leaderless and urgently needed someone to step forward.

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of footsteps echoed, and the Anbu members looked up, seeing the Commander who had been missing for two days.

Yuto Hyuga, dressed in a blood-red kimono and carrying a black scroll, calmly approached his subordinates.

"Commander..." A member wearing a monkey-face mask began to speak, but his voice abruptly caught in his throat.

In the center of the young Commander's Konoha forehead protector was a decisive cut.

The metal forehead protector wasn't particularly strong—any slightly stronger kunai could penetrate it. Yet, the shinobi of various villages still treasured it, believing it embodied the will that united their village. In Konoha, there were even shops dedicated to cleaning, polishing, and maintaining forehead protectors, and they did good business.

—This wasn't something to joke about.

"Commander." Naoto Hyuga swallowed a mouthful of saliva and forced a smile as he said, "Did you encounter the Nine-Tails outside the village? Your forehead protector has been cut. If people, like Danzo-sama, see it, they'll surely give you trouble again, haha..."

The tension eased suddenly, and many Anbu members laughed along with him.

However, the young Commander's next words sent his subordinates into a deep abyss.

"Naoto," Yuto shook his head. "How long are you going to play the ostrich? After Shinosuke and Meiko died, didn't you ever suspect me, even once? I even prepared a contingency plan for that. Your cowardice exceeds my expectations..."

Splat!

Yuto's figure vanished on the spot. In the next moment, the roaring Lion's Fang pierced Naoto.

'Hoh... hoh...' Naoto spat out large clots of blood and closed his eyes in pain.

"If you can't face the truth, then don't open your eyes again."

Yuto scoffed coldly, then said calmly, "Anyone who stands in my way will die!"

Yuto lunged at another Hyuga member, killing him in the blink of an eye, then sealed his body and most of his blood into the black scroll.

"The Commander has betrayed the village!"

"Report to the Hokage... No, both the Third and Fourth aren't here!"

"Stop him! In the name of the Will of Fire!"

Various ninjutsu techniques lit up the underground chamber, all aimed at the former Commander.

Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu...

Secret Technique: Parasitic Insects: Bug Devour...

Human Boulder...

If it were the Yuto everyone knew, he would surely have been flustered, and maybe even gravely injured if he wasn't careful.

As Yuto had expected, after his open betrayal of the village, the Anbu members' first reaction was to fight him.

Konoha had been established for fifty-one years, and it was the village where they were all born. Upon seeing a traitor, they naturally united against a common enemy, putting duty above personal feelings—this was indeed the Will of Fire.

'Such loyal subordinates...' Yuto sighed internally.

"But as shinobi, the moment you drew your kunai against me, you should have made up your minds..." He clapped his hands, and the power of the Half-Awakened Tenseigan erupted.

"Twin Serpent Strangulation!"

A field of crushing repulsive and attractive forces appeared, suddenly expanding outward, enveloping the attacking shinobi, and turning into a crimson massacre zone.

Yoshihiro Uchiha, Anbu Third Squad member, age 22, heart ruptured.

Erisa Aburame, Anbu Second Squad member, age 17, waist severed in half.

Sosuke Hyuga, Anbu Fifth Squad member, age 30, lower body ground to dust.

Kenichiro Takase, Anbu First Squad member, saved by Yuto from the hands of the Kirigakure Trio a year ago, age 19, bones shattered.

The duration of "Twin Serpent Strangulation" was 0.75 seconds.

Twenty-three Anbu members lost their lives, and sixteen were left with lifelong disabilities.

The results were remarkable.

Yuto spread his hands apart, stopping the technique after 0.75 seconds, his head aching.

The blood and bodies of the Hyuga clan members and other shinobi were mixed together. If he sealed them into the black scroll as they were, it would definitely contaminate the Hyuga clan's blood. Separating this stuff was quite a difficult task.

'Don't rush it, go slow and steady...' Yuto muttered to himself, delivering a Gentle Fist strike to a Hyuga clan member, then twisting his head 360 degrees to preserve the body intact. He then dodged an attack from another ordinary Anbu member from behind, knocking away the poisoned kunai, and slammed his right fist down, reducing them to a bloody mess.

Unbeknownst to him, the effect of "Twin Serpent Strangulation" had already scared many Anbu members out of their wits.

With one big move, he killed half of them. The power disparity was so overwhelming that it made them despair. Even more terrifying was that he wasn't satisfied and wanted to make a human fountain!

Shinobi were still human. Although they were called fighting machines, they could still feel fear.

Many could grit their teeth and fight for the village, but when faced with a much stronger opponent, anyone would question themselves.

—If I sacrifice myself, will it even matter? Dying in battle is honorable, but dying in vain won't benefit the village at all!

Moreover, Yuto was using God's Mask without hesitation, with the iconic Twin Serpents constantly coiling around him. Anyone could see that he was the famous Moon God.

Even when three Kage-level shinobi from different villages joined forces, they couldn't catch or kill this legendary shinobi... Dying at his hands would be utterly pointless.

Yuto didn't know what was going through the shinobi's minds. He was engrossed in killing and charged toward a female Anbu member.

The kunoichi didn't hesitate, drawing her kunai with a snap, kneeling on one knee, and pressing the tip of the blade against the ground while removing her mask.

Yuto halted his movement, tilting his head to look at her.

"It's Shiina..."

A year ago, on his first day as First Squad Captain, it was Shiina who reported the Kirigakure Trio's situation to him.

The Branch House youth grasped the kunoichi's chin, lifting her face as he sighed softly.

"You've become more beautiful, and you've grown stronger, becoming an excellent shinobi..."

Bam!

Yuto flicked the back of his hand across her face, sending her flying into the wall, where she spat out a mouthful of blood.

Yet, Shiina was still alive.

She was the first to survive an encounter with Yuto.

Clang, clang, clang... The sound of kunai dropping echoed from behind.

Yuto didn't turn around, standing calmly in place.

He knew it was the sound of kunai falling to the ground.

(End of Chapter)