Ch.226 Eye Extraction

Night Owl's expression grew stern at once.

Besides the Byakugan-like X-ray vision, the Hogan also possessed a very mysterious, indescribable ability—a sort of danger sense!

This sense wasn't precise, nor could it be activated at will. Yet sometimes, it would strike out of the blue.

If one had to describe it, it would be like a sudden "premonition."

At this moment, Night Owl was experiencing just such a sense. He felt the impending threat of danger, a feeling he hadn't even had when Sasori and Deidara of the Akatsuki found him before.

"Everyone, be careful!"

After that warning, Night Owl immediately set down his injured subordinate and readied himself for battle.

The other two subordinates spread out slowly, adopting a combat formation.

Uchiha Shinji smiled faintly. "Since you don't want to lend it to me, I'll just take it myself!"

Swish.

In the blink of an eye, Uchiha Shinji moved!

He ignored the two subordinates on either side and used Body Flicker Technique to rush directly at Night Owl in the center.

"Attack!"

Almost at the same time Uchiha Shinji made his move, Night Owl shouted.

However, he himself did not attack as he'd just called out. Instead, while his two subordinates on either side lunged at Uchiha Shinji, Night Owl hurled a smoke bomb onto the ground. Taking advantage of the billowing smoke, he fled without looking back.

There was no doubt—

The moment he encountered Uchiha Shinji and sensed danger, he had decided to abandon all his subordinates and escape alone!

This decisive habit was precisely how he had repeatedly eluded Kirigakure's attempts to capture him.

"Damn it, those Akatsuki bastards set me up!" he cursed inwardly, glancing over his shoulder and thinking, "No matter how strong 'A' might be, those two should be able to hold him off for a while! Besides, this is Hidden Leaf territory—surely 'A' wouldn't dare…"

Just as he was planning how to get away, he suddenly froze.

Behind him, a golden skeletal figure burst out of the smoke. Moreover, each of its two bony arms was clutching one of his subordinates!

"How does he dare?!"

Night Owl's heart sank.

He had thought that, on Hidden Leaf's turf, "A" would have misgivings, but it turned out "A" did not follow the usual patterns. Right from the start, he unleashed the Mangekyō Sharingan dojutsu that everyone in the shinobi world had been gossiping about lately—Susanoo Tomoshibi.

And from the looks of it, the other side had clearly seen through his plan to sacrifice his subordinates and flee alone. "A" wasn't fooled by the smoke at all.

While Night Owl hesitated over whether to create an even bigger disturbance—drawing the Hidden Leaf shinobi in and sowing chaos so he could escape—

All of a sudden, a heart-rending pain shot through his legs. He staggered violently and crashed to the ground.

He lowered his head and realized both his legs had somehow been set alight by black flames.

"The Uchiha's Amaterasu?!"

Night Owl's eyes widened in disbelief.

He couldn't help wondering if he had some deep grudge against "A." Otherwise, why would "A" be so resolved to kill him, going so far as to burn dojutsu power, using Susanoo and Amaterasu straight away?

What kind of hatred was this?!

Arriving in front of Night Owl, Uchiha Shinji released Susanoo Tomoshibi and extinguished Amaterasu. He then tossed Night Owl's two subordinates to the ground.

Struggling to prop himself up, Night Owl said, "Y-You…what do you want to borrow? I'll give it to you. We can talk—anything you want!"

"See, wasn't that simpler?" Uchiha Shinji pointed to Night Owl and the subordinate beside him. "As long as you two remove your Hogan, I'll let you live."

"What?!"

Night Owl was taken aback.

As a dojutsu-bloodline shinobi, his Hogan had long been coveted by different factions. But he never expected that "A," who also possessed a dojutsu-bloodline—and one that clearly surpassed his own, the Mangekyō Sharingan—would covet his Hogan as well.

Night Owl's subordinate who also had the Hogan was equally stunned, face full of dread.

Uchiha Shinji said, "Not willing, huh? Then I'll do it myself."

Night Owl hastily raised a hand. "Wait, will you really let us go if we agree?"

Uchiha Shinji couldn't be bothered to answer. He simply closed in on Night Owl, a scalpel appearing with a swish, shining with a cold glint.

After weighing his options, Night Owl surrendered. "Fine, you want to borrow it, right? I'll lend you my eyes!"

Uchiha Shinji glanced at Night Owl without comment. He tore off Night Owl's mask and, neatly and efficiently, removed Night Owl's pair of Hogan.

Then, turning to the subordinate beside him who also possessed the Hogan:

Losing the Hogan would almost be like losing his life. But if he resisted, he wouldn't have any chance of surviving at all. Thus, that subordinate suppressed his instinct to fight back and obediently let Uchiha Shinji take his Hogan.

Placing both sets of eyes into the small nutrient jar he carried, Uchiha Shinji vanished from the spot in a flash.

"Phew…"

Night Owl and the others breathed a long sigh of relief, realizing Uchiha Shinji had truly departed.

Night Owl immediately began bandaging his wounded legs.

Because Uchiha Shinji had extinguished Amaterasu in time, his legs were only severely burned, not entirely ruined. After a bit of treatment, he could at least move with difficulty.

A subordinate who hadn't lost his eyes asked, "Boss, what do we do now?"

Night Owl didn't dare delay. He said in a low voice, "We retreat!"

Before long, the three of them—supporting one another—fled in the direction of the Hidden Leaf's outskirts.

Swish, swish, swish…

Moments after they left, Kakashi and a number of other jonin, accompanied by Sasuke—who insisted on following—arrived at the scene.

"There's a stench of blood."

"Mm. There must've been a battle here."

"From these footprints, it looks like that group escaped that way. Looks like at least one of them is injured—that lines up with what we know!"

With just a quick glance, several jonin had deduced the situation at the scene almost entirely.

Sasuke said anxiously, "What are we waiting for?! That group is extremely dangerous. If any other students run into them, it won't end well!"

Kakashi nodded. Leading the group, he followed the clues and resumed the pursuit.

Elsewhere in the Forest of Death:

In a wooded area near the central tower, Kimimaro's squad and Neji's squad stood facing each other.

With his Byakugan active, Neji asked, "Kimimaro, how many squads have you taken out?"

Kimimaro said calmly, "One interception team, plus four student squads. What about you?"

Neji replied, "Same here."

Listening to Neji and Kimimaro's conversation, Shion, Kurama Yakumo, Tenten, and Lee all felt incredibly tense.

This showdown had been long in coming, inevitable—

No one could stop it!

Just as the tension reached its peak, and it seemed like either side could make a move at any moment, three interception team members—leaning on each other for support—suddenly burst out of the nearby bushes.