"You think I would tell you?"
Even heavily injured to this extent, Ninja One still sneered weakly.
The three tomoe in Xuan's eyes spun as he sneered, "You are also a secret ninja of my Uchiha clan. You should know the effects of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. I advise you to just spit it out."
Hmph!
Ninja One's reaction was clear.
Clenching his right fist, he threw a punch with the last of his strength at Xuan's face, only for Xuan to effortlessly catch it.
Crack...
Ah!...
The crisp sound of fractured hand bones rang out.
Ninja One let out a miserable shriek before Xuan brought his knee up hard into his stomach. The man's voice abruptly cut off as he curled up, clutching his stomach and violently coughing up large mouthfuls of blood.
"It seems there's no need for us to keep talking," Xuan said indifferently.
He grabbed the man by his hair, forcing him to look directly into his eyes as the Three-Tomoe Sharingan began to slowly spin.
"It was... it was the Clan Head's orders. He demanded that you die during this mission."
Ninja One hastily confessed.
He knew the power of the Sharingan and did not want to be hypnotized, fearing what else he might reveal under its control.
"As expected... is that so!"
Releasing Ninja One's hair, Xuan murmured.
He couldn't quite describe the feeling in his heart right now.
Sadness? Not quite.
Disappointment? Perhaps.
No matter what, he had been raised by that man in this life, and they at least shared the title of uncle and nephew. Even though he had expected this, having it actually confirmed still brought about a sense of melancholy.
Since you truly want to get rid of me, then whatever happens from now on, don't blame me...
In his heart, Xuan severed the final thread of his illusions regarding Uchiha Tajima.
His eyes narrowed, and within those blood-red pupils, his killing intent was completely undisguised.
"Why..."
"Hm?"
Xuan cast a questioning glance at Ninja One, who was slumped weakly against the tree roots.
"Why did you cause the Uchiha clan to suffer such disastrous losses in this operation? Don't you know that doing so will throw the Northern situation into complete chaos, and then the Uchiha will be dragged into the quagmire of war?"
Xuan revealed an amused expression and said playfully, "To think that someone who isn't an Uchiha clansman is actually so loyal to the Uchiha. Why? Then tell me first, why did you want to kill me? Am I not the hope of the Uchiha clan's next generation?"
Ninja One endured the agonizing pain in his body while secretly gathering Chakra.
Wanting to stall for time through conversation, he said with a firm tone, "Because it was an order from the Clan Head. The Clan Head's orders are above all else."
Xuan's face was smiling, yet his gaze was incredibly cold.
"Clan Head? In a few years, he won't be anymore."
Hearing the chill in Xuan's tone, Ninja One's mind trembled violently.
He cried out weakly in shock, "What, don't tell me you want to... Impossible, with your current strength, you absolutely cannot threaten the Clan Head."
As he said this, an inexplicable sense of unease washed over him.
The opponent's strength was worlds apart from their own secret ninja group.
Out of the five of them, four were already dead, leaving only him lingering on his last breath, and from the looks of it, he could follow in their footsteps at any moment.
Thinking of this, he intensified his efforts to gather Chakra.
Just a little more, just a little more.
As long as it's enough to release one Ninjutsu. I must drag him down with me. His continued existence is simply too dangerous.
Xuan crouched down, bringing himself to eye level, and said calmly, "I've actually always firmly believed that this world is very fair. For every gain, there is a loss; for every cause, there is an effect. Since Uchiha Tajima wanted to scheme and kill me, he should have been prepared to suffer the total annihilation of his forces. Of course, I'm guessing he never accounted for such a scenario."
Looking into the man's terrified, despairing eyes, Xuan chuckled softly.
He found that he truly possessed the potential to be a villain; at the very least, he thoroughly enjoyed this feeling of playing with someone in the palm of his hand.
"By the way, what does one plus one equal?"
Xuan suddenly asked out of nowhere.
Ninja One was momentarily confused, not understanding why the other party would suddenly ask this.
However, he needed to gather his Chakra right now; in just a few more seconds, he could unleash a mutual-destruction Ninjutsu.
So, he still opened his mouth to answer.
"It equals two."
Slash!
Suddenly, a cold flash of light swept past.
Ninja One only felt his entire body go light, as if his whole person were floating up.
Then, he saw Uchiha Xuan maintaining a sword-swinging posture, and a headless corpse in front of him.
Only then did he realize that he really was floating, but not his whole body.
Only his head.
I can't accept this!
Just one more second, just one more second and my Ninjutsu could have activated!
With a thud, the head full of indignation fell in the distance, rolling a few times before landing on the dead leaves.
A gust of wind blew past, and the raging fire spread, swallowing his head completely.
"You knew too much."
Xuan sheathed his sword with a smooth flair and joked, then added, "Gathering Chakra at such close range in front of a Sharingan, truly hilarious. The rumor that people gain an IQ boost right before they die is indeed untrustworthy."
Putting away the Tianyun Sword, Xuan only felt his mood lighten.
The surrounding forest, after all this time, had already turned into a sea of flames.
The fire spread right to his feet, but he paid it no mind.
Well, now that all five secret ninjas have been finished off, and Uchiha Dou has lost an arm, the fate of those two peak Jonin is unknown.
The entire Uchiha Northern region has descended into chaos, and they fundamentally lack the strength to suppress the Twelve-Family Alliance.
I now have a sufficient reason to stay.
However, according to Uchiha Tajima's personality, after receiving this news, he will definitely fly into a rage and likely come over personally, sword in hand, to kill.
That won't do.
If he comes over and sees me living so comfortably, he'll definitely be suspicious.
That wouldn't be a good thing.
Hmm, right now, to keep him from coming over, there's probably only one way...
Xuan stroked his chin in thought.
After thinking for a while, he nodded.
His left and right Sharingan spun, and space rippled, forming a vortex from his left eye that sucked him in.
In a forest about a mile or two outside Xin City, the Uchiha's border city in the North, space fluctuated as a figure gradually emerged from the void and materialized.
Xuan looked at Xin City in the distance.
After a moment of thought, he stabbed his sword right into his own shoulder.
The sudden pain made him bare his teeth and wince.
A deep wound appeared on his shoulder, blood flowing freely.
Thinking it still wasn't enough, he added another sword strike to his arm.
After waiting two hours, when the horizon was beginning to brighten, he finally limped unsteadily toward Xin City.
Uchiha Dou had lost an entire arm; if he went back without a single scratch, it would be a miracle if they didn't suspect him.
As he approached Xin City, Uchiha ninjas naturally leaped down.
Xuan had already stayed here for three days, so these people recognized him.
An Uchiha Jonin asked in surprise, "Xuan, what happened to you? Where is Lord Dou?"
Xuan took a step forward and said, "We were screwed over by those three petty families. We fell into an ambush by the Twelve-Family Alliance and suffered heavy casualties. Lord Dou broke through the barrier and escaped, but his current whereabouts are unknown."
As he spoke, he secretly used Chakra to stimulate his insides, immediately coughing up a mouthful of blood.
The effect was incredibly realistic.
The Uchiha Jonin was greatly shocked and hurriedly shouted, "Quick, someone help Xuan inside to rest! Someone, go find the Elite Jonin! Quickly send people out to search for Lord Dou's whereabouts!"
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