"Watch out!!"
Seeing a dozen more comrades killed by Yu in the blink of an eye, the remaining black-clad ninjas around were shaken, and the coordinated attack formation finally showed signs of panic.
"Watch out? Is watching out useful..."
As the countless brilliant black lightning gradually dissipated from the air, Yu's Observation Haki locked onto the remaining twenty or so black-clad ninjas who were retreating hastily. A disdainful curve formed at the corner of Yu's mouth.
"Sage Art: Bringer of Darkness Jutsu!!"
Utilizing the little Senjutsu Chakra left in his body, Yu quickly formed seals. All the black-clad ninjas retreating suddenly felt darkness enveloping them, as if they were instantly plunged into the Six Paths of Reincarnation, surrounded by endless darkness.
There was no light, no direction. For a moment, even distinguishing up from down, left from right became difficult. The ultra-high-level Genjutsu Bringer of Darkness Jutsu, fueled by Senjutsu Chakra, not only had a larger range but also thoroughly deprived the opponents of their sight, causing the group of black-clad ninjas to become disoriented, revealing all their vulnerabilities.
"It's a Genjutsu!!"
"Everyone inject Chakra into each other to disrupt his Genjutsu!!"
After all, they were elite assassins sent by the Hidden Cloud. As soon as they fell into Yu's Genjutsu, someone immediately proposed a method to break free. However, even after injecting Chakra into their companions, they were horrified to find that they still couldn't escape the darkness before their eyes.
"Do you think this is just an ordinary Genjutsu..."
Seeing the black-clad ninjas around him trying to disrupt their own Chakra to break free from the Genjutsu, Yu's face flashed with a subtle mockery. "This is a Genjutsu used with Senjutsu Chakra. How could it be so easy for you to break free?!"
Although his Sage Art: Bringer of Darkness Jutsu, fueled by Senjutsu Chakra, couldn't yet completely immobilize the enemies like the ultimate Genjutsu, Sage Art Illusion:Toad Confrontation Chant, and kill them within the Genjutsu, it could at least drag an entire group of enemies into his Genjutsu simultaneously. And they would be unable to break free for a short time, rendering them helpless and vulnerable to his attacks.
"Ah!!"
Under the chilling moonlit night, a few crows screamed as they flew by, leaving behind over twenty black-clad ninjas lying lifeless on the ground.
"As expected..."
After rendering the opponents helpless in the dark Genjutsu, Yu effortlessly disposed of them using the abilities of the Thread Fruit. After removing the mask of one of the black-clad ninjas in front of him, Yu indeed saw the dark face unique to the Hidden Cloud Ninja Village.
"I didn't expect that after thwarting their plan to steal the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, those Cloud Ninja would still act so arrogantly and recklessly..."
After confirming that today's batch of assassins targeting him were all from the Hidden Cloud in the Land of Lightning, a chilling light gleamed in Yu's eyes under the moonlit night. "It seems necessary to take some time to pay a visit to Hidden Cloud next. Let these arrogant folks get a taste of hell..."
With his mind made up, a smile crept onto Yu's lips. Ignoring the scattered bodies of the fallen Cloud Ninja around him, he turned and left.
"Clap, clap, clap..."
But just as Yu turned around, he heard a round of applause coming from the side, instantly causing a tremor in his heart.
As he refocused his gaze, he saw a ninja slowly emerging from the moonlit forest nearby, a face he didn't expect to see.
"Shisui?!"
After clearly recognizing the person, Yu couldn't help but freeze. It was someone he hadn't seen in a long time. Clad in deep blue ninja attire, Shisui Uchiha bore on his back not only a short sword but also the emblem of the Uchiha Clan - the flaming fan of Konoha.
The person standing before him was none other than Uchiha Shisui, and he had appeared before Yu at this time and place without any warning, not even detected by his Observation Haki.
"Long time no see, Yu. You've gotten stronger again."
Appearing as if he hadn't noticed the surprise on Yu's face, Shisui, walking out from the trees, wore the familiar gentle smile that Yu knew so well. However, behind that smile seemed to carry an inexplicable weariness and resignation.
"Long time no see, Shisui."
"How come you're here?"
Not understanding why Shisui would suddenly appear here, Yu stared at his friend, one of the few he had in Konoha, with some astonishment.
"Since the last time you left Konoha..."
"I've been wanting to talk to you, but I never got the chance."
Shisui said with a smile, his slightly curled black hair still the same as before, but he seemed to have matured a bit more. A pair of bloody red Three Tomoe Sharingan flashed with an inexplicable brilliance in the moonlit night.
"If you're here to persuade me to go back... then forget about it."
"You're my only friend in Konoha... I don't want this matter to affect our relationship."
Looking at Shisui, who had suddenly appeared here in a very strange manner, Yu had already guessed his intentions.
"I guess nothing gets past you..."
"If I hadn't arrived too late when you left Konoha, I would have stopped you."
Seeing Yu instantly discern his intentions, Shisui wore a slight bitter smile.
"It's no use. No one can change my decision."
"Even if you were there at the time, the outcome wouldn't have been any different from now."
Listening to Shisui's words, Yu just shook his head silently, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. "What actually intrigues me more is... how did you manage to avoid my perception and appear here?"
According to common sense, his Observation Haki, now at the second stage, was enough to cover the entire forest here. It was impossible for anyone to evade his perception and approach silently.
"Heh, I naturally used special methods to evade your perception."
Sensing Yu's resolute attitude, Shisui appeared even more helpless. "With your status and prospects in Konoha, there's really no need for all this..."
"As for the incident involving miss Nono, we all know about it. It was indeed a mistake on Konoha's part, but Third Hokage sama also had his reasons, given the circumstances..."
"Enough! Let's not bring up this matter again!!"
Hearing Shisui suddenly mention Nono, Yu couldn't help but subconsciously tighten his fist. Unknowingly, his tone became heavier, and he directly interrupted Shisui, who seemed to want to continue speaking. The sharp gaze even made Shisui want to evade.
"If you came here today just to tell me these things, then you can leave now!"
Seeing Yu's somewhat agitated emotions, Shisui fell silent. On the grassland outside the forest, the atmosphere sank into a dead silence.
"In fact... Lord Third has always been very concerned about you."
After a moment, Shisui spoke again, breaking the silence. "You were the student he made an exception for in his later years. Even outsiders can see the effort and expectations he invested in you, which are unimaginable to anyone."
Hearing Shisui mention Third, Yu didn't interrupt him. He just silently listened, his thoughts involuntarily recalling Third's care for him bit by bit in the past in Konoha.
"And when I was on an ANBU guard mission, I inadvertently overheard several Elders in Konoha mention that Third Hokage-sama had already put you on the list of candidates for the Fifth Hokage a long time ago."
Shisui carefully organized his words, looking at Yu and speaking deliberately, "So if none of these things had happened, and you hadn't left Konoha, perhaps you would already be the Fifth Hokage of Konoha by now..."
----
Support me on patreon for More advanced chapters up to 50 so far patreon.com/DemonWriter