Tenshin and Kakashi walked in step behind Fugaku, and before long, they arrived at a courtyard.
Along the way, they passed many beautiful, well-endowed young women, much to Tenshin's delight as he took in the view.
As they strolled through the corridor, admiring the lush greenery of flowers, plants, and trees in the courtyard, they couldn't help but feel at peace.
While scanning the surroundings, Tenshin's eyes suddenly caught sight of a girl perched on a distant windowsill, looking down at the courtyard from above.
At that moment, their eyes met. However, due to the girl's natural shyness, she quickly turned and left the windowsill.
Tenshin, though, was taken aback, lost in thought.
If he wasn't mistaken, the girl's hair was a deep green, with orange bangs framing her cheeks.
Such a unique hair color, combined with the fact that this mission involved Sunagakure, could it be her?
A fleeting image of a certain someone crossed Tenshin's mind. Though he felt it might be a stretch, he decided it was worth mentioning.
With a wistful sigh, he looked at the beautiful courtyard and said, "Big brother, I miss home."
Fugaku turned to him with a warm smile. "Don't worry, we'll be heading back soon."
As he spoke, Fugaku gave Tenshin a subtle nod, acknowledging his concern.
Kakashi glanced at Tenshin, puzzled. Although Tenshin's words were part of their prearranged signal indicating a possible situation, Kakashi couldn't sense anything unusual.
Still, trusting Tenshin completely, he immediately became alert, prepared for any sudden combat.
The beautiful woman leading them noticed the exchange but assumed it was just a child missing home and smiled without saying a word.
They continued walking, gradually leaving the courtyard and heading into a quieter, more secluded back yard.
When they arrived, the woman didn't stop. She led them into the largest house in the area.
At this point, both Tenshin and Kakashi's senses were at their peak, though the woman showed no unusual behavior.
She stood by the door, assessing the surroundings. Once she confirmed no one was watching, she quickly shut the door behind them.
Moving to a corner, she activated a hidden mechanism and retrieved a scroll.
She held the scroll with both hands and respectfully approached Fugaku, bowing slightly. "This contains the intelligence gathered on Sunagakure over the past six months. Please, take a look."
Fugaku took the scroll without hesitation and unrolled it. To his shock, the word "Explosion" was boldly written on the parchment.
Reacting instantly, Fugaku threw the scroll back toward the woman and shouted, "It's a trap, retreat!"
The woman, clearly not expecting them to be prepared, reacted too late as the scroll flew back to her.
With a loud "boom!" the woman was sent flying, her graceful form disintegrating into a bloody mess.
In the same instant, Tenshin and Kakashi dashed forward, slamming open the door and charging into the open backyard.
Fugaku followed closely behind, and the three of them quickly spread out.
But as they stood their ground, a chilling murderous intent filled the air.
Looking around, they saw over a dozen ninjas perched on the surrounding rooftops, all of them staring down at them with intent to kill.
So it was Sunagakure after all. Tenshin gritted his teeth, his face grim as he drew his short blade.
Kakashi did the same, fully aware of the imminent danger.
Fugaku activated his three-tomoe Sharingan without hesitation, observing the ninjas surrounding them.
"Uchiha, huh? Looks like this ambush is going to be a real payday," a low voice echoed, brimming with confidence.
The three of them turned their attention to the voice, finding a young man standing in the center of the group, likely under twenty years old.
"Seems like there's no escaping now. Get ready to fight for your lives," Fugaku said coldly, exuding a dangerous aura.
Sensing Fugaku's killing intent, the young leader of the Sunagakure ninjas furrowed his brow and turned to two of his companions. "You two come with me. We'll take down the Uchiha."
Without another word, he raised his voice, shouting, "Kill!"
In an instant, the ninjas on the rooftops leaped down, charging with murderous intent toward Tenshin and the others.
The leading Sunagakure ninja lunged at Fugaku, flanked by two others, surrounding him.
Meanwhile, Tenshin and Kakashi split up, each facing off against several enemies.
The battle was about to erupt, with Fugaku engaged in a fierce clash with the three Sunagakure ninjas, creating intense shockwaves.
Tenshin, however, kept his focus on the four ninjas surrounding him, his Sharingan locked onto the most remarkable of them.
"Swish, swish, swish!" A volley of shuriken suddenly rained down from all sides, aiming to encircle him.
But the Sharingan's power fully revealed itself in that moment. Tenshin easily tracked the shuriken's paths and swiftly blocked every single one with his short blade.
However, just as he thought he had the situation under control, a blazing fireball shot toward him, its intense heat threatening to evaporate his very blood.
So it's you, Pakura!
Tenshin's eyes narrowed as he spotted the girl with the unique hair color. His gaze flashed, and he swiftly dodged the incoming fireball.
This wasn't an ordinary fireball. It was a special nature technique—Scorch Release!
If it struck, the fireball wouldn't just burn him; it would vaporize all the moisture in his body, turning him to ash.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Tenshin decided not to hold back any longer. He instantly activated every last ounce of power within his Demon Hand ability.
With a burst of speed, Tenshin surged forward, swinging his short blade as he charged toward the three Sunagakure ninjas and Pakura.
Clearly, they weren't afraid of him. They immediately rushed to meet him, with Pakura herself launching another fireball in his direction.
In the split second before their clash, Tenshin deftly dodged Pakura's attack and thrust his short blade toward the other Sunagakure ninjas.
After a brief exchange, Tenshin's tension began to ease.
He realized the ninjas surrounding him weren't as formidable as he had feared. Pakura was indeed the strongest among them, a mid-level ninja at most, while the others were just low-ranking ninjas.
It dawned on him that he had perhaps overestimated the strength of Sunagakure.
After all, this was just a basic ambush, and it would make no sense for Sunagakure to deploy elite ninjas for something as trivial as this.
Even though Sunagakure had suffered heavy losses in the Second Shinobi World War, they could hardly afford to waste top-tier ninjas on an insignificant trap like this.
Just as Tenshin let his guard down, a loud shout suddenly echoed throughout the entire courtyard.
"Magnet Release: Sand Gold Tomb!"
In an instant, all the Sunagakure ninjas jumped to the rooftops, watching the scene unfold.
The next moment, countless grains of sand, golden in color, erupted from the corners of the walls, flowing like a waterfall with immense pressure, headed straight for Tenshin and the others.