Chapter 161: Acting

The setting sun.

The afterglow of the setting sun fell on Ye Cang, making her entire demeanor become more otherworldly.

Adding her well-proportioned figure and above-average height, Ye Cang now resembled a goddess.

Such a goddess standing before him made this young man from the Sand Ninja Village feel flustered, which is hardly surprising.

"Were you attacked just now by those shadow clones?"

She merely glanced casually at the wounded comrade being carried on her teammate's back, didn't think much of it, and casually asked about the situation then.

This enemy was extremely cunning, continuously releasing shadow clones while fleeing to scatter their manpower and attention.

Although this trick is old-fashioned, it's very effective; otherwise they wouldn't have spent so much time without catching the opponent.

"I'm terribly sorry! The attack came too suddenly, so we didn't even get a clear look at the enemy… but we were ambushed in a place five li northwest of here."

"Is that so?"

Regarding himself and his teammate, this Sand Ninja Chunin felt deeply ashamed of their clumsy performance when facing the enemy.

Especially seeing their disheveled state witnessed by such a goddess made him even more uneasy.

"How is the wounded person's condition?"

"It's nothing serious; just hit by the enemy's genjutsu, making movement a bit inconvenient for now~"

Facing her questions, he could say he held nothing back, speaking fully; moreover, she was also concerned about his teammate's injury.

"Genjutsu?"

After carefully looking at the silhouette being carried on her teammate's back, Ye Cang didn't say much, just waved her hand, indicating they could leave.

This nameless enemy was also a known bloodline ninja, which she already knew. When she first caught up to the enemy's shadow clone and saw his eyes, she realized he was the famous Uchiha clan of the Ninja World.

Moreover, his genjutsu was truly not to be underestimated; at that time, a single shadow clone almost caused her significant injury, and if she hadn't been a jonin with considerable skill, she would have fallen for his trick.

She never expected him to be so cunning that even now his true form had not appeared.

"You can't escape…"

By now, he had continuously produced about twenty shadow clones. In her estimate, he must be exhausted at this point.

Looking at his figure, he still seemed very young, maybe thirteen or fourteen. Using this ninjutsu so frequently, in her view, was nothing more than drinking poison to quench thirst.

"I estimate he wants to drag things out until night; that way, this area would be even more suitable for him to hide his presence…"

His intention should be just that, but if he drags it into night, it wouldn't be good news for these search personnel.

We need to seize the time!

After simulating his intentions in her mind, Ye Cang didn't linger there, turned and re-entered the forest, heading northwest.

She didn't even bother exchanging greetings with the chunin she had just spoken to; her reason for talking earlier was mainly to see if he had any useful intel, and also to check him out…

Since she'd finished asking, she of course hurried back to resume hunting the enemy!

She left behind nothing but a pleasing back view…

"She really is a rare great beauty…"

Just as that chunin was still immersed in her silhouette and beauty, a voice came from behind him.

"You're awake, Xiangtian!"

"What beauty! Don't talk nonsense…"

His companion's first words upon waking were so blunt that this chunin momentarily felt extremely embarrassed.

He actually woke up already; weren't all of his earlier embarrassing actions seen by him! He hurriedly denied it vehemently~

"You dare to act but not to admit! Coward…"

"Xiangtian! You bastard…"

He felt his companion seemed somewhat different from before, but he couldn't tell exactly how for a while~

Indeed, this wounded sand ninja was none other than Dong Shilang in disguise, just as Ye Cang had guessed; at this point Dong Shilang was already exhausted.

Not to mention his own fatigue, even his chakra was severely depleted~

Left with no choice, he decided to risk attacking this ninja squad while disguising himself as a sand ninja to blend in.

This way he could rest as a wounded soldier, giving himself a chance to catch his breath.

But doing so undoubtedly raised the risk greatly; if discovered, he would very likely fall into a deadly trap.

Just like when Ye Cang approached earlier, which frightened Dong Shilang badly; if she noticed anything, he would be in danger.

By then, it wouldn't just be Ye Cang he'd have to face; the surrounding sand ninjas searching for his whereabouts would swarm over him like sharks smelling blood.

Fortunately, the target he chose was relatively short in stature, making it easy for him to disguise; otherwise, he would have been in danger just now.

When Ye Cang came over just now, it wasn't just a simple inquiry about their conditions; part of the reason was to check whether they had any catnip.

Check whether they showed any signs of transformation techniques or the like…

After attacking that squad, Dong Shilang used genjutsu on the chunin carrying him, planting a suggestion that made him mistakenly believe the person on his back was his own comrade.

Moreover, the injured persona he impersonated resembled Dong Shilang by eighty to ninety percent, and with his own disguise, that was enough to fool Ye Cang.

He was betting that she wasn't very familiar with the role he was playing.

As more and more sand ninjas from nearby gathered, the units here became increasingly mixed; many sand ninjas only had a vague impression of each other.

Furthermore, they couldn't detect any abnormality in the chunin carrying him.

This is also why Dong Shilang chose to give a suggestion rather than directly control him with a Sharingan.

Directly controlling him with a Sharingan would likely be noticed by perceptive ninjas, whereas a mere suggestion would normally go undetected.

Still, when Ye Cang approached, he was extremely nervous.

If it weren't for his long-term cultivation of immortal techniques, giving him control far beyond ordinary people, he would surely have given himself away on the spot.

Thanks to Kishimoto, and also the future crown prince…

If it weren't for them, I would be in danger today…