Chapter 179: Pursuing Jiaodu

"That's all. By the Hokage's order, I am taking over Jonin Shiliuye's mission, and Jonin Shiliuye will lead a team to hunt down Jiaodu."

On the Tōkaidō, at Shangcun Yizhi's small residence, the Uchiha Jonin who received the task from Shisui arrived with Itachi and two others, found Shiliuye, and relayed the information piece by piece.

"Jiaodu, hm, finally found him? I see. Betting the Uchiha's reputation, I won't let him leave the Fire Country alive."

Shiliuye said in a somewhat cold tone, then glanced at the other three.

"But what are those three following us for?"

The three were kids; the two older ones weren't dressed as Jonin, so they could only be mid‑rank ninjas. Shiliuye didn't know those two at all—no impression of them—so they were most likely not Uchiha.

The other, who didn't even have a forehead protector, was Itachi Uchiha; he did know something: Fugaku's son, the prodigy Shisui favored, possibly the next clan head.

"This is a team the Hokage assembled on short notice, but the Hokage values them highly. Before departing, he instructed that Jonin Shiliuye will be their leading Jonin from now on."

"What?"

Shiliuye was startled; he had been a leading Jonin before, but only led Chunin, all from his own family. What kind of team is this?

"They are here for training; during the mission they will serve as support."

"Jiaodu, just ten."

"Yes!"

He said it was to tidy up, but there was nothing; after Shiliuye gave Shangcun Yizhi a word, they headed north.

Shangcun Yizhi watched their backs as they left, waving his hand reluctantly.

"It must succeed; if Jiaodu doesn't die, I can't sleep outside the Village!"

Shiliuye's reputation is great, but he is alone, far from the reassurance of having two Uchiha squads guarding him before.

"Trust Shiliuye; he'll succeed—that's the Uchiha's ultimate power."

The successor Uchiha Jonin said softly.

"."

"The previous Uchiha was just as confident, sigh~"

A few days later.

"Remember, leave Jiaodu to me; you only need to stay safely alive. If you can't even do that, don't even think about the road ahead."

Approaching the Hot Springs Country, a light rain fell, the ground turned to mud, and the four of Shiliuye's party had to don white raincoats and run through the rain.

The rain washed away some clues, but the northern ninjas were already prepared, and Jiaodu's movements were firmly tracked.

Chuan Shangming, Jiutiao Menghua, and Itachi Uchiha quietly listened to Shiliuye's teachings.

After several days, they gradually grasped the teacher's true character: usually aloof and disdainful, yet deeply concerned for their safety, repeatedly reminding them with the same phrase.

"Yes, teacher, we'll definitely protect ourselves. Thank you for your concern, teacher."

Jiutiao Menghua, the only girl in the group, smiled; she had short, slightly yellow hair, and two dimples made her look cute.

"You brat, you're getting too cocky. I'm not caring about you! If you get hurt, it tarnishes the Uchiha's reputation!"

Shiliuye paused, then glanced at Itachi and hurriedly said.

Itachi ignored the scene, carefully observing ahead; though on a mission, he saw it as a rare break.

Shisui kept Sima Yi's warning in mind, fearing Itachi might overthink when idle, so he gave Itachi plenty of study.

Besides multiple daily training sessions and health checks conducted by rotating teachers, Itachi also had to read a plethora of material—including but not limited to ninjutsu, sealing techniques, travelogues, and other assorted knowledge.

Itachi rarely had time to rest; even his occasional leave was spent training with Shisui or Fugaku. A stretch of over ten days without training or study is practically a huge vacation!

"Ah~ the teacher sounds so cold~"

Jiutiao Menghua giggled, uttering a forlorn remark, yet she showed no fear at Shiliuye's stern rebuke.

The boy walking beside her was Shangchuan Ming, fourteen, with a hedgehog‑style haircut; compared to Shiliuye's fearlessness, Jiutiao Menghua's big heart, and Itachi's tense‑yet‑relaxed demeanor, he, as a reconnaissance ninja, was fully engaged.

"Teacher!"

Shiliuye raised an eyebrow, about to lecture, when the usually silent Shangchuan Ming suddenly spoke.

Shiliuye's gaze shifted instantly; he raised a hand, and the three scattered at once.

At the same time, Jiaodu, a few hundred meters away, slowly halted his steps.

"What a pity, it seems I still haven't shaken them off."

Frightened by the silence, Jiaodu intended to rush into the Hot Springs Country to escape the Leaf Village's pursuit, but Konoha's response was faster than he expected.

The ninja army stationed in the Hot Springs Country began redeploying troops to track his location and intercept him.

Jiaodu was confident he could break through the blockade, but behind Konoha's line lay Cloud Hidden, and with his bounty, Cloud Hidden would not let him go.

He could only head east, hoping to take a ship around the sea to the River Country, but unfortunately "the last Konoha reconnaissance ninja team has also left; it seems they're almost there—who could it be?"

Jiaodu knew he had always been in the sight of Konoha ninjas, yet he was far from Konoha's northern camp, and Konoha could not dispatch a large force to hunt him.

One or two small squads didn't concern him, unless they were Sai, Tsunade, or Shisui—renowned strong ones—but even if they arrived personally, he was confident he could escape alive.

"And that guy—given his uncanny ability, even if I go to the River Country I can't shake him. Should I make a promise to him?"

Jiaodu, drenched by the drizzle, strolled through the dense forest, rarely taking time to contemplate his future plans.

Swoosh~ after an indeterminate time, a kunai shot out from the forest.

The rain muffled some sounds, yet Jiaodu still sensed the murderous intent; he tilted his head lightly to dodge the kunai, confirmed it lacked a trigger rune, and his gaze fixed on the direction of the incoming killing intent.

"Only four people? I hope a valuable one shows up~"

Jiaodu's pale green pupils flashed a calm murderous intent; after living so long, his emotions rarely fluctuated.

Boom~ "Earth Release: Earth Dragon Spear!"

The ground trembled; the mud beneath Jiaodu's feet rippled, and over a dozen earth spikes shot up, thrusting toward his face.

Jiaodu's gaze remained calm as he leapt and flipped backward; several shuriken flew from behind him mid‑air, but he swatted them away with a swinging briefcase.

"Opportunity!"

"Retreat!"

After Jiaodu landed, a pair of hands suddenly reached up from below and pulled him into the earth.

On the other side, Jiu Tiao Menghua smiled with delight, raised a kunai, and rushed toward Jiaodu.

And Itachi, who had been lying in ambush from another direction, surged forward, but his target was the oncoming Jiu Tiao Menghua.

Itachi moved even faster, leapt over Jiaodu in the earth, seized Jiu Tiao Menghua in one hand, and then dodged to the side.

In the next instant, where Jiu Tiao Menghua advanced, a black monster burst from the ground, only to bewilderingly realize it had lost its target.

"Did you not fall for it?"

Seeing his plan exposed, Jiaodu stopped pretending, his joints spread apart, linked only by threads, then he quickly shattered the pit and broke free of the constraint.

"The black‑thread core, and the black monster!"

The few of them had long ago studied Jiaodu's intel and were mentally prepared, yet seeing such a bizarre creature in person still shocked them a bit. "Uchiha, as expected, it's you. Who's the last one? Is it Shisui Uchiha?"

Jiaodu noticed Itachi's eyes and immediately began scanning the surroundings with alertness.

"Who knows?"

Itachi naturally would not give Jiaodu any information, and instead said to Jiu Tiao Menghua, "I'll make a probing attack; you step back and watch carefully."

Having said that, Itachi simultaneously employed shuriken technique with both hands, hurling dozens of shuriken at various cunning angles.

Under the dark clouds and drizzling rain, the high‑speed shuriken were almost concealed within the rain streaks, making them extremely hard to track.

Itachi's shuriken were even more so; under his precise calculations they collided and shifted orientation in mid‑air, rendering them nearly impossible to catch.

Jiaodu's eyes flicked left and right, his pupils trembling slightly.

"What is this?!"

Jiaodu was somewhat surprised; even he, in his current state, could not perform such a technique, let alone compare it with his younger self.

"What a pity, brat; physical attacks are useless against me."

All of Jiaodu's joints were linked by black threads; with a sweep of a long thread he swung his arms in all directions, instantly striking the airborne shuriken down.

Then, with another vigorous arm swing, his hands suddenly flung outward, reaching for the two.

Itachi instantly tossed a kunai bearing an explosive talisman, which detonated and halted the left hand reaching for Jiu Tiao Menghua, then he drew a short blade to slash the right hand near his face.

Without waiting for Jiaodu's next assault, Itachi swiftly retreated, sheathed the short blade, and formed a hand seal.

"Fire Release: Dust Concealment Technique!"

Itachi opened his mouth and expelled scorching dust, instantly obscuring Jiaodu's vision.

"Earth Release: Earth Long Spear!"

The ground shifted again beneath his feet, but Jiaodu merely leapt lightly, unconcerned; he withdrew his hands and flicked them toward the ground.

The earth, previously littered with earth spears, shattered instantly; a black shadow burst from the soil, hurling a youth, whom Jiaodu caught and clutched by the throat.

The youth was Shangchuan Ming.

"Another nameless wretch, a waste of time!"

Jiaodu sneered, voiced a brief appraisal of Shangchuan Ming's worth, and then prepared to crush him to death.

"Fire Release: Magnificent Fireball Technique!"

After the dust cleared, a crimson fireball shot through, aiming at the top of Jiaodu's head; Jiaodu was startled, the fireball seemed to target his crown, but whatever the opponent intended, it was cut off.

In the next instant, another masked monster emerged from Jiaodu's body.

"Water Release: Water Curtain!"

A high‑pressure water blast gathered slowly in the monster's mouth, and spurted out as the fireball approached.

"Sss~" The sound of water and fire mingling rose, hot steam instantly billowed, enveloping the two.

Seeing this, Jiaodu grew suspicious, his hands instinctively tightened, ready to choke one first; at that moment, a flash of red light pierced the mist, and several flame‑imbued shuriken sliced the threads between his wrists.

"So that's it!"

Jiaodu's mind cleared; with lightning speed, a black giant hand swatted away, knocking down all the incoming flame‑clad shuriken.

Before he could relax, several jet‑black shuriken instantly cut the threads.

In the next moment, the hand, still clutching Shangchuan Ming, fell down.

"What?"

Jiaodu forced his trembling heart down, the threads seemingly conscious, grew themselves toward the severed hand to reconnect.

At the same time, his other hand did not idle, swiftly reaching for the still‑unaware Shangchuan Ming.

"Enough!"

In the mist, a pair of blood‑red eyes snapped open; Jiaodu's body froze, then instantly recovered.

However, a silver‑glinting long sword was already near his throat.

Jiaodu raised his hand, using his hardened limb to barely block the strike, but the massive force flung him away.

The two masked monsters, seeing this, stopped watching the other side of the dust.

"Water Release: Water Curtain!"

The water blast converged and bombarded the suddenly appearing Shiliuye; Shiliuye, seeing this, could only temporarily cease his assault and retreat with Shangchuan Ming.

The other masked monster burrowed into the ground, reached Shiliuye's feet, and retrieved the severed hand.

Having reattached the severed hand, Jiaodu finally regained his composure; he surveyed the four, especially the Uchiha brat who had just shocked him.

"By using the fireball to evaporate part of the rain, you prepared the ground for the later Crimson Phlox Claw, then used the Crimson Phlox Claw to draw my attention, and finally cut my hand with an ordinary shuriken. To devise a countermeasure to save your useless teammate in such a short time—Uchiha brat, what is your name?"

Shangchuan Ming. Itachi remained silent; the ignored Shiliuye raised an eyebrow, his tone rather unfriendly, and said, "The dead need not know his name."

"The dead? Hahaha~"

Jiaodu laughed wildly, no longer feigning modesty, and directly activated the Earth‑Grudge Mode; black threads covered his entire body, two masks appeared on his shoulders, and his aura turned brutally tyrannical.

"Mere Uchiha, more than one has perished at my hands; seeing your ignorant demeanor reminds me of the first Uchiha I fought, Madara Uchiha!"

"What did you say?"

Shi Liuye's pupils trembled, and his face was full of disbelief.

"Madara Uchiha? Who is that?"

Shangchuan Ming and Jiu Tiao Menghua wore puzzled expressions; the two had already graduated from the ninja academy and had never heard Madara's name.

Itachi spoke up to explain: "An ancestor of the clan, a ninja from the same era as the First Hokage, who once teamed up with the First to found Konoha; the name Konoha was taken by that ancestor."

"What?"

The two were shocked, and Jiu Tiao Menghua added, "The Uchiha clan actually has someone like that? Why hadn't we heard of him at the ninja academy? I got a perfect score in cultural studies!"

This… this question was hard for Itachi to explain, so he looked at Shi Liuye and said, "If he lived from the First Hokage's era to now, and judging by the characteristics of his ninjutsu, his ninjutsu should be the secret art of Taki‑in Village, Earth Grudge Yu."

"Did the Hokage give you that information?"

Shi Liuye asked subconsciously.

"No, but I learned about it in the ninjutsu general studies class; he supposedly has five hearts and all must be destroyed to kill him. The mask monster is an embodiment of the hearts. Moreover, he can sustain his life by stealing others' hearts. All this is recorded in clan documents, though not yet confirmed.

So far it seems correct."

Shi Liuye turned around, looking at the unremarkable little fellow for the first time.

"I understand. You step back; leave the rest to me!"

"There's no time, strike first, I still have to…"

(End of chapter)