Naraku's team consisted of eighteen people.
Naraku was in the middle, with a four-man squad guarding him. A few kilometers to the left and right, a four-man squad protected the flanks.
Three ninjas were in front, exploring the path, and in the back, the squadron leader and another ninja covered the rear and protected the retreat.
Under heavy guard, Naraku, who was walking atop the trees, began to lose focus.
Granny Cat's trip had been successfully completed.
Naraku had conquered a newly born twin-tailed cat demon named Nekomata.
And had created a giant Summoning scroll, similar to the one Jiraiya had used.
According to the agreement on the scroll, all the ninja cats in the dark ninja cat world would be summoned by the scroll contractor.
In the Ninja Cat Castle, the strongest one was naturally the Nekomata, who was huge in size, powerful, agile, and capable of making hand seals and using illusions. He was a very good helper.
There were countless other ninja cats who were skilled in using ninja swords, and dozens of ninja cats as big as tigers.
These large-sized ninja cats that could wield ninja swords were at least at the top level of ninja.
There were also many cats like Kozumaru, who were good at sensing ninjutsu, and others who were skilled in sealing techniques.
In short, there were many cats.
It could be said that a powerful group of Summoning beasts had been subdued.
This Summoning scroll could be passed down through Naraku's lineage.
The other Uchiha ninjas, as per tradition, went to Granny Cat to adopt ninja cats, sign contracts, build relationships, and then continued to let Granny Cat raise the cats.
Each Uchiha ninja would not raise or sign with many ninja cats of this contract type, as their energy was limited, and it was impossible to train too many ninja cats. However, they were beneficial for intelligence gathering, so the status quo remained unchanged.
As for the Summoning Scroll that contracted all the ninja cats in the Ninja Cat Castle, it remained solely in Naraku's hands. Or it could be passed down as a legacy to the clan leader in the future.
After several days of trekking, the group safely entered the border of Amegakure.
Originally, this world had no fixed national borders. There were only rough border demarcations, and no detailed exploration.
The reason Naraku and his companions knew they had stepped into Amegakure was because, while it was still sunny in Konohagakure, it was strangely drizzling in Amegakure.
The farther they walked, the darker the sky became.
After entering Amegakure, Naraku had already put away all distracting thoughts and was on high alert.
With the map in hand, he continued to observe despite the drizzle.
"The place ahead is where our tribe members disappeared. I believe the vanguard team has already gone there to investigate."
Naraku said to Uchiha Akagi, who was next to him.
These guards were highly skilled in killing and were proficient in stealth, explosions, and ambush tactics.
They were indeed very sharp tools, but it was a pity for Naraku.
Naraku had to take care of everything—commanding and keeping an eye on the situation at all times.
"Yes, Lord Naraku. Two tribesmen were annihilated here. Even the well-known Jōnin master, Uchiha, disappeared here."
Uchiha replied. As the captain of Naraku's personal guard, he carried a heavy responsibility and remained alert throughout, not daring to lose focus.
"Mu was a genius ninja. He awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan at the age of fifteen. I hope he is safe."
The teams formed by the Uchiha clan, consisting entirely of Uchiha, often went out on missions.
Normally, when there was no war, the casualty rate among ninjas was not very high.
Because the two sides were not in a state of war, many ninjas, although bloodthirsty, would not mindlessly engage in fights with enemy ninjas.
Ninja battles were often life-and-death affairs, and no one complained about living too long.
In most missions, there would be a simple confrontation and then a retreat. After the opponent fled, they were generally not pursued. The main goal was to complete the mission.
For example, if one protected and the other assassinated—
Once repelled, the ninjas carrying out the assassination mission would realize they were outmatched, and that the mission had likely failed. Only a few would obsess over the mission and continue pursuing it.
Outside of ninja battles, most of the time, ninjas would not fight to the death.
Unless a local war broke out or the village leaders specially assigned a critical task, fierce fighting occurred only in these rare situations.
The strength of Konoha's White Fang lay in this: he had never failed a single assassination mission.
Few who fought against the White Fang survived.
Therefore, all the major countries had issued laws regarding powerful figures like the White Fang—retreating when encountering Konoha's White Fang did not count as a mission failure.
The rulers of the major nations did not want to lose their precious ninjas in futile missions against the White Fang.
At the foot of a mountain, three ninjas conducted a carpet search. Two of them carried ninja cats and one had a ninja dog. They were checking the area at the mountain's base, hoping to find suspicious traces—blood, scents—and discover clues.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh"
Naraku landed with four guards.
"Two teams of clansmen went missing here. You should join the search," Naraku said lightly.
"Yes! Lord"
Naraku's four-man guard squad also joined the search team.
The one who raised the ninja dog was Uchiha Kakubei, twenty years old, Chūnin, Three Tomoe Sharingan.
Although he was officially a Chūnin, he was a very powerful ninja.
This was related to the number of Uchiha Jōnin being suppressed by Konohagakure.
Regardless of Uchiha Kakubei's official rank, a Three Tomoe Sharingan Uchiha was a leader among Jōnin in all but name.
Looking at the ninja dogs, Naraku naturally thought of the Inuzuka clan.
The ninja clan best known for raising ninja dogs in Konohagakure was none other than the Inuzuka clan. Not only were they experts in raising ninja dogs, but many of their family techniques were used in combination with them, making them extremely powerful.
However, ninja dogs were not only raised by the Inuzuka. Many ninja families kept them.
Ninja dogs were humanoid in nature—loyal, intelligent, and easy to train.
Rumor had it that Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, also kept many ninja dogs.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
Uchiha Kakubei heard the barking and immediately rushed to the place where the ninja dog had detected something unusual.
The ninja dog barked continuously at the ground. After years of working together, Kakubei understood—the dog was warning him of underground activity.
The ninja dog began digging. It could use chakra, and both paws were covered with it. It dug like an excavator, quickly creating a passage.
Kakubei also covered his hands with chakra and began digging next to the dog.
Naraku sensed something unusual and instantly appeared beside Kakubei and his dog, silently watching them work.
After a while, Kakubei felt that he had unearthed something rotten.
"Corpse!"
Uchiha Kakubei exclaimed.
When the pit was fully excavated, seven bodies were found buried inside.
The bodies and clothing had already begun to rot underground, but from the tattered remains, it was faintly evident that they wore blue high-collared shirts—the style favored by the Uchiha clan.
"Uchifu... Lord Naraku! These are the bodies of our people!"
One of the corpses still bore the faint markings of the Uchiha fan on its clothing.
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