Chapter 73 — The Fish Took the Bait
As the sun dipped below the horizon, several bonfires were lit in the central clearing of the Chinoike settlement.
Flickering firelight danced across the faces of the gathered clansmen, casting their expressions—anxiety, confusion, suspicion—into shifting shadows.
Chinoike Momoe stood at the center of the crowd. The captured assassin still lay unconscious at her feet.
Her gaze swept across the assembly as she spoke in a cold, commanding tone.
"Look carefully at this face. Does anyone recognize this man?"
A wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd.
From his perch high along a distant rock wall, Yami watched quietly.
Kagura's Mind's Eye remained fully expanded, carefully sensing every fluctuation in emotion among the crowd.
At that moment, an elderly man with white hair and beard slowly stepped forward.
He stared at the assassin's face for a long time. Suspicion gradually gave way to certainty.
"Clan Leader… this man… he seems to be Kentaro, the one who tried to escape Hell Valley three years ago."
His voice trembled with disbelief.
"He used to live next door to me. I remember the scar on the back of his hand. But…"
He hesitated, his tone turning even stranger.
"When he tried to escape, the Uchiha patrol caught him. I saw it with my own eyes—he was pierced through the heart by a ninja blade. They dragged his corpse away."
His words were like a stone dropped into still water.
The crowd erupted instantly.
"A dead man coming back to life? Elder, you must be mistaken!"
"Could this be some plot by the Uchiha?"
"Or… the return of a vengeful spirit?"
Momoe frowned deeply.
She knelt down and tore open the assassin's clothing.
His body was covered with intersecting scars. On the back of his hand, the faint outline of an old wound could indeed be seen.
"Kentaro…?"
She tried calling the name.
But the man on the ground showed no reaction.
His eyes were hollow and lifeless.
Like a body without a soul.
---
Hidden in the darkness, Yami narrowed his eyes.
Kagura's Mind's Eye revealed something odd.
Although the man's chakra had the same origin as the Chinoike clan—
It felt forcibly implanted.
It didn't fully harmonize with the body.
Even stranger—
Yami couldn't detect any mental fluctuations.
It was like sensing a walking corpse.
---
"Everyone listen carefully."
Momoe rose to her feet, her voice leaving no room for argument.
"Until the truth is uncovered, no one is to leave this clearing.
"I will personally search every residence.
"We will determine whether someone has secretly harbored a dead operative… or whether someone is trying to frame our clan."
Her gaze sharpened like a blade as it swept across every person present.
"But if I discover that someone has been scheming behind the scenes—"
Before she could finish her sentence—
Yami caught a sudden anomaly within the crowd.
One young clansman's reaction was different.
At the words 'search every residence,' his pupils shrank sharply.
His right hand instinctively moved toward his chest.
Though he quickly forced himself to remain calm, that brief flash of panic did not escape Yami's perception.
---
At the same time, inside the Uchiha camp—
Yashiro had finally found Batō at a remote outpost.
"What exactly are you plotting?"
Yashiro spoke bluntly, the three tomoe of his Sharingan rotating slowly.
"Concealing information about the Kumogakure envoy… that directly contradicts the Uchiha's position."
Batō stood with his back to him, gazing toward the distant Chinoike settlement.
His tone was calm.
"Everything I've done is for the sake of the Uchiha."
"For our benefit?" Yashiro scoffed. "Leading the Kumogakure envoy into Hell Valley like a servant—is that what you call beneficial?"
Batō slowly turned around.
A faint, knowing smile curved across his face.
"Did you really think I would allow those Chinoike lunatics to return to Kumogakure?"
He stepped forward and lowered his voice.
"If the Chinoike clan reenters the shinobi world, they will become a powerful rival to the Uchiha under Kumogakure's protection."
"I merely…"
"…delayed that outcome a little."
Yashiro narrowed his eyes.
"That assassin… was arranged by you?"
"Does it matter?" Batō replied with a faint smile.
"What matters is that Kumogakure's trust in the Chinoike clan has already begun to waver.
"If a few more 'incidents' happen within these three days… their recruitment attempt will naturally collapse."
"You're playing with fire," Yashiro said coldly. "If Kumogakure finds out—"
"They won't."
Batō cut him off.
"I have my arrangements."
He paused before adding casually,
"Besides… this doesn't conflict with Konoha's interests, does it?"
Yashiro fell silent for a moment.
From the village's perspective, preventing the Chinoike clan from joining Kumogakure would indeed benefit Konoha.
And yet—
He couldn't shake the feeling that Batō's motives went far beyond that.
---
Meanwhile, as Momoe began leading a team to search the residences, one of the Chinoike clansmen quietly slipped away from the gathering.
He was a peripheral figure—someone no one paid attention to.
No one noticed his departure.
Except one person.
Yami moved silently along the rock wall, Kagura's Mind's Eye firmly locked onto the young man whose emotions had betrayed him earlier.
The young clansman eventually stopped beside a concealed rock crevice.
After nervously scanning the surroundings, he pulled a scroll from his robe.
"Looks like I caught a fish…"
Yami shook his head slightly in the shadows.
He hadn't expected it to be this easy.
Just as the young man prepared to place the scroll—
Yami appeared behind him like a phantom.
"Late night… and you're skipping the clan assembly?"
The young man jumped violently, nearly dropping the scroll.
He spun around, crimson flashing in his eyes.
In the next instant—
The Ketsuryūgan activated.
But Yami had already anticipated this.
He was faster.
A golden bone chain shot out like a venomous serpent, wrapping tightly around the man's throat.
The sealing power embedded within the Adamantine Bone Chains immediately suppressed the young man's chakra, making even breathing difficult.
"I suggest you calm down," Yami said calmly.
"After all… I wouldn't mind adding another pair of Ketsuryūgans to my collection."
The crimson glow in the young man's eyes gradually faded.
Despair crept onto his face.
Yami picked up the scroll from the ground and unfolded it casually.
"N-no…" the young man croaked weakly through the choking grip.
Yami ignored him.
As his eyes moved across the contents of the scroll—
His pupils contracted slightly.
"So that's it…"
"No wonder you chose to hide your Ketsuryūgan awakening instead of using it to escape the bottom of the clan hierarchy."
The scroll recorded the list of Chinoike clan members who had disappeared over the years.
Some names even belonged to deceased clan members whose graves had been secretly dug up.
At the end of the scroll was a final instruction.
Tomorrow, the young man would attempt to "defect."
The recipient was to stage his death—killing him in appearance so he could escape Hell Valley forever.
The scroll itself contained no direct proof pointing to the mastermind.
Communication had been strictly one-sided.
But within Hell Valley—
Only a handful of people possessed the power to orchestrate such a scheme.
And that answer was almost obvious.
Yami murmured quietly to himself.
"Interesting."
"More interesting than I expected."
The night wind began to rise, stirring the shadows of Hell Valley.
Beneath the calm surface, currents of intrigue churned unseen.
The three-day countdown continued.
And the truth hidden behind the scenes was slowly emerging.
Yami gazed toward the distant lights of the Uchiha camp.
He was curious—
Just how capable Batō truly was.