"Is that what you think...?" Xuan's calm voice drifted from beneath the black cloak, entirely noncommittal.
"Is it not?" Akahane Akira replied forcefully. He was highly wary of this mysterious figure, but maintaining a tough exterior was the only way to retain a shred of initiative.
Through his Sharingan, Xuan observed the man's expression. He then glanced at the folding screen behind him. The Sharingan could clearly see a mass of chakra hiding there, though judging by the strength, it was only around the Jōnin level. Choosing not to expose the hidden listener, Xuan asked, "I wonder if the Patriarch has considered this: you are twelve separate clans, after all. Can you truly unite with one heart and one mind? What if a few of them have already secretly defected to the Uchiha, intending to coordinate from the inside during your alliance ceremony and launch a sudden ambush?"
The moment those words fell, Akira could no longer maintain his tough facade. He stood up in shock and blurted out, "Which ones?!"
That single question completely exposed his current emotional state. This kind of intelligence was far too critical. Regardless of whether it was true or false, he couldn't afford to take it lightly. For now, he had no choice but to treat it as the absolute truth.
A mocking laugh echoed from beneath the black cloak. "Clan Head Akahane, do I really have to spoon-feed you the names of the traitors? If so, the Akahane clan shouldn't even bother opposing the Uchiha. Surrender early, and perhaps they'll take pity and leave your clan a few survivors. Haha! However, since I have a kind heart, I'll give you a hint: exactly three clans have already secretly defected to the Uchiha."
Faced with the cloaked figure's ruthless sarcasm, Akira had no mind to bicker. His brain rapidly cycled through the intelligence on the various clans. He even spread out the documents he had previously put away, completely ignoring the presence of the unfathomable intruder.
Sorting through the information, he first ruled out the three strongest clans, including his own. They were the ones currently reaping the most benefits, and their blood feud with the Uchiha was also the deepest.
Of the remaining nine, the three clans with Peak Jōnin leaders are unlikely suspects, though not entirely impossible. The remaining six clans are the most suspicious. But which three could it be?
Akira pondered deeply. After a long moment, he forcibly regained his composure, put away the intelligence reports, and re-evaluated the cloaked figure in front of him. Pointing to a nearby cushion, he said, "Please, sit."
That simple gesture represented a heaven-and-earth shift from his initial attitude. Sometimes, conversation was just like this. If Xuan had directly spat out the names of the three traitorous clans, Akira would likely have been highly suspicious, doubting Xuan's motives and putting his guard up. But by speaking in half-truths and leaving enough blank space for Akira to dig up the 'truth' himself, he would believe the conclusion with absolute certainty. Achieving this psychological manipulation often only required a sentence or two of subtle guidance.
"No thanks. I prefer standing," Xuan replied calmly. Are you kidding me? His current adult-sized silhouette was forcefully propped up by his chakra; the exact moment he sat down, the entire illusion would collapse!
"I want to know what you desire," Akira said deeply. He had never believed in free lunches falling from the sky. This was the brutal Warring States Era; if the other party didn't ask for anything in return, that would be abnormal. The sheer value of this intelligence already exceeded the net worth of an entire minor clan.
Xuan knew he had to state his conditions now, otherwise the man wouldn't trust him. After a brief thought, Xuan spoke, injecting as much venom and hatred into his voice as possible. Even through the chakra distortion, the burning resentment was crystal clear. "My demand is simple. Those five Shadow Guards must die. Not a single one of them can be left alive."
The absolute highest realm of lying wasn't lying with a straight face, nor was it mixing lies with the truth. It was when every single word you spoke was the absolute truth, yet the other party misinterpreted the context to create their own fabricated reality.
Xuan was, of course, telling the truth. His original goal really was to slaughter those five Shadow Guards; it was the only way to guarantee his own safety. But since he lacked the raw power to do it himself right now, he had to borrow someone else's knife.
However, when those words reached Akira's ears, they carried an entirely different implication. The sheer hatred in the voice immediately triggered a massive chain of assumptions in the Clan Head's mind...
Seeing Akira's expression, Xuan knew the man's imagination had completely run wild. As for what exactly he was thinking, Xuan had no idea. But he did know that Akira would inevitably construct a perfectly logical, flawless backstory in his head, convince himself of it, and then treat that fabricated delusion as the absolute truth.
"How should I address you? And what is your surname?" Akira asked carefully. In the Warring States, it was highly taboo to casually ask for someone's surname, but having already hallucinated an entire tragic backstory, he wanted confirmation.
Xuan obviously didn't know what crazy story the guy had cooked up, and revealing his surname was out of the question. He let out a deep, melancholic sigh. "A man who has lost his home... what surname does he have left? Just call me 'Owl'."
Akira revealed a look of profound understanding. "Rest assured, sir," he said sympathetically. "Not a single one of those five Shadow Guards will escape. The blood debt of the Ghost Clan from ten years ago... we will definitely avenge it for you."
What the hell?! Where did this 'Ghost Clan' come from?! What kind of insane backstory did you just invent?!
Xuan screamed internally, but his voice remained perfectly detached. "In that case, you have my thanks. It seems risking my life to obtain this intelligence was not in vain. Farewell."
As he spoke, the three tomoe in Xuan's right eye slowly spun. The surrounding space rippled, gradually forming a spatial vortex that completely sucked him inside.
Once Xuan was gone, Akahane Yui stepped out from behind the folding screen. She quickly walked up to the desk. "Father, that man was incredibly suspicious. Do you actually believe his words?"
Akira smiled confidently. "He may be bizarre, but he still left behind a few clues. As long as you can deduce his origins and motives, he loses his mystique. As for his intelligence... it's highly credible. In times like this, it's better to believe it than to ignore it. Taking precautions won't harm us."
"You know that mysterious man's origins, Father?"
Akira nodded confidently. "About ten years ago, there was a secretive clan in the Warring States known as the Ghost Clan. Their overall combat strength wasn't very high, but they possessed a unique secret Jutsu. Their movements were unfathomably bizarre, and their intelligence-gathering skills were ghostly. They could traverse through the shadows of the night, specializing in selling clan secrets for profit.
"When I saw that man appear so eerily today, I was trying to figure out what kind of Ninjutsu he was using. Thinking about it now, it's highly similar to the legendary Ghost Clan. Although it looked like he was stepping out of a spatial distortion, I suspect he was simply putting on a flashy act. Those spatial ripples were deliberately faked; the core of his Jutsu is definitely shadow manipulation. Hmph. A Ninjutsu that allows someone to freely move through space? I've never heard of such a thing in the entire Warring States.
"A decade ago, the Ghost Clan sold a piece of intelligence regarding an Uchiha military operation. That specific leak caused the Uchiha to suffer a devastating defeat at the hands of the Senju, resulting in heavy casualties.
"Furious, the Uchiha launched a massive investigation, eventually discovering the Ghost Clan's hidden compound. They secretly dispatched seven Shadow Guards, who exterminated the entire clan in a single night. Since then, the Ghost Clan has never been seen in the Warring States again.
"Heh heh... He hates the Shadow Guards with a burning passion, he managed to obtain highly classified Uchiha intelligence, and he even called himself 'Owl'. You should know, the crest of the Ghost Clan was a nocturnal owl. There is an eighty percent chance he is a survivor of the Ghost Clan."
After laying out his brilliant deduction, Akira smiled smugly. His expression then turned stern. "Yui, I want you to mobilize a squad of our Elite Jōnin immediately. Secretly investigate all the other clans outside of our top three. Remember, you must be absolutely careful not to be detected. This time, I am going to prepare a massive 'gift' for the Uchiha."
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