Free Web NovelChapter 249: Clarity And Lightning Speed Reflex
A stood still, his right hand tightly gripping the photograph that had been thrown at him; he resisted looking at it from the bottom of his heart.
But he knew even more that he had to remember this naked humiliation, delivered right to his face by the enemy, until one day he would wash it away with ten or a hundred times the blood and fire!
Finally, he took a deep breath and unfolded the photograph!
Although A had expected it, when the image in the photo came into view, the veins on his forehead still bulged, and the violent lightning around him exploded uncontrollably with a loud bang!
In the photo, more than four hundred people stood before the ruins of the Raikage building.
Some had soot-covered faces but grinned with white teeth; some were expressionless, but their eyes shone; some smirked with teasing; and some had reddened eyes yet still smiled widely.
And the young boy stood at the very front, one foot stepping on the head of the third Raikage’s statue, one hand carrying the Adamantine Nyoi. Morning light shone from behind him, outlining him in gold. His smile was brighter than the flames behind him, more dazzling than the rising sun.
"Shinichi Higashino!!!"
A roar filled with endless fury, killing intent, and humiliation burst from A’s throat, instantly sweeping across the silent plaza, even overpowering all distant noise.
The sharp killing intent erupting from him soared straight into the sky!
...
At the same time, in a hidden area behind Konoha’s northeastern main camp.
Danzo Shimura sat in his tent, with a Root member kneeling on one knee before him.
"You’re saying the Village Hidden in the Clouds is retreating?"
"Yes. According to reports from our scouts, the main force of the Village Hidden in the Cloud is withdrawing in an orderly manner."
Danzo frowned.
The Village Hidden in the Cloud was retreating? Why? Why would that reckless third Raikage withdraw for no reason?
After pondering for a moment, Danzo said, "Go contact Orochimaru and ask if he has discovered anything."
"Yes."
A few minutes later, the Root member returned in a hurry.
"Danzo-sama, Orochimaru-sama is not in the command center. Advisor Nara said that Orochimaru-sama has gone to carry out a top-secret mission. He does not know the details."
"Hm?" Danzo raised his eyebrows, and a bad premonition arose in his heart. He asked instinctively, "When you returned, did you see Shinichi Higashino and his team at the main camp?"
The root member froze for a moment, thought back, and shook his head. "No. From yesterday until today, I have not seen Shinichi Higashino or his team."
Danzo’s expression instantly darkened. He abruptly stood up, knocking over the chair, which crashed to the ground with a harsh sound.
"Orochimaru, you bastard!"
Several Root members in the tent all looked up at once, staring in shock at their usually composed leader.
"Men! Come with me to the command center!"
...
Meanwhile, deep within a mountainous forest somewhere in the Land of Lightning.
The Shinichi battalion, having just completed a second strike on the Village Hidden in the Cloud and successfully withdrawn, was taking a brief rest in a relatively concealed woodland area.
No one spoke; only suppressed breathing, occasional drinking sounds, and the rustling of wind through the treetops could be heard. Everyone seized this precious interval to recover stamina and chakra, bandage wounds, and check their equipment.
"Shinichi."
Shinku Yuhi walked over, hesitated, then lowered his voice. "Are we really going to attack the capital of the Land of Lightning?"
In ninja warfare, there was, on the surface, a principle of not involving civilians, though often this was just empty talk.
However, not targeting officials and nobles was an unspoken rule truly understood by all.
Especially a nation’s capital, the Daimyo’s residence, and the Daimyo himself.
Those lawless bounty hunters and rebel ninjas did not care; they were outlaws to begin with, unconcerned with any rules.
But ninja villages, especially the five great villages, were essentially military organizations dependent on the national system and had to abide by certain tacit agreements.
To violate them was to overturn the entire table accepted by all participants.
"Senior, do I look like someone who is that impulsive?" Shinichi smiled. He indeed did not think much of nobles and Daimyo, but now was far from the time to openly defy the world.
"We don’t need to actually go to the capital of the Land of Lightning. As long as they think we might go there, even the slightest suspicion will make them unwilling to gamble."
"Wherever the enemy hurts the most, wherever they cannot afford to lose, that’s where we strike, not to truly capture it, but to draw their forces and force them to follow our rhythm."
Shinku Yuhi was silent for a while, seemingly pondering Shinichi’s words, then asked, "Then where do we go now?"
"Still toward the capital," Shinichi answered quickly, clearly already having a plan. "But halfway there, we turn around and head toward the southeastern coast of the Land of Lightning."
Shinku Yuhi frowned. "That place, isn’t it what you previously judged..."
He stopped midway, realizing he had asked a foolish question.
After a moment, he shook his head and gave a bitter smile. "I didn’t think it through."
Seeing that he understood, Shinichi said no more and simply nodded slightly. "Take advantage of this time to rest well, senior Shinku."
Shinku Yuhi nodded. He did not ask further, turned back to his spot, leaned against a tree trunk, and sat down, whether resting or thinking, it was unclear.
Shinichi also closed his eyes.
Leaning against a thick tree trunk, his breathing steady and posture relaxed, he appeared to be resting. But deep within his consciousness, countless streams of information were converging like rivers flowing into the sea, surging into his mind from all directions.
The Shadow Clones of Isshin’s clone were at this moment silently dashing across the vast lands of the Land of Lightning.
Dozens of figures identical to him were scattered within a range of tens to hundreds of kilometers around Shinichi’s main body, each sweeping over the mountains, forests, rivers, and villages below at the fastest speed possible.
Deep within their eyes, a glass-like radiance flowed silently. frёewebηovel.cѳm
The Clarity and Lightning Speed Reflex were activated simultaneously, capturing every detail of everything they passed.
Shinichi understood that the core of lightning war (Blitzkrieg) was never just speed, but precision.
It was knowing where the enemy was, how many there were, which direction they were moving, and where they would go next.
It was seeing first, judging first, acting first, one step ahead of the enemy at all times.
It involved identifying the enemy’s weak points or key nodes and achieving focused breakthroughs.
Speed was only the surface; precision was the soul, and in this regard, Shinichi had an overwhelming advantage.
The combination of Clarity and Lightning Speed Reflex gave him a pair of Byakugan of his own.
No hand seals were needed, no chakra was consumed. This ability was as natural as breathing, as heartbeat, as instinct.
Whether he was awake or fatigued, fighting or resting, these eyes were always operating, always observing, always perceiving.
He and Isshin’s Shadow Clones all possessed these eyes.
When the Hyuga Clan created Shadow Clones, how much chakra did their clones consume when activating the Byakugan? How long could they maintain it? What limitations did they have?
Shinichi did not know, but he knew that his Shadow Clones had none of these limitations.
