The Ignored Anbu

"Anbu?"

Noticing Xu Yue’s appearance, everyone merely glanced at him before ignoring him.

With the four of them here, there was no need to pay attention to anyone unless the Third Hokage or one of the Sannin came in person.

"It’s just a favor. Whatever price you paid, I’ll settle it for you."

No longer paying attention to that Anbu courting death, De Gaulle stared solemnly at Wang Taoming.

Since he was merely repaying a favor, De Gaulle figured he likely had not signed any harsh space contract. Without the restraints of a space contract, there was an opportunity to turn him.

Debts of favor were hard to repay, but in De Gaulle’s eyes, everything had a value that could be measured!

But just as he finished speaking, the arm draped around his shoulder hooked him toward the Cat Face Mask beside him, and a somewhat helpless voice sounded by his ear.

"Why is it that what I say…"

"…always goes unheard?"

The scarlet Sharingan revealed within the Cat Face Mask’s eyeholes made De Gaulle, who slowly turned his stiff neck, feel ice run through his body.

Despite possessing Force Sense, he had failed to anticipate the other party’s arrival in advance!

The turbulent fluctuations of the Force nearby had all been calmed by an even more terrifying power.

What was going on?

And just who was this person?

Did he also possess Force Sense?

And a unique power capable of suppressing De Gaulle’s own?

This was actually a Reincarnator?

How was that possible?!

Yet before he could say anything else.

Those blood-red pupils spiraled outward, enlarging without end, and the entire world froze…

"Hmph."

Xu Yue’s Wood Clone let out a muffled grunt and released De Gaulle’s "corpse." Having had his entire mind forcibly destroyed by Tsukuyomi, De Gaulle fell directly to the ground, only to strike the earth and dissolve into countless fragments of light.

He had clearly triggered some kind of life-saving escape skill and left the space.

The other party possessed an exceptionally high affinity for the Force.

But after devouring C World, Xu Yue himself had undergone a profoundly mysterious transformation. While Force Sense still could not grant him the outrageous tricks of a Jedi Master, it had given him a kind of higher priority.

He could completely overpower De Gaulle’s perception and approach him directly at close range!

Accustomed to the prescient anticipation provided by the Force, De Gaulle had been caught off guard when it was suddenly suppressed, allowing Xu Yue to get close. That was why Xu Yue had chosen him first.

Originally, Xu Yue had intended to use the enhanced Tsukuyomi of C World to interrogate him for information.

But not only did the Force itself provide the other party with enormous enhancements to willpower and mental strength, he also possessed a protective item specifically meant for mental defenses.

That item could actually manifest within his mental space!

Although Xu Yue detected it and crushed it head-on with brute force, erasing both the device and the other party’s mind, it also eliminated any possibility of interrogation. Worse still, when the device shattered and exploded, it unleashed a one-time mental shock that inflicted tremendous backlash upon the Wood Clone.

After all, this was only a Wood Clone. It had already done quite a lot over this period and expended no small amount of energy. Struck so suddenly now, the Wood Clone, unable to refine Chakra on its own, suffered considerable damage at once.

Even a Wood Clone that had been given half of his Chakra was finding it hard to endure.

Mental energy was also part of Chakra…

Those who could become big shots truly did not get there by luck.

Even with C World’s enhancement, it seemed he needed to be cautious when using Tsukuyomi against certain opponents.

Could the self-destruction of a mere defensive item really produce such power?

And that life-saving skill of his was completely incomparable to those Elite Reincarnators Xu Yue had slaughtered before. By all rights, Xu Yue had already successfully "killed" him, yet he had still been able to forcibly trigger a life-saving measure.

It was no longer merely an escape privilege, but a "rebirth"-type privilege.

Though the price he had paid was probably no small one.

Back then, Jiong Jiong seemed to have been beaten into "rebirth," which was why she had encountered Xu Yue in that newbie space…

While Xu Yue’s Wood Clone was calculating how the mental damage would affect the clone’s Chakra and endurance.

On the other side, even Wang Zhaoming, who had remained calm and unruffled all this time, wore a look of shock.

The other Reincarnators among the Holy Saints of Heaven, who had long since separated from the Uchiha Clan members, were even more incredulous!

"How is that possible?!"

"This can’t be real!"

"Impossible!"

"…"

Ever since entering the Reincarnation Space, Lord De Gaulle had always been a prominent figure.

Though young, he was already a seasoned veteran of the Reincarnation Space, capable of all manner of outrageous feats.

This time, they had entered believing things were absolutely secure.

When the other side produced one big shot, they did not fear in the slightest, trusting that their lord could handle it.

And indeed, he had.

When a second appeared, things became somewhat troublesome, but they still trusted him!

Sure enough, even the two of them had been suppressed by Lord De Gaulle.

Only when the third person appeared did their lord finally fall into a disadvantage.

Yet even then, they believed their lord could at least ensure that all of them retreated safely.

But what was this now?

One person had nearly sent Lord De Gaulle back to town to soak in the hot springs with a single move.

They simply could not believe it!

"He must have used some kind of Illusion Technique attack just now, like Lord Xue! This guy also has the Four-Tomoe Sharingan!"

After recovering from his shock, Muto lowered his voice and spoke to the other two.

"Is he Itachi?"

A gloomy expression appeared on Qi Xieyuan’s only normal face. This was far too powerful!

Only Muto and Qi Xieyuan, who had personally fought De Gaulle, understood just how deep his strength ran.

Even joining forces, the two of them had been beaten senseless, nearly pounded into the ground.

Had Ji Xin not stepped in, Qi Xieyuan himself would have needed to use that hard-won item just to have a chance of escaping.

And yet…

Such a powerful opponent had been instantly beaten to death by this Anbu who had appeared from who knew where!

Just who was he?!

Because Xu Yue wore a mask, they did not know whether he was the person mentioned in the intelligence.

Still, Muto answered with a grave expression.

"I’m afraid not. If I’m not mistaken, he should be the other person from my special intelligence. From the very beginning, I noticed that the intelligence on this Mission Space had some discrepancies and things that did not add up. Now, it seems that was indeed the case…"

"One of your Beiyang Army’s newbie brats must have entered this mission as well."

Muto’s words left Qi Xieyuan astonished. A newbie from the Beiyang Army in France?

Could it be that kid?

Was this related to him?

Right!

From the little information he had learned, that kid seemed to have saved an important figure from the Uchiha Clan during his newbie mission. Could it be this person before them?!

What an incredibly lucky brat!

"I thought we had already rated him highly enough, but it seems we still underestimated him far too much. After obtaining that information, we made many attempts and strategies. Our conclusion was that unless a newbie entered with some kind of bonus state, it would be impossible to approach the Uchiha Clan, much less trigger this hidden storyline. And since newbies could not reveal much information, they likely could not complete this mission either. Your newbie’s medical skills really are exceptionally brilliant."

Muto carefully revealed intelligence that was no longer particularly important. After obtaining that information, they had arranged many operations in an attempt to replicate the bond with that important figure, but all had failed. Considering the investment, the returns, and the missing details, they had eventually let the matter drop.

Now it seemed that once they returned, they absolutely had to continue testing!

To defeat De Gaulle in a single strike—how terrifying was that?!

Yet just as Muto and Qi Xieyuan were both feeling shaken and fearful.

Wang Taoming regained his tranquil expression, his handsome face utterly calm.

"Be careful not to meet his eyes. You have already seen what happens if you do. Also, he seems to have suffered some backlash after defeating De Gaulle. If you intend to act, now is the time. I only agreed to make one move…"

In such a brief span of time, merely by seeing the method Xu Yue had used against De Gaulle, Wang Taoming had already found a way to deal with it—and had even spotted the weakness caused by the backlash suffered by Xu Yue’s Wood Clone!

T-two updates…

It’s not that I don’t want to do three updates. The occasional desperate extra updates I manage are all used to make up for the days with fewer updates or none at all… That’s why I can only maintain the "stability" of two updates a day now…