Naruto: Forbidden Arts and an Immortal Agenda

Four golden droplets suddenly appeared on the previously empty Heavenly Book floating within Aozora's Spiritual Sea.

Aozora knew—Akai was definitely dead.

For this, he finally let out a breath of relief.

Akai had indeed placed immense pressure upon him.

Although he'd spent six years building his foundation, this year marked the first time he began learning Ninjutsu, Taoist techniques, and supernatural abilities.

Most of his skills were newly acquired, and while he had just started grasping their basics, his true strength was barely at the Jonin entry level.

Yu Qi, his deadliest technique, had only been honed for a few months, and among them, the "Zhanxian" throwing knives hadn't been refined for long.

At this stage, the sharpness of these "Zhanxian" knives mainly came from their material properties combined with Wind chakra's cutting nature.

Although Yu Qi allowed highly flexible and unpredictable flight paths, it would be extremely difficult to land a decisive blow against a wary Rock Ninja.

Thus, Aozora used the flying knives early, causing Akai to lower his guard against them.

After hiding the knives in secret, he didn't immediately use them for a sneak attack.

Akai's defense was too strong; his double protection of Rocky Armor and hardened skin could certainly resist the knives momentarily, giving him a chance to survive.

Aozora didn't intend to give him even that much opportunity, so he chose to outlast him.

Aozora activated the Burning Blood Secret Jutsu to power himself up—not to defeat Akai directly, but to exhaust him. His goal was to drive Akai toward the spot where the hidden throwing knives lay.

Once that goal was achieved, Aozora launched his final assault.

He opened with Yan Dao, then feinted with a kunai throw before delivering the final blow with the hidden throwing knife.

Akai had performed admirably, unfortunately, he remained trapped entirely within Aozora's rhythm throughout the fight.

Actually, this was a common weakness typical of most Rock Ninjas. Despite possessing great defensive power and brute strength, they lacked speed and agility, leaving them often at a disadvantage when fighting opponents of similar rank.

Akai's fall captured everyone's attention atop the Mountaintop.

The Rock Ninja stared in disbelief, while the other three Uchiha were ecstatic.

Shuichi noticed his opponent's momentary distraction and instantly launched a killing strike.

[Secret Sword – Thunderflash Cut!]

Intense lightning enveloped Shuichi's blade. In the next moment, both man and sword radiated brilliant light.

The dazzling white illumination transformed the dusk-lit Dasha Valley into daylight, as a massive lightning bolt struck the Rock Ninja head-on.

The Rock Ninja regained his senses too late—he could no longer dodge, only quickly raising multiple Earthen Walls in front of him.

Lightning over earth!

The thick Earthen Walls shattered like paper before the bolt pierced straight through.

In the next instant, the Rock Ninja was sliced clean in half at the waist, his paralyzed body trembled, yet he couldn't utter a single dying word.

With two Rock Ninjas falling one after the other, the remaining two on the mountaintop immediately lost heart, their will to fight vanishing.

Struck decisively by their enemies, they leapt backward, formed hand seals in an instant, and then vanished into the earth.

"Do not pursue a beaten foe!"

Aozora shouted loudly, signaling them to regroup.

After the four reunited, Aozora said, "Tend to your wounds first—we must save lives!"

Everyone nodded, each pulling out bandages to hastily dress their wounds.

Once done treating injuries, the group formed a formation—with Shuichi leading and Aozora bringing up the rear—as they descended toward the canyon below.

They had barely reached halfway down the mountainside when they saw the massive earthen wall that had been shielding the convoy suddenly shatter into pieces, with huge boulders tumbling downward.

CRASH!

The Earthen Wall collapsed, leaving behind a massive mound of dirt and rubble at the base of the canyon, like a mass grave for fallen bodies.

Aozora and his three companions felt anxious but not overly concerned.

In a past life, if an ordinary person were caught beneath such a thick earthen wall when it collapsed, survival would've been nearly impossible.

But in the Ninja World, average people possessed extraordinary vitality. Casualties from falling rocks wouldn't be particularly severe.

As for Uchiha clan members, they were even less worried.

If chakra sustained the wall, it could still block their path. But without chakra support, such barriers posed little real threat to them.

The four did not immediately begin rescue efforts, instead spreading out to scout the area.

Under his Sharingan vision, the two figures hiding behind the rock wall vanished instantly.

The Rock Ninjas had withdrawn decisively and cleanly. A brief flash of envy flickered across Aozora's mind before he said, "They're gone! Without explosive tags to blast apart the rocks, even the strongest Earth Release techniques couldn't create such a massive Earthen Wall."

Only then did Shuichi and the others relax, beginning their descent to help those trapped below.

With such a cheat-like ability as the Sharingan, rescuing people became extremely easy.

Before the sun completely set, Aozora and his team finally pulled all the survivors from under the rubble.

It was already late — there was no time to grieve. They dragged their exhausted bodies halfway up the mountain, gathered supplies, and rested.

After eating well and drinking their fill, Aozora and Shuichi sat around the campfire.

Tossing another dry branch into the fire, Shuichi asked, "Should we keep going with the mission?"

Aozora shook his head directly. "The mission has already failed. We can't continue."

He explained further: "Over half our transport personnel have been killed or wounded. Every clansman is injured, and our supplies are severely damaged. The mission has already failed. Delivering what few supplies remain to the front line would be like throwing a drop in the ocean, barely making a difference while potentially destroying our entire caravan. It simply isn't worth it."

Shuichi replied seriously, "Article 23 of the Ninja Code states: Under any unexpected circumstances, a ninja must always prioritize completing the mission above all else."

He remembered this rule clearly because it was precisely this principle that led to the death of the White Fang, whom he deeply admired.

Hearing this, Aozora met his gaze. "Do you really believe that's right?"

Shuichi remained silent for a moment. "Rules are rules."

"But rules are meant for man, not man for rules."

"And beyond Dasha Valley, the road ahead won't suddenly become safe — it will only grow more dangerous. If we truly persist forward, how many more young clan members will perish?"

Shuichi closed his eyes, speechless. In truth, merely asking the question already showed where his own inclinations lay. He just couldn't make a decision due to his loyalty to Konoha's ninja code.

After a long pause, he opened his eyes again. "Then I'll follow your judgment. Abandon the mission."

Seeing him wear such a grim expression, as if facing death itself, Aozora chuckled. "Don't look so down! We're not just quitting for no reason. We encountered an attack from Iwagakure — that's force majeure…"

Hearing this, Shuichi still looked troubled. Hadn't the White Fang also had his reasons back then?

Seeing this, Aozora could only pat his shoulder, promising, "Don't worry. We haven't done anything wrong. Actually, we've earned great credit."

Still puzzled, Shuichi asked, "Although we eliminated three Rock Ninjas, that shouldn't be enough to offset punishment for failing the mission."

Aozora added several more dry branches to the fire, its glow reflecting off his handsome face.

"The key point isn't about how many Rock Ninjas we took down,"

"The value of Iwagakure joining the war effort far outweighs that of three Rock Ninja heads combined."

Shuichi nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this.

Before he could fully process it, Aozora yawned and said, "You take the first shift tonight. I'll catch some shut-eye for now."

The fierce fight with Akai had left him internally injured, and the lingering effects of Burning Blood were kicking in — leaving him utterly drained.

Shuichi nodded, then shook his head. "You should rest well tonight!"

Aozora waved him off, saying, "I'll relieve you during the late-night shift."

The next day, the caravan resumed its journey homeward after regrouping.

First, Ao and Shuichi escorted the caravan back to the nearest city. Then Aozora returned early to report details about this escort mission.

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