Chapter 173: A Perfect Report
"Clan elder?"
Li Jiexuan sneered as he kicked Uchiha Jiangshu aside. "You might be an idiot, but your clan leader is a real old fox!"
Uchiha Zhenxiong didn't care about Uchiha Jiangshu's life or death at all. In fact, he would be quite happy to eliminate a few overly inflated clan elders—so long as Li Jiexuan offered enough benefits…
"Pfft…"
Uchiha Jiangshu spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed unwillingly onto a reef beside him, gritting his teeth as he muttered, "I don't believe it. You're lying. The clan leader would never dare collude with you to kill me—to kill a clan elder!"
"Collude with me?"
Li Jiexuan chuckled and shook his head, turning to leave. "I didn't kill you. Someone else did…"
"Cough, cough… you won't escape!" Perhaps because he was about to die, Uchiha Jiangshu's mind had suddenly become much clearer. "The signal flare I fired just now—the Octopus Anbu must have seen it. You won't get away!"
Unfortunately…
From the very beginning, he had chosen the wrong opponent!
"Judging by the time, it should be about right." Li Jiexuan smiled and turned to leave, as if he didn't care at all about the dying Uchiha Jiangshu or the trembling Uchiha Menwei hiding nearby.
"Only thinking about running now?" The dying Uchiha Jiangshu burst into loud laughter. "I'll watch with my own eyes as your own subordinates capture you! Hahaha!"
But suddenly, Uchiha Jiangshu choked mid-laugh…
Because the seawater in front of them suddenly began to bubble violently. A terrifying figure slowly rose from beneath the water. Its shattered body had been stitched together by grotesque, maggot-like Earth Grudge Threads, making it look like a loathsome creature from hell.
"The Gold-Devouring Monster—Kakuzu!"
In the distance, the Octopus Anbu were rapidly approaching. But "Kakuzu" had already raised his Earth Grudge Threads and lunged toward Uchiha Menwei.
Uchiha Jiangshu froze completely. In the final moment of his life, he suddenly realized that everything he had been proud of… was nothing but nonsense.
All of this had been part of Li Jiexuan's plan!
"Pfft!"
The terrifying Earth Grudge Threads riddled Uchiha Menwei's body like a hornet's nest. Bright red blood and organs poured out from within. Seemingly noticing the approaching Anbu, Kakuzu gritted his teeth and charged toward Uchiha Jiangshu again…
Seeing this, the Anbu didn't have time to think further.
"Water Release—Water Dragon Vortex!"
"Earth Release—Earth Explosion Current!"
"Fire Release—Great Fireball Technique!"
Under the combined full-force attacks of three Anbu, Kakuzu was blasted into a pile of shredded flesh, leaving only the Earth Grudge Threads that had pierced through Uchiha Jiangshu lying on the ground. Five minutes later…
The Anbu responsible for medical treatment shook his head helplessly. "Captain Octopus, Uchiha Jiangshu and Menwei can't be saved…"
Hearing this, Captain Octopus showed little expression. He nodded as if it were only natural. "Understood. We'll return to the village immediately and report this to the Hokage and the captain!"
One day later, a "perfect" report was delivered to the Hokage's office…
"During the joint Anbu and Uchiha operation to capture Kakuzu, two members of the Uchiha clan privately used a small boat to act independently and were ambushed by Kakuzu. Rescue arrived too late, and they died on the spot!"
If one looked only at this, it would naturally seem like a major failure for the Anbu. But if one continued reading…
"Although the Anbu were unable to carry out the rescue in time, they successfully killed the S-rank wanted criminal and seized the secret technique, Earth Grudge Threads." Senju Tobirama nodded in satisfaction, instructing Sarutobi Hiruzen to archive the report and stamp it with a large, excellent evaluation!
For this operation, the Anbu's merits clearly outweighed the faults!
After all, for ninjas, losing one or two teammates during a mission was perfectly normal. As long as the mission was completed, it was considered a success for a ninja…