I just returned to Konoha and found that my entire clan was gone.

"Your mission this time is to protect several wounded people and take them back to the gold mine in the Land of Rivers. They all escaped from there. A group of people who call themselves the Black Shovel Clan have taken over the village and often kill innocent people indiscriminately. You have to deal with them." Tsunade called Ye Lan over and issued a new mission.

"This kind of mission can be handled by just sending a few genin..." Ye Lan looked down on the B-rank mission, as it was a waste of time and didn't offer much reward for such a long-distance mission.

"The key is that we have some intelligence here. It seems that Raiga Kurosuki, the leader of the Kurosuki clan, was once one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. If that's the case, he has become a rogue ninja and is very likely a member of the Akatsuki organization," Tsunade said. She had taken note of these powerful rogue ninjas. Kisame Hoshigaki, who partnered with Itachi, was also one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

"If that's the case, the rating for this mission is far too low." The Seven Ninja Swordsmen are all Jonin-level ninjas; a B-rank wouldn't be worthy of opponents of their caliber.

"If we really encounter it, then this mission will automatically be upgraded to level A. The person who issued the mission doesn't know the specifics either; these are all just my guesses."

"I understand." Ye Lan put away the scroll. "So, who was the genin assigned to me this time?"

"Kid, you're pretty quick on your feet!" Tsunade chuckled. "Come in."

Ye Lan was not surprised by Tsunade's actions; this was not the first or second time this had happened.

"Senior Ye Lan!" Li, dressed in a green bodysuit, walked into the room and greeted the man with a strong voice. Accompanying him were Hyuga Neji and Tenten.

"Oh! I didn't expect it to be Senior Ye Lan leading us on this mission." Tenten had just met Ye Lan a while ago, while Neji crossed his arms and remained unmoved.

"What's wrong with Kai again?" Ye Lan asked, his eyes drooping. He hadn't expected Tsunade to actually give him all these children a makeover.

"Kai went on an S-rank mission. He was specifically requested by them, so he can't go with them. That's why we're leaving it to you." Tsunade smiled a little embarrassedly, feeling like she had done something wrong even though she was the Hokage.

"Listen up, all of you! You're to follow Ye Lan's orders throughout this mission! Come back here after you've completed the mission!" Tsunade said to Lee and the other two, no longer joking.

"Okay!" Little Li replied seriously, but he always looked funny when he was serious.

Uchiha? Neji looked at Ye Lan with some interest. He had heard others talk about Ye Lan's reputation and knew that this boy, who was two years older than him, was already a pillar of the village. However, he had never seen Ye Lan fight in person and was very curious about Ye Lan's strength.

...

"How long are you going to rest! Everyone is waiting for you to rescue them!" one of the three wounded shouted at Ye Lan and the others who were leisurely taking it all in.

"Do you have any objections?" Before Neji and the others could speak, Ye Lan spoke up. He didn't release any chakra, but this person named Rokusuke lost the courage to argue.

If the opponent is truly a ninja of Kisame Hoshigaki's caliber, facing him with a weary body would be a grave mistake. Ye Lan would certainly not explain his thoughts to such an ordinary person. Moreover, he is subservient to those who bully him and assertive towards those who help him, and he would never give anyone a kind look.

“By the way, there’s a shop near the gold mine that I’m very familiar with,” Xiao Li said. “We can use that shop as a base to survey the village.”

"Is everything alright?" Ye Lan asked again, worried that the shop owner might leak their information.

"No problem, I know the old lady at that shop very well!" Xiao Li said, patting his chest.

The Land of Rivers is very close to Konoha. Even with a few ordinary people, Ye Lan and his group arrived at the small shop that Xiao Li had mentioned in just a few days. It was a shop that specialized in curry, and the owner was a petite old woman whom Xiao Li affectionately called Sansho Granny.

Grandma Sansho was very welcoming when she heard their purpose. It turned out that her son, Mustard, had also joined the Black Shovel Clan, and she begged Ye Lan and the others to bring him back. At Little Li's request, Ye Lan had no choice but to agree for the time being. Grandma Sansho then happily served up her secret curry.

Seeing the curry bubbling like oil, Ye Lan had a bad feeling. She looked at Xiao Li, but to her surprise, he was eating it with gusto, saying how delicious it was.

Seeing Lee's reaction, everyone except Ye Lan, who had already activated her Sharingan to confirm the curry's ingredients, picked up their spoons. Neji and Tenten's faces turned ashen after taking a bite, and even more exaggeratedly, the ordinary people with them fainted.

I thought my Sharingan had stopped working. Ye Lan was almost fooled by Lee; this really is food for humans.

That night, as everyone was resting, Ye Lan suddenly noticed some movement. He looked up and saw that Liu Zhu, whom he had argued with during the day, had opened the door and was running out. Ye Lan didn't stop him. The most important thing about this mission was to eliminate the Black Shovel Clan; he didn't have time to worry about the lives of these people.

"Where did Rokusuke go?" Rokusuke's companions woke Ye Lan up early in the morning. Ye Lan got out of bed in displeasure. Neji came to Ye Lan's side and said seriously, "Ye Lan-senpai, what should we do?"

"You and those other guys go back to the village pretending to be villagers and see what's going on. I'll have Xiao Li and Tian Tian stay at the village entrance. If anything happens, you two can discuss it. I'll go investigate myself. Remember, if anything happens, you evacuate immediately. Leave everything to me." Ye Lan wasn't a tactical mastermind, nor did he know how to coordinate with others. He just told the group to act according to the situation.

Neji nodded, quickly packed his things, and informed the others of the situation before heading to the village.

The two ordinary people shook their heads when they heard they had to go back to the village. To them, the village was hell, and they didn't want to go back at all. Neji tried to persuade them several times, but to no avail. In the end, he had no choice but to go alone. With his Byakugan, he was less likely to be discovered by the enemy.

Xiao Li and Tian Tian also went out the door together, and Ye Lan said goodbye to Grandma Shan Jiao and left the store.

As its name suggests, the Gold Mine Mountain has a peak of considerable height. To get the best view of the village, one has to climb the mountain. This is Ye Lan's only purpose. Moreover, such places are likely to lead to encounters with the leader of the opposing force. Every ruler likes to look down on their territory, and if Ye Lan happens to run into him, he can also test the strength of the opposing force.

Neji, dressed in a dark cloak, quietly sneaked into the village. He avoided pedestrians along the way and headed towards the center of the village. It seemed that no one noticed him, except for the man in the village known as Raiga, who slowly looked in the direction Neji had sneaked in.

"Raiga, there are enemies, and they're not weak." A faint warning came to Raiga's ear, as if he were carrying something on his back.

Chapter 51 Thunder Fang

Neji, who was stealthily approaching, discovered Rokusuke being beaten by the Kurokuchi clan. Rokusuke's pleas for mercy were of no use. After beating him, they were going to put him in a coffin and bury him alive. Seeing that Rokusuke was about to be killed, Neji disregarded Yelan's orders and jumped out.

"Who are you?" The younger brother of the Kurokuchi family was still a little confused when he saw Neji suddenly appear. Neji seized the opportunity to activate his Byakugan and use Gentle Fist on the enemy.

The other members of the Kurokuchi family, seeing that the visitor was hostile, disregarded Rokusuke's life and death and took up weapons to attack Neji.

Neji remained calm despite the enemies surrounding him. He made a hand gesture and then began to spin around.

Return to Heaven.

Neji's self-developed techniques from the main branch of the family are known as absolute defense, making them more than capable of dealing with these small fry.

Tenten and Lee, who had been waiting at the village entrance, heard the sounds of fighting coming from inside the village. They immediately realized that Neji had already engaged in combat with the enemy. After exchanging a glance, the two decided to go and support Neji.

When they arrived, they only saw large circular craters around Neji; all the enemies had already been dealt with by Neji.

As expected of Neji, in Lee's heart Neji has always been a genius. Seeing that Neji had defeated the enemy, she couldn't help but feel relieved. Tenten also checked on Rokusuke and found that apart from some superficial wounds, there were no serious injuries. Only then did she complain.

"What are you doing? Don't you know how much trouble you've caused us by sneaking out?"

"Excuse me, I was just thinking that my companion might not be dead, so I came to check on him." Rokusuke had been worried about his companion who had been buried alive, and thought that he might be saved, so he secretly ran out. But so much time had passed that anyone would have suffocated.

"Li, Tenten, be on guard, the enemy leader might still be around." Neji kept his Byakugan open, watching out for any potential dangers around him.

Upon hearing Neji's warning, Lee and Tenten also began to pay attention to their surroundings. At this moment, a thick fog rose around them, and Neji immediately realized that it was the Fog Concealment Technique, indicating that the enemy was nearby, and he wanted to warn the others.

At that moment, a stream of electricity, resembling tree branches, shot out from the mountain and struck the group. Before they could react, they were all hit and collapsed to the ground.

Thunder Burial · Thunder Banquet

Standing on the mountain, Raiga planted his ninja sword in the ground. This move relied on his ninja sword, which possessed the power to control lightning and greatly enhanced his lightning release techniques. It was a rare weapon.

"Hahaha, the reinforcements they brought are nothing special!" Raiga laughed, hands on his hips, as he spoke to Ranmaru, whom he was carrying on his back.

"Raiga and the others aren't dead, they're just unconscious," Ranmaru reminded Raiga from behind.

"They're not dead? It's alright, I'll hold a funeral for them all later!" Raiya said somewhat nervously.

"You're smiling happily?"

"Who?" Raiga's smile vanished. He hadn't expected anyone to be so close. Hadn't Ranmaru noticed?

"Raiga!" Ranmaru no longer concealed his voice and shouted a warning. Although his eyes had X-ray vision, they could not detect the speed of his opponent at all.

Raiga felt a slight chill on his skin. The thick fog was torn apart by a figure. Raiga, taking advantage of Ranmaru's reminder, used his swords to block the enemy's attack.

The moment they made contact, Raiga felt an immense force. He even had to take several steps back to barely block it. He looked at the other person with a tense expression. A pair of red, three-tomoe pupils were so conspicuous, and they were staring at each other.

"Uchiha! This is bad!" Raiga, who had participated in the Third Shinobi World War, had fought against the Uchiha before, and he knew very well how troublesome this kind of enemy was. He subconsciously avoided making eye contact with Ye Lan.

How could Ye Lan give him a chance? The moment their eyes met, Ye Lan activated the Sharingan's genjutsu. Raiga's body stiffened noticeably, and Ye Lan seized the opportunity.

Uchiha style, my style, Wind Scar

The chakra on the blade surged suddenly, and the wind release technique attached itself to the blade, forming three blades that slashed directly at Raiga.

Leiya, who had been trapped in the illusion, suddenly regained consciousness and barely managed to dodge into the gap in the wind blades. However, the wind blades were much faster than he had imagined, and one of them still struck one of his arms.

Raiya's face turned pale as he clutched his arm, blood streaming down his face. Judging by the amount of bleeding, if he didn't receive timely treatment, Raiya would bleed to death in less than fifteen minutes.

"Raiga, let me help you!" Ranmaru also sensed that something was wrong and took the initiative to treat Raiga. Ranmaru not only had eyes that could see through things, but he could also use his chakra to heal the other person's injuries. In the blink of an eye, the bleeding from Raiga's wound stopped.

"Ranmaru, leave it to me, we are invincible." Raiga's confidence returned after his injuries were healed. He had only failed because he was careless and did not know that his opponent was an Uchiha. Now the roles were reversed.

"Raiga...run! This person...we are no match for him." Ranmaru, who was already weak from treating Raiga, had used up a lot of his chakra and was now even more exhausted.

"Ranmaru! Ranmaru! Damn it!" Seeing that Ranmaru was no longer responding to him, Raiga glared fiercely at Yelan, unable to swallow his anger.

"The person you're carrying on your back has a special bloodline limit. Is it the previous Hidden Mist ninja?" Ye Lan didn't expect Raiga's injuries to be healed so quickly. In his knowledge, apart from Tsunade, he had never seen anyone who could do this. He couldn't help but be curious.

"Ranmaru is not a ninja from Kirigakure, he is my eyes!" Raiga said, raising his lightning swords with both hands. A thunderous roar of lightning from the sky struck the swords in his hands.

Despite being struck by lightning, Lei Ya was unharmed. Instead, he manipulated the lightning to attack Ye Lan. The lightning bolts, as thick as pythons, coiled around his body, leaving marks on the ground. But none of this mattered to Ye Lan. Although he was not as fast as lightning, he was faster than Lei Ya in manipulating it.

Raiya's relentless attacks failed to hit a single target, causing him to grow increasingly anxious.

"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen? You're weaker than I thought." Ye Lan's voice rang in his ears again. Raiga panicked and ordered his lightning to strike the source of the sound, but he didn't find Ye Lan.

Ye Lan has confirmed that Raiga cannot be a member of Akatsuki. His strength is too weak. Currently, he relies mostly on his ninja sword. Apart from the sword, Raiga is only slightly stronger than the previous Green Aoi.

"Don't underestimate me! Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Tornado!"

Raiya was clearly provoked by Ye Lan. He raised his two ninja swords above his head and gathered all the lightning together, eventually forming a huge lightning dragon. Under his control, the lightning dragon seemed to come alive and chased after Ye Lan, tearing at him.

Uchiha Style - My Style - Lightning Speed

Ye Lan's figure instantly multiplied into several, attacking Lei Ya simultaneously. The ninja swords were imbued with wind release, directly scattering the lightning around Lei Ya. Each figure seemed to be a solid entity, and Lei Ya had no idea which one to attack. Before he could unleash his lightning dragon, several Ye Lans plunged their ninja swords into his abdomen.

"cough~"

Lei Ya's spit-out blood splattered onto Ye Lan's clothes. The thunder dragon in the sky had disappeared. This time, no one could save him.

"Shisui of the Body Flicker... what is your relationship with him?" Shisui became famous in the ninja world because he participated in the war against Kirigakure, which terrified many Kirigakure ninjas at the time. As a former Kirigakure ANBU member, Raiga must have heard of Shisui's name.

"He is my brother." Ye Lan knew that Lei Ya was nearing the end of his life, and these might be his last words.

"As expected..." Raiya's eyes no longer held resentment, only a hint of desolation. "This child I've been raising... he's never killed anyone... I beg you..."

Raiya could no longer speak coherently. After managing to express some meaning, he collapsed to the ground, revealing a sleeping bag he had been carrying on his back.

Chapter 52 Living

"Hmm~" Neji groaned in pain as he struggled to sit up. He shook his head, remembering what had just happened.

Instinctively sensing something was wrong, he looked around and saw that the thick fog had dissipated, and Xiao Li and Tian Tian were still lying on the ground.

"Neji." Ye Lan, carrying a small sleeping bag, had already arrived in front of Neji. "How are you?"

"It's alright... my body is still a little numb." Neji felt relieved after seeing Ye Lan. "Was the person who attacked us the leader of the Kurokuwa family?"

Ye Lan put down her sleeping bag, squatted down to check on Tian Tian and Xiao Li, and after finding that they weren't seriously injured, said, "Hmm, it's just a minor injury."

He couldn't see it at all. Judging from the fact that Senior Ye Lan's clothes were completely wrinkle-free, he should be here soon... Neji analyzed in his mind, then looked at the sleeping bag that Ye Lan had thrown down, not understanding what it meant.

"Where is the enemy?" At this moment, Xiao Li and Tian Tian also woke up. As soon as Xiao Li woke up, he looked around for the person who attacked them.

"It's already been taken care of by Senior Ye Lan, Li," Neji explained from the side.

"Hey, what's this?" Tenten discovered the sleeping bag, unzipped it, and found Ranmaru fast asleep inside.

"These are Lei Ya's eyes. He has a special bloodline limit." Ye Lan didn't explain much. Actually, he was also having a headache and didn't know how to deal with this child. Killing a child who was weak and helpless was not his style.