Naruto: Under the Banner of the Clans

After chatting a bit with the leader of the Yuki clan group, Akeno departed with all his clones, leaving the Yuki clan behind with the task of reporting to the daimyo lords to claim the reward.

Even without proof of the demon's elimination, the Yuki and Uzumaki clans were well-known for honoring their contracts, so the daimyo would reward them if they declared the mission complete.

This was the trust placed in prestigious clans of that era.

And besides, the clans had too much to lose by lying about such an elimination.

As Akeno dispelled his clones, returning to his own world, the Yuki group reorganized to retrieve the bodies and return to their homeland.

But just as they were about to leave, a group of about twenty red-haired ninjas arrived at their position, ready to fight.

At the front of the group, five members of the Yuki clan were rushing to keep up. "Captain! We found the Uzumaki group!"

Surprised by the absence of combat, they stopped, looking confused at the other Yuki members, who were equally puzzled.

" ... "

...

*** Hope City ***

Waking up in a bed, Akeno checked to ensure that Reibi had indeed come with him through the rift. Satisfied by its presence, he controlled the seal on his abdomen to release a small portion of dark chakra.

Of course, without strong negative emotions nearby, the tailless demon couldn't fully replenish its chakra reserves.

But that wasn't Akeno's concern; Reibi's reserves were still sufficient for his plans. Focusing, he finally managed to sense the negative emotions all around him.

If he had to estimate, he could feel negative emotions within a radius of about five kilometers. It was like using spiritual sense at the Harmony of Qi and Body level, but only to detect emotions.

Exiting the room guarded by Renji, Izaya, and Fubuki, Akeno wasted no time and hurried to Fang Qin.

"Master, it's done. I can start the search right now," Akeno said, eager to find the children.

Heading to the forest's edge, he was accompanied by a little over a hundred members of the branch.

In this group, Fang Qin and two other instructors were at the Muscle Purification level, 28 instructors were at the Organ Fortification level, and 72 disciples and instructors were at the Bone Strengthening level.

Including Akeno, that made a total of 104 cultivators. This was all the power the small branch of the Thousand Lotus Sect in Hope City could muster.

Only a small dozen of disciples at the Bone Strengthening level remained behind to ensure no attacks would occur at the branch.

"Master, allow me to go ahead alone for a minute," Akeno whispered to Fang Qin.

He intended to use his clones, but not in front of everyone.

Giving him a slightly doubtful look, Fang Qin gave his approval, and under his orders, no one followed Akeno. "How many secrets do you hide...?" Fang Qin thought.

Rushing into the forest, far enough to be out of sight behind the trees, Akeno unlocked part of the seal, releasing a decent amount of dark chakra.

Surrounded by dark energy, Akeno formed hand signs.

"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

With several 'puffs' of smoke, a thousand clones appeared before him. Normally, he would have only been able to create about a hundred clones, but with Reibi's chakra, creating this many wasn't an issue.

Each of his clones had the ability to sense emotions within a certain distance.

"Go!" Akeno shouted to his clones.

Looking at each other one last time, the thousand clones used the Transformation Jutsu to change both their attire into white clothes inspired by the assassins from Assassin's Creed and their faces into completely black, featureless ones without a nose, mouth, or eyes.

After that, they each separated in different directions.

If a clone were to be attacked, it would disappear, and its memories would be shared among all the clones and Akeno. This way, they could gradually home in on the enemies' position.

Returning to Fang Qin and the others, everyone looked at him, waiting to see what he would do next.

"And now?" Fang Qin asked.

"Now we wait..." Akeno replied.

...

Deep in the forest, several men dressed in black waited, hidden in the shadows.

"This is taking forever!" one of them grumbled. "Why aren't they here yet?!"

"Shut up, or I'll slit your throat, you idiot..." another replied.

There were about ten of them, all at the Organ Fortification level. Their goal was only to kill any sect members who passed by.

"We've been waiting for hours! If their old master comes out looking for the kids, we won't stand a chance!"

"But shut up already! What part of 'discreet operation' don't you understand?!"

Snap!

"Damn it, here comes someone!"

Stopping their bickering and drawing their weapons, they turned to see a man running toward them, dressed in white with his face hidden under a hood.

Running at a very fast speed, the man seemed to sense them and stopped, turning his face in their direction.

"Well, it looks like we've been spotted. Don't move, he's mine," said the man who had been complaining earlier.

As he approached the target, he got a clear look at the man's face. "What the hell is that—"

A completely black, smooth face, without any features.

Seeing the shock on the black-robed man's face, Akeno's clone wasted no time and drew his sword to attack.

His final objective was indeed to die, but he could also fight to weaken the enemy.

Unfortunately, Akeno hadn't yet figured out how to share his Qi between his chakra-based clones. So the clone could only attack with the strength of chakra.

But that was already enough. Especially for clones based on dark chakra.

The use of this chakra in the anime could only be described as a waste. It was a loss that its user had died after barely an hour of using it.

Applying an instant movement technique, the clone moved behind the man, slashing with his sword aimed at the head.

Although shocked, the man was, in the end, a fifth-level cultivator and someone who enjoyed spending his time killing.

Regaining his composure, he tried to turn around, moving his arm in the direction of the blade.

The sound of his bones produced explosive noises, and his heart beat like a drum. After the shock, he no longer underestimated his opponent.

As the blade enveloped in dark chakra cut through the cultivator's flesh, it finally stopped upon contact with the bone, propelling the clone several meters backward.

"Dammit, my arm!" His right forearm half-severed, the cultivator used the sword in his left hand and rushed toward the clone with overflowing rage.

Retreating as fast as he could, Akeno's clone focused on his chakra and created a lightning sphere in his free hand.

"Lightning Style – Lightning Strike!"

Then holding his sword with both hands, the lightning spread across the entire blade. Metal was an excellent conductor.

As the swords clashed, the black-clad man felt the lightning surge through his body, paralyzing him for a second. "What the hell is this now?"

Seeing the enemy's blade approaching his head, he felt death looming, ready to pierce his skull.

No matter how hard his bones were, a blade piercing through his mouth would eventually reach his brain.

But just as the blade was about to strike, another sword pierced the clone through the chest, stopping it in its tracks.

"Incompetent, couldn't even beat a single opponent," said the black-clad man's companion who had skewered the clone.

Regaining his composure, he looked at the blade stopping just short of his teeth, then at the void-black face in front of him.

Poof

But as they began to relax, the clone dissipated, leaving a small explosion of smoke behind.

"F*ck, what was that?!"

"Where the hell did it go!?"

"Skinny, do you sense anything!?"

A scrawny-looking man in black robes stepped out from the group, seeming to sniff the air around him. "No, it's completely gone..."

"What the hell did we just kill?!"

Farther away in the forest, nearly a thousand heads turned in a precise direction, changing their trajectories.

Meanwhile, back at the forest's edge with all the sect's cultivators, Akeno opened his eyes.

"I've found them!"