Izumi, You Have to Be Strong

A moment later.

"Hehe, fragrant!"

Uchiha Nanfeng wore an honest, simpleminded smile as he held the roast wild boar meat Ingetsu had forcefully stuffed into his hands and happily gnawed on it, grease running down his mouth.

He suddenly felt that the wild boar meat cut by this divine weapon was truly different, as if its flavor had been elevated by several levels.

Nanfeng had originally wanted to stand up and say something, but Ingetsu thought he was hungry and expressionlessly stuffed another piece of roast wild boar meat toward him.

Seeing how good Ingetsu was to him, Nanfeng was moved. He hugged the roast wild boar meat and began eating, completely forgetting what he had intended to do.

The other Uchiha, including Mikoto, Nonō, and Kurenai Yuhi, also received portions of the roast meat.

This time, Tamao was no longer restricted to eating only roast rabbit heads and rabbit rumps like last time.

However, Tamao kept circling around Ingetsu with a roasted wild boar trotter in his hands, looking this way and that.

Ingetsu did not reject Tamao's childlike behavior. After quickly finishing his roast meat, he wiped his hands clean with a tissue.

The bonfire blazed.

The Uchiha had witnessed Ingetsu's miraculous Wind Release Swordsmanship, and after filling their stomachs, their fatigue gradually faded.

The sorrow in everyone's hearts also gradually lightened.

What puzzled them was this.

After Captain Ingetsu finished practicing his swordsmanship, his expression had not changed, and he seemed to have expended almost no energy. Their bodies, on the other hand, felt as if someone had hollowed them out, leaving them somewhat weak.

Their appetites, however, had greatly increased.

Finishing the wild boar was no problem at all.

After seeing Tamao circle around several times, Uchiha Nanfeng said irritably, "Can you stop and take a rest?"

Tamao said gloomily,

"Don't you want to know where Big Brother usually hides his treasures?"

The scene of Ingetsu twisting his wrist moments ago, making space tremble and retrieving the Black Sword Dark Moon, had left a deep impression on Tamao.

Of course, everyone was curious.

They turned to look at Ingetsu.

Ingetsu remained expressionless, showing no intention of explaining anything about the Black Sword or "space ninjutsu."

Since he would not say anything, the Uchiha naturally did not dare ask further.

Whoosh—

Ingetsu took the border map purchased in Kikyo Castle from Nanfeng and spread it on the grass beside the bonfire, confirming their current location.

The map was very detailed.

Forests, streams, lakes, and mountains were all marked with distances and directions, and even annotated with place names.

The Uchiha defectors were currently at the foot of Katsuragi Mountain, near Kikyo Mountain. Within this mountain was a small hidden village called "Tsuchigumo Village."

It had an alliance with Leaf Village.

Farther northwest.

After crossing Katsuragi Mountain, they would reach Xu Fu Mountain, a place with steep terrain and primeval forests, where natural treasures and rare medicinal herbs were plentiful.

Beyond that.

There was the Valley of Punishment, which was shrouded in mist all year round, with extremely low visibility. It was said that even Konoha Jonin would get lost after entering. Its terrain was complicated, and it was a vicious, deadly place where entering meant a nine-in-ten chance of death.

The Uchiha, along with Kurenai Yuhi and Nonō, gathered around Ingetsu and the map.

Izumi crouched opposite Ingetsu, her small body surrounded by her clansmen, which gave her a great sense of security.

She blinked her big eyes and followed Ingetsu's gaze toward the map before asking curiously,

"Captain, is our final destination the small nations near the Land of Earth?"

Beyond the Valley of Punishment lay the most chaotic region of small nations in the Ninja World.

"Mm. We'll try to head in that direction."

Ingetsu spoke calmly.

Nonō breathed a sigh of relief. She raised a hand and adjusted her glasses. The person she had been tasked with assassinating would be coming from the Land of Earth.

That meant she could continue following the group.

With that said.

Ingetsu put away the map and stuffed it into Nanfeng's hands. Now that everyone knew the purpose of this journey, they felt much more at ease.

At least they knew where they were going, which greatly reduced the confusion in their hearts.

Ingetsu raised his head and looked toward Katsuragi Mountain.

Everyone looked over together.

Under the moonlight, they could vaguely see three forked paths leading up the mountain. The nighttime forest was quiet and profound.

"A multiple-choice question..." A thought flashed through Ingetsu's mind. He immediately looked at Izumi, who was playing with a torch behind him, and asked, "Which direction should we take next?"

Hearing this, everyone looked at one another. They could not understand why the captain would consult such a delicate young girl about a decision of such importance.

Caught off guard by the question, Izumi put down the torch in her hand. Thinking of something, her cheeks grew bright red in the firelight, like apples.

Izumi stammered, "I... I think all three roads can be taken!"

She chuckled inwardly. Hehe.

She had gotten smarter this time.

She would choose all three roads.

Then she would toss the question back to them. Surely nothing could go wrong this time, right?

Ingetsu thought for a moment before saying to everyone behind him,

"All three roads may be dangerous. We'll take the mountain road in the middle. Get some rest. We'll set out in the latter half of the night. Everyone, prepare for battle!"

The Uchiha pondered this and looked at Izumi, whose cheeks had flushed red. She was at a loss for what to do.

Although they knew there was something strange about Izumi, surely she could not be used as a standard for deciding their marching route!

Mikoto also looked at Izumi curiously. She knew nothing about the rumors surrounding the girl.

Izumi lowered her willow brows, pouted, and protested pitifully,

"Captain In... Ingetsu... If we had taken the water route last time, we probably wouldn't have been ambushed."

She was still rather hung up on the fact that Ingetsu had not accepted her suggestion, believing that to be the fundamental reason they had been dragged into a bitter battle.

Hearing this, everyone looked at Ingetsu in unison. They all knew about this matter.

The corners of Ingetsu's lips curved slightly upward.

He had not wanted to bring up Izumi's painful memory, but since she had chosen to expose herself...

Ingetsu raised his head and looked at Kurenai Yuhi.

The Uchiha and Izumi did not understand what he meant.

Kurenai Yuhi thought for a moment, reined in her emotions, organized her words inwardly, and slowly explained,

"That night, the Konoha Jonin pursuing you laid down enough Exploding Tag traps in the waters outside Kikyo Castle to kill all of you three or four times over.

If you had entered the blast zone recklessly,

The people present today

Would certainly have been reduced by half.

Afterward, I separated from them and returned alone to that stretch of water, dismantling all the Exploding Tag traps and ninja tool traps.

That was also one of the reasons I arrived late at the refugee settlement and failed to stop them from committing those atrocities in time."

"Ah, I chose... wrong again!" After hearing this, Izumi stood frozen as if struck by lightning, overwhelmed with shame.

So that night,

Her suggestion had been that deadly!

The Uchiha sucked in cold breaths and looked at Izumi in disbelief, their gazes gradually becoming complicated.

They naturally did not despise Izumi.

They simply felt

That this matter was too bizarre.

Mikoto, however, did not take it to heart. Choosing the wrong route was normal enough during a ninja march.

Nonō likewise did not think much of it.

Ingetsu had also heard about this matter from Kurenai while they were traveling behind her.

Ingetsu knew

That Izumi's suggestion had actually been reasonable. She had made her judgment based on the premise that the pursuing squad had failed to catch up with the fleeing Uchiha squad.

However, the methods ninjas used most often were not to catch up with their target and immediately engage in battle.

Ninjas were better at and preferred waiting for their enemies to tire, gathering intelligence, and launching prepared ambushes.

"Hmph..."

Izumi pouted and hummed, wearing an expression of complete social death. She silently turned her back to everyone and crouched alone beside the bonfire, poking at the flames with a piece of firewood.

The Uchiha now treated Izumi like their youngest little sister, and none of them could bear to see her so upset.

Nanfeng took the initiative to come over to the girl and gently patted her shoulder, comforting her.

"Izumi, you're just a little unlucky!"

The Uchiha then came over one after another to pat her shoulder and comfort her.

"That's right, that's right. Izumi, it's not your fault."

"Izumi, you have to be strong!"

Suddenly—

A startling, delighted voice rang out:

"This is a good thing!!"

PS: Progress update.

There's one small plotline left before the escape journey ends, followed by a climax. After that, we can enter the next stage.

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