The border of the Land of Grass.
"Quick! We'll reach the border of the Land of Fire in another three hours."
Rumble!
Exploding Tags kept detonating throughout the forest, with screams echoing out from time to time. Konoha Shinobi were everywhere, furiously battling ninja of all kinds.
"These hired rogue ninjas are completely insane!"
"Damn it, the Rock Shinobi are trying to hold us back. Don't get bogged down—retreat!"
The rapidly moving Konoha Shinobi all wore extremely grim expressions. Though they outnumbered their enemies and had crushed the rogue ninja they encountered in one push, every clash still delayed them.
Each delay was caused by hired rogue ninjas whom the Rock Shinobi had lured in with hefty bounties.
"Lady Tsunade!"
Tsunade moved swiftly with a grave expression, but along the way, quite a few Konoha Shinobi noticed that something was wrong.
Princess Tsunade, the famed Elite Jonin of the Shinobi World, had always possessed a forceful personality. Yet at this moment, she was clearly acting strangely.
"Quiet! Everyone, break through at full speed! As long as we get out of this forest, the Rock Shinobi's encirclement plan will fail."
The few Konoha Jonin at the front hardened their expressions and shouted at the ninja behind them.
At a time like this, the fact that Uchiha Yoru was impersonating Tsunade could not be exposed. At the very least, not before they broke out!
Otherwise, morale would plummet. If chaos broke out, who knew what might happen?
"Squad Three, intercept the left flank! Everyone else, keep breaking through!"
As the Konoha Shinobi decisively broke through, many ninja also sacrificed themselves. To buy time, whenever they spotted enemies closing in, they would send a ninja squad to intercept while the rest continued their escape.
By now, more than a hundred ninja from their ranks had fallen behind to serve as interceptors.
On the Rock Shinobi side, densely packed ninja wearing uniforms with red sleeves on one arm rushed forward at high speed. The Jonin leading them were filled with fury.
"Damn it! Konoha actually uncovered the intelligence! Quick! Everyone, move at full speed! We must intercept the Konoha Shinobi before they escape the forest!"
Ninja warfare was a battle of intelligence. Once intelligence leaked, failure became possible.
"Yoru, the intelligence came in time this time. We have a great chance of breaking out."
Uchiha Fugaku spoke with rare concentration as they traveled. Beside him, Uchiha Yoru, disguised as Tsunade, lowered his head and said in a deep voice.
"Captain Fugaku, Lady Tsunade and the others are still behind us. This was a trap from the very beginning."
At the thought of Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya, Uchiha Fugaku fell silent. Then he shook his head and said in a low voice.
"This is the fate of a ninja!"
Yet Uchiha Yoru silently pondered, analyzing the intelligence and weighing the gains and losses.
During the Second Shinobi World War, the Legendary Sannin had once faced grave danger after being surrounded by the Rock Shinobi. Given the current situation, this was most likely that incident.
The Legendary Sannin had ultimately been trapped in a barren, rocky mountain region. There was only one terrain nearby that matched that description. If so, though there was risk...
Fortune favors the bold! Take a gamble, and a bicycle becomes a motorcycle!
If he won, he could build up his image and take another step forward.
As for losing? Being a ninja meant accepting risks. This time, he was seventy percent sure. The advantage is mine!
"Yoru, I know you've been under a lot of pressure lately."
Seemingly noticing that something was off about Uchiha Yoru, Uchiha Fugaku lowered his voice and tried to comfort him.
These past days, Uchiha Yoru had endured all kinds of rumors for the sake of the clan. He had even bent his unyielding backbone for it. As the Young Clan Head, Fugaku had always felt that the clan owed Yoru far too much.
...Three hours later...
"Look! Grassland! The border of the Land of Fire is right ahead! We made it out!"
Having lost nearly half their ninja, the Konoha Shinobi legions finally broke out before the Rock Shinobi could complete their encirclement. Countless Konoha Shinobi showed excited expressions.
Poof!
The moment they rushed out, white smoke rose around Tsunade, the Konoha Shinobi commander. As the smoke dispersed, Uchiha Yoru's figure was revealed.
"How could this be?!"
"Just as I thought!"
Among the Konoha Shinobi, some were stunned while others nodded inwardly. Quite a few had already noticed something was wrong.
They were ninja, after all. Naturally, they were not foolish enough to ask where their commander had gone.
"Yoru!"
Uchiha Fugaku noticed something was wrong and shouted urgently.
Yet under everyone's astonished gazes, Uchiha Yoru smiled.
"Brother Fugaku, my mission is complete."
His mission was complete?
The mission of impersonating Tsunade had indeed been completed now that they were safe and about to enter the Land of Fire.
Yet seeing this, Fugaku, Minato Namikaze, and the others all changed expression.
"Yoru, what are you trying to do?!"
As the Konoha Shinobi raced across the grassland, Uchiha Yoru calmly looked at them, as though he were merely stating something ordinary.
"This time, we successfully broke out of the encirclement, and Iwagakure's plan has failed halfway. But Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade previously went deep into the Land of Grass to carry out a mission. It was clearly a trap."
Uchiha Fugaku seemed to realize something and hurriedly said.
"That's why we need to meet up with reinforcements at the border, then go rescue Lady Tsunade and the others."
Yet beneath Uchiha Yoru's calm smile, Fugaku saw a resolute determination. He was startled. Damn it!
Don't tell me he's about to lose it and do something extreme at a time like this!
"Sorry. Your mission is to meet up with reinforcements at the border, while mine was to impersonate Captain Tsunade and stabilize morale."
The apologetic look in his eyes made Uchiha Fugaku anxious. He lowered his voice and hurriedly tried to persuade him.
"Yoru, don't do anything rash. You did all this for the clan. Once we get back, take a proper rest for a while."
Yet in the face of Uchiha Fugaku's persuasion, he gave a carefree smile.
"Captain Fugaku, when did I ever give you that impression?"
Uchiha Yoru's sunny smile contained not the slightest sign that he had been pressured by the earlier rumors. Uchiha Fugaku was left stunned by the sight.
"Captain Tsunade is still inside the encirclement."
Boom!
This was serious!
After hearing Uchiha Yoru's words, Uchiha Fugaku's mind went blank. The Uchiha Clan's extreme temperament was especially prone to causing trouble in matters of emotion.
"Yoru, none of this is real. I know you've suffered a lot of stimulation and grievance, but you need to stay calm!"
Uchiha Fugaku lowered his voice as he tried to persuade him, his face filled with urgency.
Uchiha Yoru's situation clearly showed that the endless pressure was about to crush him. Worse, he had developed some kind of extreme feelings for Tsunade, the target of his mission.
This kind of thing was all too common among the Uchiha, especially after Eye Awakening.
Seeing Uchiha Fugaku's reaction, it was obvious that he had misunderstood. Uchiha Yoru was more than happy to let him, and merely smiled calmly.
"Captain Fugaku, you should understand me. Captain Tsunade needs me now. As a member of the Uchiha Clan, I cannot let people mock me for living off a woman, then turn around and be greedy for life and afraid of death!"
"For the Uchiha Clan's glory—and for the last shred of my own pride!"
Beneath that sunny smile, Uchiha Fugaku wanted to say something, but the words caught in his throat and would not come out.
That was right!
Uchiha Yoru had already become a joke for living off a woman. If he was also greedy for life and afraid of death, with not even the last trace of pride left, could he still be called Uchiha?
"Uchiha Yoru!"
Just then, the Jonin nearby all turned solemn. An Inuzuka Clan ninja opened his mouth to try to dissuade him, but a Hyuga Clan Jonin stopped him.
Under the other man's bewildered gaze, the stern Hyuga Clan Jonin wore a grave expression tinged with admiration as he said in a deep voice.
"This is the pride of the Uchiha Clan. It can only be reclaimed on the battlefield."
This kind of clan honor could only be understood by Konoha's three ancient clans—the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga Clan. Even clans like the Sarutobi could not understand it.
That was why the Hyuga Clan showed admiration.
Because this time, the Uchiha were fighting for honor, telling everyone that he, Uchiha, was not living off a woman—and that he was willing to lay down his life for it!
Yesterday afternoon, I finally completed the discharge procedures and left the hospital. The second child is safe and sound, and everything went smoothly. Thankfully, I had prepared enough chapters in advance.
I'll spend the next few days adapting to life with two kids, then work hard to stockpile chapters. Once the novel goes premium, I'll unleash a huge update spree.
Before you continue