Boom!
A massive foot, as large as a building, crashed down, and the ground thundered!
Uchiha Ci opened his eyes and immediately saw Matatabi's enormous body rampaging through an unfamiliar camp.
Crying, furious roars, the swishing of kunai flying past his ears, and the deafening blasts of Exploding Tags—
And—
The terrifying giant raised its head and roared!
A blue-black sphere of concentrated Chakra continuously gathered before its mouth.
Then—
Boom!
The Tailed Beast Bomb shot forth!
It was aimed directly at Uchiha Ci!
Faced with such an utterly terrifying ninjutsu,
Uchiha Ci's heart pounded wildly, his mind went blank, and his pupils gradually lost focus. Humanity's most primal fear of a savage behemoth clawed its way frantically through his heart!
But the next moment—
[Talent: Combat Intuition (S) activated.]
Uchiha Ci's vision instantly went dark, and he felt his body move on its own.
"Kumogakure is attacking! Wake the hell up, all of you!"
Uchiha Setsuna's roar exploded beside his ears, followed by a rain of shattered rubble blasted over by the explosion.
Mixed in was the sound of bells.
Uchiha Ci shook his head, sending dust raining from his hair.
He opened his eyes and woke from his dream!
He found his body twisted into an awkward position, wedged between half a flying wall and a broken roof beam.
Ahead,
Uchiha Setsuna was confronting three panting Kumogakure Ninja clad in Kumogakure uniforms.
Beside him,
Uchiha Seiichiro gripped a kunai. His entire body—his hands, feet, teeth, even his activated Sharingan—was trembling.
"Why, why, why am I, a mere Chunin, being made to face enemies like this?!"
He shouted shakily, his voice choked with tears and nearly cracking.
"So I finally caught you Uchiha rats!"
Among the three Kumogakure men, the elderly Ramui sneered and formed several hand seals.
Tiger—Snake—Tiger—Snake—Tiger!
A cluster of lightning appeared in his hand, ready to strike.
This was Lightning Release: Scattered Strike Muryuto.
It was a ninjutsu similar to Raikiri, gathering Lightning Release Chakra in the hand. Unlike Raikiri, it did not stimulate cellular metabolism. Instead, it radiated lightning into the surroundings, making it a small-scale destructive ninjutsu.
Blue light etched with lightning illuminated Great Elder Uchiha Setsuna's solemn face.
Clearly, the three men before him were all troublesome opponents.
Especially the one-eyed ninja in the middle wearing a black cap—Dodai.
He was one of the Third Raikage's right-hand men, possessing the fearsome Futton Kekkei Genkai. His strength came close to Kage Level.
He was not much weaker than Uchiha Setsuna.
With Jonin Ramui holding him back and Special Jonin Moroi sealing off any route of escape, their lineup had come specifically to kill him here!
At that thought, Uchiha Setsuna narrowed his eyes and made his decision.
He turned his head toward his two subordinates behind him and gave a cold order:
"Ci, Seiichiro!"
"Go!"
"You will complete the mission. I'll create an opening!"
Hearing Uchiha Setsuna's words, Ramui, the leader among the three Kumogakure men, darkened.
He narrowed his eyes and spoke to Moroi beside him:
"Go kill those two pieces of trash. Uchiha Setsuna may have obtained crucial intelligence. We can't let them escape and report it to the Uchiha."
Moroi frowned slightly. "Senior Ramui, if I leave, I won't be able to guarantee that Uchiha Setsuna's retreat route remains sealed."
"Then end this quickly. Kill those two, then return at once and set up the barrier."
Ramui's eyes were filled with Killing Intent.
"Uchiha Setsuna must die today!"
"Otherwise, with his Pupil Power, he may be able to restrain the Two-Tails in the Valley of Hell and cause our entire plan to collapse."
Hearing this, Moroi took a deep breath and nodded.
Then he moved his legs, circled around Uchiha Setsuna, and charged toward Uchiha Ci and the other man.
Seeing this, Uchiha Setsuna immediately tried to intervene.
However, two figures firmly blocked his path.
Dodai sneered coldly. "Old man, in a deathmatch, I may not be your match. But with the two of us here, we can dispel each other's Genjutsu. Holding you back will be easy."
Uchiha Setsuna gritted his teeth inwardly, though his face remained cold. "Is that so?"
"Kids these days really know how to talk big."
Crack, crack, crack!
Uchiha Ci drew a kunai from his Ninja Tool Pouch, smashed apart the wooden beam pinning him down, and crawled out from beneath the half-destroyed wall.
Hearing Uchiha Setsuna's order, he connected all the intelligence he had gathered so far.
He made a simple assessment of the entire incident.
First, Kumogakure's operation had been premeditated.
They planned to deploy the Two-Tails Jinchuriki into the Valley of Hell, destroy the Uchiha Clan's garrison there, and thus free the Chinoike Clan.
To that end,
Uchiha Setsuna, whose powerful Pupil Power might interfere with the Two-Tails' actions, was their first target for elimination.
Second was the current situation.
The three Jonin Kumogakure had sent out were meant to ensure Uchiha Setsuna's complete death.
Judging from the battlefield, they needed at least all three working together to accomplish that.
And now, one of the three had broken away, intending to kill him and Seiichiro and prevent the mission intelligence from reaching the Uchiha.
It was dangerous, but it was also an opportunity!
Uchiha Ci grinned, brushed the dust from his body, and strode forward.
In the original history, Shisui, who possessed the Phantom Body Flicker Technique, should have escaped from this situation. The Dove Faction's Seiichiro beside him had probably become the trigger for Shisui to awaken his eyes.
If Uchiha Ci was going to die here, he could not perform worse than he had in the original history.
At the very least, he had to send the intelligence back.
After all, Tendou Company had standards. As a Heavenly Strong Man, he could not do worse than the original history.
Uchiha Ci stepped forward to meet the charging Moroi, his gaze sharpening.
He tilted his head slightly and spoke decisively to Seiichiro beside him:
"Senior Kiyochiro, retreat. I'll hold him off!"
"What?!" Uchiha Seiichiro was startled by Ci's words.
"Are you insane? I saw that man in the records. He's a Special Jonin, and he specializes in swordsmanship and Fuinjutsu."
"You can't possibly be his match!"
Uchiha Ci shook his head, glanced at him, and answered with utter calm:
"Senior Kiyochiro, if someone doesn't hold him back, we'll both die here, and the intelligence won't make it back to the clan."
"And if you die here, someone may dig out your Sharingan, causing the clan's Kekkei Genkai to be lost."
"So compared to that, it's more appropriate for me to stay behind!"
"Y-you..." Uchiha Seiichiro was deeply moved, staring at Uchiha Ci in shock.
He simply could not understand why someone could speak so lightly of life and death.
Or why someone would be willing to give up his life to save him!
The enemy was a Jonin!
Those words nearly made little pearls fall from Seiichiro's eyes.
He immediately nodded hard.
But the next instant, his face suddenly turned Ghastly White. He turned back to Uchiha Ci and said:
"But Ci, I don't know how to contact the Shinobi Cat Clan!"
Uchiha Ci nearly coughed up blood from anger.
"Th-that really is a problem."
Uchiha Ci hesitated for a moment, then pulled a sheet of parchment from the scroll pouch at his waist and stuffed it into Uchiha Seiichiro's hands.
"Here, take this. It's a one-time contract with the Shinobi Cat Clan. Once you use it, ask the Nekoshi."
Looking at the Contract Scroll in his hand, Seiichiro was completely moved.
The Shinobi Cat Clan's Summoning Contract was a valuable thing that countless people wanted but could not obtain.
On the battlefield, something like that could save a life!
Yet Uchiha Ci had casually handed it over to him. Uchiha Seiichiro had never met anyone so strange and generous.
It was as though he were entrusting his final affairs to him!
But before Seiichiro could shed little pearls and speak words of gratitude,
The next moment,
Uchiha Ci's expression changed, and he shoved him away!
A barrier wall abruptly rose between them!
Moroi of Kumogakure slapped both hands against the ground, already setting up a Deathmatch Barrier around himself and Uchiha Ci.
Only the living could leave this place!
If Uchiha Ci had not shoved him away, both of them would have been trapped inside the barrier by the narrowest margin!
Uchiha Seiichiro stood there in a daze, as if the world had gone silent.
Through the transparent barrier, he could see Uchiha Ci silently shouting at him:
"Go!"
Seiichiro's pupils suddenly contracted, and a tear rolled down his face.
At that moment, every grudge between them vanished like smoke.
In Seiichiro's heart, only the image of Uchiha Ci remained—tall and magnificent, his entire body radiating Buddha Light!
He wholeheartedly acknowledged Uchiha Ci!
Without even wiping away his tears, he scrambled to his feet and ran toward the rear on all fours, clutching the Summoning Contract tightly.
"Uchiha Ci, wait for me!"
"I'll definitely find someone to save you!"
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Next, the protagonist goes solo—the excitement never stops!
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