Outside the barrier,
the two Kumogakure shinobi surrounded Uchiha Setsuna from front and back.
Seeing Moroi gain the upper hand, the two exchanged glances and nodded to each other.
Ramui provided support and harassment from the rear with Lightning Release and Earth Release, while Dodai stayed in front, repeatedly using Kinkaku Ginkaku in tandem with Futton's Lava Fist to harass Uchiha Setsuna.
Uchiha Setsuna wanted to find an opportunity to use Genjutsu to control one of them, then ruthlessly trade one life for another with Izanagi,
but the two Kumogakure shinobi kept changing positions and refused to fight him to the death, stopping their exchanges at the slightest contact.
It seemed they had already decided to stall until Moroi killed Uchiha Ci, then make their move after returning.
This left Uchiha Setsuna struggling to cope, with no opportunity to exploit.
The expression on Uchiha Setsuna's face grew increasingly grave, and his anxiety deepened.
If this continued,
not only would he fail to save Uchiha Ci, he himself would be killed here by the three of them.
The situation did not look good!
However, at that moment,
the situation changed once again—
"Hohoho, hahahahaha, ahahahahahaha~!"
A wildly rising and falling laugh suddenly rang out from within the barrier!
Moroi's face filled with terror as he formed a Hand Seal and altered the barrier so sound could pass through from both sides.
"Senior Ramui, Senior Dodai! Hurry, retreat!"
Moroi's terrified voice followed immediately after the mad laughter.
"What?!" Ramui froze upon hearing it and turned to look inside the barrier.
Then he saw—
Uchiha Ci, bare-chested and covered from head to toe in dense Exploding Tag markings.
He pinched an Exploding Tag on his chest, his face full of disdain and cold amusement as he stepped toward Moroi one step at a time.
"What the hell is that?!" Ramui's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
Looking at all the Exploding Tags covering Uchiha Ci, Ramui's scalp went numb. His entire body trembled, and he shuddered.
With just one look, his aged, cloudy gaze became crystal clear.
"Has this kid gone insane?!"
"That many Exploding Tags are enough to blow this entire village into the sky!"
Dodai beside him could not help swallowing.
He was the Third Raikage's right-hand man and, logically speaking, had long been accustomed to the methods of reckless brutes.
Yet when he saw Uchiha Ci like this, his scalp still went numb, his face filled with shock.
Who wore Exploding Tags as clothes?!
Even the Hōzuki Clan of Kirigakure would not dare do something like this?!
This was no longer mere recklessness. This was a completely deranged madman!
Outside the barrier, all three of them stopped moving as if by mutual agreement and turned to look inside.
Uchiha Setsuna's eyes nearly split open in rage.
Seeing Uchiha Ci dressed like a terrorist, he feared that one stumble would trigger the Exploding Tags on his body.
Then,
with one boom, this newly minted Uchiha Genius of his Hawk Faction would be gone.
"Uchiha Ci, what are you doing?!"
He barked furiously, sweat pouring down his forehead as an immense shock filled his heart.
Pinching the Exploding Tag over his heart, Uchiha Ci turned around and replied with remarkable calm:
"Great Elder, you've already seen it. This is the only thing I can do. There is no other way!"
Uchiha Setsuna's Adam's apple bobbed. Worried sick, he tried his best to appear calm as he urged:
"Ci, calm down!"
"Hurry and take off those Exploding Tags! This old man will get you out of there!"
"Rest assured, those pieces of trash can't stop me!"
"No." Uchiha Ci shook his head fiercely. His face remained calm as he stepped toward Moroi and said evenly:
"Great Elder, we both understand the situation very well."
"Once I give up resisting and let this man walk out of the barrier alive, the three of them will join forces, and you will definitely die here, Great Elder!"
"If you die here, the clansmen in Valley of Hell will soon be attacked by the Two-Tails Jinchuriki!"
"By then, the Uchiha will suffer devastating losses!"
"And it won't just be losses in manpower."
Uchiha Ci let out a breath and said heavily:
"With the Chinoike Clan liberated and the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning's commission failed, our clan's reputation will suffer a severe blow."
"Without external funding, and with the loss of the Hawk Faction Leader, chaos, division, and conflict will inevitably erupt within the Uchiha."
"Outside, old dogs like Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō still harbor undying hatred toward our clan!"
"At this moment, we face both internal strife and external threats. This is a critical moment of life and death!"
Uchiha Ci's eyes flickered with a sharp gleam. He took a large step forward and viciously tore at the Exploding Tag on his chest.
"I now understand why I stand here!"
Moroi scrambled backward on all fours, screaming in terror:
"What do you understand?! Get away!"
"What are you trying to do?! Stop! Stay right there, don't move!"
"Don't tear any more off! It's going to explode, it's going to explode! Aaaaaah!"
"Don't come closer! Don't come closer!"
Outside the barrier,
Great Elder Uchiha Setsuna heard Uchiha Ci's words and could not help clenching his fists tightly. Even the hand gripping his blade trembled.
How could he not understand what Ci had said?
He simply had not expected—
that Uchiha Ci possessed such piercing insight, as though he too stood at the height of the clan and saw everything with such clarity.
This... this...
Uchiha Ci,
was not merely a genius. He was a genius blessed with foresight and vision!
No wonder, no wonder he had volunteered for a mission like this!
So he had seen it all long ago.
This fledgling hawk, whose feathers had not even fully grown in, had leaped from the cliff's edge,
not because he yearned to fly,
but because he had seen the future of the clan's collapse!
It was the fear that no egg could remain intact beneath an overturned nest that had made this child, at an age when he should have been enjoying peace and growing his wings,
choose to step into this bottomless abyss!
But precisely because of that, Uchiha Setsuna's heart ached so badly he could barely breathe!
"Ci!"
His eyes reddened, and at this moment, his eternally icy face
was moved!
Uchiha Setsuna clenched his blade tightly. His eyes were faintly red, and his gaze gradually became incomparably sharp!
He swept his gaze over the three Kumogakure shinobi, the anger in his heart nearly burning into the heavens!
Uchiha Setsuna drew a deep breath and shouted sternly:
"Uchiha Ci! Enough!"
"Stop right now!"
"Uchiha does not need your sacrifice!"
Uchiha Ci grinned. The expression on his face, so calm it had seemed almost cold, gradually softened.
He turned to Uchiha Setsuna, smiling as he shook his head:
"Great Elder, there is no need to persuade me."
"A hawk must carry itself like a hawk!"
"This is our final farewell!" Uchiha Ci said with a smile.
"After this mission, please don't forget me. Next year, burn some paper for me before the Memorial Stone."
"Then I will have no regrets!"
Uchiha Setsuna's heart jolted. He suddenly raised his head, just about to persuade him again.
Then he heard Uchiha Ci ask softly:
"Great Elder, you don't regret choosing me, do you?"
Uchiha Setsuna's vision blurred for a moment.
Uchiha Ci's figure reflected in his Sharingan, seeming to overlap with that reckless brat from the Clan Meeting.
The Great Elder's expression shifted again. Remembering how, in a fit of anger, he had actually sent Uchiha Ci onto the battlefield,
his face twisted, and regret nearly turned his guts green!
Had he known sooner that Uchiha Ci was this kind of genius, how could he possibly have let this kid go to war?!
And at the time, he had even intended to use Uchiha Ci as cannon fodder for the coup.
Now, seeing Uchiha Ci using his life to secure him even the slightest chance of survival,
Uchiha Setsuna wished he could slap himself hard across the face!
He truly deserved to die!
Uchiha Setsuna's lips trembled as he looked at Uchiha Ci, his eyes full of reluctance.
"Ci!"
Please bookmark, vote, and keep reading! It really means a lot to this newbie author!
Thanks to my godfather Tokineko for the monthly ticket.
Thanks to all of you esteemed readers for your recommendation votes!
Before you continue