Life Symphony

"We can still exchange you for a considerable fortune in the end, can't we?"

Leaning against a tree branch, Madara slightly opened his eyes and looked at Kosuke, who was chattering below. He was certain in his heart that this guy's plan was definitely not that simple.

In the years of confrontation with the Senju, he had always maximized his profits.

Was it just for the Uzumaki Sealing Technique now? To force the Uzumaki to withdraw and defeat the Senju? Or to exchange the Uzumaki princess for objective benefits?

Could it be?!!

Thinking of this, Madara's eyes snapped open. He stared in disbelief at the figure below, who was eating dried meat.

How dare you have such a thought! Aren't you afraid of being attacked by everyone?

Sensing Madara's astonished gaze, Kosuke suddenly waved the dried meat in his hand at him, a meaningful smile on his face.

"Madman!"

Madara ignored the dried meat Kosuke waved, his eyes narrowed, but a monstrous wave surged in his heart, unable to calm down for a long time.

Meanwhile, Mito's mind was entirely occupied with the strange look that had appeared on Kosuke's face when he had suddenly stood up earlier.

Recalling his whispered words in her ear on the battlefield before, Mito's heart inexplicably fluttered.

"He is an enemy of the Uzumaki clan, Mito, you can't have such thoughts!"

She shook her head vigorously a few times, shaking out the debris clinging to her hair.

Kosuke, who was eating dried meat, suddenly felt something was wrong and quickly dodged backward.

"Are you crazy! Can't you see I'm eating?"

"Crazy woman!"

"What did you call me!!"

Mito's high-pitched voice instantly startled the birds in the forest, and a few downy feathers drifted down.

"Shut up!"

Kosuke suddenly turned his head, his Sharingan flashing open, staring intently at Mito.

"What, you want to kill me now?"

Betting on her remaining value to the Uchiha, Mito provocatively shouted, as if she weren't the one who had been angry moments before.

"Why are you so sure I can't kill you?"

"Then kill me?"

"Yes, I can't kill you." Seeing the smile on Mito's face, the scarlet Sharingan in Kosuke's eyes quietly receded. His eyeballs rolled, and a sinister smile spread across his lips, "But I didn't say I couldn't scratch your face, did I?"

"Ugh... Despicable and shameless! How can the proud and aloof Uchiha of the ninja world have someone like you?"

"You flatter me, I am a genuine Uchiha member, the real deal!"

Mito glared at Kosuke, her eyes full of murderous intent.

Just then, a teammate on patrol nearby appeared. "Captain, due to the startled birds just now, we need to move again."

Madara opened his slightly closed eyes upon hearing this and his gaze swept back and forth between the two below.

Finally, it landed on Kosuke, who was still wrestling with the dried meat. He spoke to Mito, "If you make another sound, I will cut off your limbs without hesitation!"

Mito, with puffed-out cheeks, felt the chilling coldness in Madara's tone and dejectedly lowered her head, trying to distract herself from her fear with her wandering eyes.

Kosuke, who was fully focused on chewing the dried meat, paused unconsciously when Madara spoke of cutting off Mito's limbs.

This reaction, even he himself didn't notice, was perceived by Madara in the tree and Mito, who had her head down.

At this moment, Madara's heart was momentarily filled with self-doubt.

Did he guess wrong just now? Is Kosuke's ultimate goal this Uzumaki woman?

Shaking off the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Madara leaped down from the branch. "Kosuke, pack up, we're heading to the next location."

"Damn it! This dried meat is so damn tough to chew!"

With sore cheeks, Kosuke put away the dried meat and went to Mito's side, roughly pulling her up and wiping his hands on her clothes unconsciously.

"You!" Mito, witnessing Kosuke's hand movement, suddenly felt a surge of disgust. "Can you wipe your hands after eating?"

"Aren't I wiping them?" Kosuke said expressionlessly, circulating his Chakra and chasing after Madara.

The group waited in the forest for another week, changing locations every two days.

However, as a certain time drew closer, Kosuke and Madara's expressions grew increasingly tense, with the Sharingan sometimes activated all day.

The four team members, influenced by the two, unknowingly activated their Sharingan to patrol their surroundings.

"Is it time?"

"I'll go take a look. If you see the signal, you immediately take the people and retreat. I'll return on my own."

Madara nodded in response to Kosuke's words after a long pause.

"Don't worry, even if I'm unfortunately captured, don't we still have the Uzumaki princess in our hands? It'll be fine."

"I'll only wait for you for two days. If I don't see you, I'll leave with Mito."

"Fine."

With that, Kosuke turned, activated his Chakra, and sped off in a certain direction.

When his figure had completely vanished, Mito slowly spoke, "What will happen to me if he accidentally gets killed by someone from my clan?"

Madara abruptly turned his head, his sharp gaze fixed on the worried Mito, and said nothing.

Sensing the intense killing intent in Madara's eyes, Mito's heart sank into an abyss.

Whoosh!

Kosuke reappeared, his movements light and agile, not far from the illusionary ground where Mito was being guarded.

He crouched among the dense foliage, the three Tomoe in his pupils blazing open, warily surveying the empty location.

Just like that, a day quietly passed.

At noon the next day, Kosuke was slowly chewing on the dried meat in his mouth. His Sharingan, which hadn't been deactivated, detected two figures flashing through the dense forest.

He immediately swallowed his food and tensed, observing his surroundings.

Not long after, Mito's guards stopped at the same spot as a few days prior, motionless, like two statues.

Fifteen minutes...

Thirty minutes...

Forty-five minutes...

An hour...

Having had his Sharingan active for two days, Kosuke could no longer suppress the restlessness within him.

At that moment, a figure suddenly darted out from another patch of bushes, rapidly approaching the Uzumaki guards.

Upon closer inspection, it was a clone Kosuke had created earlier.

"Hand over everything you have on you."

Seeing the figure before them, a flicker of red light flashed in the eyes of the two Uzumaki guards, as if verifying the identity of the person in front of them.

They then took out all their belongings, sealed them into a scroll, and handed it to Kosuke.

After putting away the scroll, Kosuke stared intently at the two men in front of him, hesitating whether to kill them.

Suddenly, Kosuke's eyes snapped to a point behind them. The Two Tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, as if about to merge in the next second, forming a new pattern.

A moment later, the figures of two grey rabbits were reflected in Kosuke's blood-red eyes.

"Rabbits??"

Just as Kosuke was filled with confusion, those two rabbits began to perform the symphony of life right under his nose.

"Holy crap! This passionate?"

"If they're truly Uzumaki ninja, then I, Uchiha Kosuke, acknowledge you two!"

Amidst the rabbits' passionate symphony, Kosuke abandoned the idea of killing the two guards.

He immediately turned and quickly left with them.

Meanwhile, Kosuke, who was still crouching in the dense foliage, kept his eyes fixed on the continuously wriggling rabbits, as if watching some epic blockbuster, completely engrossed.