Symphony of Life

"In the end, we can still trade you for a considerable fortune, can't we?"

Leaning against a tree branch, Madara slightly opened his eyes and watched Kosuke ramble on below. He was certain that this guy's scheme was far from that simple.

Over the past few years of fighting the Senju, he had always maximized his gains.

Was this really just for the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Technique? To force the Uzumaki Clan out of the war and defeat the Senju? Or to trade the Vortex Princess for tangible benefits?

Could it be?!

At that thought, Madara's eyes snapped open. He stared in disbelief at the figure below, chewing on dried meat.

How dare you entertain such a thought! Aren't you afraid everyone will rise up against you?

Noticing Madara's shocked 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 held up. His eyes narrowed, but a raging storm had already been stirred within his heart, refusing to settle for a long while.

Meanwhile, Mito could think of nothing but the strange expression that had appeared on Kosuke's face when he had abruptly stood up earlier.

Remembering his whisper in her ear on the battlefield before, Mito's heart inexplicably trembled.

"He is the enemy of the Uzumaki Clan, Mito. You must not think like that!"

She shook her head hard, flinging away the bits of debris caught in her hair.

Kosuke, who was eating dried meat, immediately sensed danger and swiftly dodged backward.

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

"Crazy woman!"

"What did you call me?!"

Mito's shrill voice instantly startled the birds in the forest, and several soft feathers drifted down.

"Shut up!"

Kosuke suddenly turned around. His Sharingan opened in full, his eyes fixed firmly on Mito.

"What, do you want to kill me?"

Betting on the fact that she was still useful to the Uchiha, Mito provocatively taunted him, as though she had not been the one angered just moments ago.

"What makes you so sure I can't kill you?"

"Then come kill me!"

"Yes, I can't kill you." Seeing the smile on Mito's face, the Scarlet Sharingan in Kosuke's eyes quietly faded. His eyes shifted, and an eerie smile spread across his lips. "But I never said I can't cut your face."

"Ugh... You're shameless and despicable! How can the proud Uchiha of the Ninja World have someone like you?"

"You flatter me. I am a genuine Uchiha member, guaranteed authentic!"

Mito glared at Kosuke indignantly, her eyes filled with the urge to stab him to death.

Just then, a teammate patrolling the area appeared. "Captain, because of the birds startled earlier, we need to relocate again."

Hearing this, Madara opened his narrowed eyes, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two people below.

In the end, his eyes settled on Kosuke, who was wrestling with his dried meat, but he spoke to Mito instead. "If you make another sound, I will not hesitate to cut off all four of your limbs!"

With her cheeks puffed out, Mito felt the chilling coldness in Madara's voice and dejectedly lowered her head, trying to distract herself from her fear by letting her eyes dart about wildly.

Kosuke, who was biting down on the dried meat with all his strength, unconsciously paused when Madara spoke of cutting off Mito's limbs.

Even Kosuke himself did not notice that reaction, but Madara in the tree and Mito with her head lowered both caught it.

At that moment, Madara fell into self-doubt.

Had I guessed wrong? Was Kosuke's ultimate goal this Uzumaki woman?

Forcefully casting aside the chaotic thoughts in his head, Madara leaped down from the branch. "Kosuke, pack up. Prepare to head to the next location."

"Damn it! This dried meat is fucking hard to chew!"

His cheeks aching, Kosuke put away the dried meat and walked over to Mito. He abruptly lifted her up, his hand unconsciously rubbing against her clothes.

"You!" Watching Kosuke's hand move, a wave of disgust suddenly rose in Mito's heart. "Can't you wipe your hands after eating?"

"Isn't this wiping them?" Kosuke replied expressionlessly. He circulated the Chakra in his body and chased after Madara.

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

However, as a certain time drew closer, Kosuke and Madara grew increasingly tense. At times, they kept their Sharingan activated all day.

Influenced by the two of them, the four teammates also unconsciously activated their Sharingan as they watched the surroundings.

"Is it time?"

"I'll go take a look. If I see the signal, immediately lead everyone away. I'll return on my own."

Only after a long pause did Madara nod in response to Kosuke's words.

"Don't worry. Even if I'm unlucky enough to get captured, don't we still have the Uzumaki Clan's princess? It'll be fine."

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

"Fine."

With that, Kosuke turned and circulated his Chakra, speeding off in a certain direction.

Once his figure had completely disappeared, Mito slowly spoke. "If my clansmen accidentally kill him, what will happen to me?"

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

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

Whoosh!

Kosuke's lithe figure appeared once more near the place where Mito's guards had been trapped in genjutsu.

He crouched amid dense branches and leaves. Three tomoe appeared in his pupils as he warily surveyed the empty location.

Just like that, a day quietly passed.

At noon on the second day, Kosuke was carefully chewing the dried meat in his mouth when his still-active Sharingan detected two figures flashing through the dense forest.

He immediately swallowed his food and tensely observed his surroundings.

Before long, Mito's guards once again stopped at the same place they had been several days ago, motionless like two statues.

A quarter of an hour...

Half an hour...

Three quarters of an hour...

An hour...

After keeping his Sharingan activated for two days, Kosuke could no longer suppress the restlessness in his heart.

At that moment, a figure suddenly sprang out from another patch of bushes and rapidly approached the Uzumaki guards.

Looking closely, it was a clone Kosuke had created in advance.

"Hand over everything you have on you."

Upon seeing the figure before them, a glint of red flashed through the eyes of the two Uzumaki guards, as though verifying his identity.

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

After putting away the scroll, Kosuke stared fixedly at the two men before him, hesitating over whether to kill them.

Suddenly, Kosuke's eyes snapped toward the area behind them. The Two Tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, seemingly about to merge together the next second and form an entirely new pattern.

A moment later, the figures of two gray rabbits were reflected in Kosuke's scarlet eyes.

"Rabbits??"

Just as Kosuke was wondering about it, the two rabbits began performing a symphony of life right before his eyes.

"Holy shit! This passionate?"

"If you really are Uzumaki ninja, then I, Uchiha Kosuke, acknowledge you two!"

Amid the rabbits' excited symphony, Kosuke gave up on the idea of killing the two guards.

He immediately turned around and swiftly left with them.

Meanwhile, Kosuke, still crouching amid the dense branches and leaves, kept his eyes fixed on the rabbits that continued to thrust, as though watching some epic movie. He did not look away for even a moment.