Rumble, Death Match! Devotion!

BOOM!

Like a building-sized foot stomping down, the ground roared!

Uchiha Ci opened his eyes and immediately saw the massive body of the Two-Tails, Matatabi, rampaging through an unfamiliar camp.

Cries, roars, the rustling of kunai flying past his ears, the deafening boom of explosive tags detonating, and, a terrifying colossal beast roaring to the sky!

A sphere of condensed blue-black chakra continuously gathered at its mouth.

And then—

BOOM!

A Tailed Beast Bomb, fired out!

Its target, Uchiha Ci!

Facing this extreme, terrifying ninjutsu, Uchiha Ci's heart pounded wildly, his mind a chaotic mess, his pupils gradually losing focus, humanity's primal fear of savage behemoths climbing madly in his heart!

But, the next moment—

[Talent: Combat Intuition (S) triggered.]

Uchiha Ci's vision suddenly went black, and he felt his body move on its own.

"Kumogakure is attacking, wake up, all of you!"

Uchiha Setsuna's roar exploded in his ears, followed immediately by a shower of debris blown over by an explosion.

Accompanied by the sound of bells.

Uchiha Ci shook his head, shaking off a head full of dust.

He opened his eyes, waking from his sleep!

He discovered his body was in a bizarre position, stuck between a flying half-wall and a broken house beam.

Ahead, Uchiha Setsuna was confronting three panting Kumogakure shinobi in their village's attire.

To the side, Uchiha Seiichiro gripped a kunai, trembling all over—his hands, feet, teeth, and even his activated Sharingan.

"Why, why, why do I, a Chunin, have to face enemies like this!"

He yelled tremblingly, his voice choked with tears, almost breaking.

#

"Finally caught you, you Uchiha rats!"

The oldest of the three Kumogakure shinobi, Ramii, sneered and formed a few hand seals.

Tiger-Snake-Tiger-Snake-Tiger!

A ball of lightning appeared in his hand, ready to strike.

This was Lightning Release: Scattered Strike.

A ninjutsu similar to Raikiri, it condensed lightning chakra in the hand. Unlike Raikiri, it didn't stimulate the body's cell metabolism; its effect was to radiate lightning to the surroundings, making it a small-scale area-of-effect ninjutsu.

The blue light imprinted with lightning, Great Elder Uchiha Setsuna's face was filled with solemnity.

Clearly, the three in front of him were all quite troublesome enemies.

Especially the one-eyed ninja in the black hat standing in the middle, Dodai.

This man was one of the Third Raikage's right-hand men, possessing a terrifying Lava Release kekkei genkai, his strength nearing Kage-level.

Not much weaker than Uchiha Setsuna.

Coupled with the Jonin Ramii on the side to restrain and the Special Jonin Moroi to block escape routes, this lineup was clearly aimed at killing him here!

At this thought, Uchiha Setsuna narrowed his eyes, having made his decision.

He turned his head to look at his two subordinates behind him and coldly ordered:

"Ci, Seiichiro!"

"Go!"

"You two complete the mission, I'll create an opportunity!"

Hearing Uchiha Setsuna's words, the leader of the three Kumogakure shinobi, Ramii, his expression sank.

He narrowed his eyes and spoke to Moroi beside him, "You go kill those two trash. Uchiha Setsuna likely obtained crucial intel, we can't let them escape. Notify Uchiha."

Moroi frowned slightly, "Senior Ramii, if I leave here, I can't guarantee I can block Uchiha Setsuna's retreat."

"So, you need to finish this quickly. After killing those two, immediately return and set up the barrier."

Ramii's eyes were filled with pure killing intent.

"Today, Uchiha Setsuna must die!"

"Otherwise, with his dōjutsu, he might very well tie down the Two-Tails in the Valley of Hell, completely ruining our plan."

Moroi took a deep breath upon hearing this and nodded.

Then, he moved his legs, bypassed Uchiha Setsuna, and charged towards Uchiha Ci and the other.

Uchiha Setsuna immediately wanted to intervene upon seeing this.

However, at this moment, two figures blocked him dead in his tracks.

Dodai chuckled coldly and said, "Old man, in a death match, I might not be your opponent, but with the two of us here, we can dispel each other's genjutsu and keep you occupied with more than enough."

Uchiha Setsuna gritted his teeth inwardly, his face still cold, "Is that so?"

"Kids these days really like to talk big."

Crack, crack, crack!

Uchiha Ci flipped his hand, pulled a kunai from his ninja tool pouch, smashed through a wooden roof beam, and crawled out from under the half-ruined wall.

Hearing Uchiha Setsuna's command, he connected the information he had obtained before and after.

He analyzed the entire situation simply:

First, Kumogakure's action this time was premeditated.

Their plan was to deploy the Two-Tails Jinchuriki into the Valley of Hell to destroy the Uchiha clan's stationed troops there, thereby achieving the goal of liberating the Chinoike Clan.

For this purpose, Uchiha Setsuna, whose powerful dōjutsu might interfere with the Two-Tails' actions, was their primary target to eliminate.

Second, was the current situation.

The three Jonin dispatched by Kumogakure were to ensure Uchiha Setsuna was killed completely.

Judging by the situation on the field, they would need at least three of them to attack together to achieve this.

And now, one of the three had split off, aiming to kill him and Seiichiro, and prevent the mission intel from being transmitted back to the Uchiha.

This was danger, but also an opportunity!

Uchiha Ci grinned, patted the dust off his body, and strode forward.

In the original history, faced with such a situation, Shisui, with his Body Flicker Technique, should have escaped. The pacifist Seiichiro beside him should have become the trigger for his awakening.

Uchiha Ci had to die here, so he couldn't do worse than in the original history.

At the very least, he had to get the intel back.

After all, the Heavenly Dao Company had standards. As a Heaven-Sent Strong Man, you couldn't do worse than in the original history.

Uchiha Ci stepped forward to meet the charging Moroi, his gaze sharpening.

He slightly turned his head and said resolutely to Seiichiro beside him:

"Senior Seiichiro, you retreat, I'll cover the rear!"

"What?!" Uchiha Seiichiro was startled by Ci's words.

"Are you crazy? I saw that person in the files. He's a Special Jonin, and he's skilled in swordsmanship and Fuinjutsu."

"You are absolutely no match for him!"

Uchiha Ci shook his head, glanced at him, and said calmly, "Senior Seiichiro, if no one covers the rear, then both of us will die here, and the intel won't be transmitted back to the clan."

"Furthermore, if you die here, your Sharingan might be dug out, leading to the loss of the clan's Kekkei Genkai."

"So, comparatively, it's more suitable for me to cover the rear!"

"You, you..." Uchiha Seiichiro's expression moved, and he looked at Uchiha Ci with horror.

He couldn't understand why anyone would take life and death so lightly.

And be willing to sacrifice his own life to save him!

The enemy was a Jonin!

These words almost made Seiichiro shed tears.

He immediately nodded fiercely.

But the next moment, his face suddenly turned pale, and he turned back to Uchiha Ci and said, "But Ci, I don't know how to contact the Ninja Cat Clan!"

Uchiha Ci was almost angered to the point of spitting blood.

"This... this is indeed a problem."

Uchiha Ci hesitated for a moment, then pulled a parchment scroll from the roll pouch at his waist and stuffed it into Uchiha Seiichiro's hand.

"Here, take this. It's a one-time contract from the Ninja Cat Clan. After you use it, ask the Ninja Cat Messenger."

Looking at the contract scroll in his hand, Seiichiro was completely moved.

A summoning contract from the Ninja Cat Clan was something countless people wished they had.

On the battlefield, such a thing could save a life!

Yet Uchiha Ci had just handed it to him so casually. Uchiha Seiichiro had never met anyone so strange and generous.

It was as if he was entrusting him with his dying wishes!

However, before Seiichiro could shed a tear and offer his thanks.

The next moment, Uchiha Ci's expression changed, and he shoved Seiichiro away!

A barrier suddenly rose between the two!

Moroi of Kumogakure slammed his hands on the ground, having already set up a death match barrier to trap him and Uchiha Ci.

Only the living could leave this place!

If Uchiha Ci hadn't pushed him away, they would have both been locked inside the barrier with only a sliver of a chance!

Uchiha Seiichiro came to a sudden realization, 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 constricted, and a line of clear tears fell.

At this moment, all the past grievances between them vanished.

In Seiichiro's heart, only the image of a towering Uchiha Ci, radiating Buddha-like light, remained!

He strongly acknowledged Uchiha Ci!

He didn't bother to wipe away his tears, scrambling backward on all fours, clutching the summoning contract tightly as he fled towards the rear.

"Uchiha Ci, wait for me!"

"I will definitely find someone to save you!"

To the readers here, please give this newbie author some support!

Favorites, recommendations, and continued reading – these are truly important.

Next, the protagonist goes solo, and the entire journey will be high-octane!