The Cruelty of the Warring States

Hearing that the masked man was willing to make a move, Satoshi Ri felt somewhat relieved, though he also began making his own calculations.

He had seen the masked man's mysterious Body Flicker Technique many times while following Keizou Shimura, but he had no idea how much power it could display in actual combat.

Moreover, during this mission, Keizou Shimura had repeatedly instructed him to find a way to gauge the masked man "Kite's" strength while completing their objective.

"Lord Ri, they're about to enter the ambush range."

At that moment, a Shimura jonin reported in a low voice.

Satoshi Ri turned to look and said quietly, "Prepare."

These Shimura Clan ninja had arrived here two days earlier and set up their ambush.

The instant the caravan entered their ambush zone, Satoshi Ri gave a deep shout. "Attack!"

In an instant, the ten concealed Shimura ninja formed hand seals and released Chakra.

Boom!!

In an instant, the mountain path erupted in a violent explosion. Smoke shot into the sky alongside deafening blasts, staining the white clouds above the mountain peak black.

The Shimura ninja had planted explosive tags there beforehand.

Thud~ Thud~

The horses pulling the carts had no time to react. They did not even manage a scream before they were blasted to pieces by the shockwaves from the explosive tags, or collapsed to the ground.

"Enemy attack!!"

The leader of the caravan shouted. The next second, a gale formed by Wind Release scattered the smoke.

So it really is a caravan disguised by ninja!

The Shimura ninja thought to themselves.

The next second, they saw the scarlet tomoe eyes within those fake merchants' sockets.

"So it really is the Uchiha Clan!"

Satoshi Ri drew the short blade from his waist and shouted, "Kill them all! Leave no one alive!"

Sixty Shimura Clan ninja charged forward at once.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"

"Wind Release: Flowing Blade!"

"Earth Style: Rock Staff!"

The Shimura ninja in midair rapidly formed hand seals. The technique they unleashed most often was the Wind Release their clan took such pride in.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha Clan below immediately recognized them as Shimura ninja.

"The Shimura Clan!"

"Are you trying to start a war with the Uchiha?"

"You really don't know your place. Engage them!"

The Uchiha showed no weakness either. Their Sharingan opened in unison as they drew Shuriken and kunai. Some jonin-level ninja rapidly formed hand seals, clashing their ninjutsu head-on against the Shimura ninja above.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"

"Lightning Style: Gratitude Wave!"

Lightning and fire—the two most offensively powerful Chakra natures—combined and detonated, producing fierce shockwaves in midair that pulverized everything caught within them.

Not bad acting.

Izuna thought to himself.

From the very beginning, these Uchiha ninja disguised as caravan merchants had known enemies would come to ambush them—and that those enemies would be Shimura ninja.

But now, they all pretended not to know.

Every one of them belonged to the [Zetsu] Division, the Uchiha suicide squad.

"You still aren't making a move?"

Satoshi Ri turned and asked Izuna. The other Shimura ninja had already joined the Battle Situation, yet he was still standing here chatting idly with Izuna.

"We're partners. Don't treat me like one of your subordinates."

Izuna answered coldly. The next instant, he threw out a kunai and flashed to the side of an Uchiha ninja.

At the same moment, Izuna appeared in midair, caught the kunai he had thrown, and slashed backward, cutting the Uchiha ninja's throat.

"Th-That was fast!"

Even Satoshi Ri, at the Quasi-Kage level, could not help but be startled.

What kind of ninjutsu was that?!

No wonder he could come and go freely within our clan grounds.

"Who are you?"

"Are you from the Shimura Clan too?"

After Izuna killed one ninja from the Uchiha [Zetsu] Division, three Uchiha ninja immediately surrounded him.

Through the hole in his spiral mask, Izuna swept his gaze across the faces of the three Uchiha ninja one by one.

In the end, he could not help letting out a silent sigh.

These people had all lost what they cherished most because of the war, becoming Uchiha's suicide squad.

But that did not give Izuna a reason to kill them without hesitation.

They knew that only death awaited them in this battle, yet they had accepted the mission without hesitation.

Because death was the final destination they longed for.

"Make your move."

A thousand emotions ultimately condensed into just three simple words.

The three Uchiha ninja, each wielding a tachi, charged at Izuna in the center at the same time.

With a slight spring of his right foot, Izuna skimmed past the tips of the three blades, flipping backward and coming to a stop in midair roughly five meters above their heads.

When they looked up, they saw that the masked man already had those specially made kunai pinched between the fingers of his black-gloved hands.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Six special kunai rained down at once, and the three hurriedly raised their blades to block them.

The blades collided with a sharp clack like billiard balls striking each other.

But before the kunai could hit the ground, Izuna vanished from midair once more.

A black blur darted between the three men at a speed that even the Sharingan could not follow.

If it were slowed down tenfold, perhaps one could see it:

A dark figure weaving back and forth among the six deflected kunai, retrieving them while drawing his blade across the throats of the three Uchiha ninja.

About four seconds later, the masked man stood between the three Uchiha ninja.

At the very instant he reappeared, scarlet bloodlines appeared across the three Uchiha ninja's necks, and they crashed heavily to the ground.

"Tr-truly... too strong..."

One of the elite Chunin from the Uchiha [Zetsu] Division barely raised his head. Using the last of his strength, he whispered, "With power like this... you'll definitely be able to... please, please bring back vic-victory... Vice... Clan... Head..."

After saying that, his head struck the ground heavily, never to rise again.

Yet Izuna stepped over their corpses without even looking back and walked toward the other Uchiha ninja.

This was the cruelty of war—the cruelty of the Sengoku era.

For the plan to succeed, for victory in war.

To gain some things, one had to give up others.

Izuna had also come to realize just how laughable Naruto's future theory of "saving everyone" was.

Satoshi Ri, who was fighting an Uchiha Jonin, felt his heart tremble after witnessing the masked man instantly kill the three opponents.

That ninjutsu was truly terrifying.

But even setting that technique aside, the masked man's strength was at least at the level of an Elite Jonin, wasn't it?

Among the Four Clans of the northwest, there were only a handful of people with the strength of an Elite Jonin, yet Satoshi Ri still could not think of anyone who fit.

Was he a trump card that had been kept hidden all along?