What was he laughing at?
Uchiha Hikari was baffled.
No matter how he looked at it, he had the upper hand now.
"Has he been scared senseless?" he wondered, frowning as he prepared to step forward and finish the man off.
He was worried that if he dragged things out, the Three Clans' pursuers might catch up.
But after only two steps, he suddenly heard a familiar laugh.
"Ha ha ha ha." The laughter was full of mockery.
A ninja's senses were extraordinarily sharp. There was no way Uchiha Hikari could miss Kyosuke's undisguised laughter.
"You?!" Shock and anger crossed his face.
Perhaps Hikari would never have imagined that the one who had come to ambush him tonight was another Deputy Legion Commander—Uchiha Kyosuke.
Along with his disbelief, he even felt a trace of grievance.
Yes, he'd targeted Kyosuke openly and behind his back countless times.
But that was normal. They were fighting for power. Wasn't that how everyone played the game?
He'd constantly put pressure on Kyosuke, but in all fairness, Hikari had never once thought of killing him.
Otherwise, with his influence, he'd had plenty of chances to secretly dispose of Kyosuke.
He hadn't expected his leniency to bring him this result.
As clever as he was, he'd already guessed at the deal between Kyosuke and the Nara.
That peerless Space-Time Ninjutsu was enough to let the boy enter and leave the enemy camp at will.
"What a treacherous little snake." That was his verdict.
Clutching the wound in his abdomen, Kyosuke struggled to sit up. He spat out a mouthful of blood, then smiled and greeted Hikari. "Hey, what a coincidence."
What coincidence, my ass!
Hikari didn't want to waste words on him. The man had plotted and schemed to kill him, so Hikari would show him no mercy.
The Uchiha's once-in-a-century genius was about to die by his hand. The thought stirred a twisted pleasure in him.
"Remember, be more careful in your next life." With that, he prepared to strike.
"Heh." To his surprise, Kyosuke let out another cold laugh. "Deputy Legion Commander Hikari, are those your last words?"
By the time he said the words "last words," his voice was right beside Hikari's ear.
Thud! The Kunai sank deep into the enemy's abdomen, almost exactly where Kyosuke had been wounded.
"Does it hurt?"
Kyosuke dodged the enemy's counterattack and sneered as he asked.
"How could this be...?" Hikari's eyes widened. He had no time to think.
The next second, the same scene played out again.
Blood sprayed through the air, and the Deputy Legion Commander of the Southern Legion fell into a pool of blood like a stray dog.
"Can't figure it out?" Meeting the enemy's pleading gaze, Kyosuke smiled and pointed to a spot on his abdomen.
With the last of his strength, Uchiha Hikari lowered his head. A flash of understanding crossed his eyes. At last, he knew why he had failed.
[System Prompt: Killed an Uchiha Clan jōnin. Earned 3,850 points.] Points: 5,166.
"Jōnin really do give generous rewards." Kyosuke muttered to himself, then engulfed the body in a burst of Fire Release.
His earlier risky approach hadn't been meant to kill the enemy. He'd wanted to mark him with a space-time coordinate.
Once the mark was in place, as long as the target wasn't moving at high speed, Kyosuke could launch a surprise attack at any time.
It was like handing the enemy a calling card from the Shinigami.
Anyone below Clan Leader Level would find it almost impossible to react effectively in time.
The only problem was that the mark couldn't be used as a routine tactic.
He had to avoid the enemy's clothes and touch their body directly. With that kind of opportunity, he might as well stab them with a Kunai.
Unless, like today, he risked serious injury to trade blows with his enemy, it was hard to get such a good chance.
If the secret got out, chances to plant a mark would grow even slimmer. Plenty of people would rather take a stab than let him pull it off.
After destroying the scene and disposing of Uchiha Hikari's body, he used the Flying Thunder God to leave.
About ten minutes later—
"Quick, there are signs of a fight up ahead." The pursuers arrived.
Akimichi Mitsuki was in charge of the pursuit. To be honest, he hadn't felt this exhilarated in a long time.
It was a shame that the enemy leader had escaped, but wiping out the Uchiha forces would be enough to restore their reputation after it had hit rock bottom.
"R-Report, Clan Head." The clansman who had inspected the scene quickly brought him some news.
"What did you say?" Akimichi Mitsuki shoved his subordinate aside and reached the charred corpse in just a few strides.
After examining it carefully, he was delighted to confirm that the nameless, burnt corpse lying there was indeed Uchiha Hikari.
He didn't want to think about the details. All he wanted was to take the body back and claim credit.
With this achievement, his position as Clan Head of the Akimichi was secure.
As for the Uchiha's revenge, he couldn't care less.
They were getting ready to flee anyway. Who cared if anyone held a grudge?
Soon, the news spread far and wide.
Both sides learned what had happened.
Uchiha camp.
After smashing a teacup, the Legion Commander did his best to keep a straight face while struggling to hold back his laughter and maintain his terrible acting.
"Nara Higashihiko. Pfft, he's just so, so despicable."
He pinched his thigh hard and finally managed to suppress his laughter.
After composing himself, Uchiha Rei gave his orders with "indignation."
"We must have our revenge! Uchiha blood must not be shed in vain!"
He ordered the badly wounded Kyosuke to stay behind at camp, then personally led a force out, determined to put an end to the unrest in the southern border once and for all.
After today, the southern border would be Uchiha Rei's domain alone.
Just thinking about it was exciting.
"Ha ha ha ha." Once he was alone, the elder finally couldn't hold back his excitement.
Hearing laughter from inside the tent, several Unit Captains exchanged glances and ignored their boss's laughter as if they were deaf and mute.
As for Kyosuke?
He hadn't attended this farce at all.
Everyone knew what was going on. He needed to rest, so he wasn't going to play along.
Uchiha Rei held supreme authority, cementing his position as the man second only to the Clan Head and above everyone else.
He could act like a loner or even dance on Uchiha Hikari's grave—no one dared say a word to him now.
Uchiha Rei coveted the Clan Head's position and had to maintain his image. Kyosuke didn't need to, so he could do whatever he pleased.
Before long, half a month passed.
The three great clans that had once dominated the southern border of the Land of Fire withdrew from the conflict one after another. They moved their entire clans to the Land of Lightning, where they found a place to recuperate and rebuild.
That marked their complete withdrawal from the struggle for supremacy.
Meanwhile, the Senju Clan began its furious retaliation, clearly furious with the Uchiha's actions.
With the Senju of the Forest and the Uzumaki Clan closing in, the Uchiha on the front lines were driven back step by step.
They were even pushed to the brink of annihilation.
With nowhere left to retreat, Clan Head Tajima finally set aside his pride and asked Uchiha Rei's Southern Legion to reinforce the main battlefield.
The Legion Commander knew how serious the situation was and didn't use the opportunity to make demands.
With a wave of his hand, he dispatched two hundred combat-ready fighters under the command of Deputy Legion Commander Kyosuke to the heart of the Land of Fire to face the Senju in a decisive battle.
Including Kyosuke's own elite unit, he now commanded a total of 253 ninjas.
"Senju Clan, at last we get to face you."
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