You Weren't Even at Kannabi Bridge!

At the outpost at the entrance to Windless Valley, Golden Wheel Mountain Range.

Currently stationed here are the veteran Konohagakure Jonin Mimura Hamaki, and a young Ino-Shika-Cho squad led by Jonin Akimichi Dōtō.

After arranging for the Sensory Ninja Yamanaka Santen to monitor enemy activity, Mimura Hamaki and the other two chose to play cards to pass the time.

Despite this, Mimura Hamaki wasn't in high spirits. He kept glancing in the direction of the Land of Grass, his expression worried. "It's already been more than a day. By rights, Uchiha Aoya and the others should have returned by now."

Just a day ago, Uchiha Aoya's squad had passed through here to enter the Land of Grass.

At the time, Qingye had specifically mentioned that if they encountered any trouble, they would need the four of them to provide backup.

Mimura Hamaki had readily agreed.

But those three hadn't come back!

"Could something have happened?"

Akimichi Dōtō, with his large appetite, mumbled around a mouthful of dry jerky. This was the downside of wartime; all they could eat was this air-dried jerky.

Nara Shiosui, across from him, looked at the cards in his hand, pondered for a moment, then unceremoniously flipped them face down and scattered them on the ground with a sigh.

"Although Uchiha Aoya isn't old, in terms of strength, he's probably even above you, Dōtō."

"Plus, with Hyuga Himon, a ninja from the Hyuga clan with the Byakugan, there, they should always be able to anticipate the enemy... Could they have been ambushed and surrounded by multiple Iwagakure Ninja?"

That would be troublesome!

The thought of this possibility completely killed Mimura Hamaki and the other's interest in cards, and they fell silent.

Even though the other party was an Uchiha, who weren't exactly popular in the village, Uchiha Aoya wasn't the type to be arrogant.

Furthermore, they were all ninja from the same village, and with the war being so critical, they certainly didn't want to lose a Jonin-level combatant.

After a long silence, the three resumed their conversation, discussing the situation on the Iwagakure battlefield.

"Don't worry. I heard some news earlier that Minato is already on his way here," Mimura Hamaki, the eldest, finally reassured them.

As long as Minato Namikaze arrived, everything would be alright.

"The Yellow Flash is arriving?" Nara Shiosui's spirits lifted.

That was truly good news!

"Everyone, be alert! There's something up ahead!"

Yamanaka Santen, who had been meditating atop a giant tree nearby, suddenly shouted. As he spoke, he closed his eyes and focused his senses. "This chakra reaction... It's Uchiha Aoya, the three of them are back!"

"Wait, that's not right!"

Yamanaka Santen's expression changed.

Uchiha Aoya and the others were heading this way too quickly, almost at full speed!

"Someone must be chasing them! We need to prepare for backup!"

Yamanaka Santen quickly leaped down from the tree, and the four of them got ready for battle.

Not long after, the three sprinting figures of Qingye and his companions appeared within their sight. Yamanaka Santen used his clan's secret technique to sense again, and this time his expression turned grim.

"Such a strong chakra reaction!"

Yamanaka Santen's eyes snapped open, his face unusually grim. "There are many people following them, and one of them has an incredibly strong chakra reaction, far exceeding the level of a typical elite Jonin!"

What kind of person had these three managed to attract?!

Judging by the opponent's chakra reaction alone, it was unlikely that the four of them could handle it!

"Could it be that Iwagakure's top commander, Kitsuchi himself, has come... Haha, that's impossible, right?" Nara Shiosui wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Fire the signal flares!"

"Call for reinforcements! Kitsuchi is pursuing us!"

Qingye, running at the forefront, saw that they had finally reached the border of the Land of Fire and immediately accelerated to his maximum speed. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Mimura Hamaki and the others.

Nara Shiosui: "..."

Speak of the devil!

"What exactly happened?" Mimura Hamaki was also sweating profusely, firing three red signal flares into the sky in quick succession.

It was good that Uchiha Aoya and the others had returned alive.

It looked like their original mission had been completed.

And likely exceeded expectations!

What in the world had these three young people gotten themselves into to make Kitsuchi, with such a small force, pursue them all the way to the front lines!

They couldn't have possibly bombed Kitsuchi's command tent, could they?

"It's not enough!"

Qingye looked back and saw Yūhi Kurenai and Hyuga Himon also fleeing back, gasping for air. He quickly said, "Deploy smoke bombs to force them back!"

Before he could finish speaking, Nara Shiosui had already acted, tossing a dozen purple pellets towards the valley entrance ahead. "Senior Mimura!"

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Mimura Hamaki formed hand seals with incredible speed. His chest puffed out as he exhaled a gust of wind, which swept through the purple smoke that had just exploded ahead, blowing it forward.

At this moment, Kitsuchi and over twenty Iwagakure Ninja had already come into view!

Seeing the purple smoke approaching, Kitsuchi was furious but could only force himself to hold back, not daring to advance further.

"Damn it!"

Just a little more time!

If he had a bit more time, he might have caught up!

The group of Iwagakure Ninja didn't press their pursuit. Instead, they all used Earth Style jutsu, causing massive earth walls to rise from the ground, blocking the purple smoke that clearly looked abnormal.

"I hope Kitsuchi and the others will realize it's futile and retreat."

Nara Shiosui's expression was tense. He swallowed, ready to unleash the many traps he had set up at any moment.

After a long while, the purple poisonous smoke dissipated. A while later, there was still no movement from the other side.

Hyuga Himon, barely holding on, mobilized the last bit of his chakra and activated his Byakugan to observe for a while. Only then did he collapse onto the ground, "It's fine, Kitsuchi and the others have retreated."

Saved...

He almost thought he was going to die!

Originally, the three of them had fled for some time.

But he and Yūhi Kurenai weren't fast enough, and with giant rocks occasionally smashing down from behind, he had no choice but to keep his Byakugan activated, constantly watching the attacks from behind.

"Qing, Qingye, help me up..."

Yūhi Kurenai's voice trembled. She leaned against Qingye, her legs feeling weak, her heart pounding, and her face flushed unnaturally.

So thrilling!

She had never experienced anything so dangerous in her life!

Her two years of battlefield experience since graduating from the Ninja Academy were nothing compared to the excitement of the past two months teamed up with Qingye!

"What exactly happened?" Akimichi Dōtō looked confused. They went to blow up supplies at a frontline outpost, and it somehow attracted Kitsuchi.

"We'll talk about that later."

Qingye pulled Yūhi Kurenai and yanked up Hyuga Himon, who was sprawled on the ground. The three of them found a secluded corner.

Spreading a map directly on the ground, Qingye stared at it for a while, pinpointing the outpost they had destroyed earlier. He pointed there:

"Himon, you said earlier that a person's chakra reaction disappeared after they went underground. Where were they heading before their chakra vanished?"

Hyuga Himon, not understanding, pointed in a direction on the map with a slightly trembling hand.

A dot, a line. Qingye's gaze followed the ray on the map, and suddenly his eyes narrowed.

Wait!

Along this line, there was a place they had passed before!

There was a mountain with a cave on it!

Cave, Kannabi Bridge, Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Madara...

A series of information connected in Qingye's mind.

Immediately after, Qingye looked at another point on the map, Kannabi Bridge!

The outpost, their mission objective this time, was about twenty miles from the border of the Land of Fire.

And further into the Land of Grass, Kannabi Bridge was nearly a hundred miles from the border of the Land of Fire!

Damn it!

Qingye cursed inwardly.

What the hell was going on?!

Where in the original story was Uchiha Obito crippled?

Uchiha Obito, you're not even at Kannabi Bridge, where did you go?!