"United in Heart and Soul"

After making some slight adjustments to their equipment, the two of them secretly slipped out of the clan territory under cover of night.

Madara had not called for Izuna, perhaps because he feared his younger brother might meet with misfortune. Sosuke, however, was different. He could sense that this kid was already prepared.

Prepared to kill enemies on the battlefield. Sometimes, one's eyes could not lie.

By the time dawn began to break, the two had already left the Uchiha's sphere of influence and arrived at a densely populated town.

They learned that when the younger brother was killed, he had been carrying out a mission alongside a squad of ninja from the Hagoromo Clan.

The Hagoromo Clan was a clan that had signed a friendly agreement with the Uchiha. The two clans cooperated with each other during missions, jointly resisting the Senju Clan's hegemony.

In the original story, the Hagoromo Clan had never officially appeared. It had only shown up when Madara and Hashirama skipped stones—the corpse that had drifted down the river.

This clan's strength was quite impressive. More importantly, its population was enormous, making it highly suitable as cannon fodder sent to die on the front lines of a war.

During the long struggle between the Uchiha and the Senju, the Hagoromo Clan had played a very important role. Yet later, for some unknown reason, it had suddenly vanished from the Ninja World.

To find the enemy's trail, they first needed to locate the surviving female ninja. Only through her could they find the enemy who had killed the younger brother.

Very soon, Madara found the other side's intelligence agent stationed in the town through a secret contact signal.

After briefly explaining their intentions, the other party immediately agreed wholeheartedly. It seemed that the identity of the Uchiha Young Clan Head was even more useful than expected.

"All we need to do now is wait quietly." After losing an important relative, Uchiha Madara shut himself in his room all day.

Seeing this, Sosuke could only abandon his plan to go out and have some fun. The Dancing King probably was not in the mood to listen to some tunes right now.

About half a day later, the intelligence agent came to find the two of them. Behind him followed a beautiful female ninja who looked to be in her teens.

"Hello, I'm Hagoromo Kaoru. I heard you have something urgent to discuss with me?"

After describing his desire for revenge, Hagoromo Kaoru immediately furrowed her brows and said uncertainly, "I understand how you feel, but I don't recommend that you track down the enemy."

Hearing this, Sosuke interjected from the side, "Uh, is the enemy very strong?"

"That's right." Hagoromo Kaoru nodded, seemingly recalling the scene at the time. "The five of us were transporting goods together when a group of bandits suddenly jumped out. Their leader possessed Captain-level strength."

"Captain-level? So, a Jonin." Sosuke rubbed his chin and quietly considered the matter. "The Dancing King's strength is infinitely close to Captain-level. Relying on an outburst of rage, he should be able to hold his own against the opponent for a short time."

"The outcome of the battle depends on whether I can quickly kill the remaining few."

According to Hagoromo Kaoru, their desperate counterattack had successfully taken two enemies with them. There were currently seven enemies remaining on the other side.

"Seven. Not counting that Captain-level expert, I need to kill six ninja in a short time."

"This is no longer a matter of whether it's difficult or not."

Sosuke tightly clenched his hand and could clearly feel his heart pounding violently.

Feeling afraid was perfectly normal. Even someone as powerful as Uchiha Madara would experience a surge of adrenaline the first time he fought an enemy to the death.

To borrow the words of a certain character, how could there be no fear in battle? Only that dance along the edge of a blade could allow a ninja to grow as quickly as possible.

After giving Madara a firm look, the Dancing King smiled faintly and turned toward the girl. "Tell me where the enemies went. I'll personally avenge the dead."

"..." The girl looked deeply at the two of them, her eyes constantly flashing with hesitation and inner struggle.

After remaining silent for a full three minutes, she abruptly raised her head and stared fixedly into Uchiha Madara's eyes. "Tell me the truth. Exactly how confident are you?"

"About forty percent." Sosuke gave an impartial answer in his heart.

Of course, his companion was not nearly so pessimistic.

Hearing the girl's doubt, Uchiha Madara gave an arrogant smile and slowly folded his arms across his chest. "Don't worry. I, Uchiha Madara, absolutely will not die here."

"Then... then I'll personally lead you there!" After Hagoromo Kaoru finished speaking, her entire body seemed to collapse in an instant. She leaned against the chair and panted heavily.

She knew how strong the enemy was, which was why she understood what they would face by going with them.

There was a high chance she might not make it back.

But whenever she thought of her brutally slain clansmen—and of that youth who secretly glanced at her from time to time—the anger in Hagoromo Kaoru's heart could no longer be suppressed.

"Everyone, I will definitely avenge you."

Having decided to set out, the trio made some simple preparations and left the town.

The enemy needed to transport supplies, so their speed forward could not possibly be very fast.

To evade pursuers, they had even quietly disguised themselves as a merchant caravan. Unfortunately, they had not managed to escape the Hagoromo Clan's intelligence network.

Three hundred kilometers south of the town stood a small village.

Travelers coming and going would stop here to rest, take a couple of sips of tea, and listen to an old man by the roadside sing a little tune.

The surroundings were far from ideal, but they had their own distinctive charm.

That quiet and peaceful atmosphere, however, was ruined by the argument between several people.

Looking at the man before him, whose face was full of mockery, Takigawa Hiroshi felt a surge of anger.

"I asked you to transport the goods to the clan. It hasn't been windy or raining the whole time, has it? It's been five days, brother. What, did you go to the moon?"

Aside from wartime, the various clans accepted commissions from outside on a long-term basis. The sneering man was a ninja currently carrying out a mission.

According to the commission, he was supposed to transport a batch of goods to the client's clan.

But halfway there, he had encountered some Uchiha brats. The two sides had fought, suffering roughly equal losses, though he had unexpectedly gained a large batch of supplies.

According to the unspoken rules among ninja, this batch of goods should naturally belong to the employer. They had paid to hire you, so anything obtained along the way naturally belonged to them.

The key point was that these goods were extremely valuable, and Senju Katsuhito was unwilling to let the employer reap such a huge benefit for nothing.

Using all kinds of excuses to stall, he had dragged things out for a full five days.

No wonder the person in charge on the employer's side was so furious that his lips had begun to tremble.

Facing his questioning, Senju Katsuhito explained unhurriedly, "I did this because I was afraid enemies might be pursuing us. If you're unwilling, we can terminate the commission immediately."

Hearing this, several subordinates beside him burst out laughing.

Terminate the commission?

That meant the two sides would no longer have a contractual relationship, and the person in charge before them would die horribly at the hands of the captain.

"What a stupid fool."

After casting the person in charge a disdainful glance, a ninja in his twenties swayed to his feet, preparing to relieve himself of the excess liquid in his stomach.

But after taking only a few steps, his path was blocked by a kid wearing a cloak. The other party was also muttering something incessantly.

"...I hereby declare that today, you and this Kunai shall be united in heart and soul."

A cold glint flashed beneath the cloak. In the next second, the Kunai in the youth's hand plunged into the man's heart.

Truly united in heart and soul.

[Ding! Successfully killed Watanabe Kaoru. Earned 82 Points.]

[System Shop unlocked. Beginner Exchange List available.]