The stark temperature difference between the sky and the earth, along with the convection of hot and cold air, quickly gathered thick clouds in the clear sky. Before long, a drizzle began to fall from above.
The blood was washed away, and the scorching heat dissipated with it.
The Grass Country garrison had been utterly powerless against Susanoo. After a brutal slaughter, the group had already broken into the Land of Earth.
The rain clouds overhead had spread to the border of the Land of Earth. The hazy drizzle seemed to mourn the dead ninja, or perhaps lament their folly in believing they stood a chance.
The black Susanoo shimmered with the lifeless glow of chakra. It was a grim reaper, gripping a sword in each hand.
How could the spirits lingering on the ground possibly defy the Death God?
Near the borders where the Land of Earth met the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain, lush greenery could be seen everywhere. But after traveling some distance, the vegetation seemed to have been erased by something, vanishing completely.
Only a few hardy plants still grew in the cracks between rocks, displaying their tenacity to the world.
Gray seemed to be the country's dominant color. Its distinctive landscape was made up of countless strange rocks, many of them towering into the clouds.
The ground was so level it seemed to have no rise or fall at all. This left intruders with only one concealed route in: underground.
But that wasn't necessary.
Unlike the Land of Grass, the Land of Earth was home to the Iwagakure, and there weren't many defensive measures within its borders.
After several days of rushing forward and slaughtering their way through, even this elite unit was exhausted. Though ninja were far stronger than ordinary people, their bodies and minds still felt utterly drained.
Military Ration Pills were primarily used to replenish a ninja's chakra and restore their stamina.
The more potent the pill, the less attention was paid to its flavor. In fact, to make the effects more pronounced, the taste was made even harder to stomach.
If you were lucky, it tasted like chewing on tree roots. If you weren't, well, it tasted like shit.
Night gradually fell. The night sky over the Land of Earth was no less beautiful than the one over Konoha. The stars might even have seemed brighter, perhaps because of the terrain.
The group leaped onto a stone pillar that shot straight into the sky and lit a campfire at its summit.
Ordinary people lit campfires in the wilderness to drive away wild beasts. Ninja generally had no fear of such beasts; what concerned them more was whether their position might be exposed. That was why they usually just ate Military Ration Pills in the wild.
But Uchiha Yuji wasn't worried about being spotted.
He'd even leaped to the top of a stone pillar and lit a campfire. He was simply making a statement:
I'm right here! If you're not afraid to die, come and get me!
He opened a storage scroll and took out several animals they'd hunted in the Land of Grass. He casually skewered them on branches and set them beside the fire.
Hatake Sakumo watched Uchiha Yuji keep pulling seasonings from the ninja pouch at his most convenient spot. His eyelid wouldn't stop twitching.
Wasn't a ninja pouch supposed to hold things like Kunai and Shuriken, not spices and salt?
"Don't you have any Kunai or Shuriken in your pouch?" he couldn't help asking.
Uchiha Yuji furrowed his brow slightly and pointed at the storage scroll on the ground. "Don't we have a storage scroll?"
Storage scrolls were so expensive. Why were you using one to seal away game?
Being around Uchiha Yuji made Hatake Sakumo feel as if his serious nature was being worn away. At this rate, he might end up becoming a comic relief character.
"Lord Yuji, the Iwagakure should discover our position soon. Is it really all right for us to roast meat here?" Uchiha Toshihiko asked with some concern.
"We don't have a sensor-type ninja with us."
If that tall stone pillar were to break, their position would put them at a disadvantage.
"It's fine. Leave the Iwagakure coming next to me! I'll show them my burning youth!"
Might Duy hadn't actually expended much of his stamina during the battles along the way, so he was still full of energy.
He bounced around as if ready to unleash a flurry of Steel Fist strikes against the Iwagakure.
Uchiha Yuji turned the rabbit in his left hand while slowly infusing it with [soul] using his right. As the flames roasted it, a mouthwatering aroma spread through the air.
"The Grass Country's defenses and outposts have lost contact in large numbers. The Iwagakure must have received the news by now."
"The next ones to come will probably be prominent figures from the Iwagakure."
"The Tsuchikage, or perhaps a Jinchuriki."
At Uchiha Yuji's words, everyone's expressions grew serious.
Even after seeing Uchiha Yuji's Susanoo, they didn't believe it could withstand the Third Tsuchikage's Dust Release.
Ōnoki of Both Scales' [Kekkei Tōta], which surpassed even the Kekkei Genkai, was exceptionally powerful.
"Duy, you're a man I respect. I don't want you to waste your most vibrant youth here."
"Your moment to shine should come on an even more brilliant, even more blazing battlefield. The peak of your youth, the moment when your fire burns brightest, isn't now."
At the thought of the peak of youth, Uchiha Yuji pictured the kick that had nearly brought the story to an early end. His voice rose uncontrollably.
Might Duy's tears streamed down, and his voice choked with emotion. "My dear friend! My dear friend! My youth—"
"I'm sorry, but I'm not the person you were expecting. Still, your youth ends here." An unfamiliar voice rang out without warning.
"Earth Release: Mountain Earth Technique!"
The rumble of rising and falling rocks rang out. Huge semicircular stone walls surged toward each other from both sides.
They were already standing at the highest point of this yellow-earth plain, yet the walls on either side rose even higher.
The ninja who'd used a massive amount of chakra to create the walls had even spent more chakra carving the Iwagakure's emblem into them, showing just how much he loved his village.
But love couldn't give him greater strength.
The black giant swung both fists down onto the walls with a thunderous crash. Yet the stone was extraordinarily sturdy; even after taking Susanoo's blows, it bore only a few cracks.
Seeing that the walls couldn't be destroyed quickly, Susanoo spread its clenched fists wide, pressing its palms and fingers firmly against the stone to stop the walls from closing.
The walls kept closing. An ordinary ninja would have been crushed into a meat patty by now.
But Susanoo, formed from Yin Release Chakra, had no muscles to injure. With Chatonra supporting it, it even forced the walls to retreat some distance.
The Uchihas standing on Susanoo also spotted where the enemy was.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire!"
The precisely controlled fireballs cut through the night and streaked toward the figure in the darkness.
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