You Cured My Konoha Phobia

"Are you Seigetsu Senju's lover?"

Kawadera Uchiha was waiting at the camp entrance when a small head poked out from the side, topped with two playful braids.

Kanzuki Senju's face was written full of curiosity, her large eyes fixed on Kawadera Uchiha.

Seeing that the others were still some distance away, Kawadera Uchiha asked, "Why do you say that?"

"I know everything!" Kanzuki Senju declared.

"Everyone says it's easy to develop feelings within a squad. Big Brother Ken Aburame is full of bugs, and the Aburame Clan only marries internally, so it can only be you!"

Seeing that Kawadera Uchiha only smiled without answering, Kanzuki Senju continued.

"Sister goes to find you every day to perform half an hour of muscle repair for you. That's proof enough, right?"

Kawadera Uchiha lowered his head and whispered, "Fine, you've guessed it. My little sister-in-law, keep my secret and don't let anyone else know!"

Kanzuki Senju wore an 'I knew it' expression and nodded repeatedly.

"I understand! I will keep it absolutely confidential!

The hatred between the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan, those two mortal enemies, far outweighs any love. You aren't blessed by the world or your families, so you must never let others find out!"

Kawadera Uchiha was stunned. This little girl had just graduated this year; how could she be so precocious and such a gossip?

Unlike the two whispering in private, the two thousand ninjas on the front line waited for orders in solemn silence.

Kawadera Uchiha looked forward and saw Tsunade and Orochimaru at the very front.

Behind Tsunade were more than thirty ninjas from the Senju Clan.

It seemed that the Senju Clan would have to lead the charge in this battle once again.

Jiraiya was nowhere to be seen; he had stayed behind in the Land of Rain at this critical juncture to cultivate the mysterious Child of Prophecy.

Nagato was not the Child of Prophecy; at most, he was an important guide for the reincarnation of Asura, a tragic tool for his entire life, a poor man whose relatives had all perished.

Mount Myoboku was deeply involved in the development of the world, not even sparing the guide of the Child of Prophecy.

Compared to Jiraiya, Orochimaru was much more helpful and reliable to Tsunade.

Kanzuki Senju said, "I have to go! Brother-in-law, I need to find my squad!"

Kanzuki Senju's squad, like Seigetsu Senju's, was affiliated with the Medical Guard Battalion.

Watching Kanzuki Senju's two ponytails bounce away, Kawadera Uchiha also went to look for his own squad.

The troops set out, leaving the camp and heading toward the Land of Earth.

The Medical Battalion was located at the rear of the force, allowing Kawadera Uchiha to see the troops ahead.

The wind blew across the grassland, and amidst the waves of grass, the Konoha ninjas advanced rapidly.

More than two thousand ninjas, organized into squads, were spread out, forming a long, winding column that stretched out of sight—a truly spectacular sight.

After walking and stopping for over three hours, Kawadera Uchiha suddenly came to a halt.

Kureya Inuzuka and Ken Aburame also stopped, while everyone else continued to run rapidly, unaware of what Kawadera Uchiha intended to do.

Their squad leader, Seigetsu Senju, was in the Medical Battalion, so for now, they had to listen to the Special Jonin, Kawadera Uchiha.

Kawadera Uchiha frowned.

His eyesight was excellent; in the distance of the grassland, the formation at the front of the column had changed.

It wasn't the slow deceleration of a rest, but an acceleration to change formation, shifting from a long column into a fan-shaped array.

Had the scout ninjas discovered the enemy?

A few seconds later, a Ninja Hawk flew back from the front.

Mei Senju, the captain of the Medical Battalion, saw the way the Ninja Hawk circled and immediately shouted:

"Earth Style ninjas! Build pit fortifications immediately!"

The vast grassland was endless, without any cover, making it difficult to hide.

The Earth Style ninjas in the Medical Guard Battalion performed hand seals and used a joint ninjutsu.

A square area of ground sank, dropping more than three meters.

Kawadera Uchiha and the others unzipped their backpacks and quickly set up three tents, completing their squad's quota.

They were still assembling the tent poles when the medical ninjas were already waiting outside, beginning to plan whether the tent would be used for surgery or as a ward.

After setting up the tents, the three of them left the pit and arrived on the grass outside to stand guard.

In the distant blue sky, there wasn't a single cloud, but a black dot hovered in the air, flying toward the Konoha troops.

The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki!

Ōnoki hovered high in the air, so high that he could calmly look down at the Konoha troops on the ground.

"Hmm? Hiruzen Sarutobi?" Ōnoki's large nose twitched a few times.

"I didn't expect this, Hiruzen Sarutobi, that you would actually come to the front line. It seems your Konoha has truly reached the end of its rope."

Hiruzen Sarutobi cast off his Hokage Haori, revealing his black combat suit.

He wrapped his arms around the Adamantine Enma Staff and looked up, shouting:

"Ōnoki! Konoha has never been weak. Your attempt to take advantage of a perceived vulnerability to tear into Konoha will surely come at a bitter price!"

Ōnoki chuckled, his voice booming across the battlefield:

"Hiruzen Sarutobi! It was you who cured my fear of Konoha!

You are the trash that Tobirama Senju was blind enough to choose! Come on!

You have proven it time and again, and you will prove it once more: Tobirama Senju was blind!"

Kawadera Uchiha made sure Tobirama Senju heard Ōnoki's mockery.

He said in his heart, Second Hokage, his insults are quite filthy.

As expected of an Ōnoki who had the guts scared out of him by Madara Uchiha, this trash talk has quite a bit of Madara Uchiha's flair!

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned; he had no good way to deal with the flying Ōnoki and could not stop him from spewing such filth.

The Adamantine Enma Staff rapidly extended, thrusting toward Ōnoki in the sky.

The Adamantine Enma Staff could actually stretch to hundreds of meters in length.

Ōnoki easily dipped downward, dodging the Adamantine Enma Staff.

While the staff was certainly miraculous, its extension speed was not fast enough, and Ōnoki had ample time to evade it.

Conversely, Ōnoki's Atomic Dismantling Jutsu was not so easy to dodge.

Ōnoki brought his hands together, and a cone-shaped white barrier appeared before them.

The barrier expanded instantly, transforming into a beam of light that shot toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi dodged to the side, and the Dust Release barrier instantly pulverized the grass on the ground.

"Damn it!"

The Dust Release barrier pursued Hiruzen Sarutobi; after he dodged, he watched helplessly as the barrier swept toward the Konoha ninja on his flank.

Any Konoha ninja struck by the Dust Release barrier was instantly pulverized into dust, and over a dozen Konoha ninja died in the Dust Release right then and there.

Hiruzen Sarutobi hurriedly formed hand seals, creating four shadow clones and unleashing the Five Elements Great Barrage, hoping to use this wide-range ninjutsu to kill Ōnoki.

Ōnoki had anticipated this and flew higher into the sky.

The Five Elements Great Barrage was brilliant and colorful, with an astonishing display of force, yet by the time the techniques reached the high altitude, they were soft and powerless.

Ōnoki and Hiruzen Sarutobi began trading blows.

The terrible part was that every time Ōnoki used the Dust Release barrier, he could casually kill the Konoha ninja beside Hiruzen Sarutobi, while all of Hiruzen Sarutobi's methods were ineffective against Ōnoki.

In the distance, Kawadera Uchiha asked Tobirama Senju in his sea of consciousness: "Lord Second, have you ever researched Dust Release?"

"No. Dust Release is a secret of the Land of Earth, mastered by only a few; I could never obtain their corpses or intelligence," Tobirama Senju said.

"Obtaining the Kekkei Tōta Dust Release can be considered an S-rank mission.

Don't be in such a rush to refuse; this is a long-term mission.

I know that with your temperament, it is impossible for you to grow into a powerhouse of the ninja world. For these years, or even decades, you will remain like a rat, not daring to appear in Ōnoki's line of sight."

"No, you two are the ones being insulted—one blind, one trash—why are you dragging me into this?"

Ōnoki rampaged above the battlefield, and no matter how tragic the fighting was elsewhere, it could not overshadow Ōnoki's presence.

Soon, Ōnoki noticed the medical station at the rear of the Konoha battlefield!

The medical station is the first target to strike in a war.

Kawadera Uchiha saw Ōnoki flying toward it!