"You're staying behind?"
Senju Xingyue's ripe red lips parted slightly. A moment later, deep guilt welled up inside her.
Kawadera Uchiha had made a poor first impression on her. She had even thought he was someone she couldn't trust.
Kawadera was never enthusiastic about anything, and throughout their journey, he had always kept to the edges of the squad.
She hadn't expected that, at the critical moment, Kawadera would be the first to step forward and volunteer to stay behind.
Staying behind to cover the others was an important tactic for Konoha squads.
From the Second down to ordinary ninja, everyone would use this tactic when they had no other choice.
Senju Xingyue immediately said, "No, Kawadera. I'm the squad leader, so of course I'll stay behind!"
Kawadera thought, Absolutely not. If you stay behind, how am I supposed to make deals with Tobirama Senju later?
Drawing his short blade, Kawadera said,
"Captain Xingyue, don't waste time! Go!
I, Kawadera Uchiha, swear to protect Konoha to the death!"
Inside the Sea of Consciousness, the white soul flame above Tobirama Senju's head flickered incessantly.
Naturally evil Uchiha brat. So devious, so good at putting on an act.
But... Tobirama Senju suddenly thought of a question. If someone pretended to be a good person their whole life, did that make them a good person?
If Kawadera Uchiha died for Konoha, who would still try to prove whether or not he truly had the Will of Fire?
Looking at Kawadera, Senju Xingyue suddenly thought of Kagami Uchiha, who was also skilled with a short blade. The Second's guard had also died fighting for Konoha.
Could Kawadera be an odd one out among the Uchiha Clan, like Kagami Uchiha, putting the village first?
"Kawadera, if you make it back alive, come find me!"
After saying that, Senju Xingyue gestured to the other two and used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.
Kawadera Uchiha stared into the dark woods and began forming Hand Seals.
If the pay's good enough, I can love Konoha too!
"Genjutsu! Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!"
The Bringer-of-Darkness Technique didn't rely on the Sharingan. After forming the Hand Seals, he sent his chakra spreading outward.
Darkness began to spread from beneath his feet.
A shout rang out from the left. "What's going on?! Why can't I see anything?! Captain! Where are you?!"
Kawadera turned and spotted a Cloud Ninja recklessly stepping halfway out from behind a tree trunk.
He pulled a Kunai from his pouch and threw it at the Cloud Ninja.
The Kunai whistled through the air, moving incredibly fast.
With the Sharingan's help, the Kunai struck the Cloud Ninja precisely in the throat.
The body crashed heavily to the ground. Blood gushed out and streamed through the grass and trees.
A gruff voice shouted, "It's a genjutsu! Don't panic! Find a way to disrupt the flow of chakra in your body!"
Kawadera thought, Wow, that's a textbook answer.
Too bad. If teachers could just write out the answer key and students could reproduce it during exams, there wouldn't have been so many college students failing courses in my previous life.
Failing a course—an agonizing pain that not even reincarnation could erase.
Feel the pain. Even if you know how to dispel the genjutsu, you still won't pass.
He used the Body Flicker Technique to leave his spot, then leaped onto a tree branch jutting out to the side, where he could keep an eye on the Cloud Ninja.
The other three Cloud Ninja emerged from behind their tree trunks, their Cloud Ninja Forehead Protectors visible.
Two Cloud Ninja shouted to warn each other, hoping to disrupt each other's chakra by colliding.
Kawadera threw a Shuriken wrapped in steel wire.
The two Cloud Ninja had just heard the chilling whistle of it cutting through the air.
They stopped a meter apart. Their forward momentum had been too great, and their throats hit the thin wire, leaving them unable to move another inch.
Kawadera yanked the two wires tight. The sharp steel bit into the Cloud Ninja's necks and severed their windpipes.
Shuriken Manipulation Technique—this was the Taijutsu Kawadera was best at.
The observation skills of his Two-Tomoe Sharingan helped him aim the Shuriken and Kunai with precision.
In just a few seconds, Kawadera had killed three Cloud Ninja.
Before he had time to savor his success, the Cloud Ninja squad leader somehow broke free of the genjutsu. Holding a Ninja Blade, he leaped into the air and slashed at Kawadera.
Kawadera hurriedly leaned back and flipped off the tree branch.
In midair, he formed six Hand Seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The Cloud Ninja squad leader stabbed his Ninja Blade into the tree trunk and used it to stop himself by force. His palm scraped painfully, but he managed to retreat.
However, the expected fireball never appeared!
"Cowardly Konoha Ninja!"
The sly Uchiha brat hadn't used Fire Release at all. He'd only shouted the technique's name.
The Cloud Ninja immediately realized that the Konoha Ninja was conserving chakra.
When he looked again, the Konoha Ninja had already landed and slipped behind some bushes.
He yanked his Ninja Blade out of the tree trunk and gave chase.
Damn it!
Amid the roar of the explosion, the Cloud Ninja squad leader knew he'd made another mistake.
He'd been controlled by an Uchiha's genjutsu, then tricked by an Uchiha's fake Great Fireball Technique. He'd panicked and lost his judgment!
An Explosive Tag trap was hidden behind the bushes.
The blast of heat sent the Cloud Ninja squad leader flying backward.
The blow had battered his internal organs. His head swam, and amid the ringing in his ears, he heard the deadly whistle of something cutting through the air.
A sharp pain flared in his throat. A Kunai had lodged there.
Kawadera Uchiha stood in the distance, watching the Cloud Ninja squad leader fall. After confirming he wasn't a Shadow Clone, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He switched off his Two-Tomoe Sharingan to conserve chakra, then looked back toward the Land of Fire.
Wonder what reward Tobirama Senju will give me afterward.
A kilometer away, Senju Xingyue stood waiting for the Cloud Ninja.
Kawadera had stayed behind, buying them precious time.
Now it was her turn to stay behind and cover her teammates.
If Kawadera succeeded in holding them off, no more than two Cloud Ninja squads would be following them.
Rustling sounds came from the woods. The Cloud Ninja thought they had a huge advantage and brazenly appeared on the tree trunks.
Senju Xingyue swept her gaze over them. Two squads. It seemed Kawadera's rear guard had been successful.
The evil Uchiha hid within the Konoha Military Police Force and rarely went to the battlefield.
Uchiha like Kawadera, who had the Will of Fire, died young, one after another.
In the end, the only ones left in the Konoha Military Police Force were Uchiha who made people despise them, always going on about their clan.
Senju Xingyue was prepared.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Two Senju Xingyue appeared behind the cloud of smoke.
The Cloud Ninja would leave one squad to deal with her and send the other around her to keep chasing her teammates.
If my Shadow Clone and I counterattack together, we should be able to hold them off for a little while...
As a Taijutsu specialist and a Special Jonin of the Senju Clan, she was highly skilled in both swordsmanship and Taijutsu.
"Don't know your own limits..."
The Cloud Ninja squad leader saw that the Konoha squad leader was dividing her chakra at a time like this. She might as well have been asking to die.
To put an end to this nuisance as quickly as possible, the Cloud Ninja squad leader decided to take care of it himself.
After signaling, he charged straight at one of the Konoha squad leaders, while the other Cloud Ninja went after the other one.
Senju Xingyue's Ninja Blade clashed with the Cloud Ninja squad leader's. She knew at once that she had run into a powerful opponent.
The Cloud Ninja squad leader was at least as strong as a Special Jonin.
Senju Xingyue's Shadow Clone was surrounded on all sides and didn't look like it could hold out much longer.
In the distance, Kawadera Uchiha hid behind a tree trunk, watching the battlefield with one Sharingan exposed.
He could tell that the real Senju Xingyue was fighting the Cloud Ninja squad leader on the right. The one surrounded by seven Cloud Ninja was her Shadow Clone.
Senju Xingyue suddenly heard a familiar voice!
"Captain! I'm here to help!
Fire Release! Great Fireball Technique!"
He was here! Not only had he stayed behind and bought them time, he'd come back to rescue her!
Before you continue