After securing Tobirama Senju's promise, Kawadera Uchiha stopped slacking off and got to work.
The frozen pair of tomoe spun halfway around in an instant!
The Cloud Ninja facing Kawadera had no idea. When he saw the Uchiha about to slash at his side, he hurriedly raised his blade to block on the right.
But he had already fallen under a genjutsu.
Demonic Illusion: Mind Guidance!
This was Kawadera Uchiha's specialty.
In the original story, Itachi Uchiha often opened his fights with genjutsu.
His genjutsu planted suggestions in his enemies' minds, making them act in the wrong way.
For example, when Itachi first killed Deidara, he used this genjutsu to make Deidara believe that an explosive centipede had wrapped itself around Itachi.
Kawadera's genjutsu worked the same way now, making the Cloud Ninja think he would slash horizontally at his side.
When the Cloud Ninja raised his blade to block on the right, his guard was wide open.
Kawadera thrust his Ninja Blade forward and pierced the Cloud Ninja's chest.
If he'd been a villain, he should've shouted:
"My genjutsu is superior to yours!"
Among ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, genjutsu was a relatively rare skill. Most ninja didn't have genjutsu or genjutsu resistance above 8.
After taking down the first Cloud Ninja, Kawadera kept searching for another target.
Kureya Inuzuka was a member of Seigetsu Squad. She was dressed provocatively, with only a black bandeau beneath her open Konoha vest. Her shoulders and slim navel were exposed; she wore tight, bandage-like shorts and knee-high fishnet stockings.
At that moment, she and her Ninja Dog, Akamaru, were struggling to deal with a Cloud Ninja.
The Cloud Ninja was extremely fast, and she and Akamaru had only just managed to dodge to opposite sides.
But instead of pursuing either her or the dog, the Cloud Ninja charged straight ahead and plunged his blade into a tree trunk.
Even after stabbing the trunk, he twisted his Ninja Blade as if he'd pierced a person, trying to damage their internal organs.
An opening!
The Cloud Ninja had exposed his back?
"Gatsuga!"
Kureya and Akamaru spun at high speed and charged forward like twin whirlwinds.
They struck the Cloud Ninja hard, then bounced back only after smashing through the tree trunk.
The seemingly invincible Cloud Ninja was dead.
Only then did Kureya notice Kawadera stepping out from behind the shattered tree.
"Red Night, you almost hit me."
Seeing Kawadera's Sharingan, Kureya realized the Cloud Ninja had been caught in a genjutsu.
"Hey! Kid, you've got some nice eyes!"
Kawadera smiled. "Red Night, your abs are pretty nice too!"
Kureya looked down and saw her abdominal muscles and defined lines rising and falling with her quick breaths. She'd always thought Kawadera was a cold, boring person, but it seemed she'd been wrong.
Kawadera and Kureya worked together, one disrupting enemies from a distance with genjutsu while the other launched close-range attacks. They quickly took down several Cloud Ninja.
The tide of battle shifted in an instant.
Anyone with insufficient genjutsu resistance could be controlled by Kawadera's genjutsu. Genjutsu was an exceptionally overpowered technique in the shinobi world.
With [Genjutsu] at 8.0, he had an overwhelming advantage over the Chunin and Special Jonin around him.
Besides, Kawadera only picked on easy targets.
The first rule of showing off as an Uchiha: when the enemy is weak, attack; when the enemy is strong, run.
That was exactly what Itachi did in the original story, making him seem utterly intimidating.
The battle ended, and Kawadera stroked Akamaru.
If he wanted to win Kureya's affection, he had to be good to her beloved dog.
Just as in his previous life, when he'd done everything he could to be nice to Haohao's mother by treating her son well.
Kawadera was skilled in Demonic Illusion: Mind Guidance. He secretly cast a genjutsu on the dog, and the little female dog started snuggling up to him.
The genjutsu was simple: it simulated the feeling of being full after eating roasted meat.
Kureya was clearly pleased, and she grew even fonder of Kawadera.
Tobirama's voice rang out in his Sea of Consciousness:
"The battle is over. You did well. I'm awarding you a B-Rank Mission reward: one-third of a Mind Awakening.
"Let me know about any future battles involving Konoha, and I'll determine the mission rank."
Kawadera was very satisfied with this reward.
Seigetsu Senju's squad and the surviving members of the outpost garrison moved away from the border and deeper into the Land of Fire.
The forced march was safe, if a little dull.
Noticing Kawadera glancing back every so often, Seigetsu slowed down slightly and leaped through the trees alongside him.
"Kawadera, Ken and Red Night are scouting the area. There's no need to keep watching our rear."
Kawadera said, "After all those battles, my eyes are itching. I can't wait to kill more ninja from enemy villages!"
Of course, he wanted Tobirama to hear him say that.
He was a true practitioner of the Will of Fire, putting his words into action.
Admiration flickered in Seigetsu's eyes.
She was a ninja of the Senju Clan, yet somehow an Uchiha was more devoted to the Will of Fire than she was.
Suddenly, she frowned, remembering what her brother, Seiei Senju, had once said.
"The core of the Will of Fire is to burn yourself to light up Konoha.
"Yet the Will of Fire during the Second's era was subtly different from the Will of Fire during the Third's era.
"During the Second's era, everyone from Lord Second down to ordinary ninja proclaimed the Will of Fire to themselves.
"During the Third's era, the Third and the higher-ups proclaimed it to the ninja of Konoha.
"Change who it's for, and the difference is like night and day."
She couldn't share these worries with Kawadera.
The Uchiha Clan had finally produced a ninja like Kagami Uchiha. She had to protect that bond.
Akamaru, at the front, suddenly barked several times.
Everyone stopped and waited for Kureya and Ken to report what they'd found.
"That smell is familiar! They're not Cloud Ninja. They're our Konoha ninja, and there are a lot of them!"
The Konoha scouts in the distance had also spotted Seigetsu's group. Before long, several dogs barked through the forest.
Akamaru and the other Ninja Dog exchanged barks, confirming that they were the advance scouting unit from Konoha.
A Konoha squad arrived and said that the Commander-in-Chief of the Land of Hot Water battlefield wanted to see them.
Since Kumogakure had invaded the Land of Fire from the direction of the Land of Hot Water, Konoha had named the conflict the War of the Land of Hot Water.
Following the Konoha squad, Kawadera stopped beneath a large tree and looked up. Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang of Konoha, stood on one of its broad branches.
The White Fang of Konoha had arrived at the front lines, giving everyone a sense of security.
His white ponytail swayed in the wind, occasionally revealing the legendary White Fang Ninja Blade strapped to his back.
He was the leading figure of Konoha's younger generation, and one of the village's Kage Level ninja.
In his Sea of Consciousness, Kawadera asked, "Lord Second, do you know the White Fang of Konoha?"
"Of course. I trained many people, Jonin and Genin alike. I taught everyone without distinction.
"Hatake Sakumo was one of the most talented ninja I ever trained. His chakra short blade was enough to make him a force to be reckoned with throughout the shinobi world."
"Oh!" Kawadera drawled. "Then the White Fang of Konoha you placed such high hopes in will... commit suicide in seven years."
"Is that something else your eyes, which can see the future, have shown you?"
"Yeah. Surprised?"
Tobirama had been thinking about Nawaki lately. He hadn't expected the wicked Kawadera Uchiha to suddenly make another prophecy out of nowhere.
Suicide?
Hatake Sakumo had the talent and mental fortitude of a top-tier ninja. He'd been exceptionally mature even as a boy. How could he die by his own hand in such a dishonorable way?
Just like Nawaki being blown up by an Explosive Tag, Hatake Sakumo's suicide was too absurd to make up. That made Tobirama think it was probably true.
Tobirama realized that the Konoha of the era after his death had become harder and harder to understand.
Where had things gone wrong?
Before you continue