Wits and Courage Against the Air~

The main hall of Genmyoji, originally a place for enshrining the golden statue of the Buddha, had now been converted into a temporary command post for the Hokage. Ninjas from Konoha moved in and out of the perimeter, while the original monks of Genmyoji had been arranged by Konoha to evacuate.

What Uzumaki Kuming did not know was that just one day before he encountered the ambush, the Land of Earth had dispatched ninja troops to attack the borders of the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain. The formidable Iwagakure had taken less than half a day to completely rout the defense forces of the Land of Grass; simultaneously, the ninja troops Iwagakure sent to the Land of Rain also achieved substantial results.

Due to the rapid collapse of the Land of Grass, Iwagakure completed its infiltration mission into the Land of Fire before the reinforcements dispatched by Konoha could even arrive at the border. The mission of the Iwagakure ninjas entering the Land of Fire was to destroy roads and bridges within the territory, and to harass the rear of Konoha whenever they had the capacity to do so.

Because of Iwagakure's sudden aggression, the Third Hokage, who had originally only come to Genmyoji to make a token appearance, immediately responded. He mobilized a large number of Anbu and ninjas from Konoha, transforming Genmyoji into a frontline command post, while leaving the main base of Konoha in the hands of his three most trusted disciples.

In the center of the main hall of Genmyoji, Hiruzen Sarutobi was holding a scroll, reading it carefully. Behind him stood two masked Anbu guards, one with black hair and one with white, their masks making it impossible to discern their identities.

On either side of Hiruzen Sarutobi stood two desks. Behind one, several clerks were helping to categorize the various intelligence reports being delivered, while behind the other were the ninjas of the Konoha Barrier Team.

"Urgent intelligence! The demigod of the Land of Rain, Hanzo of the Salamander, has dispatched an envoy, hoping to form an alliance with our Konoha to jointly resist the invasion of Iwagakure."

Suddenly, an Anbu appeared in the center of the hall and knelt on one knee to report.

"There is an intrusion!"

At the same time, a ninja from the Barrier Team nearby exclaimed, his voice drowning out the Anbu who had just finished reporting.

"An intrusion?" Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an eyebrow, then tilted his head slightly to look at the black-haired Anbu guarding him. The Anbu in the rear received the hint and vanished from the spot instantly.

"Tell me more about the alliance with Hanzo of the Salamander."

Seeing the black-haired Anbu leave, the Third Hokage asked about the situation in the Land of Rain.

Uzumaki Kuming climbed over the high wall quietly, realizing the moment he entered the barrier that he must have been discovered. Although he did not recognize this specific barrier, he could roughly judge its purpose from the chakra fluctuations emanating from it.

Since I've already been discovered, I might as well see who the leader here is.

After landing, Kuming immediately rushed toward the strongest chakra signature within his perception range, wanting to see who was in charge. However, before he had run far, he sensed an extremely eerie chakra rapidly closing in on him.

Someone is coming, their chakra is so strong, and so strange!

While Kuming was curious about the identity of the newcomer, he already had the scroll of the Reverse Four Symbols Seal gripped in his hand.

"An intruder?!"

A masked ninja suddenly appeared before Kuming, quickly drawing a short blade from behind his back to slash at him. But when the opponent saw that the intruder was just a small child, the blade aimed at Kuming instantly turned to the blunt side, striking toward Kuming's neck.

"Who is it?"

Facing the sudden strike, Kuming had no time to react; he could only leap slightly, letting the blow originally aimed at his neck strike his arm instead.

"It's actually a Sharingan?"

However, the immense force still sent Kuming flying sideways. After landing, he transformed into a puff of smoke. Yet, before the Shadow Clone vanished, Kuming saw the pair of three-tomoe Sharingan behind the newcomer's mask.

"Shadow Clone Technique?"

"A child!"

"What is that?"

Before Kuming's Shadow Clone disappeared, a scroll dropped from its hand. Uchiha Seishin walked up curiously and used his blade to flip the scroll open. The moment the scroll was unfurled, black ink began to spray outward.

"A sealing jutsu!?" Uchiha Seishin became alert the instant the ink sprayed and quickly fled the area.

The ink gushed out frantically, quickly covering an area of several dozen meters, engulfing the high walls and side halls of Genmyoji. A few seconds later, a brilliant white light enveloped a large portion of Genmyoji.

"What's going on? The barrier has been broken!"

"What happened?"

"Is it an intruder!"

After the intense light faded, all the areas previously covered by the white glow had completely vanished. Even the ground had a hemispherical crater, and the massive sensory barrier that had shrouded the entire Genmyoji was now completely shattered.

Several figures appeared at the edge of the crater after the white light subsided, looking into the pit with wary expressions.

"Seishin, what happened?"

The Third Hokage had also felt the massive chakra fluctuation and immediately ran out of the main hall to investigate. Many Jonin around him who had also sensed the anomaly followed, and as Hiruzen Sarutobi asked his question, they all turned their gaze toward the man he called Seishin.

"It was a sealing jutsu. The intruder was a little boy, about five years old, with red hair and some scars on his body."

"I defeated a Shadow Clone, and a scroll dropped before it vanished. I opened it out of curiosity, not expecting to trigger a seal."

"I apologize; I was careless because it was just a child."

Hearing Uchiha Seishin's words, the Third Hokage lowered his head slightly, a thoughtful expression on his face as a possibility flashed through his mind.

Such a powerful sealing jutsu should be unique to the Uzumaki Clan. Could it be that child?

Just as the Third Hokage was pondering, a figure emerged from the hole in the wall that had been created by the sealing jutsu.

"Great! It really is people from the village! Hahahaha!"

Uzumaki Kuming appeared at the base of the broken wall, looking at the people inside with excitement. Following his shout, everyone, whose attention had been on the crater in the ground, now fixed their eyes on him.

"Lord Hokage, that is the child from just now."

The moment Uchiha Seishin saw Kuming, he recognized him as the intruder from moments ago and immediately reported to the Third Hokage beside him.

"..."

"As I thought." Seeing Kuming appear, the Third Hokage was speechless. He then waved his hand and said to the crowd:

"Alright, go back to what you were doing. This child is from our village."

"Check to see if there were any casualties from the attack just now."

The Third Hokage lightly massaged his forehead. This had turned into such a massive blunder; if Kuming's stunt had actually caused any casualties, he wouldn't know how to answer to everyone.

"Report! Everyone is safe and sound. No one was in the vicinity when the incident occurred!"

Before long, an Anbu returned to report. Upon hearing the results, the Third Hokage let out a soft sigh of relief.

"Good, there were no losses of life."

"A stroke of luck amidst the misfortune."

In the distance, Kuming saw the Third Hokage and the two Anbu following behind him, and he breathed a sigh of relief. After his Shadow Clone had transmitted the information back, he knew that this place must be under the control of Konoha.

After all, the Uchiha clan only existed in Konoha, and those Uchiha who could become Anbu were few and far between. Every Uchiha who became an Anbu shared one distinct commonality: absolute loyalty to the village.

Therefore, the moment he saw an Uchiha clansman here, Uzumaki Kuming concluded that the area was safe and that the person in control must be from the Third Hokage's faction. After all, given Danzo's attitude toward the Uchiha, it was impossible for them to be working for him.

"Lord Hokage!"

Uzumaki Kuming cheered and trotted toward the Third.

After all that, it turns out I've been playing mind games with thin air the whole time.