Awareness

The changes in Yohei Susanoo truly surprised all the ninjas present.

They weren't older generation ninjas, and they had never truly witnessed Susanoo's appearance; they couldn't grasp its true power from the information alone.

However, just by looking at it, you can tell that the current Susanoo is definitely more powerful than the one before. Not to mention its size, the Chakra fluctuations it emits are about half again as strong as before.

"Change tactics. The opponent's Ninjutsu consumes a lot of energy. We'll stall for time until we wear him down."

The cat-faced ninja issued the latest instructions, clearly having seen the flaw in Yohei's move; the blood from the corner of his eye hadn't stopped since the beginning.

Yohei was also getting anxious. So far in the battle, he had only killed three enemy ninjas, but by now the enemy had figured out his methods quite well, and the battles would only get more and more difficult.

Moreover, they are not directly fighting him yet; they are constantly harassing him from a distance.

Fortunately, Yohei changed his strategy, and after persisting for a while, he slowly canceled Susanoo.

The enormous giant seemed to run out of energy, gradually fading into Chakra and dissipating into the air.

The Root ninja were immediately invigorated upon seeing this, and several ninjas who had been keeping their distance immediately moved closer and re-engaged with Yohei.

Yohei, on the verge of exhaustion and swaying precariously, fought a few more moves before finally giving up and Jonin, piercing each other's hearts with Kunai.

The Root Jonin looked down at his chest in disbelief, unable to believe that Yohei would drag him down with him at the last moment. But reality is reality; Root wouldn't provide their team with skilled Medical Ninja. With his heart pierced, he could only die.

Seeing that the situation was settled, the cat-faced ninja breathed a sigh of relief. Although they had lost two Jonin and five Chunin in this First Shinobi World War, they had finally eliminated Yohei Uchiha, and the mission was more than half completed.

He walked towards Yohei's corpse, took out a special container from his Ninja Tool Pouch, and prepared to extract Yohei's Mangekyō Sharingan, which was his ultimate goal this time.

The other Root ninja then surrounded the cat-faced ninja, protecting him in the center and keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings. They didn't want any more accidents to happen in this final stage.

The cat-faced ninja crouched down and reached out to pry open Yohei's eyelids. For some reason, the Mangekyo pattern had not yet disappeared.

The cat-faced ninja was slightly taken aback but didn't think much of it. Just as he took out his tools to gouge out the eye, a sudden change occurred.

Yohei's body vanished abruptly from the spot, like a dream bubble. It was all so sudden that not only the cat-faced ninja, but also the other ninjas were completely dumbfounded.

They had no idea why the body had simply vanished.

Just as they were wondering what was going on, Yohei's figure suddenly appeared by the big tree. Before the Root ninjas could react, Yohei had already completed his Ninjutsu.

Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame.

With the blessing of Susanoo-no-Mikoto's right eye, the already massive Fire Style became even more turbulent and violent. The flames instantly cleared everything in front of him, whether it was people or trees, they were burned to charcoal without even having a chance to struggle.

After releasing his Ninjutsu, Yohei was panting heavily, his body swaying precariously. His Mangekyō Sharingan could no longer be maintained, reverting to the Three-Tomoe state, and the blood flowing from the corner of his eye was even more profuse.

Sensing the state within his body, the Izanagi, combined with the Susanoo-no-Mikoto of his right eye, had essentially exhausted his eye power, and even his Chakra was nearly depleted.

Yohei slowly retreated, straining to open his eyes and stare at the sea of fire before him. If he couldn't die from this, then he truly had no other choice.

The flames were still burning, but there was no other movement in the sea of fire. Just when Yohei thought that this ordeal was over, a hand suddenly reached out from the ground beneath his feet and grabbed Yohei's right foot.

Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique

In an instant, their bodies switched places, and Yohei was pulled underground, leaving only his head sticking out of the ground.

It turned out that Yohei's surprise attack was indeed very effective. Apart from the two Jonin escaped by hiding underground using Earth Style, the rest of them were all burned to ashes by that Fire Style.

Exhausted and focused on the inferno, Yohei Ping didn't notice that the enemy had already reached his feet using Earth Style is a technique that allows one to escape through earth).

Now, the two Jonin who held the initiative were still filled with Jonin, but their actions were not delayed in the slightest. After all, even the dead could not be trusted these days.

He Kunai, and two Kunai pierced towards Yohei's head from different angles.

At the critical moment, Yohei exhausted his last bit of strength, summoned a piece of Susanoo's hand bone to protect his head, and then activated the Flying Thunder God Kunai in his ninja Ninja Tool Pouch to call for help from Taiichi.

Yohei sighed inwardly: If only he had sought help sooner. Now his eyesight was severely damaged, and he wondered how Taiichi.

With two loud "bangs," the attacks of the two Jonin from Root were Jonin, but they also realized that Yohei Uchiha was truly finished. The things he had summoned were almost transparent, and it seemed that he could break through with just a little more effort.

The two mustered their strength to attack again, but suddenly their vision went dark. Then, their Kunai were deflected by a Short Sword. Without hesitation, they jumped back to create distance and looked at the ninja who had suddenly appeared.

Taiichi was training around the Northern Camp, and recently there has been a rare short break in the battle, so Taiichi naturally wants to catch up on the lessons he missed during this time as soon as possible.

Just as he was working hard, a memory came back to his mind, and Taiichi immediately knew that Yohei was in trouble.

In the vast space, sensing the Flying Thunder God Kunai that belonged to Yohei, at a certain point, like a bright lamp lit up, Taiichi's figure instantly disappeared from the spot.

When it reappeared, its superb reflexes immediately detected the attack. Before it even landed, the Short Sword deftly slipped between the Kunai and gently deflected Kunai.

Upon landing and looking around, he noticed Yohei, whose head was now the only thing standing beneath him, and couldn't help but scoff, "What's going on with you? Is this the latest way to welcome someone?"

Yohei, seemingly unfazed, weakly said, "Just pretend you don't care, hurry up and get me out of here, it's so uncomfortable underground."

The two talked as if no one else was around, completely disregarding the two Root ninja.

As for the newcomer, the two Root ninja naturally recognized him. Taichi Matsushita was someone almost every Jonin Konoha. Putting aside his other abilities, his record of slaying the Tailed Beast alone was enough to command everyone's respect.

If it were any other ninja, they would probably be thinking about how to escape at this point, but not the Root ninja. Completing the mission is the most important thing in their minds, and they don't consider anything else.

Two ninjas launched the first attack, flanking from both sides.

This action also took Taiichi by surprise. He thought the two were going to escape, but they actually rushed over. Their courage was truly commendable.

He stomped his foot on the ground, and a surge of earth-attribute Chakra erupted. Yohei was spat out by the earth, and then a Shadow Clone appeared beside him, picked up Yohei, and moved him backward.

Before leaving, Yohei reminded him, "Be careful, those are Root ninja."

This one reminder immediately changed Taiichi's expression. No wonder these guys didn't run away; he had genuinely thought they were courageous. Turns out they were Root ninjas, which explained it all.

Taiichi brandished his Short Sword and charged towards the two, with Phoenix Sage Fire gathering around him and raining down on them like a meteor shower.

These two had already fought Yohei before, and although their losses weren't as severe as Yohei's, they were still more than half exhausted.

Their physical strength and concentration were not at their peak, so they were no match for Taiichi when he was at his best. Neither of them lasted a minute before they both died at Taiichi's hands.

With a shudder, Taiichi shook off the bloodstains from his Short Sword. He crouched down to examine the bodies of the two Jonin, pried open their mouths, and pulled out their tongues. Sure enough, he found the Root's exclusive Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal beneath their tongues.

This confirms it; they are undoubtedly Root ninja.

Taiichi took out Sealing Scroll and sealed the two corpses before getting up and walking towards Yohei in the distance.

At this moment, the Shadow Clone was treating his external injuries, but as for his still bleeding eyes, the Shadow Clone was powerless to do anything about it and could only wait until the external injuries were healed before the main body continued to treat them.

"Tell me, what's going on?" Taiichi asked with interest, looking at Yohei who was leaning against the tree trunk with his arms crossed.

"Sigh, what else could it be? They've been ambushed by the Root."

Yohei sighed. He hadn't had the mind to think about this and that during the intense battle. Now that the battle was over, he came to his senses. He wouldn't say he was heartbroken, but his feelings for the village had begun to waver.

You risked your life on the front lines, only to almost die at the hands of your own people instead of the enemy. How can you feel any satisfaction in that?

Taiichi looked at Yohei, who was sighing and looking pale, and guessed what he was thinking. He walked up to him and slapped him on the head without saying a word.

"What's with that expression? You were just betrayed by some people in the village. Just fight back. Every family and village has its share of dirty tricks."

Even clans are divided into radical and conservative factions. Your Uchiha even staged a coup, and you're all doing just fine now. If you're unhappy, just kill all the people who annoy you. Who are you trying to impress with this ridiculous act?

Taiichi launched into a tirade, leaving Yohei speechless and unable to lift his head. However, after Taiichi's scolding, Yohei finally came to his senses.

The village certainly has some disgusting Clown, but it also has its own friends and family, like Taiichi, Saori, and...

Kakashi and the others are all his brothers.

As for those bastards who want to kill him, just as Taiichi said, he'll find an opportunity to take them all out.

"You're right, Taiichi, thank you for waking me up!"

Yohei rallied his spirits and recounted the entire mission to Taiichi, from receiving the mission at the Camp to the journey, the rendezvous, the ambush, and the battle. Taiichi couldn't help but admire how far Danzo's influence had extended.

Danzo and his Root elites are currently bogged down in the Western Battlefield, where the fighting with Iwagakure is no less intense than in other battlefields. Yet, he still has the energy to interfere in other matters, truly demonstrating his boundless energy.

"Do you still have the scroll with you?"

"Here I am."

Yohei took out a scroll from his Ninja Tool Pouch and tossed it to Taiichi.

Taiichi didn't stand on ceremony and took the scroll to check it immediately. The result was the same: there was no problem with either the Secret Rune or the writing style of the mission.

This is a very serious problem. Since the letter of authorization is genuine, and Taiichi is certain that the mission was not issued Jiraiya, it can only mean one thing: Jiraiya has planted Root around Jiraiya, and there may be more than one of them, and they hold quite high positions.

This is not just a crime of faking a mission to kill a fellow villager, but also involves an infringement on the rights of Jiraiya, the frontline Commander.

However, this matter cannot be easily let go, otherwise, whether it is Yohei himself, the Uchiha Clan, or even all the ninjas on a larger scale, there will be some resentment in their hearts.

Everyone is fighting desperately on the front lines, not only without receiving rewards, but also constantly on guard against being stabbed in the back. How can anyone fight with peace of mind under such circumstances?

After some discussion, the two decided that they couldn't let this go so easily this time. They had to make a big fuss about it, until everyone knew about it, and see how the Hokage would deal with Danzo.

After the discussion, Taiichi took over the work of the Shadow Clone and began to treat Yohei's eye injury.

This battle was even more intense than the last one against the Eight-Tails, and naturally the losses were much greater. Taiichi could already sense that Yohei's eyes had suffered some irreversible damage.

"If you keep pushing yourself like this next time, you'll really go blind," Taiichi reminded him unhappily. "You could have notified me earlier, but you had to wait until you were completely exhausted. It's not always your luck to hold out against the enemy until I arrive."

Yohei's body trembled very slightly, clearly intimidated by Taiichi's warning. In truth, he didn't want to trouble Taiichi with everything.

As a ninja, especially one with higher aspirations, if one calls for backup whenever danger arises, how can one's strength continuously improve?

So, even though I'm scared, I'll still react the same way next time I encounter him. Didn't you see that his Susanoo has improved again this time? It's no longer a skeleton form, but is now full of muscles!

"No madness, no life," and he couldn't be timid and hesitant just because he was afraid of going blind; that wasn't Yohei Uchiha's style.

Just as Yohei and Taiichi were healing their injuries in the Land of Rain, let's rewind to this morning.

Kakashi was preparing to take his team out for training when they ran into their instructor, Minato Namikaze, on the way.

The Camp was generally quite quiet during this period, but this wasn't the case for each individual.

Take Minato Namikaze for example. While others were leisurely looking for things to do to pass the time, Minato never had a moment of peace.

He constantly traveled through the Land of Wind, gathering information on the latest developments in Sunagakure, and only occasionally had time to fulfill his duty of instructing Jonin.

"Minato-sensei, you're back! Do you have time to guide our training?"

Obito, that big mouth, started yelling at Minato as soon as he saw him, making Minato quite embarrassed.

"I have a mission to carry out later, so Yohei can train with you all!"

This is the excuse Minato has been using lately. Ever since he learned that Yohei had awakened the Mangekyo, he has become even more laissez-faire with Kakashi and the others, rarely spending more than once a week training with them.

"No, Master, Yohei has been away on a mission for two days and won't be back anytime soon!" Obito complained. "Everyone else is so busy, while we're all just sitting around doing nothing."

"You said Yohei has been on a mission for two days and won't be back for a while?" Minato appeared beside Obito in a flash and asked the somewhat bewildered Obito anxiously.

"Is there something wrong with that? Kakashi and the others know that the messenger ninja gave the Mission Scroll to my cousin right in front of us!"