Get Out of the Way!

Routine missions are all recorded in the mission hall, so retrieving them for review was not difficult.

Hashirama's mission involved information provided by the Black Feather Clan, who were hostile toward the Hagoromo Clan. The content detailed a joint ambush against the Uchiha Clan, and the record sheet even included a rough location.

The enemy of an enemy is a friend; in essence, there was nothing wrong with this logic. For intelligence from external clans, the Senju always used water-sphere lie detection before recording the mission, so naturally, there were no falsehoods.

In particular, Senju Butsuma had even kept the informant at the Senju compound to prevent the situation from changing, which showed he was quite attentive regarding Hashirama.

Hiugo ordered someone to bring over the files on the Black Feather Clan and to bring the Black Feather ninja along as well.

The Black Feather Clan excelled at controlling birds, with crows being their favorite. They were originally called the Black Bird Clan, but after being mocked by the Hagoromo Clan, they changed their name to the Black Feather Clan.

Information could be transmitted via birds, but since the Black Feather Clan had no prior contact with the Senju Clan, it was understandable that they would send someone over to ensure accuracy.

If there were no issues with the information, then the only place left to look was the person himself.

"Young Master, the man has been brought here."

Two jonin brought in the Black Feather ninja, who was dressed in tattered black clothing.

"Thank you for your hard work. You may leave. Do not let anyone enter until I give the order."

"Yes."

The two jonin nodded and stepped outside to stand guard.

Hiugo pressed one hand against the paper while holding a pen in the other. He sensed his surroundings, then locked eyes with the Black Feather ninja. The ninja's pupils became dull, staring blankly ahead.

"Is the intelligence you provided to the Senju Clan true?"

"True. I heard it with my own ears."

Heard it with his own ears—why did that sound so strange?

"Who did you hear it from?"

A trace of confusion appeared in the ninja's dull eyes:

"The clan leader. I heard it from the clan leader."

Hiugo frowned:

"Have you ever fought the Uchiha?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Three days ago, when we were fighting the Hagoromo Clan, the Uchiha suddenly appeared and were driven back by us."

"What have you been doing for the past few days?"

"Recovering from my injuries at the clan grounds."

"In other words, once you recovered, the clan leader told you the news and sent you to find the Senju?"

"Yes."

"When did you set out?"

"That same morning."

"Did you encounter any attacks on the way?"

"No."

"Then what is the deal with your clothes? Don't you know to change after leaving your clan?"

The Black Feather ninja looked down at himself and suddenly began to struggle.

Hiugo increased his control:

"When did you arrive at the Senju side?"

"That same morning."

Hiugo glanced at the map and gestured:

"That's wrong. As a chunin, it would take you at least until the afternoon to get from the Black Feather territory to the nearest Senju outpost. How could you possibly be this fast..."

Hiugo stopped his pen, closed his eyes, and said:

"The only possibility is that you never returned to the clan grounds at all, but were captured instead. The so-called clan grounds were just an illusion—an illusion that made you believe the phantasm was real..."

"But this plan has two obvious flaws. If Butsuma had sent someone to escort you back or had paid more attention to your injuries, it would have been enough to prove that the intelligence was 'fake.' Was it calculated that Butsuma would act this way? Exploiting his so-called 'love'?"

Hiugo dispelled the illusion, ran to the door, handed the scroll to the jonin standing on either side, and ordered:

"Give this to the clan leader."

"You, go call for men. As many as you can. I am heading out of the clan grounds."

"Yes."

The two did not say a word; their primary directive was absolute obedience to the person before them, and only then did they think.

The clansmen responsible for guarding the compound saw Hiugo preparing to leave with a crowd behind him and could not help but stop him:

"Young Master Hiugo, what are you planning to do by taking so many people out?"

Hiugo said indifferently:

"Move aside, I am going to save my brother."

The elite jonin responsible for guarding the post gritted his teeth and said:

"I apologize, but I cannot let you pass. This is against clan regulations."

Hiugo said coldly:

"I am merely stating my intent to leave. If you waste time and something happens to Hashirama, you will not be able to bear the responsibility."

"You have only two choices: either continue to block me, in which case I will have my men subdue you and you will be responsible for the delay, or let me pass and I will take the blame for whatever happens. I am giving you five seconds."

As Hiugo's voice fell, the ninjas behind him each released their own Chakra.

A wave of pressure instantly descended upon the elite jonin. After a brief moment of thought, he ultimately had no choice but to let them leave; even if the First Elder's child was arrogant and domineering, he would at most be reprimanded.

But if he were to be branded a criminal, he would face the fate of a disposable pawn with no hope of redemption.

On the other side, Hashirama followed several clansmen to the designated location.

However, he discovered that the Black Feather Clan they were supposed to meet had not arrived; in their place was a wide-scale Fire Style barrage.

The Uchiha ninjas had been waiting for a long time; the blood of their mortal enemies was the best way for them to soothe their irritation.

"Hashirama, run! I'll hold them off for you!"

Senju Tadashi whispered. Upon sensing that something was wrong, he had shielded Hashirama first, causing his own back to be scorched black.

"Uncle Tadashi..."

Hashirama's heart trembled. He understood that this was no time to be a hero; only by escaping could he honor his elder's sacrifice.

The Sharingan keenly caught sight of a small figure fleeing, and the Uchiha ninjas could not help but laugh out loud.

They did not actually care about the enemy escaping; on the contrary, they preferred to savor the look of fear in their prey's eyes before killing them.

Hashirama did not rashly attempt to fly; he could not effectively control that ability, and given his speed, he would be struck by Fire Style before he could even get off the ground.

He could only run, keep running.

Hashirama panted, his stamina constantly draining, when suddenly several Kunai shot out from ahead of him...

An Uchiha ninja with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared before Hashirama with a cold sneer.

Hashirama changed direction and ran again, only to find another Uchiha ninja waiting for him...

Hashirama slowly backed away as five Uchiha ninjas surrounded him.

No matter how fast one ran, it was never faster than the Body Flicker Technique, and a child's body was no match for an adult's.

As he retreated, Hashirama suddenly stopped, blocked by a rock.

The five Uchiha ninjas slowly closed in, the smiles on their faces growing increasingly savage, their scarlet Three-Tomoe eyes appearing as if stained by fresh blood...

Hashirama suppressed the unease in his heart and channeled his Chakra into his Wood Armor. In an instant, wooden branches sprouted from his entire body and were fired off in a single volley.

The Uchiha ninjas were interrupted by this sudden attack and scrambled to defend themselves.

Taking advantage of the gap, Hashirama broke through the encirclement, but his struggle was no different from a rabbit biting a gray wolf; the pride of the Uchiha was instantly ignited into fury.

They changed their minds; they would not let this boy die so easily.

A white flash of a blade swept past. Hashirama felt a sharp pain in both shoulders, and he collapsed to the ground as his two arms fell beside him.

"Heh, run. Why aren't you running anymore?"

One of the Uchiha ninjas who had struck the blow sneered.

"Keep throwing those branches, you almost scared me, hahahahaha!"

The other Uchiha ninja laughed loudly, raising his foot to stomp down on the boy's head...

Two massive wooden palms suddenly burst from the ground, gripping the two men, and then two branches flew from the distance, striking them squarely between the brows. The branches then split apart, destroying their brains.

Hiugo panted slightly and used the Body Flicker Technique to reach Hashirama's side, immediately using Wood Style to help stop the bleeding.

The remaining three Uchiha ninjas did not feel a hint of nervousness. Three against one, and the targets were just a brat and a jonin—what was there to be afraid of?

At that moment, one of the Uchiha clansmen noticed something moving in the surroundings...