On the other side, Uchiha Chen was still lost in the memory of Anko's sweet, adorable expression as he'd fed her earlier, unable to pull himself away from it.
He couldn't help smiling.
But when he looked up and checked the time, he suddenly realized it was already past noon!
He cried out inwardly, Oh no! and remembered that he'd meant to find Uchiha Izumi today and apologize to her.
Uchiha Chen was filled with regret as he realized he'd broken his promise to her again.
Counting today, he'd stood Uchiha Izumi up two days in a row! He knew his behavior might make Izumi misunderstand, so he hurriedly tightened his collar, securing the other portion of Three-Color Dango snugly inside and using his body heat to keep it warm.
He hurried toward the little river where he'd trained before, hoping to see Uchiha Izumi as soon as possible and apologize to her.
At last, he reached the riverbank.
From a distance, he saw a figure sitting by the river, with long hair draped over her shoulders and a dark purple sleeveless robe.
Her feet were lightly dipped in the water, sending ripples across its surface. Seeing this, Uchiha Chen felt slightly relieved. He thought Uchiha Izumi wasn't too angry and was still waiting for him.
He quickened his pace and walked up to her. "Izumi, I'm really sorry. Some things came up over the last two days. I truly didn't mean to stand you up..." As soon as he finished speaking, he reached into his clothes, ready to take out the Three-Color Dango he'd hidden there and give it to her as an apology.
Suddenly, Uchiha Chen sensed two concealed killing intents in the area. His expression turned grave at once, and without hesitation, he reached out and swept Uchiha Izumi, who was standing by the river, into his arms.
Then he used the Body Flicker Technique, vanishing from where he stood in a flash.
The instant they disappeared, a fierce gale like a hurricane swept through, mixed with blazing flames that looked like a fiery phoenix. The flames radiated a suffocating heat, as if the sun itself had descended, and slammed into the ground.
The earth was first ripped apart and lifted by the violent wind, then ruthlessly torn into and burned by the fiery phoenix. At last, a thunderous explosion rang out, and its powerful shockwave sent Uchiha Chen and Uchiha Izumi, who had just retreated to one side, hurtling away.
When the shockwave gradually died down and the dust began to settle, the sight before them was shocking: a layer of what had been solid ground had been burned into scorching magma, slowly cooling as the dust cleared.
Uchiha Chen's heart tightened at the sight. He quickly picked up Uchiha Izumi and fled the scene.
At that moment, Uchiha Chen had no idea who had launched the attack, but he knew the assailants were most likely after him. He needed to find somewhere safe to leave Uchiha Izumi before dealing with the attackers.
Uchiha Chen made his way to the cave he and Izumi had found together the month before.
He stood quietly, focused his mind, and carefully sensed the movements around him.
After a moment, he confirmed that the pursuers hadn't caught up yet, and temporarily breathed a sigh of relief.
Uchiha Chen gently set Izumi down and looked at her.
The explosion had left her looking rather disheveled, but fortunately, she hadn't suffered any serious injuries. She was only covered in dust.
He took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "Izumi, those attackers were after me. I'll leave you in this cave. It should be relatively safe here.
"In a moment, I'll use an Earth Release Technique to seal the entrance and leave a few air holes."
As he spoke, Uchiha Chen guided Izumi farther into the cave so she could hide deeper inside.
He turned to look at Uchiha Izumi. She seemed badly shaken by the attack; she said nothing and was even trembling a little.
Seeing this, Uchiha Chen resolved to kill every last one of the attackers.
A wave of compassion welled up in him. He gently placed a hand on her head and softly reassured her, "Don't be afraid. I'll be back soon."
His voice was full of confidence, and he hoped it would put Izumi at ease.
With that, Uchiha Chen turned resolutely and walked to the cave entrance.
He closed his eyes, focused, and began performing the Earth Release Technique.
He hadn't mastered the technique completely, but fortunately, he'd worked hard while training ninjutsu with Izumi and had become fairly proficient at it.
He gave a low shout: "Earth Release: Earth Wall Technique!"
A wall of earth slowly rose, sealing the cave entrance completely.
Uchiha Chen inspected the wall carefully, making sure he'd left a few hidden vents to let air through.
Once he was done, he finally felt a little more at ease.
As he turned away, he still wondered whether Izumi would be afraid of the darkness inside the cave. There was nothing he could do but resolve to finish the fight quickly and return at once.
Uchiha Chen hadn't gone far when he came face-to-face with two approaching shinobi.
The two shinobi looked incredibly ordinary—so nondescript that even if you stared straight at them, you'd lose them in a crowd the moment you looked away.
Uchiha Chen found it bizarre. With faces practically made for espionage, they've come to carry out an assassination?
He almost laughed aloud.
But he quickly composed himself and entered battle mode, casually drawing a Kunai from his ninja tool pouch.
Uchiha Chen had been about to ask who had sent them, but when he saw the Hand Seals they were forming, he thought better of it.
The two swiftly formed Hand Seals and unleashed two C-rank ninjutsu. Midway through, the techniques fused perfectly, creating a powerful force.
The wind fed the flames, and the fire strengthened the wind. The techniques, originally only C-rank, now surged with the might of B-rank ninjutsu!
An attack of this power was enough to kill an average Jonin.
But killing a Three-Tomoe Uchiha Clan Jonin with it was sheer fantasy.
Uchiha Chen silently admired the coordination between the two, but felt nothing but contempt for whoever had sent them to assassinate him.
Meanwhile, back at Root, Shimura Danzō suddenly sneezed violently.
Back in the fight, the enemy ninjutsu had already reached Uchiha Chen.
Seeing Uchiha Chen standing motionless as the attack was about to kill him, the two glanced at each other after completing their assault, then began forming Hand Seals again, preparing another ninjutsu.
This time, however, they didn't launch another attack. Instead, they switched to defensive techniques.
The two silently called out the names of their techniques: "Water Release: Water Formation Wall!" "Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!" A wall of earth rose slowly behind them, and another wall of water climbed over it like a snake, forming a double defense.
Sure enough, just as they'd expected, Uchiha Chen, who'd been attacked ahead of them, instantly vanished in a puff of smoke when struck.
At the same time, a blazing flash of fire suddenly shot out from behind them, right where they'd just set up their defenses.
On closer inspection, it was the B-rank Great Dragon Fire Technique!
The scorching flames surged toward them like a fierce fire dragon, moving at incredible speed.
The flames quickly burned through and evaporated the Water Formation Wall before crashing into the Earth-Style Wall.
Like a ravenous beast, the scorching fire dragon greedily devoured the earthen wall before it.
After consuming the wall, it was about to swallow the two hiding behind it whole, but the second Earth-Style Wall right behind it successfully blocked its advance.
Unable to break through the second Earth-Style Wall, the fire dragon finally exploded, scattering countless sparks in every direction.