Complete

After watching Uchiha Namiichi leave, Shita Genichi looked at the bodies on the ground and replayed the battle in his mind.

He hadn't made any obvious mistakes.

It had been nearly perfect, if not for the Jonin.

"Even after taking away their sight, I still couldn't kill a Jonin."

"But Teacher Sakumo only needed two strikes."

"The gap is huge—and it's not just a difference in chakra."

Shita Genichi couldn't help asking himself, "Is my current chakra really not enough to become a Jonin?"

That might not be the case!

His Kenjutsu still wasn't refined enough.

If he had Hatake Sakumo's superb sword skills, he could pair them with the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique and earn a place among the Jonin.

But mastering swordsmanship like Hatake Sakumo's wouldn't be easy.

"It'd be difficult for me, at least. Water Release's nature transformation doesn't seem well suited to Kenjutsu..."

Suddenly, Shita Genichi raised an eyebrow. "Maybe that's not necessarily true."

Hatake Sakumo specialized in high-speed, high-power attacks. Perhaps he could take a different path and wield a heavy blade?

The Hozuki Clan had a secret technique that used Water Release to enhance strength.

Shita Genichi thought it over, then couldn't help sighing.

The road ahead was difficult!

"I'll think about the heavy-blade approach later. I still have to keep grinding away at the Draw-Sword Strike and improve my speed. I don't know Lightning Release, and even if I trained in it, I'd have a hard time making progress. I'd be better off pinning my hopes on the Nine Syllables Hand Seals."

"The Nine Syllables Hand Seals... Maybe that's my way forward..."

Shita Genichi pondered silently.

Rumble!

A roar suddenly sounded in the distance.

Shita Genichi looked up to see flames soaring into the sky.

Uchiha Namiichi had made his move.

Shita Genichi focused, readying himself.

Five minutes—at most. If Uchiha Namiichi didn't show up by then, he'd go check on him.

Fortunately, about three minutes later, Shita Genichi saw Uchiha Namiichi leap toward him.

He was injured!

Shita Genichi saw Uchiha Namiichi's left arm hanging limp.

"Go on ahead!"

Shita Genichi barked, forming Hand Seals.

Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!

Uchiha Namiichi said nothing as he swept past Shita Genichi.

Once he was gone, the water in the entire lake surged upward, then swept toward the pursuing forces like a landslide.

The pursuers included both shinobi and samurai.

But faced with the spectacle of Shita Genichi draining the entire lake, they had no choice but to retreat.

Shita Genichi didn't immediately fall back. Instead, he planted his feet on the towering wave and charged forward with the rushing current.

Crack!

The water burst apart. Shita Genichi leaped into the air and drew his sword.

Under the moonlight, his blade flashed like a strip of silver silk. A shinobi who had just dodged the surging water was cut in half and fell.

Clang, clang, clang—

Taking advantage of the surging water, Shita Genichi killed three more people before quickly retreating.

Once the floodwaters receded, the pursuers all stopped.

They were afraid!

Besides, the daimyo was already dead. Was there any point in continuing the pursuit?

Wouldn't it be more important to choose a new daimyo now?

Several leaders exchanged glances, then barked orders in unison and led their men back.

Meanwhile, Shita Genichi looked over his shoulder. Seeing no one pursuing them, he breathed a sigh of relief, swallowed another Military Ration Pill, gritted his teeth, and sped up to catch Uchiha Namiichi.

"Let's treat that wound first!"

Shita Genichi called Uchiha Namiichi to a halt, then expertly bandaged him.

He'd taken a slash to the arm, but it wasn't too serious.

After treating the wound, the two continued retreating, changing course instead of following the route Hatake Sakumo had taken earlier.

They wanted to avoid running into the returning pursuers.

Even after taking a detour, the two still left the Daimyo Palace before Hatake Sakumo and met up with Yamanaka En.

"Where's the captain?"

"Did you complete the mission?"

Yamanaka En asked anxiously.

Uchiha Namiichi smiled. "The mission's complete. As for the captain, he should be here soon."

"Get ready."

Yamanaka En breathed a sigh of relief and looked toward the other end of the bridge.

That was why they'd chosen this as their meeting point: they could blow up the bridge afterward to slow down the pursuers.

Shita Genichi wasn't worried about Hatake Sakumo's safety either. He untied the bandage around Uchiha Namiichi's left arm and used the Mystical Palm Technique to treat the wound.

Yamanaka En turned back. "How bad is it?"

"Not bad," Uchiha Namiichi replied.

"My chakra's almost gone," Shita Genichi said. "For now, I can only stop the bleeding and heal some of the wound. I can't fully treat it."

Uchiha Namiichi remained nonchalant. "An injury like this won't affect my combat strength."

Sure, keep telling yourself that!

"Recover your chakra as soon as you can," Shita Genichi said. "We might have to fight again."

Uchiha Namiichi silently took out a Military Ration Pill and ate it.

About five minutes later, Yamanaka En called out, "They're coming!"

Shita Genichi, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them and saw Hatake Sakumo sprinting toward them, with only three pursuers behind him.

As soon as Hatake Sakumo had crossed halfway over the bridge, Yamanaka En raised one hand.

Rumble!

The bridge on the far side collapsed, and the pursuers on it immediately fell back.

"Go!"

Hatake Sakumo didn't slow down.

Shita Genichi and the others immediately leaped after him.

On the other side of the bridge, the three Sand shinobi watched Shita Genichi and his companions leave without giving chase.

Their faces were all grim.

Once Hatake Sakumo's Shadow Clone was exposed, they'd realized something was wrong.

But by then, it was too late.

"Captain, are we not going after them?" one Sand shinobi asked reluctantly.

Ryosugi, the captain, shook his head. "That's the White Fang of Konoha. We can't take them down."

He was unwilling to give up, but what else could he do?

Meanwhile.

After confirming that the enemy wasn't pursuing them, Hatake Sakumo ordered everyone to stop and rest beside a river.

Shita Genichi plopped down, too exhausted to move.

Hatake Sakumo removed his mask and smiled. "Genichi and Namiichi did very well on this mission."

Uchiha Namiichi grinned, his vanity thoroughly satisfied.

He was the one who had killed the daimyo!

Shita Genichi took off his mask and modestly said, as usual, "You drew the enemy's attention, Teacher, and Namiichi took out the target."

"And without En meeting us, we wouldn't have escaped the enemy so easily."

The credit didn't belong to just one person.

Hatake Sakumo smiled. "I'll report your performances to Lord Hokage honestly."

"Namiichi, how's your injury?"

Uchiha Namiichi raised his arm. "Thanks to Genichi's treatment, it's nothing serious."

Hatake Sakumo nodded. "Then let's rest for an hour before moving on. We can take a proper rest once we reach the Land of Fire."

Shita Genichi and the others had no objections.

They were still in the Land of Rivers, and danger remained.

It would be troublesome if the Sand shinobi caught up with them again.

So, after resting for an hour, the four set off again. They crossed the border in one go and stopped to rest once they'd entered the Land of Fire.

By then, dawn had broken.

Shita Genichi leaned against a tree trunk, his eyes lowered. I must have changed the original storyline now...

After all, personality shaped fate. As long as Hatake Sakumo's personality and beliefs remained unchanged, he'd sooner or later face another situation where he had to abandon a mission to save his comrades.

But at least Hatake Sakumo wouldn't kill himself anytime soon.

"I can learn more from him, too."

"Though I'm being a little too calculating..."

As Shita Genichi thought, sleep overtook him before he even realized it.