Severe Injury

Moreover...

Deep in Uchiha Tenshu's heart, he had long since come to regard the other as his mentor.

And now, seeing his mentor so severely wounded, perhaps even to the point of losing his life, how could Uchiha Tenshu possibly swallow this resentment?

"No matter who hurt Elder Raimon, I will never forget this grudge!"

Uchiha Tenshu clenched his fists tightly, silently etching the hatred into his heart and swearing to get to the bottom of it.

"Enough!"

"Stop acting like a little girl! I'm not dead yet!"

Uchiha Raimon shook his head, forcing a smile onto his pale face. "This isn't like you; you're usually so composed! Remember, just as you said, the more dangerous the situation, the calmer you must be."

After saying this, Uchiha Raimon frowned slightly, and cold sweat couldn't help but bead on his forehead.

Damn it, the price of forcibly squeezing and extracting chakra.

His spirit and body were severely damaged; he feared he didn't have many years left to live.

At only forty-something, Uchiha Raimon was in the prime of his life, yet patches of white had quietly appeared amidst his once thick, jet-black hair. Though subtle, these white strands stood out starkly under the sunlight.

It shouldn't have been like this.

Uchiha Tenshu's gaze was as sharp as a hawk's; he naturally didn't miss this subtle change in Uchiha Raimon's hair.

However, he did not ask immediately. He simply observed Uchiha Raimon quietly, as if waiting for him to offer an explanation of his own accord.

Uchiha Raimon sighed.

"It was my carelessness! Ten days ago, the thousand-year-old medicinal herb I had been searching for for seven years was reported back to the clan by Uchiha intelligence agents, and it just so happened that I intercepted the information first!..."

Hearing this, Uchiha Tenshu frowned, suspicion rising instantly. It was all too "coincidental," too deliberate.

Uchiha Tenshu spoke up: "Elder Raimon, the entire clan knows that you are the only one who needs that thousand-year-old herb to save a life. For the intelligence agent to 'happen' to have you intercept the report instead of reporting it to you directly is nothing more than gilding the lily—a superfluous act."

Listening to Uchiha Tenshu's analogy, Uchiha Raimon pondered for a moment and agreed that it was a fitting description; it was indeed steeped in conspiracy.

Uchiha Raimon continued.

"You're right, perhaps it is just as you thought! This was a conspiracy aimed at me!"

"But at the time, I was too anxious!"

"The moment I received news of the thousand-year-old herb, I didn't stop to consult anyone. Fearing that someone else might buy it and the trail would go cold, I left a shadow clone behind and headed to the Land of Medicine in secret. After all, it was life-saving medicine for Yukino!"

At this point, Uchiha Raimon paused. A trace of helplessness appeared on his face, though there was little regret.

He only secretly blamed himself for not being better prepared.

Uchiha Tenshu naturally saw this. In his mind, an image of a frail, white-haired little girl calling his name surfaced, and his heart softened.

He naturally understood the significance of the herb. Elder Raimon's youngest daughter, Yukino, had been born with the Kekkei Genkai Disease. Her inherent weakness meant she could never be a ninja, and as she grew older, she faced the constant threat of death.

Uchiha Tenshu's diligent study of medicine and medical ninjutsu was partly motivated by a desire to treat her. The thousand-year-old herb was exactly what could alleviate her condition; even he would have found it impossible not to go if he had heard such news.

Therefore, the trap was truly insidious.

Recalling Yukino's condition, Uchiha Tenshu could only shake his head helplessly. He kept it to himself, swearing that if he ever encountered such thousand-year-old herbs in the future, he would do everything in his power to find them, no matter the cost.

"I didn't expect that the information about the so-called thousand-year-old herb was fake. I fell into an ambush. Three waves of people came to surround and kill me, with fifteen-minute intervals between them. The first wave consisted of wandering bounty hunters from the Ninja World; although they were only at the Genin or Chunin level, they were numerous—about a hundred of them."

"They were purely there to exhaust my chakra and probe my intelligence. The second wave struck when I reached the outskirts of the Land of Fire. There were twelve of them, all elite ninjas, uniformly at the Jonin level. They used mostly Water Release, so they might have been from the Land of Water..."

"The Land of Water?"

Uchiha Tenshu was puzzled. The Uchiha clan had never had any major grievances with the Land of Water.

Even if there were ninja clans driven into the sea by the wars in the Land of Fire, that was decades ago. In the eyes of the Ninja World, that was two or three generations; did they really hold such a grudge that they would seek revenge across three generations?

Furthermore, looking at the peace maintained under the pressure of the current God of Shinobi, if they were truly ninjas from the Land of Water ambushing a Konoha ninja—even one with the surname Uchiha—it would inevitably invite the wrath of the God of Shinobi.

Were they not afraid of starting a war?

No matter how Uchiha Tenshu thought about it, he didn't believe the ninjas of the Land of Water possessed such hatred or courage.

"As for the last wave, it was in Feiyu City, inside the Land of Fire. That attack, that lethal attack..."

"It had a massive range, and its nature was neither Fire Style, nor Wind Style, nor Lightning Style..."

"Yet, it possessed both light and heat..."

As Uchiha Raimon spoke, he recalled and pondered, constantly reviewing all the intelligence the Uchiha had collected in the past, comparing it against all known attack methods in the Ninja World.

He remained silent for a long time.

Clearly, he had not found the culprit.

Even in the entire history of the Uchiha clan, no such attack method had ever been recorded; a range spanning several kilometers was simply not something an ordinary ninja could achieve!

Observing the look of profound caution and terror appearing in Uchiha Raimon's eyes, it was clear that this was no ordinary means of attack.

Uchiha Tenshu waited calmly, his mind beginning to ponder the route map within this trap.

The Land of Medicine.

A small nation situated near the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers.

The entire country relied on the cultivation and export of medicinal herbs as its primary economy, yet its military strength was pathetically weak.

It had not been featured in the original storyline.

Perhaps it had simply not been depicted.

Or perhaps, during the subsequent Great Ninja Wars, the entire nation had been wiped out and its territory annexed.

It would be one thing for a large number of wandering ninja to appear in such a small country, but for elite ninja—specifically those of Jonin rank—to appear on the border between the Land of Medicine and the Land of Fire was truly extraordinary.

Typical small nations could not produce such assets.

Yet now, a team of twelve had ambushed Elder Uchiha Raimon, bypassing the heart of the Land of Fire to conduct operations right on the border, completely disregarding the possibility of Konoha ninja appearing.

Uchiha Tenshu narrowed his eyes, unable to help but think of the Konoha F4 idiots from the future and their various schemes to use others to do their dirty work. However, those fools had not yet risen to power; whoever was doing this now was...

Perhaps he had realized something.

A fierce glint appeared in Uchiha Tenshu's eyes, and he couldn't help but clench his fists, waves of killing intent surging within his heart.

Again.

Once again, I was nearly made to lose someone important.

Tobirama Senju.

If you are truly the one behind this, I will make you pay in blood.