Before Departure (Please Bookmark!)

The targets that needed to be deployed to were several Konoha outposts established in the northeastern region of the Land of Fire and within the Land of Hot Springs. Originally, these outposts had a combined garrison of several hundred Konoha Ninja, with personnel rotated regularly. However, ever since the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack erupted half a year ago, the Kumo Ninja had continuously provoked conflicts along the border.

Not to mention their attacks on Konoha ninja carrying out missions.

There had also been four or five incidents of direct attacks on Konoha outposts.

Even in the largest clash, the combined number on both sides had only barely exceeded a hundred.

Yet such friction had already inflicted considerable casualties on Konoha's border defense forces. Setting aside the standard rotation rules, with Kumogakure steadily applying pressure, Sarutobi Hiruzen, as Hokage, truly had to consider the possibility of a full-scale war breaking out further.

On that basis,

reinforcing the border defenses was only natural.

Thirteen hundred ninja.

That might have sounded like a considerable number.

But spread across the long border in the northeastern Land of Fire, with some even needing to fill positions at the very front lines and at outposts within the Land of Hot Springs, it could only be called barely sufficient—and that was only if Kumogakure maintained the current level of confrontation.

Once Kumogakure sent further reinforcements,

Konoha would also have to take corresponding countermeasures.

Otherwise, leaving aside the outposts along the border, if all the outposts within the Land of Hot Springs were uprooted, the situation between Kumo and Konoha would be directly reversed. The defensive pressure on the Land of Fire—or, more precisely, all of Konohagakure—would become unprecedentedly terrifying.

This was also why Sarutobi Hiruzen had agreed to Uchiha Fugaku's request for the clan to volunteer for battle. Konoha could not withstand any further upheaval.

Uniting every available force and prioritizing the crisis before them was the key.

Furthermore, they had to take into account the Land of Earth and Iwagakure to the northwest, the Land of Wind and Sunagakure to the west, as well as the Land of Water and Kirigakure, which could appear at any moment along the southeastern coast of the Land of Fire. Konoha's defensive line was simply far too long—far too long.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had to view and handle these matters from the perspective of the whole.

With every decision,

he had to see not only what benefits it could bring Konoha, but also its risks. The same applied to the Uchiha Clan.

There was no absolute right or wrong.

But in terms of the bigger picture, no matter how inadequate Sarutobi Hiruzen might have been, he was still more than a cut above Shimura Danzō.

Since they were merely dispatching reinforcements to strengthen the defenses of outposts large and small,

there was no need to appoint a dedicated commander.

They only needed to appoint a coordinator to arrange the relevant batches and designated routes, ensuring that the more than thirteen hundred reinforcements reached the front lines safely.

This coordinator came from the Nara Clan, though he was not Nara Shikaku, the clan head, but Nara Suzaku, second only to Shikaku within the Nara Clan. As a Jōnin of the Nara Clan, he had not only achieved an extremely high level in the clan's secret techniques, but his personal strategic acumen was inferior only to Nara Shikaku's. He was likewise highly valued by the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Entrusting Nara Suzaku with coordinating the reinforcements' various practical affairs was also a show of trust in him.

The personnel drawn from the Uchiha Clan

were placed by Nara Suzaku on the second departure list.

On the morning of their departure.

"Little Saki, Little Yang, this mission may take your brother a long time, so you two need to stay home and listen to Grandma. Especially you, Little Yang. While your brother is away, you're the only man in the house. Be a man and protect your sister and Grandma, okay?"

At the entrance of his home, Shōji wore all his combat gear and carried a backpack. Bending down into a half-crouch before his younger brother and sister, he placed a hand on each of their little heads and spoke with a smile.

"Yes, Brother! I'll definitely protect Sister and Grandma! Don't worry!"

Though young, Uchiha Yang puffed out his chest and thumped it heavily, shouting with vigor written all over his little face.

Meanwhile, the more sensitive Uchiha Saki had a faint trace of worry in her eyes. Children in this world matured early, and children from ninja clans even more so. Though she appeared merely to nod lightly in agreement,

the small hand clutching Shōji's collar with slightly too much force completely exposed the little girl's flustered heart.

This made Shōji's expression grow even gentler.

"It'll be fine. Your brother will be back soon!"

After gently pinching his little sister's adorable cheek,

Shōji stood back up and looked at Uchiha Chihaya. "Grandma, then I'm off!"

"Mm, go on, Shōji. Don't worry about things at home. Go do what you want to do."

Uchiha Chihaya looked at her eldest grandson, her eyes filled with kindness and encouragement.

As a ninja.

As an Uchiha.

This was their fate.

The elderly woman named Uchiha Chihaya understood this better than anyone.

Though she felt the same profound reluctance and worry deep in her heart, the old woman would not reveal even the slightest trace of such emotions on her face.

"Yes, Grandma!"

Shōji nodded heavily.

Then, after taking one more deep look at his younger brother and sister,

he abruptly turned around, pushed open the door, and strode away with determination. Shōji knew very well that he had no path of retreat. Unless he could harden his heart and abandon his elderly grandmother and young siblings, he had to walk this road to the very end.

Even if an endless abyss lay before him,

Shōji had no way to turn back.

But at least compared to ordinary people,

Shōji possessed some ability to control his own fate.

Uchiha blood.

The Mangekyō Sharingan.

This is my most resolute first step!

Outside the main gate,

looking at the hundred-plus clansmen who had already gathered there,

a determined glint appeared in Shōji's clear black-and-white eyes.

The Land of Hot Springs

lay in the northeastern corner of the continent.

It was directly sandwiched between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.

Though smaller countries such as the Land of the Moon and the Land of Frost lay beside it,

once the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning went to war,

the Land of Hot Springs would become the preferred battlefield.

Konoha's ninja and Kumogakure's ninja were no less familiar with the Land of Hot Springs than they were with their own countries.

The reason was that the two great ninja villages had fought no fewer than a hundred battles of varying scale upon this land. Over decades of conflict, the number of Kumo Ninja and Konoha Ninja who had died in the Land of Hot Springs numbered in the thousands.

It could be said that the blood of ninja from both countries had nearly dyed this land red.