Sasuke tugged at his collar, formed hand seals, and spat out a huge ball of fire.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
The flames exploded, instantly scattering the surrounding white mist.
As the mist cleared, they saw a Chunin from the Sarutobi Clan lying on the ground, with Naruto sitting beside him, looking terrified.
One foot was planted right on the corpse.
Uchiha Yu dragged a wild boar with one hand and gripped a ninja by the throat with the other. He tightened his hold with a crunch, snapping the man's neck instantly.
He casually flung the ninja aside, and the body hit the ground.
"Quite the place to pick a fight. We'd barely crossed the border when you attacked!"
Uchiha Yu looked at the only two Sarutobi Clan ninjas left and glared at them furiously.
The two of them lost their will to fight the moment they saw Uchiha Yu.
"It's you!" The Sarutobi ninja's legs suddenly went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
"Wasn't a Hyuga ninja supposed to be leading the team? Why is it you?"
The other ninja had lost all his fighting spirit, too.
He nearly fell to his knees.
They'd thought they were dealing with just a few Hyuga Clan ninjas and hadn't taken them seriously at all.
"That's right. Uncle Tokuma is leading the team. I'm just tagging along." Uchiha Yu grinned. "I haven't even graduated from the Ninja Academy yet. How could I be leading a team?"
"Retreat! Get out of here!" One of the Sarutobi ninjas scrambled to his feet, ready to run.
He had to get back and report to Sarutobi Hiruzen that Uchiha Yu had come, too.
"You want to leave? Too late!"
Uchiha Yu's eyes transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan, and he activated Great Luo Heaven!
The two ninjas froze in midair, unable to move.
Then two Kunai pierced straight through them. With a thud, both bodies fell to the ground.
"Thank goodness you got back in time, young master." One of the Chunin let out a long breath.
Otherwise, this might have turned into a bloody battle.
Uchiha Sasuke looked at Uchiha Yu, then suddenly froze. "Second Brother, why do your Sharingan look like that?"
On the night of the coup, Uchiha Sasuke had been unconscious the entire time.
As a result, he hadn't seen the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan. He still thought the Three-Tomoe was the Sharingan's final form.
Uchiha Yu reached over and poked Sasuke in the forehead.
"My foolish little brother, these are called the Mangekyō Sharingan. Come find me once you have eyes like mine."
Uchiha Sasuke: What the hell, Second Brother? When did you get so stupid?
Uchiha Yu glanced at Naruto on the ground and nodded slightly.
He could tell that Naruto couldn't even handle a Chunin right now.
Though he'd learned the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique, the moment he got into a real fight, his mind went completely blank.
If Uchiha Yu hadn't stepped in just now, Naruto might already be dead.
Sweat still clung to Naruto's face. Only now did he come back to his senses. He looked up at Uchiha Yu. "Second Brother..."
Uchiha Yu was just about to lecture him when Naruto called him Second Brother. He nearly spat up blood.
Damn it, Sasuke, how had you corrupted Naruto?
Wasn't he supposed to call him Big Brother?
Uchiha Yu took a couple of deep breaths, his expression strange, before turning serious and addressing Uzumaki Naruto. "Go back."
Uzumaki Naruto froze, then pointed at himself. "Second Brother, why are you telling me to go back?"
"You're too weak. Right now, you'd only be a burden if you came with us." Uchiha Yu snorted. "You even needed Sasuke to protect you just now. At least Sasuke can defend himself. What can you do as you are now? Scream for help?"
Naruto fell silent, lowering his head.
"If you come with us, you'll just get yourself killed. And if you die, we'll have to avenge you. We might even lose more of our comrades!"
Naruto clenched his teeth, looked up at Uchiha Yu, and said firmly, "If we run into enemies again, I won't back down!"
Uchiha Yu raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Naruto nodded firmly.
"Then keep up." Uchiha Yu turned and continued toward Sunagakure.
He hadn't actually wanted to send Uzumaki Naruto away. After all, if Naruto left, that would mean losing two hundred thousand in income.
He only wanted to kick Naruto's combat instincts into gear, even just a little.
Even if Uzumaki Naruto couldn't handle a Chunin right now, he should at least be able to protect himself.
After all, he'd learned the forbidden Multi Shadow Clone Technique.
But Naruto hadn't moved at all during that fight. That was a problem.
Uchiha Yu had watched all seven hundred episodes of Naruto, so he knew what Naruto was like.
Since Naruto had made that promise, he could trust him.
Uchiha Yu dropped the wild boar he was holding onto the ground. "This is dinner tonight. Eat up, then we'll keep going!"
They hadn't found a wolf, but they'd found a wild boar that was easier to catch and had a lot more meat.
Why not take it?
At least it tasted a lot better than Military Ration Pills!
He used the Kusanagi Sword to cut the boar into several pieces, threaded them onto wooden skewers, and set them over the fire to roast.
Nine people could finish off one wild boar, so they didn't bother cleaning out the innards.
The fragrant boar meat turned golden brown, a layer of oil glistening on the surface as the aroma filled the air.
Uchiha Yu took a big bite.
They hadn't added much seasoning, but that let the wild boar's natural flavor shine through.
The juices burst in his mouth, and the rich, earthy aroma filled his nostrils.
After a few chews, the warm meat slid down his throat and into his stomach.
Perfect!
The Chunin who'd been considering eating Military Ration Pills couldn't hold back when they saw all that boar meat. One after another, they dug in.
Damn, that's good!
"Burp!" Uchiha Yu grabbed Uzumaki Naruto by the collar and wiped his mouth on it.
Naruto was busy gnawing on an entire boar leg and couldn't be bothered to pay Uchiha Yu any attention.
"Now that we've eaten our fill, we'll hit the road soon!" Uchiha Yu stood up, burping.
From what those Sarutobi ninjas had said, it seemed they didn't know Uchiha Yu had come, too.
That was good news for them.
Uchiha Yu was curious to see how surprised Sarutobi Hiruzen would be when he showed up!
That expression was bound to be thrilling!
Sunagakure.
Baki stood at the entrance with a group of ninjas.
They'd worked out the timing, and the Konoha ninjas would likely arrive today.
They'd heard that a Hyuga ninja was leading the team. It seemed the two great bloodline clans, the Uchiha and the Hyuga, had finally united under the turning wheels of history.
Konoha's strength was not to be underestimated!
Though Sarutobi Hiruzen had died, the man who'd taken over was an even more dangerous Uchiha Fugaku!
The Uchiha Clan was cruel by nature!
Sarutobi Asuma stood beside Baki, his face dark.
His subordinates still hadn't reported back. They might already have met with disaster.
But even so, there was no way they could stop Sarutobi Asuma's great plan!
Sure enough, a group of people appeared in the distance.
Five Chunin, one Special Jōnin, and three boys.
When Sarutobi Asuma saw one of their faces, his whole body suddenly shook.
Holy crap, why did that guy look so familiar?
Before you continue