Thirteen: Would Fifty Be Enough?

When he heard Ye Yuexin say that, Itachi Uchiha didn't mock him at all. Instead, he replied with even greater determination, "I understand. I'll definitely surpass you."

Only then did Ye Yuexin suddenly realize where he was and what he was doing.

This wasn't the time for jokes. Ye Yuexin immediately said, "Why did you come too? Weren't you going to get reinforcements? Huh?"

"What if something unexpected happens later?" Ye Yuexin asked, keeping his voice low.

Given the situation, Ye Yuexin suddenly felt like his head was about to burst.

He really shouldn't have teamed up with Itachi Uchiha.

Itachi Uchiha was guaranteed to live until Uchiha Sasuke grew up, at least according to the story. But as an outsider, Ye Yuexin couldn't be sure he'd survive.

Hearing this, Itachi Uchiha replied, "I've sent a Ninja Cat to notify the Uchiha Clan. They'll report it to Lord Hokage."

"This mission is at least B-rank now. It's too dangerous for you to go alone. We'll be safer together."

He paused, then continued, "I also have some information to share with you."

When Ye Yuexin heard that Itachi Uchiha had information for him, he asked, "What information? Where did you get it?"

"On the way here, I saw a ninja you'd tied to a rock in a valley. I used genjutsu on him too and got some information."

After a brief pause, he continued, "According to what I learned, Twin Ox Mountain is divided into Mountains A and B. Judging by their shape, the mountain we've climbed is probably Mountain B."

"They're planning to meet and discuss cooperation on a jutting boulder atop the cliffs of Mountain A. There's a large, open space on the boulder, with several buildings."

"The two mountains are connected by an iron chain bridge."

"They have to cross the bridge to reach the meeting place."

Hearing this, Ye Yuexin grew concerned. "Could they have already crossed the bridge? That would make things difficult. Once they cross, they'll have joined up with those wandering ninja. From what you've said, there seem to be a lot of them on this mountain."

"No. The information said they're meeting tomorrow. They won't cross the bridge rashly before then."

"And it's nighttime. The wandering ninja wouldn't allow it anyway."

"After all, they didn't know each other before this. In the eyes of the wandering ninja, Lin Mu is still an unpredictable factor."

After hearing Itachi Uchiha's analysis, Ye Yuexin came up with another plan.

Since Itachi Uchiha had already come, there was no way he'd go back now. Ye Yuexin decided to include him in the plan from here on.

After thinking it over, he said, "Mountain B is too big. We still have no idea where they're resting, and searching for them at night would be too dangerous. Let's go check out the chain bridge first, then discuss what to do."

Ye Yuexin and Itachi Uchiha set off together toward a cliff partway up Mountain B.

Since it was still nighttime and they didn't know where the enemy was, they stayed alert and moved slowly. It took them an hour to reach the cliff halfway up the mountain.

There were plenty of trees on the cliff, which made it a good place for Ye Yuexin and Itachi Uchiha to observe from.

A chain bridge about two meters wide and over thirty meters long stretched out in front of them.

The chains looked fairly thin, and planks had been laid across them.

For some reason, even though they were still a long way off, Ye Yuexin suddenly thought of the scene from the movie he'd watched in his previous life, "Flying to Capture Luding Bridge."

That image gave him an idea. They could destroy the chain bridge completely. Just like in the movie, wouldn't that stop the two sides from joining forces?

And if they were lucky, they might even be able to take out the enemy outright.

He gestured vaguely at the air and said, "How did I forget to bring Explosive Tags?"

Hearing this, Itachi Uchiha looked at Ye Yuexin.

When Ye Yuexin saw him looking over, he said, "If we had Explosive Tags, we could sneak them under the planks of the chain bridge."

"Then, when Lin Mu and the others come over at dawn, we can blow up the bridge."

"If we're lucky, we might even take out Lin Mu along with it."

He finished with a helpless sigh. "But we don't have any Explosive Tags. It'll be dawn in about two hours. There's no time to buy any now."

"How many Explosive Tags do you need?" Itachi Uchiha asked.

"Considering the width of the bridge and the thickness of the chains, just a dozen or so..." Ye Yuexin stopped mid-sentence, staring strangely at the large stack of yellowish Explosive Tags in Itachi Uchiha's hand.

"I have fifty. Will that be enough?" Itachi Uchiha asked calmly.

"That'll do!" Ye Yuexin rudely snatched the Explosive Tags from Itachi Uchiha and stuffed them into his belt pouch.

He glanced at the distant cliff, where two people were still on patrol.

"Can you use genjutsu to make them unable to see me?"

Itachi Uchiha considered the distance in silence for a moment. "Sharingan Genjutsu would work, but I'd have to make eye contact. That could alert the wandering ninja on the cliff."

"What about ordinary genjutsu?" Hearing this, Ye Yuexin realized Sharingan Genjutsu wouldn't work and asked.

Itachi Uchiha explained, "The farther away the target, the weaker a genjutsu cast with Hand Seals becomes. This is about the maximum range of my genjutsu. I can't guarantee it'll work."

Ye Yuexin fell silent again.

He seemed to be thinking something over.

After a moment, he said, "All right. Hand Seals will do. Even if it fails, I think I can still spoil their whole pot of soup."

He looked toward the two people patrolling on the distant cliff and said, "Go ahead. I'll sneak across beneath the bridge."

Hearing this, Itachi Uchiha began forming Hand Seals. Then he whispered, "Phantom Vision Technique."

Seeing Itachi Uchiha use the jutsu, Ye Yuexin rushed out without hesitation. He quickly disappeared over the cliff, gripped the chains beneath the bridge with both hands, and slowly climbed to its midpoint.

After quickly placing the Explosive Tags, Ye Yuexin made his way back the way he'd come.

Only once he was back in the trees did he finally let out a breath. His senses were fairly sharp, so he'd felt unsafe the whole time he was beneath the bridge.

Itachi Uchiha also dispelled the genjutsu and steadied his breathing.

Just then, Ye Yuexin froze as he watched.

He'd only now noticed someone inside the highest building on the cliff. The person was at the window, watching them.

A fresh wave of cold sweat broke out.

This looked bad.

But—

Ye Yuexin was already ready to run, yet the other side remained completely silent. It was strange.

The figure at the window slowly disappeared.

[New book out... Recommend collecting it first and saving it to read later. Your support is needed... Thank you, everyone!] The next chapter is even more exciting.