A Familiar Feeling of Taking the Blame

"Ashina did well!"

In stark contrast to the Kaguya elders' reaction, the Uzumaki Clan's Second and Third Elders were overjoyed.

The news of Kaguya Qin's death was undoubtedly fantastic news to them.

"It seems the Uzumaki Clan's geniuses are still superior!"

"Young Master Ashina is mighty!"

The Uzumaki clansmen raised their arms and cheered.

"Even your clan head's daughter has been killed. What do you have left to fight us with?"

"Kill them! Wipe out the Kaguya Clan!"

The Uzumaki Clan's morale soared. As though they had been pumped full of stimulants, they launched an all-out assault.

In contrast, the Kaguya Clan was thoroughly dejected, unsettled by Kaguya Qin's death. This was especially true for the two Kaguya elders. Kaguya Qin had fallen while serving under them, and as elders, they could hardly escape blame. Kaguya Izui would surely hold them accountable.

"Retreat!"

The Kaguya Clan's Second Elder made a prompt decision and immediately gave the order to withdraw.

Already low on morale, the Kaguya clansmen turned and fled without a second word, with no desire to continue fighting.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

"Chase them! Beat the drowning dogs!"

The Uzumaki clansmen howled as they gave chase, wishing they could wipe out every last member of the Kaguya Clan.

After the Kaguya Clan left behind more than a dozen corpses as the price of their retreat, the Uzumaki Clan's Second Elder knew when to stop and called out, "Don't chase them any farther. There may be an ambush ahead. Let's return to the iron mine first."

The others reluctantly stopped, feeling as though they had never fought such an exhilarating battle before. Their entire bodies were flushed with satisfaction.

The Second Elder then led the clansmen back to the battlefield to tally the casualties.

This had been an unquestionable victory. The Kaguya Clan had left behind eighteen corpses, while the Uzumaki Clan had lost only four men, with another nine wounded.

The Second Elder ordered the Kaguya corpses gathered and burned them all with a Fire Release technique. Leaving the bodies unattended could easily lead to disease and plague.

The Uzumaki clansmen's bodies, meanwhile, were properly collected and would be transported back to the clan for honorable burial once the war ended. Of course, if the war dragged on too long, they would cremate them before the bodies decomposed.

"Greetings, Second Elder, Third Elder."

The Uzumaki clansmen guarding the iron mine dispelled the Four Violet Flames Formation and hurried over to receive them.

They had personally witnessed the Kaguya Clan's defeat from within the barrier. Now, they were both excited and delighted.

"The Kaguya Clan doesn't know its place. They actually dared to provoke and attack us. They were courting death!"

"The Kaguya Clan is nothing special. They used to bully us, but now they're completely no match for us."

"The main reason was Young Master Ashina's unmatched bravery. Killing Kaguya Qin in one stroke decided the battle."

Everyone showered Ashina with praise, attributing the main credit for this battle to him.

Ashina felt rather embarrassed. Kaguya Qin had died inexplicably at the hands of his Shadow Clone, and even now, he did not understand what had happened. He felt vaguely guilty.

"Ashina, Kaguya Qin was a Kaguya Clan genius whose reputation was second only to Kaguya Wuzhan's. At only seventeen, she was already on the verge of becoming an elite jōnin. It's truly impressive that you killed her head-on. Clan Head Ryū will definitely be thrilled when he learns of it!"

The Second Elder also clicked his tongue in praise of Ashina. The more he looked at him, the more satisfied he became, marveling that Ryū had truly given birth to a fine pair of children.

It was only a pity that Ryū's second son was so disappointing. Otherwise, all three of his children would have been exceptional talents. How prestigious that would have been to boast about.

"Let's not talk about that yet, Second Elder. We should hurry and support the other teams," Ashina said. He had no idea how to explain the Shadow Clone's mutation to the others.

"Very well." The Second Elder nodded approvingly. He believed Ashina was neither arrogant nor impetuous and possessed an excellent temperament. At such a young age, he had already displayed the bearing of a clan head.

Mito was a woman, after all. If possible, it would still be better for Ashina to become the next clan head.

He then asked the clansmen stationed at the iron mine, "Where are the Fourth and Fifth Elders?"

The clansman replied, "The two elders went to support the team in the northeast."

The Second Elder pondered briefly. "The northeastern team is Mito's. We'll go support the Sixth and Seventh Elders instead."

He had great confidence in Mito. Her strength even surpassed that of many elders, so he decided to support another team instead—helping the weak rather than the strong.

The iron mine covered a vast area. Kaguya Izui had split his forces into five groups to attack from different directions because he wanted to weaken the mine's defenses through a divided encirclement. It had not been easy for the Fourth and Fifth Elders to hold out until now with the Four Violet Flames Formation.

The Sixth and Seventh Elders' team was in the southwest. When the Second Elder's group arrived, the Sixth Elder and the others were locked in a fierce battle with the Kaguya Clan. The Kaguya clansmen were ferocious, each one taking on hundreds of Shadow Clones alone. They sensed chakra to locate the originals, and explosions of compressed air rang out without end.

"The Kaguya forces in the northwest have already been defeated! Sixth Elder, we've come to assist you!"

The Second Elder shouted, and that single sentence shook the Kaguya Clan's morale.

"Has the northwestern force truly been defeated?"

The Kaguya elder panicked, uncertain and suspicious.

He forced himself to continue fighting for a while, but whether the northwestern force had lost or not, he had no idea. What he did know was that the pressure on his own side had undeniably increased.

He was being besieged by two Uzumaki Clan elders. He could hold on at first, but he would not be able to endure for long. Moreover, the clansmen below had suffered many casualties as well.

"Retreat!"

In the end, the Kaguya elder gritted his teeth and ordered a withdrawal. Their defeat was already apparent, and all he could do was cut his losses in time.

The two Uzumaki teams joined forces, their confidence greatly bolstered. No longer particularly afraid of an ambush, they chased down the fleeing enemy for more than ten miles, savagely beating the drowning dogs. Only after the Kaguya Clan left behind over thirty corpses and the sun had set did they withdraw and return to the iron mine.

Had they not pursued so deeply, and had the sky not grown so dark, the Second Elder would have even wanted to annihilate that entire force.

After fighting for half a day, Mito and Ryū's side also drove back the enemy by evening. That night, all five teams gathered at the iron mine to discuss their next strategy.

"Ashina, did you really kill Kaguya Qin?"

Ryū was quite surprised after hearing Ashina's battle report.

"I suppose so."

Ashina scratched the back of his head and answered vaguely, feeling inexplicably as if he were taking the blame for his Shadow Clone.

And the feeling seemed strangely familiar, giving him a powerful sense of déjà vu.

Ryū was speechless.

The elders, meanwhile, competed to praise Ashina. They believed he was no ordinary genius anymore. In another two years, he might stand alongside Mito, Hashirama, and the others as one of the Eight Greats of the Warring States.

Mito wanted to speak but stopped herself. It was a good thing that her younger brother had earned military merit, but Kaguya Qin was not someone who could be killed so easily. Killing her alone was equivalent to kicking the Kaguya Clan's hornet's nest. How could Kaguya Izui and Kaguya Wuzhan possibly let her brother go?

To avenge Ashina's killing, they would likely stop at nothing.

"When you go onto the battlefield tomorrow, stay close to Mito. Do not act rashly."

Ryū instructed Ashina, clearly sharing Mito's concerns.

He felt helpless. His second son had incurred Kaguya Wuzhan's hatred, leaving him unwilling to let that son onto the battlefield. Now his youngest son had provoked an even greater grudge... He could not possibly keep his youngest son off the battlefield as well!