Trade

Whoosh—

The cold wind swept across the land, leaving devastation in its wake. Silence returned between heaven and earth, broken only by heavy breathing and the sound of sweat dripping.

Tap, tap, tap—

Enkō staggered to his feet, covering one eye with one hand. After resting for a moment, he limped over to Sarutobi Sasuke and said, "Actually, you only guessed half of it right. I attacked the Senju Clan's rear not to turn the so-called tide of battle."

Sarutobi Sasuke's entire chest had caved inward, and blood seeped from the corners of his mouth with every breath. Hearing Enkō's words, he gave a faintly bitter smile. Being told this much meant Enkō had no intention of letting him live.

Yet there was no fear in his eyes. Instead, he smiled and said, "Cough, cough... I don't know what you intend to do, but the overall situation has been decided. The Uchiha Clan is destined to lose."

"Has the Senju Clan never lost before?"

Sarutobi Sasuke frowned. "What do you mean?"

Enkō turned back, pulled the fallen katana from the ground, and said calmly, "It is a defeat, yes, but it is not the end."

Sarutobi Sasuke was clearly stunned. He looked at Enkō in disbelief. "You... cough, cough, you still refuse to give up? What good will this do you? From what I know of Hashirama, he will not wipe you out. He may even completely let go of his prejudices. Why go this far?"

"Because even the God of Shinobi will one day die."

Silence settled over the air once more. After a long while, Sarutobi Sasuke finally murmured, "I see. As expected of you... and Tobirama's assessment of you was still not high enough."

"Enough chatting. I have other things to do." Enkō raised the blade in his hand.

"Wait." Sarutobi Sasuke spoke urgently. "Cough, cough, I have one more request."

Enkō said nothing, but the blade in his hand stopped at Sarutobi Sasuke's throat.

"I have a son named Sarutobi Hiruzen." A trace of nostalgia flashed through Sarutobi Sasuke's eyes. "He is still young, but given his nature, he will certainly come to avenge me someday. I ask that you spare him once."

Enkō's brow furrowed slightly. "Why?"

"The people who appeared earlier were not from the Uchiha Clan, were they? I suspect you are recruiting other clans." Sarutobi Sasuke took a deep breath and continued, "I know of a clan called the Uzuki Clan. They excel at swordsmanship, and I have personally done them a favor. I originally intended to invite them into the Senju camp after the war, but now it seems that following you would not be bad either."

Because of his injuries, Sarutobi Sasuke's breathing had clearly become ragged, but he persisted. "There is a jade pendant in my inner pocket. It is a token given to me by their clan head. Taking it to find them should make things much easier. As for whether they are willing to join you, that will depend on you."

Enkō fell silent for a moment before finally saying in a low voice, "Fine, but only once."

"Once is enough." Sarutobi Sasuke slowly closed his eyes.

Slash—

The blade cut across his throat, spraying a mist of blood that fell upon the earth.

After confirming that Sarutobi Sasuke was truly dead, Enkō crouched down and searched his corpse for the jade pendant. Seeing nothing unusual about it, he casually slipped it into his pocket, then headed toward the Senju Clan grounds.

Boom—

Inside the Senju Clan camp, countless flames shot into the sky as deafening explosions rang out in succession!

"Young Clan Head, we're almost out of Human Bombs! We can't get out!"

Oya Enichi could not help swearing. "Damn it! Fine, Senju Hashirama is powerful, but why is his wife this strong too?"

Fifteen minutes earlier, Oya Enichi had led his men successfully into the Senju Clan grounds. After leaving some people behind to hold off the shinobi stationed there, they swiftly obtained what they had come for. But just as they prepared to withdraw, Uzumaki Mito arrived and trapped them inside.

He had heard of the Uzumaki Clan's eldest princess before the battle, but he had never expected her to be even more troublesome than he had imagined. Her Sealing Jutsu was used with masterful skill, easily neutralizing all their ninjutsu. Combined with the elusive Adamantine Chains, she had forcibly taken down more than half his men!

"Put down what you took, or you will not be leaving."

Uzumaki Mito wore a white kimono, her beautiful face filled with authority as she stared expressionlessly at the invaders. With a lift of her hand, several golden chains shot forth again, precisely wrapping around several bandits about to explode. Their surging chakra was instantly suppressed, and the Human Bombs became duds in the blink of an eye!

Oya Enichi gritted his teeth. "No choice. We can only force our way through."

Forcing their way through meant using their lives to carve out a path to survival. The Chinoike Clan had only just joined the Uchiha Clan's camp, and this was the first mission they had received. To keep their clan's honor from being disgraced again, they had to bring out what they carried, even at the cost of their lives!

Hum—

The red Ketsuryūgan abruptly appeared in Oya Enichi's eyes, and the chakra around him surged rapidly!

"Hm?" Sensing the overwhelming aura, Mito's expression tightened slightly. "Not the Sharingan? Those eyes... are they from the Chinoike Clan of the Lightning Country?"

"Everyone! Follow me and charge out!"

"Don't even think about it!"

Mito shouted sharply, gathering chakra throughout her body!

Ninja Art: Adamantine...?

"Hm?" In an instant, Mito's face changed drastically!

Dojutsu: Kagami no Mitama!

Ninja Art: Adamantine Chains!

Clatter, clatter—

Golden chains, accompanied by harsh clanking sounds, pierced through the outer walls of the Senju camp. As they rampaged through the area, several Senju shinobi were flung into the air. In an instant, the world seemed to collapse as everyone was thrown into chaos!

Mito stared in shock. "Uchiha Enkō! Why are you here? What happened to Sarutobi Sasuke?"

"Heh, who knows? Probably not too well." Enkō's eyes were cold as he called out to Oya Enichi, "Go, now!"

"It's Lord Enkō!" Oya Enichi was overjoyed. "Retreat!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

With Enkō covering their retreat, the Chinoike Clan immediately carried their wounded through the breach Enkō had opened and quickly vanished into the distance!

"You killed Sarutobi Sasuke. The Sarutobi Clan will not let this go."

Mito glared angrily at Enkō. Beyond her grief over Sarutobi Sasuke's sacrifice, she was even more troubled because this would severely undermine her husband's dream of uniting all the clans.

"Heh, if you were not Senju Hashirama's wife, I might have wanted to kill you too." Enkō met her gaze without fear. "You merely intend to use yourselves as the link after this war ends, connecting all the clans of the Land of Fire. But sorry, we Uchiha Clan will not be joining!"

"What do you mean?"

"It means you have won, but we have not lost yet!" Once Enkō saw Oya Enichi withdraw successfully, he waved a hand. "Goodbye."

"You!"

Mito could only watch helplessly as Enkō strode away. Pursuing him by force would only create needless casualties, so in the end, she could only let out a soft sigh.

"It seems... the war is not over yet."