Trade

Whoosh—

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

Tap, tap, tap—

Yan Hong staggered to his feet, one hand covering his eye. After catching his breath for a moment, he limped over to Sarutobi Sasuke and said, "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 Yan Hong's words, he gave a faintly bitter smile. Being told this meant Yan Hong had no intention of letting him live.

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

"Has the Senju Clan never lost before?"

Sarutobi Sasuke frowned. "What do you mean?"

Yan Hong turned back, pulled the fallen tachi from the ground, and said calmly, "Defeat is not the same as an ending."

Sarutobi Sasuke was visibly stunned. He looked at Yan Hong with disbelief. "You... cough, cough, still refuse to give up? What good will that do you? From what I know of Hashirama, he won't wipe you out. He may even completely let go of his prejudices. Why must you do this?"

"Because even the God of Shinobi will die someday."

Silence descended once more. After a long while, Sarutobi Sasuke murmured, "I see. Just as expected of you... And Tobirama's assessment of you still wasn't high enough."

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

"Wait." Sarutobi Sasuke hurriedly said, "Cough, cough, I have one more request."

Yan Hong said nothing, but the blade in his hand stopped above Sarutobi Sasuke's neck.

"I have a son named Sarutobi Hiruzen." A trace of nostalgia flashed through Sarutobi Sasuke's eyes. "He's still young, but given his nature, he'll definitely come for revenge someday. I ask that you spare him once."

Yan Hong frowned slightly. "Why?"

"The people who appeared earlier weren't from the Uchiha Clan, were they? I'm guessing you're 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 once did them a favor. I originally intended to invite them into the Senju Clan's camp after the war, but now... it seems they wouldn't be badly off following you."

Because of his injuries, Sarutobi Sasuke's breathing had clearly grown more rapid, but he persisted. "There's a jade pendant in my inner pocket. It's a token their clan head gave me. If you take it to them, things should go much more smoothly. As for whether they're willing to join you, that will depend on you."

Yan Hong 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, Yan Hong crouched down and retrieved the jade pendant from his corpse. Finding nothing remarkable about it, he casually tucked it into his pocket, then headed toward the Senju Clan's territory.

Boom—

Within 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 couldn't help swearing. "Damn it! Senju Hashirama being powerful is one thing, but why is his wife so strong too?"

Fifteen minutes earlier, Oya Enichi had led his men into the Senju Clan's territory undetected. After leaving part of his force behind to hold off the shinobi stationed there, they swiftly obtained what they had come for. But just as they prepared to retreat, Uzumaki Mito arrived and trapped them inside.

Though he had heard of the Uzumaki Clan's eldest princess before the battle, he had never expected her to be even more troublesome than he imagined. Her sealing techniques were masterful, effortlessly neutralizing all their ninjutsu. Combined with her elusive Adamantine Chains, she had forcibly taken down more than half his men!

"Put down what you took, or you won't be leaving."

Uzumaki Mito wore a white kimono, her beautiful face filled with authority as she stared expressionlessly at the invaders before her. 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 a path to survival. The Chinoike Clan had only just joined the Uchiha Clan's camp, and this was their first mission. To keep their clan's honor from being disgraced again, they had to get what they carried out, even at the cost of their lives!

Buzz—

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

"Hm?" Sensing that sky-piercing aura, Mito's gaze sharpened slightly. "Not the Sharingan? Those eyes... Are they from the Chinoike Clan of the Lightning Country?"

"Everyone! Follow me and break out!"

"Don't even think about it!"

Mito let out a sharp cry, chakra gathering throughout her body!

Ninja Art: Adamantine...?

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

Dojutsu: Kagami no Mitama!

Ninja Art: Adamantine Chains!

Clatter, clatter—

Golden chains, accompanied by harsh scraping sounds, pierced through the outer wall 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 chaos erupted everywhere!

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

"Heh, who knows? Probably not too well." Yan Hong's eyes were cold as he called out toward Oya Enichi, "Leave, now!"

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

Swish, swish, swish—

With Yan Hong covering their retreat, the Chinoike Clan immediately carried their wounded through the breach he had opened and swiftly vanished into the distance!

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

Mito glared furiously at Yan Hong. Beyond her grief over Sarutobi Sasuke's sacrifice, she was even more troubled because this would greatly hinder her husband's dream of uniting every clan.

"Heh. If you weren't Senju Hashirama's wife, I'd even want to kill you." Yan Hong met her gaze without fear. "You intend to use yourselves as the link to unite every clan in the Land of Fire after this war ends. But sorry, the Uchiha Clan will not take part!"

"What do you mean?"

"It means you've won, but we haven't lost yet!" After seeing Oya Enichi withdraw safely, Yan Hong waved a hand. "Goodbye."

"You!"

Mito could only watch helplessly as Yan Hong departed. Pursuing him by force would only bring unnecessary casualties, so in the end, she could only let out a soft sigh.

"It seems the war isn't over yet..."