The ruins of the Land of Whirlpools and a dying campfire

Three days later.

In the dense, airless Woods of the Land of Whirlpools.

A cave lay hidden in a mountainside, unnoticed by anyone. Only a small fire burned inside, its wavering glow dancing across three faces.

Jin Uchiha, Shin Kudo, and Kazama Nara sat around the fire.

They chewed down Soldier Pills, filling their stomachs halfway, and began working out their next move.

"Itsuki Ishikawa died one hell of a scary death." Shin Kudo swallowed a mouthful of the hard pill and clicked his tongue.

Kazama Nara's expression did not budge.

"The moment he decided to stay at the outpost instead of leaving with us, a lot of things were already set in stone."

"You know what things were like then. The Hidden Mist was coming at us with everything it had, with four thousand men hiding in the Land of Whirlpools. We in the Hidden Leaf were completely in the dark."

"Could we let something that important be held up over one Itsuki Ishikawa?"

"If Itsuki Ishikawa were alive, he would agree."

"After all, it was for the village."

"Itsuki Ishikawa's sacrifice was worth it."

"His name will be engraved on the Memorial Stone, and the Hidden Leaf will honor him forever."

"Itsuki Ishikawa was a hero. He lives on in everyone's hearts."

Shin Kudo was dumbstruck.

His mouth opened, and he stared at Kazama Nara as though he were looking at a monster.

Holy shit.

You could spin it like that?

His head buzzed. He even began wondering whether he remembered it wrong.

No.

We deliberately left Itsuki Ishikawa there because we all hated him. To put it bluntly, we took the opportunity to get him killed.

How did Kazama Nara twist it into this just by flapping his lips?

A hero?

And we were supposed to mourn him?

Fuck that.

If Itsuki Ishikawa were still alive, the first thing he would do was curse every last one of us out.

Then he would shout that he would haunt us bastards even after he died.

Shin Kudo could not get a single word out.

The instant it clicked, he finally understood why the Nara could remain a prominent clan in the Hidden Leaf and enjoy the Hokage's trust despite their unremarkable strength. This was the reason.

That mouth of his really was something else.

He could talk a dead man back to life. All Shin could do was applaud the sheer audacity; he had no other words.

And it was not just him.

Even Jin Uchiha, who thought he had Kazama Nara's methods figured out, had a bellyful of objections he could not get out.

This guy really was a talent.

Indeed.

Over those three days, the three of them had been on the move.

They had evaded wave after wave of Hidden Mist pursuers, circled the Land of Whirlpools more times than they could count, and killed thirty-one Mist ninja along the way.

Naturally, they had passed the outpost they once guarded and seen Itsuki Ishikawa's corpse.

But there was a problem.

If they carried the body back, the Yamanaka might well probe its memories.

Even if they mashed Itsuki Ishikawa's brain to pulp, they could still leave traces someone might notice.

So they simply lit a fire.

They burned Itsuki Ishikawa to ashes, leaving nothing behind.

"Enough. Talking about it won't change anything."

"Itsuki Ishikawa died with dignity. He gave his life for the village."

"He was a hero of our Hidden Leaf, and he'll live on in everyone's hearts."

"Let's never bring him up again. We should talk about what we do next."

As soon as those words fell, the other two hastily nodded.

Indeed.

It was better not to dig up the business with Itsuki Ishikawa.

The truth underneath was far too filthy to bring into the open, and there was no way to fit it into the "Will of Fire."

Still.

Once they turned their attention back to their current predicament, all three felt their heads begin to ache.

The Hidden Mist's searches grew tighter by the day.

That was hardly surprising.

To the Hidden Mist, the Land of Whirlpools would be the bridgehead from which they kicked down the Hidden Leaf's front door.

They would never allow Leaf ninja to run loose somewhere so important.

"If only we had someone from the Hyuga Household on our team."

Shin Kudo voiced his thoughts.

Then he instinctively glanced at Jin Uchiha. "Jin, don't take that the wrong way. I'm not looking down on the Uchiha."

"No need to explain. I understand." Jin Uchiha's tone remained even. "For wide-area reconnaissance, the Sharingan really is inferior to the Byakugan."

He genuinely did not mind.

For one thing, he did not think all that highly of the Uchiha himself.

Besides, Shin Kudo was right.

The Sharingan was powerful.

In a one-on-one fight, the Uchiha could crush the Hyuga.

But in a war on this scale, the Hyuga's Byakugan was a true strategic asset.

Hadn't those brutes from the Hidden Cloud Village targeted the Hyuga's Byakugan both times they tried to steal a bloodline limit from the Hidden Leaf? They had never spared the Uchiha a second glance.

Even a few years ago.

The Cloud ninja Jin Uchiha had encountered had only stumbled upon his home by sheer accident while fleeing in a panic.

Why not steal the Sharingan?

Wasn't it because the Sharingan excelled in individual combat but offered little help in battles between large armies?

One or two strong fighters could not make much of a difference to a war unless they were as powerful as Sakumo Hatake or Minato Namikaze.

As they spoke, Jin Uchiha suddenly felt a tug within him—the sensation of a summons through the Summoning Technique.

He formed hand signs and slapped the ground.

Poof.

A pitch-black Ninja Crow appeared, a note tied around its ankle.

Jin Uchiha removed it and scanned it, then casually burned it to nothing with Fire Release before speaking with a smile.

"Two more days."

"The ANBU have already delivered word of our situation to the village."

"The Hidden Leaf's main force has just finished assembling. This time, our Uchiha clan head, Fugaku Uchiha, is personally leading them."

"Hang in there a little longer, everyone."

Indeed.

The moment they concluded that the Frontline Camp had fallen, he had sent a Ninja Crow to contact Shisui and ask when the Hidden Leaf's main force could arrive.

He was no fool.

Knowing Shisui's personality, he had worried the man would turn around and tell Hiruzen Sarutobi that they were in contact.

So he had only asked.

He had not told Shisui a single word about the actual situation at the front.

"That's fantastic!" Shin Kudo shouted. "The Uchiha are coming! We've got a way out!"

Shin Kudo whooped with excitement.

During these days trapped on the brink of death, Jin Uchiha had made the right call at every turn, but the pressure of constantly having a blade at his throat still left Shin barely able to breathe.

And he was not the only one.

Even Kazama Nara's shoulders relaxed.

He had worked it out clearly. The Uchiha were taking action, and their Clan Head Fugaku was personally leading them.

The troops following him were bound to be elites.

At the very least.

They certainly would not be like this batch of theirs—nothing but fucking cannon fodder sent to plug the gaps.

Jin Uchiha felt the same.

Only a few days had passed, yet it felt as though he had endured years.

An ordinary person could never bear living with their nerves stretched to the breaking point every moment, their mind constantly churning through calculations.

Fortunately.

Once the Uchiha forces arrived, they would finally be able to catch their breath.

At that thought, he let the smile fade from his face and spoke.

"All right, everyone."

"We have the news we needed. You can all stop worrying now."

"Get some proper rest."

"In two hours, we move out again."