The supply raid underway (1)

After taking his leave of Orochimaru, Chihane strolled through the camp under the bright moonlight, making his way back to his tent.

Just as he was approaching the tent, Chihane suddenly noticed a figure standing outside it.

When he drew closer, he realized it was Uchiha Fugaku.

"Lord Fugaku, did you need something from me?"

Uchiha Fugaku was clearly waiting specifically for him outside his tent. Although Chihane wondered what had brought him here, he still greeted him politely.

"Haha, Chihane, we'll be carrying out a mission together tomorrow. What a coincidence! You're Lord Orochimaru's student, and my son Itachi has also become his student. That makes you fellow disciples from now on. I hope you'll look after Itachi!"

Seeing Chihane's friendly manner, Uchiha Fugaku responded just as warmly.

"Uchiha Itachi? I'll take good care of him! But surely that isn't the only reason you came to see me, Lord Fugaku?"

Hearing that Uchiha Itachi had actually become Orochimaru's student left Chihane feeling rather reflective. It seemed his butterfly effect had changed history after all!

Still, now that Itachi had fallen into his hands, he would have to educate him properly. He couldn't let him go astray.

But Chihane knew perfectly well that Uchiha Fugaku probably hadn't come over just for that. If that were all, the war had only just begun, and neither of them even knew whether they would return to the village alive. Besides, they had a mission tomorrow.

How could Fugaku have waited specifically for him over such a minor matter at a time like this? Chihane had spent several hours in Orochimaru's tent, after all.

"Haha! Chihane, you know how important tomorrow's mission is. Its success or failure will determine the next stage of the war. That's why I hope you'll let me handle the Iwa jonin, Kakkō. After all, we're the only two on the team capable of taking him on."

"But I don't have the ability to finish off the other Iwa shinobi quickly. If even one escapes and brings reinforcements, we'll be in trouble! So I hope you'll leave Kakkō to me, then come support me once you've dealt with the other ninja. After all, swordsmen like you excel at offense. Those with greater ability should shoulder more of the work. What do you think, Chihane?"

Uchiha Fugaku didn't say outright that he doubted Chihane could defeat Kakkō and feared that this would cause the mission to fail. Instead, he tactfully suggested that Chihane leave Kakkō to him and come help after dealing with the other ninja. He wanted to preserve Chihane's dignity so that the boy's youthful pride wouldn't jeopardize the mission.

"Lord Fugaku, you mean you want to take over fighting Kakkō and have me handle the other ninja? Has Teacher Orochimaru agreed?"

Hearing Uchiha Fugaku's words, Chihane realized that everything was unfolding just as Orochimaru had predicted. Fugaku truly didn't trust his strength and had chosen to take on the enemy's strongest elite jonin himself. But Chihane also knew he couldn't appear too eager to accept, so he brought up Orochimaru as cover.

"I'll speak to Lord Orochimaru myself, so don't worry about that! More importantly, don't read too much into this! I only came to you because I believe that, with your strength, you can kill the other ninja faster than I can." Hearing Chihane's response, Uchiha Fugaku felt reassured. A child is a child after all. He can't hide what's on his mind. It seems he isn't confident he can beat Kakkō either, and only accepted the mission because he feared Orochimaru's punishment. That makes things easy. I was worried he'd insist on doing it himself!

"All right! As long as Teacher Orochimaru agrees, I'll do as you say!"

Likewise, seeing Uchiha Fugaku's reaction put Chihane at ease. He took the bait. Good, that saves me some trouble. This had been Chihane's plan all along anyway.

Early morning.

The border of the Land of Earth.

Chihane and the Uchiha Clan ninja were concealed among the rocks on either side of the main road.

If the Iwa shinobi wanted to reach their frontline battlefield on the border of the Land of Earth, this road was the fastest route.

The Iwa shinobi wouldn't expect Konoha's ninja to dare raid their supplies behind the lines while facing enemies on three fronts. They certainly wouldn't take a detour! Besides, Chihane's team had no way to search for them, so they could only gamble on this route.

Uchiha Fugaku was astonished as he looked toward Chihane's hiding place. He had never expected Chihane's concealment to be so flawless that even an elite jonin like him couldn't spot anything amiss. If he hadn't known Chihane's position beforehand, he would have thought there was nothing there but a pile of rocks.

What surprised him most, however, was how Chihane had managed to conceal his chakra completely. Even before Fugaku's Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Chihane's chakra remained utterly hidden.

Although the Sharingan couldn't see through the human body like the Byakugan, it granted the Uchiha Clan extraordinary perception. Yet it seemed to have little effect on Chihane.

Of course, he didn't know that Chihane barely had any chakra to begin with. Even if he used a pair of Byakugan to examine Chihane, he wouldn't see much chakra.

Shaking his head, Fugaku stopped letting his thoughts wander and focused on watching the direction from which the Iwa shinobi might arrive.

Strong winds whistled through the gaps in the mountains. For a time, the only sounds were wind sweeping over stone and loose rocks tumbling down the slopes. There was not a trace of the four Konoha ninja's breathing or heartbeats. Such was a ninja's skill at concealment.

Ninja weren't warriors. Without proper concealment, an ambush would be pointless. They might as well stand up and wait for the enemy to arrive.

Time flew by. Just as everyone began to think the mission had failed and the Iwa shinobi had taken another road, and they were preparing to withdraw, four Iwa shinobi finally appeared at the far end of their vision.

Everyone immediately took even greater care to remain hidden.

As the Iwa shinobi rapidly approached, Uchiha Fugaku suddenly formed the Tiger Seal. A violent explosion erupted beneath the four shinobi's feet!

Indeed, Fugaku had detonated the explosive tags they had buried beforehand.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Whole clusters of explosive tags detonated together, creating a spectacular sight.

At the same time, yellow smoke began spreading through the blast zone.

"Wind Release! Great Breakthrough!"

Seeing the smoke obscure their view, Uchiha Kōtan decisively used wind release ninjutsu. A fierce gale burst from his mouth, dispersing the yellow smoke before them.

As the smoke cleared, a huge, rounded earthen fortress appeared in the middle of the mountain road.

Uchiha Fugaku's expression darkened. Although he had known all along that the explosive tags probably wouldn't achieve much, he still couldn't help reacting.

Having all their efforts thwarted by a little mound of earth was hardly a pleasant feeling.

The earthen mound opened from the center, revealing all four Iwa shinobi completely unharmed! Standing at the rear, the special jōnin Sumashi was holding a hand seal. Clearly, this little mound was his work.

"Konoha ninja? You actually dared come here to die!"

Kakkō, the Iwa jonin who stepped out of the earthen mound, saw the forehead protectors worn by Chihane and the others across from him and immediately flew into a rage.

Iwagakure was attacking Konoha right now, not the other way around. How dare they venture into the Land of Earth-and even have the nerve to ambush them!