When the county magistrate regained consciousness, Yukimichi Uchiha was staring at him as if he were dead. He realized it was Uchiha's Genjutsu.
So he cautiously asked, "Excuse me... could I go through the process for this piece of information?"
Yukimichi Uchiha grabbed his collar. "Knowing such important information, yet concealing it from us, are you perhaps a spy for the remnants of the Shimura Clan?"
Do you think you can get through the proper channels with me after all the crimes you've committed? The fact that I didn't kill you on the spot is already an act of mercy!
The county magistrate's legs went weak with fear, and he was about to kneel down and kowtow to beg for mercy when Yukimichi Uchiha grabbed him and once again controlled him with his Genjutsu.
Yukimichi Uchiha stroked his chin. "Although you're incredibly useless and have committed these heinous crimes, you still have a small purpose... For example, wiping out the Sarutobi Clan and Shimura Clan in one fell swoop..."
As night deepened, a series of rustling sounds suddenly arose from the jungle outside the border town. A member of the Sarutobi Clan emerged from within, warily surveying his surroundings.
He immediately wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He had just seen a flash of red light in the darkness and had assumed it was someone from the Uchiha who had spotted him.
Looking back now, how could that be possible? The main Uchiha force might not even have arrived yet. How could the small Uchiha inside the city possibly leave and fight against the Sarutobi Clan?
"You're just scaring yourself..." After wiping the sweat from his brow, the Sarutobi Clan adjusted his bag and continued gathering intelligence.
However, not far from him, Yukimichi Uchiha was quietly crouching on a tree, the Mitsudomoe in his eyes slowly rotating.
Yukimichi Uchiha. His priority was to gather intelligence, ideally finding the Sarutobi Clan 'Sarutobi Clan main base outside the city through this member.
Because he was outnumbered, venturing out of the city rashly would risk falling into an ambush by the Sarutobi Clan, not to mention the remnants of the Shimura Clan nearby.
According to intelligence, the remnants of the Shimura Clan had long since allied themselves with the Sarutobi Clan, and many Shimura Clan members, having lived there for a considerable time, had already infiltrated the castle.
In other words, many people in the city are spies from the Sarutobi Clan and Shimura Clan.
Yukimichi Uchiha was also surprised that these two clans could actually work together. Did they really think that uniting would be enough to deal with the Uchiha Clan? How naive!
From the very first day he arrived, he sealed off the city, forbidding anyone from leaving, and even set up Barrier Team, so that anyone who went out could be sensed.
After confirming that the news would not leak, Yukimichi Uchiha began his plan.
Having spent three years studying at a military academy, under these circumstances of internal and external troubles, it was only natural for him to conceal his main strength, keeping himself in the shadows while leaving the enemy in the open.
The Sarutobi Clan looked around carefully, and after confirming that there were no problems, he moved closer to the city wall.
The Uchiha clan members patrolling the city walls, all possessing Sharingan, immediately spotted the figure hiding in the shadows; after all, the Chakra emanating from this individual was quite evident.
However, almost everyone unanimously ignored this person. There was no other reason; this person carried not only his own Chakra, but also that of Yukimichi Uchiha.
To someone without the Byakugan or Sharingan, there's no difference, but it's incredibly noticeable in the eyes of Uchiha. This Sarutobi Clan has been completely controlled by Genjutsu.
The Uchiha may not want to think, but that doesn't mean they can't. This Sarutobi Clan is clearly someone sent out to relay a message; they can easily understand such a simple thing.
In the eyes of this Sarutobi Clan, there were no patrolling Uchiha on the city walls, only a samurai dozing off.
The Sarutobi Clan had come to gather intelligence was overjoyed. "Excellent! All the ninjas in the city have already withdrawn; now this city is an empty city! Perfect timing to take over this border region!"
The Sarutobi Clan members quickly packed their belongings and hurried back to their garrison, completely unaware that Yukimichi Uchiha had been following them closely, thoroughly investigating their location.
Meanwhile, inside the castle, the remnants of the Shimura Clan were hiding in their stronghold, discussing the situation within the castle.
"Have you heard? The county government has announced that the main force of the Uchiha Clan has been transferred to the southeastern border to defend the Land of Whirlpools."
The main force of the national army is now focused on the northwest and southeast, and we simply don't have the resources to manage our southwestern border. All the ninjas in the city have already retreated to the second line of defense, so this place is an empty city!
The county magistrate has contacted us; he's prepared to surrender. How credible do you think that is?
Another member of the Shimura Clan frowned, expressing his doubt. "Is this really possible? They're the Uchiha! Would they really retreat? Aren't they Tenten shouting about dying on the battlefield and returning home in glory?"
"Given that group of war fanatics who consider dying in battle the highest honor, would they really choose to retreat because of these circumstances?"
"Why is it impossible? No matter how warlike the Uchiha Clan is, they wouldn't waste their lives on something like this."
The city is now surrounded by a large army. If they don't retreat, are they all going to die here? There are a couple hundred ninjas in total; they certainly don't want to all die here.
Even if it means dying on the battlefield, the warriors must contribute something of value. No matter how stupid the Uchiha Clan is, they wouldn't do something as pointless as sending themselves to their deaths.
The third elder of the former Shimura Clan, now the head of the remnant Shimura Clan, listened to their remarks and then said, "That makes sense. The patrols in the city have recently been replaced by samurai."
This is very likely because the Uchiha Clan has completely withdrawn their troops from this area; perhaps the city is now a ghost town. We can trust the county magistrate.
However, this guy is cowardly, bullies the weak and fears the strong, and is greedy and lustful. If he's just lying to us, then it's hard to say. Therefore, we need to test him."
"Chief, how can we test this county magistrate to confirm that his surrender is genuine? Most of our intelligence personnel have gone out to make contact with the Sarutobi Clan."
"The city is still sealed off, and we simply don't have enough intelligence personnel to confirm whether there are still troops inside."
"That's easy. Go to the county government early this morning and invite the county magistrate to that restaurant nearby for a chat. I'll be there to test him out myself. That guy isn't good at pretending; if we just bluff a little, he'll give himself away if he's feeling guilty."