Yūshin was racing wildly through the forest, and unknowingly had lost his steady breathing rhythm, beginning to gasp involuntarily.
Along the way, he eliminated several enemies and rescued several squads of Fireflies organization ninja. After instructing them to continue transferring to their designated positions, he continued searching through the forest.
It looked somewhat like a headless fly, possibly because his subconscious maintained an abnormally tense state—his chakra consumption rate was much faster than usual.
Running and running, Yūshin suddenly stopped, because he smelled the faint scent of blood lingering in the air.
The surroundings seemed somewhat too quiet.
He quickly turned toward the direction the bloody smell came from, then saw five or six allied ninja lying on the ground.
Several broken-bladed long swords were stuck in the center of this small battlefield. Blood had stained the earth, which carried a slight putrid odor, into mottled brown patches. Broken tree trunks, the scorched smell after explosive tags detonated... This tragic battle had only just ended not long ago.
Yūshin's steps unconsciously paused, then he accelerated again.
He crouched down to examine everyone's injuries, but discovered that except for one who was completely dead, the others were actually only in critically wounded, near-death states.
This was somewhat unreasonable—why had the enemy spared them?
Yūshin immediately began treating the severely wounded, but when he placed his palm on the abdominal wound of a ninja lying on their side, the person suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist.
The person's face was covered in blood, with half their face severely swollen, and mud stained from chin to chest.
Yūshin observed carefully and finally recognized the person's identity.
"Chisori?"
Chisori couldn't speak at all. She released her grip on Yūshin's hand and with difficulty raised her arm to point in a certain direction.
Yūshin immediately understood her meaning. He used Clone Technique, leaving one clone and half his chakra at this location to try saving these people's lives as much as possible.
At the same time, his real body rapidly rushed toward the direction Chisori had pointed.
Yūshin ran faster and faster, beginning to completely disregard chakra consumption, because after pursuing for a very long distance, he still hadn't heard even half a sound of combat.
After another hour, Yūshin finally discovered a half-crippled enemy.
Half of this person's body had suffered severe burns, but he seemed to still be struggling to move forward in a certain direction.
Upon seeing Yūshin, dazzling yet somehow pure lightning suddenly erupted from his body... a Storm Release ninja.
Lightning flowed across the enemy's body, finally gathering on his one intact arm, dyeing that arm as bright as a fluorescent tube.
Yūshin charged straight at the opponent regardless. When their figures crossed paths, he suddenly drew his sword!
Simultaneously, the special arm guard covering his right arm violently expelled large amounts of high-speed, high-temperature steam, causing his already fully extended arm to suddenly accelerate along its determined trajectory.
Splat!
While dodging the enemy's attack, Yūshin smashed the opponent's head with one sword strike, sending brain matter flying.
He passed by this enemy's side with almost no deceleration, not even thinking of using the opponent to replenish chakra.
After several more minutes, he encountered the next enemy.
This was also a half-crippled Storm Release ninja. His overall condition might be slightly better than the previous person, but not by much, so this enemy would receive exactly the same outcome.
Under normal circumstances, Yūshin couldn't instantly kill such elite ninja, but now he was merely picking up kills.
Continuing forward, until encountering a third enemy who maintained almost complete condition, Yūshin's steps were forced to temporarily halt here.
Meanwhile, less than ten kilometers ahead in the direction Yūshin was pursuing, Uchiha Shichimi was moving forward with unsteady steps, staggering.
Her right arm could no longer be raised, only swinging uncontrollably at her side, while her left hand pressed firmly against her side abdomen.
There was a fist-sized penetrating wound there, running almost from the left front of her abdomen straight through to the right rear of her back.
The wound and interior showed severe burn marks, so you could even easily see her spine through this wound.
Behind her was a trail of blood that went from light to dark then back to light.
After crossing a stream, she finally collapsed.
"This way... is also good..."
Shichimi took a deep breath, then tried hard to hold it. Her left hand no longer managed her abdominal wound, only supporting herself on the ground, trying her best to prop up her upper body.
After struggling to stand up again, she didn't continue fleeing forward, but instead washed her face with one hand by the riverside.
Using the moonlight barely filtering through the forest gaps, Shichimi saw her current appearance clearly... bloodless complexion, eyes dim and lifeless.
She tried tugging at the corners of her mouth, but ultimately couldn't manage a smile.
"Problems caused by Uchiha should be solved by me, who was born Uchiha... I still overestimated myself too much."
She brushed aside the wet long hair in front of her forehead, struggled to drag her body, and leaned against a large tree by the stream.
She didn't regret her efforts tonight or the outcome she now faced, only feeling guilty about the undeserved disaster The Fireflies organization had suffered because of her.
"It's just somewhat ridiculous that only at the final moment did I understand that my method of using Mangekyō Sharingan all along was wrong... Little Shichi's origin clearly explained everything."
"Through Sharingan's power, I, positioned here, have the ability to see through the future, and can borrow the brightness of the path ahead to bring a glimmer of dawn to the current era... Peace, lasting peace might truly not be a dream."
"Unfortunately, I was never a smart person to begin with, and now everything is already too late."
While thinking this, she used her left hand to lift her right arm to her abdomen, then used her left hand to painstakingly bend her right hand's fingers one by one to form seals with difficulty.
She couldn't manage to use Sharingan's power again. At the final moment, what she used was merely a Summoning Technique.
After Little Shichi appeared, he sniffed at Shichimi's abdomen, then began circling around her continuously.
Shichimi wanted to reach out and comfort Little Shichi, but found she couldn't do it no matter what.
"Little Shichi... don't move around... I have something important to entrust to you."
Shichimi spoke with difficulty, but as she continued talking, she seemed to feel she no longer needed to bear physical pain, so her words gradually became more fluent.
"Take away my eyes, don't let them fall into enemy hands... You know how to use them."
"How are The Fireflies doing now, afterward... I don't know if Yūshin will blame me, will hate Uchiha."
"Yūshin, I always felt he was hiding many secrets, always deeply concealing certain heavy things in his heart. He seems to live very tiredly."
"Oh right, if this shinobi world always maintains its current appearance, remember to help me throw him into an era of endless peace, warmth, and pure goodness..."
As she spoke, Little Shichi's constantly moving limbs suddenly stopped.
This fox sat silently, snuggling beside Shichimi, pressing its face against her forehead.
At this moment, half of Little Shichi's face almost merged into Shichimi's body.
After a while, it raised its head again. By this time, Shichimi's closed eyelids had already sunk in slightly.
It still guarded by Shichimi's side, never willing to leave.
Even in the shinobi world, there are such small places that make people linger and refuse to leave, and such small periods of time that make people deeply immersed and never want to pass through.
But just then, a blob of oil-like black shadow suddenly shot up from underground, directly covering Shichimi.
Little Shichi, who was accompanying her and looking up at the night sky, was completely unaware of this.
Black Zetsu thought he had calculated everything perfectly, but ultimately was still one step too late. He didn't even know that the Mangekyō Sharingan he had been obsessing over was right there in the fox beside him.
Getting nothing, no matter what it thought, at this time it could only retreat and hide again.
About ten more minutes passed before Yūshin finally arrived here. He suddenly stopped on a tree branch, and with just one glance, he felt instantly overwhelmed by some inexplicable emotion.
The cloud layers in mid-air were completely dispersed by summer night winds. Bright moonlight projected onto the earth through gaps carved out in the forest by the stream's course.
The young woman leaned against the large tree with her body tilted to one side.
The stream gurgled, and between the rippling waves, her reflection seemed capable of making the quiet her come alive again.
The white fox stood guard at her side.
Firefly swarms circled left and right beneath the tree canopy, like scattered brilliant starry rivers.
A picture-like scene was completely frozen in place.
Yūshin leaped down from above, not even wanting to make the slightest sound. He unconsciously stepped toward the stream's edge, but for some reason, no matter what, he couldn't cross the stream to reach the incomparably tranquil opposite shore.
Was it just that he didn't want to disturb all this?
Yūshin's right hand reached across his chest, palm resting on his left shoulder. The pain from the wound there made everything seem incredibly real.
The relationship between Yūshin and Shichimi—were they friends? It seemed you couldn't say that.
Were they lovers? Definitely not that kind of thing.
Were they like-minded people pursuing the same ideals? It didn't seem to be that either.
Perhaps Yūshin just saw Shichimi as someone who could always travel the same path with him.
Just that, nothing more.
Just that, nothing more?
Just like Little Shichi moments ago, for some unknown reason, Yūshin also looked up at the night sky.
In the later Konoha era, some believed that ninja who mastered the shinobi world's fastest Flying Thunder God Technique often suffered from a curse—such people often couldn't arrive in time at the most crucial moments.
Yūshin had similar thoughts at this time. He didn't even know exactly how late he was.
Actually, not long after tonight's battle began, Yūshin had always had a bad premonition in his heart, only he hadn't noticed it at the time... The organization was under attack by Uchiha Clan, and Shichimi, caught between the organization and Uchiha, had from the beginning shown herself to be somewhat too willing to sacrifice, too willing to give.
Yūshin looked at Shichimi's left hand and discovered that what she held in her hand at the end was nothing more than the organization's forehead protector.
Just then, behind Yūshin, the sound of clothing brushing through branches came again. Someone was rapidly approaching this place.
"Shichimi?"
This person jumped down from the tree, then quickly rushed forward several steps. He only glanced once at Yūshin's back, then his gaze fell on Shichimi across the way... It was Uchiha Tajima.
"Get lost!"
He strode forward while shouting at Yūshin.
Strange—Yūshin's mood had originally been incomparably calm, but just because of this person's appearance, his emotions went from one extreme to another.
Yūshin's anger was like an erupting volcano, impossible to suppress no matter what.
To match his extremely changing mental state, every cell in his body was squeezing out the last trace of energy. Unprecedentedly intense chakra suddenly erupted from his body.
Yūshin just lightly twisted his heel, and his body turned sideways with incredible speed. At the same time, his right hand resting on his left shoulder, his right arm wrapped around the front of his neck, suddenly whipped toward the right rear like a whip. His arm scraped through the air, and the entire forest was enveloped by a tremendous explosive roar.
The suddenly erupting chakra shot through the armor covering his right arm like a honeycomb. An invisible blade extended from his palm.
Uchiha Tajima's Mangekyō Sharingan instantly activated uncontrollably. He foresaw some terrible future, but it was an unavoidable future.
What Yūshin used instinctively at this moment wasn't even ninjutsu, but some kind of extreme chakra control and release technique.
This was super-high-density chakra flow.
No...
This was his soul in torrent.
He didn't even feel the slightest resistance in his hand.
Yet Uchiha Tajima's head was so easily sliced off.
"Trash."
Yūshin cursed aloud, but no one knew exactly who this was cursing.
There indeed should be someone who should get lost here, but that person wouldn't be Yūshin.
Tajima's head hit the ground. Only then did Susanoo's skeleton begin to appear behind him... Too fast—he simply hadn't had time to make any reaction.
Just as his head hit the ground, it was instantly wrapped by a blob of black "oil."
At the same time, a chakra long sword came spinning and slashing from a distance, then precisely nailed into that head.
The blade pierced through the head, then buried itself deep into the ground.
Black Zetsu, forced to expose himself, helplessly grabbed a pair of eyes and immediately turned to flee.
Lan quickly came to Yūshin's side, steadily supporting him as he nearly fell... In that instant just now, he had exhausted all the chakra in his entire body, even squeezing out his life energy and erupting it all together.
Without thinking, you'd know that after such an eruption came extreme weakness.
The two stood here, neither speaking.
After a while longer, Nara Hideyuki and another unfamiliar ninja came to their side.
The scene before them left even Hideyuki momentarily at a loss for words.
Only after a moment of silence did he decide to truthfully report the important news he'd just learned:
"Lord Yūshin, for unknown reasons, the enemy is retreating."
It seemed Senju Tobirama had made his move. His actions were faster than imagined, but... still not fast enough.
Yūshin turned around, then was stunned for a moment. Looking at the unfamiliar ninja beside Nara Hideyuki, he asked:
"Who are you?"
"I am Yamanaka Keiya, Lord Yūshin."
If not for him, how could Hideyuki have precisely found Yūshin's location?
Yūshin knew he had used the "Mind Transfer" secret technique and asked again:
"Where is your real body?"
"Still don't know."
"..."
Such a big heart.
Then Yūshin refocused on Nara Hideyuki. Feeling his condition was still good, he asked:
"Hideyuki, can you still continue fighting?"
"I have no problems, Lord Yūshin."
"Then see who else has fighting capability. Organize personnel for pursuit... Don't let them retreat easily."
"Yes, Lord Yūshin."
Nara Hideyuki and Yamanaka Keiya exchanged glances. After accepting the new orders, they prepared to execute the new interception mission.
Lan helped Yūshin sit by the riverside, then silently followed those two.
The stream flowed quietly, and the forest became quiet once again.
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