Shimura Keizo just gave a sinister smile. "That man who calls himself Tobi is too dangerous. He can move freely even within our clan's territory using that spatial jutsu. Their entire faction must be eradicated."
Shimura Keizo's plan was dark and treacherous. He intended to first agree to Tobi's proposal, ally with the four northwestern clans, and eliminate both Uchiha Izuna's forces and the Hagoromo clan. Then, when it came time to divide the spoils, he would turn on the other four clans. In Izuna's past life, it would be called backstabbing your own allies.
If Izuna were there, he would have certainly sighed in admiration. *Truly worthy of being that old fox Shimura Danzo's ancestor.*
But all of this depended on one condition: that it was all real.
"Keizo, doing this... isn't it improper?" Sarutobi Furukawa said, his conscience pricking him. Unlike the ruthless Shimura Keizo, who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, he still had some principles.
"Hmph. Furukawa, you're too naive. If you're unwilling, you can just watch from the sidelines. The Shimura clan will handle this."
***
Returning to his clan's territory, Izuna was overjoyed to see his skill points jump from 35 to 55. It was clearly the result of successfully deceiving Shimura Keizo. He immediately spent the points to unlock the Flying Thunder God Technique: Second Step. His points dropped back down to 15, but his skill tree changed accordingly:
[Flying Thunder God Technique (B-Rank): Learned] → [Flying Thunder God Technique: Second Step (A-Rank): Learned] → [Flying Thunder God Technique: Third Step (S-Rank): Not Unlocked, Skill Points Required: 80]
The Flying Thunder God Technique: Second Step was an improvement made by the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, upon Senju Tobirama's original technique. It was faster and more versatile, capable of being used not just with kenjutsu but with ninjutsu as well.
Feeling the change in his Flying Thunder God Technique, Izuna unconsciously clenched his fists and grinned ferociously. "This is great. For some reason, just thinking that the jutsu I'm using is more advanced than that bastard Tobirama's puts me in a good mood."
Back in the Uchiha clan's main territory, although half a year had passed without any action from the Senju, the Uchiha had not let their guard down. They maintained their defenses at Mount Congyun, ever vigilant.
"Clan Head, Lord Izuna has a classified document that he ordered me to deliver to you personally." Uchiha Ise knelt before Madara on one knee and produced a small scroll from his robes. Normally, such messages were delivered by the Uchiha's summoned ninja hawks or specialized intelligence ninja. The fact that Izuna had sent Uchiha Ise, who was supposed to be on the front lines, proved the immense importance of the letter's contents.
Madara took the scroll, and Uchiha Ise immediately vanished with the Body Flicker Technique. He knew he was not privy to such matters.
As Madara unrolled the scroll and read, his eyelids began to twitch uncontrollably. Five minutes later, he stood, walked over to a candlestick, and held the scroll to the flame, watching it burn to ash.
"You've planned things to this extent... Izuna..." Madara muttered to himself, before raising his voice. "Summon someone from the Despair Corps."
The Despair Corps was the name of the Uchiha clan's death-seeker unit. Though they were Uchiha ninja, they were men who had lost everything in the war—parents, wives, children. They were people who had lost their reason to live and survived only for revenge. The only home they craved was the battlefield, where they could kill as many enemies as possible before joining their deceased loved ones in the next world. The previous clan head, Uchiha Tajima, had seen their potential and formed this special unit—in layman's terms, a suicide squad.
"Clan Head!" Soon, the leader of the Despair Corps, Despair-One, appeared in Madara's room, bowing his head in deference as he awaited his orders. Despair-One was not his real name, of course. Much like the Anbu and Root of the future Konoha, once one joined the organization, they used a codename. The Despair Corps didn't have fancy codenames like White Fang or Tenzo; they were simply identified by "Despair" followed by a number.
"I have a crucial mission for you. It will decide the outcome of the northwestern front." A flicker of regret crossed Madara's eyes but vanished just as quickly. "However, this will also be your final mission."
Madara's meaning was clear—completing this mission was a death sentence.
Yet, Despair-One replied without a moment's hesitation, "If our lives can purchase victory in this war, we will gladly journey to the next world without hesitation."
A look of admiration spread across Madara's face. "Very good. Listen carefully. Your mission is to coordinate with the Vice-Clan Head. You will depart tomorrow night, transporting a shipment of grain..."
***
On a steep, rugged mountain path in the northern border region of the Uchiha territory—far from any official road—the sound of horse hooves and creaking wagon wheels echoed. A group of about twenty men dressed as merchants led ten horse-drawn carts along the rarely used trail.
However, on the other side of the path, behind the cover of a large rock formation on a nearby cliff, another group watched the merchant caravan like hawks.
"Strange. Why would merchants avoid the main road?"
"Probably trying to avoid bandits."
"No, look at them. Ten carts, and they didn't even hire any ninja escorts. It's too strange."
The observers were all Shimura clan ninja, nearly sixty of them, all secretly watching the peculiar caravan. Their leader was named Shimura Ri, a man whose strength reached the peak of a jonin, bordering on quasi-Kage level. He was arguably the strongest member of the Shimura clan after its head, Shimura Keizo.
"Of course it's strange. Because that caravan is full of Uchiha in disguise," Izuna, dressed as the masked man, appeared behind Shimura Ri's right shoulder. "Their acting is just subpar, revealing several flaws. First, they all disguised themselves as merchants instead of having a few keep their true identities. That just makes them more suspicious. Second, they avoided the main road for stealth, but this mountain path is too steep for a merchant caravan. It looks bizarre."
Shimura Ri glanced at Izuna. "Are you going to join the fight?"
"Are you trying to test my sincerity?" Izuna's tone was cold. "Fine. But the job must be done cleanly."
Hearing that the masked man was willing to fight, Shimura Ri felt a little more at ease, though his own calculations were already running in his mind. He had been by Shimura Keizo's side and had witnessed the man's mysterious teleportation jutsu many times, but he had no idea how powerful it would be in actual combat. For this mission, Shimura Keizo had repeatedly instructed him not only to complete the objective but also to try and gauge the true extent of this "Tobi's" strength.
"Lord Ri, they're entering the ambush zone," a Shimura jonin reported in a low voice.
Shimura Ri turned his head and whispered, "Get ready."
These Shimura ninja had arrived two days prior to set up this ambush. The moment the caravan entered their trap, Shimura Ri barked, "Now!"
Instantly, ten of the hidden Shimura ninja formed hand seals and released their chakra.
*BOOM!*
The ground of the mountain path erupted in a violent explosion. A pillar of smoke shot into the sky, accompanied by a deafening roar that stained the white clouds above the mountain black. The Shimura ninja had planted explosive tags there in advance.
*Thump... Thump...*
-----
Read up to 20 advanced chapters on my P@treon.
[email protected]/fanfictionsimp