"Another assassin?"
By the time Mei regained her composure, the assassin had already been split in two by Sora, the separated corpse lying on the ground.
"Damn it!"
"Those damned Konoha dogs!"
Yagura, however, was gnashing his teeth in hatred. If Sora hadn't reacted quickly just now, who knows what chaos might have ensued.
"Sora!"
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Mei anxiously ran up, pulling at Sora, looking him over left and right, afraid she might find some bloody wound on him.
"Don't worry!"
Sora, however, pinched Mei's soft cheek lightly and said dismissively, "It's nothing, just an assassination attempt. It's not the first time, after all."
In fact, that was indeed the case.
Since the rout in the frontal battle, the Konoha's higher-ups had maintained a state of high alert. Over the past half month, they had withdrawn all troops from the area between Tenfu Gorge and Mount Fukyu.
Because of Sora's presence, Konoha had completely lost the confidence to engage in another full-scale decisive battle.
They had naturally dragged the Kirigakure vs Konoha war into a quagmire-like guerrilla warfare.
Occasional assassinations of key figures, small-scale guerrilla tactics and probing, harassment of Kirigakure's supply lines, kidnappings, subversion, sowing discord…
In short,
Konoha employed all warfare methods except for a full-scale decisive battle, all to slow down Kirigakure's advance and decelerate the pace of the war.
After all,
Regarding Kirigakure's overall strength, the Konoha's higher-ups didn't actually think much of it.
If not for Sora's existence, they would have long since deployed their full force to push Kirigakure's troops back into the sea.
On one hand, Konoha looked down on Kirigakure's conventional Ninja Army. On the other hand, the Konoha's higher-ups were quite fearful of Sora's existence.
Thus,
Under these extremely complex emotions, the Konoha's higher-ups abandoned the idea of a frontal decisive battle and began using their superior numbers for guerrilla warfare and small unit combat to drain Kirigakure's fighting strength.
'The war has still fallen into a quagmire.'
Sora shook his head. He waved his hand and said, "Let's have someone clean up the corpse here first!"
"Alright!"
Yagura turned and left with a vicious expression. Clearly, even though the assassin was dead, the matter wouldn't be hastily concluded. He would definitely try every means to dig out the mastermind.
"Sora, what do you plan to do?"
Mei's expression also turned serious. Having witnessed multiple attempts on Sora's life, she was naturally very angry as well.
"Since Konoha likes to fight guerrillas with small teams, I'll accompany them in guerrilla warfare. Next, let's give Konoha a little taste of Kirigakure's shock!"
"To avoid these endless, repeated assassination attempts."
Sora chuckled, but in his eyes, a severe coldness surged forth.
…
At dusk,
A group of four left the Kirigakure camp.
Sora, Mei, Kurumi, Yuzuki…
The team members were all Sora's staunch loyalists.
However, shortly after the four left the camp, a strange white figure emerged from an inconspicuous corner.
"Yuki Sora…"
"He's alone now!"
"Perhaps Madara-sama would be interested in this!"
As it spoke, the white figure burrowed back into the ground, heading swiftly towards the unknown location of the darkness.
…
Underground.
In a deep, dark cave.
"Madara-sama, that Yuki Sora has left the Kirigakure's camp with three mediocre subordinates. This is a rare opportunity. If we spread the news, we might be able to kill with a borrowed knife, take out the isolated Yuki Sora!"
"After all…"
"This guy's combat power and growth speed are both quite troublesome. If not dealt with quickly, he might cause unforeseeable impacts on your plans, Madara-sama."
The White Zetsu who had just gathered the intelligence chattered on. Opposite him, Madara, standing in the darkness, kept his eyes closed. No one knew how long it was before he finally spoke softly:
"Zetsu…"
"No need for this superfluous action. I think Konoha's schemers should have already noticed this matter. If they lack the capability to obtain this intelligence, they aren't qualified to move against Yuki Sora anyway."
Madara's voice was steady and domineering, carrying an astonishing aura of looking down upon the world.
…
Eastern Land of Fire.
Yorimachi Town.
Konoha's Intelligence Outpost.
Underground.
In the dim candlelight.
"Heh…"
"Yuki Sora has finally been unable to resist leaving the Kirigakure's camp. It seems the first step of the Decapitation Plan is proceeding quite smoothly. Next, it's time to let him witness Konoha's true strength."
Danzo, dressed in a black and white contrasting kimono, suddenly emerged from the shadows of the candlelight. The wooden cane in his hand tapped the ground lightly, emitting a crisp, sharp sound.
"First, jointly planning with Sarutobi-sensei to withdraw the front lines, replacing large-scale battles with small-scale harassment, showing weakness to the enemy to make Kirigakure lower their guard. Then, using waves of assassins to make that Yuki Sora impatient and restless, unable to resist wanting to retaliate."
"A series of plans involving both luring the enemy and attacking the mind, the setup interlocking, step by step luring that Yuki Sora to leave the Kirigakure's camp, thus creating sufficient space for the Decapitation Plan."
"Danzo-sama, you really are quite the schemer…"
Orochimaru, his face deathly pale, put down the intelligence scroll in his hand, his voice utterly sinister. "However, Danzo-sama, that is Yuki Sora we're talking about. Do you really have the appetite to take him down?"
"Hmph!"
Hearing this, Danzo snorted coldly, disdainfully saying, "Orochimaru, don't forget, when I was killing on the battlefield, juniors like Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina hadn't even been born yet!"
"Those ignorant youngsters, when have they ever seen me in my prime?"
At this moment, a quite confident expression appeared on Danzo's gloomy face.
In his view, the previous battles were like children playing house. Whether it was Minato, Kushina, or Sora, none of them truly understood the essence of being a Ninja.
"You really are certain, Danzo-sama…"
Orochimaru released a light laugh, his snake-like vertical pupils flashing with an indecipherable light.
"Don't forget, Orochimaru!"
Danzo suddenly turned solemn. "When the time comes, you must also fight alongside the elite Ninjas of my Root. With you and I joining forces, plus that Forbidden Jutsu, we will definitely be able to kill Yuki Sora."
"That Forbidden Jutsu?"
A mysterious, unfathomable smile appeared on Orochimaru's face. "I thought as much. However, according to our prior agreement, half of Yuki Sora's body belongs to me…"
"He is simply an immeasurably huge treasure. I am certain I can find the secret to transcending the limits of Kekkei Genkai on his body. Perhaps I can even completely replicate the First Hokage's power through this."
As soon as the words fell, a burning desire suddenly flashed in Danzo's sinister gaze.
Hashirama's Wood Release Kekkei Genkai…
This is truly something to look forward to!!!
"By the way."
After a long silence, Danzo suddenly spoke in a subtle tone. "According to intelligence estimates, Yuki Sora should be heading north from Mount Fukyu. Besides Yorimachi Town where we are, the Uchiha Clan's defensive zone is also in this direction."
"Hmm? Danzo, do you want to use the Uchiha's hand to weaken Yuki Sora's strength a bit?"
"Precisely… Besides, Uchiha Fugaku has never given up on competing for the Fourth Hokage's position, Orochimaru. This isn't good news for you. If this time we can force Yuki Sora and the Uchiha Clan to mutually exhaust each other, that would be best."
"Let's hope so!"
…
Three days later.
Land of Fire.
Northern Region.
On a vast plain, Sora and his group, including Mei, were swiftly traversing the plain.
At this moment, while traveling at high speed, the difference in their strengths was apparent.
Sora, being the strongest, naturally felt no pressure. Mei beside him, though able to keep up, clearly showed signs of exertion.
As for Kurumi and Yuzuki behind them, they had to exert their utmost effort to barely keep up with the pace.
High-level Kage, quasi-low-level Kage, Elite Jonin, Special Jonin…
Traveling at high speed, the hierarchy among the four was sharply defined.
Soon,
The four passed through the plain and entered a lush forest.
"Stop!"
Just after entering the forest, Mei halted. She looked up, pointing at the exposed moss on a large tree beside them. "On a tree over ten meters high, the moss shows signs of being scraped. The exposed moss is still moist. A Ninja must have passed by here recently, and…"
Mei then turned her gaze to a nearby bush that was clearly trampled, saying softly, "…their numbers shouldn't be small."
The black-haired girl, Kurumi, also walked over to the bush. After carefully observing it, she nodded. "Sora-sama, Mei-senpai is correct. The bushes here have been trampled. The other party probably didn't intend to conceal their tracks meticulously, likely because they haven't discovered us yet."
"Then…"
"Pursue them!"
Sora said calmly. "Let's see who our opponents are."
"Yes, sir!"
Both Kurumi and Yuzuki acknowledged. Mei beside them also drew a kunai, preparing for battle.
At this moment, Sora's gaze subtly looked into the distance.
In the direction of his line of sight, he could faintly sense a very powerful energy reaction.
However, due to the great distance and the other party's deliberate concealment, he couldn't perceive it very clearly.
'Uzumaki Kushina?'
'No…'
'This energy reaction seems stronger than hers!'
Sora thought thoughtfully, growing more curious about the source of that energy.
'An energy reaction even stronger than Uzumaki Kushina in her Nine-Tails Chakra Mode… who could it be?'
'Rinnegan Nagato?'
'Perfect Jinchuriki Killer B?'
'But it feels somewhat off.'
…
At the edge of this forest lay a hilly area with relatively high altitude. Here, the camp of Konoha's strongest clan, the Uchiha clan, was stationed.
At this time,
An innocent young boy wearing an Uchiha Clan shirt stood at the camp's entrance. He stood on a high point of the hill, gazing towards the distant forest.
"Heh… Itachi, you've been looking worried and frowning lately. Did something happen?"
At that moment, the Uchiha Clan's head, Fugaku, suddenly walked out of the camp. Looking at the boy standing there spaced out, he couldn't help but show concern.
"Father."
The innocent boy named Itachi turned around, bowed respectfully to his father, then asked in a clear, cold voice, "I've been thinking, why must Ninja continuously engage in killing and war? In this world, there clearly exist more beautiful things, like sunlight, streams, trees… all things that make people feel warmth. Aren't these more meaningful than war?"
"Is that what you think… Itachi?"
Fugaku's steps slowly came to a halt. He seemed accustomed to his four-year-old son raising these humanistic questions.
After pondering for a moment, he answered seriously, "Probably because of hatred! Because hatred exists, war is like a machine with its chain pulled, and once started, it cannot stop. Hatred changes the environment, forms chains of cause and effect, binding every Ninja."
"It also forces every village to maintain a state of total war preparedness at all times. Otherwise…"
"If anyone relaxes first, they will be completely destroyed, eliminated by the enemy. Therefore, everyone caught in the vortex of war cannot remain unaffected."
"If we don't wage war, we will all be killed, Itachi. If it were you, would you choose to use war to change your fate, or use peace to negate your own life?"
'War or peace?'
'Life or death?'
This was clearly a rather complex and heavy question for Uchiha Itachi. He pondered for a long time before slowly raising his head, his face full of confusion. "Father, I don't know the answer to this question. I only know that this war… cannot have so many more people dying…"
"If sacrificing just me could end this war, I would choose to offer my life."
Hearing this, a very gratified expression appeared on Fugaku's face. He stroked Itachi's hair, praising, "Truly worthy of being my son. At such a young age, not only do you possess astonishing Ninja Talent, but you also have such a deep understanding of this world. I believe that one day, you will make the Uchiha Clan even stronger. I…"
"Am firmly convinced of this."
"However…"
Here, Fugaku paused before continuing, "Itachi, wanting to end this war relying on you alone won't work. If we cannot defeat Kirigakure's Yuki Sora, the village will never achieve victory in this war."
"Yuki Sora? The Yuki Sora you speak of… is that the Kirigakure Demon God who killed two thousand people?"
At this moment, even the usually cool and detached Itachi's tone rarely held a trace of astonishment.