On the way to the Uchiha compound, the Great Elder remained unusually enthusiastic.
He kept pulling Yagami into conversation, speaking with him the entire way.
Since the man was Mikoto's elder, Yagami naturally treated him with a little more warmth than usual.
The three of them walked slowly, stopping from time to time.
Because of the Great Elder's age, their pace could not be too fast.
By the time they finally reached the Uchiha compound, nearly an hour had already passed.
Of course, the main reason it took so long was not only the Great Elder.
Every now and then, someone would come forward and ask Yagami for an autograph.
Although it made Yagami's prestige rise little by little, it also left him rather helpless.
This was probably what it meant to suffer happily.
When they arrived at the Great Elder's residence, the old man was still very enthusiastic.
But in the end, age was age.
After staying up for most of the night, his eyelids soon began to droop.
Left with no choice, he could only say goodbye to Yagami first before returning to his room to rest.
And so, only Yagami and Mikoto were left in the courtyard.
Time spent alone together always passed faster than expected.
It felt as though only a short while had gone by before the sky outside had already begun to darken.
And once night fell, it also meant that Yagami would soon take Mikoto home to "admire the moon."
But before that, the two of them still had to settle dinner.
So, hand in hand, they entered the kitchen again.
Only this time, it was Mikoto's kitchen.
Because Mikoto had always loved cooking, her kitchen was far larger than the small one in Yagami's place.
All kinds of kitchenware were neatly prepared inside.
Yagami volunteered once more and showed his skill.
Mikoto, as before, quietly helped him from the side.
An hour passed.
Several fragrant dishes were placed on the table one after another, and the aroma drifted out from the dining room.
Even the Great Elder, who had been sleeping, was drawn awake by the smell and came out with a grumbling stomach.
Just as he was about to praise Mikoto's cooking, he saw Yagami walking out of the kitchen with Mikoto beside him.
The Great Elder froze.
His eyes widened slightly, and he let out a shocked sound.
Only then did he realize that the dishes on the table had all been made by Yagami.
Then he suddenly remembered that this was the first time he had invited Yagami to their home as a guest.
And earlier, he had even proudly praised Mikoto's cooking in front of him.
Thinking back on it now, the Great Elder suddenly felt as if he had shown off in front of the wrong person.
Of course, what he did not know was that Yagami's cooking skill back then had not been this terrifying.
Dinner passed in a pleasant atmosphere.
After eating, Yagami chatted with the Great Elder for a while longer.
Only then did he bid the old man farewell.
Then, holding Mikoto, he flew straight into the night sky.
When he landed in his own courtyard, Yagami no longer held back.
He picked up the blushing Mikoto in his arms, kicked open the door, and quickly stepped inside.
"How is it?"
"Did you find them?"
A hundred miles away from Konoha, inside a valley.
The Kirigakure shinobi Yagura had sent out to search for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen returned one group after another.
Even the thousand-plus shinobi who had previously been scattered by Yagami's attack had gradually been gathered back.
Around eight hundred had returned.
However, when it came to news about the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, every group that came back shook their heads.
The team that had just returned was already the last one.
"We couldn't find them."
The leading jōnin let out a heavy sigh before continuing.
"But we did find a few of our comrades."
"They said that when they were fleeing through the forest, they saw Samehada moving past them."
"But behind Samehada… they didn't see Suikazan Fuguki."
His expression became even heavier.
"In that case, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen are probably…"
He did not finish.
There was no need to.
Yagura and the surrounding Kirigakure jōnin all fell silent.
In truth, after waiting again and again, only to be disappointed each time, they had already begun to believe the report.
They had simply been clinging to a final bit of hope.
They hoped that the next returning team would bring back different news.
Or even bring the Seven Ninja Swordsmen back alive.
But now, even that hope was gone.
What kind of shinobi was Suikazan Fuguki?
He was an elite jōnin of Kirigakure.
How could his weapon be wandering around alone?
There was only one explanation.
Just as the intelligence officer had said, Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen had all been killed.
"Yagura-sama… what do we do now?"
"Can this battle still continue?"
"We no longer have any Kage-level combat strength to hold the line."
"And if Konoha's Yagami keeps flying in the sky, we have no way to deal with him."
After a long silence, someone finally could not hold back and spoke.
The others immediately looked toward Yagura.
Now that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had fallen, Yagura was the only pillar they had left.
"…"
"You're asking me?"
Yagura sighed helplessly.
"How would I know?"
"I'm just as lost as you are."
His words made the atmosphere even stranger.
Because of his childlike face, that old-fashioned tone and exhausted expression looked completely out of place.
"Yagura-sama…"
"There is actually one more thing I haven't reported yet."
Just as everyone fell silent again because of Yagura's words, another Kirigakure jōnin suddenly spoke in a hesitant voice.
Everyone turned to look at him.
The one who spoke was a jōnin from the logistics unit.
His name was Motokawa.
"What is it?"
"If you have something to say, say it clearly."
Seeing Motokawa's pale expression, Yagura frowned.
The defeat, the scattered army, and the deaths of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were already enough to give him a headache.
Now, seeing Motokawa acting so hesitant, his tone naturally became colder.
"Originally, the food we brought should have been enough for the army to last around half a month."
Motokawa swallowed and continued quickly.
"But during the retreat earlier, most of the logistics shinobi carrying the supplies went missing."
"I don't know whether they were separated from us… or already killed."
"I checked the remaining supplies just now."
His voice grew lower.
"At most, it will only be enough for the army to last about five more days."
The moment those words fell, Yagura had not even reacted yet.
The surrounding Kirigakure jōnin had already exploded.
"What?!"
"Only five days of food left?!"
"Are you joking?"
"Motokawa, tell me you're mistaken!"
One jōnin grabbed Motokawa by the collar, his face filled with disbelief.
They had only left Kirigakure a week ago.
There were still at least ten days before the village's next supply delivery arrived.
But now, the remaining food could only last five days?
How were they supposed to keep the frontline army stable until then?
Eat for one day and starve for five?
The valley fell into a suffocating silence.
This time, no one spoke casually again.
Because everyone understood.
Kirigakure's situation had become far worse than simple defeat.
•••
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