Nohara Hiroshi's words sounded like a bit of a death flag.
If he also carried photos of Nohara Rin and Nohara Misa on him and took them out to look at every now and then after reaching the front line, that would be an even more standard flag…
Mikami Yuu was silent for a moment before nodding. In a very serious tone, he slowly said, "Uncle Hiroshi, don't worry. As long as I'm here, I'll do everything I can to keep Rin from being hurt. If anyone wants to touch her, they'll have to step over my corpse first."
That was a very heavy promise.
After all, for Nohara Rin, the greatest threat wasn't the enemies on the battlefield, but Uchiha Madara. As long as Obito was still Madara's chosen successor and still held affection for Rin, then staying alive would be an extremely difficult thing for her.
Stopping all that would be no easy task. It meant gambling with his life.
Of course…
considering that the current Yuu was also a member of Team Minato, whether he admitted it or not, he had already formed some bonds with Obito as well. So it couldn't be ruled out that Uchiha Madara might strike at him first to give Obito a little stimulation.
It was hard to say whether the current Uchiha Madara could use the Rinnegan's abilities, but he could definitely activate Perfect Susanoo. In theory, if he had Sharingan left over from before, he could even use Izanagi and Izanami. There were not many people in the current ninja world who could stand against him.
If he ever faced Madara one day, Yuu figured he had better spend more time thinking about Reverse Summoning and Flying Thunder God, and about how to run away at the first possible moment.
"Yuu!"
In reality, Rin's cheeks instantly flushed red, half from emotion and half from embarrassment. She hurriedly interrupted him in a slightly reproachful tone.
"Honestly, why are you saying such unlucky things so early in the morning? Dad and you both need to stay safe!"
"Hahaha!"
Nohara Hiroshi looked at his daughter's anxious expression. The worry in his heart faded, replaced by hearty laughter. He patted Yuu's shoulder hard, the force heavy and full of trust and expectation.
"Good kid! With that promise from you, I can rest easy!"
"I'm off. See you in a while."
With that, Nohara Hiroshi shouldered his pack, turned around, and strode toward the village gate's gathering point, preparing to head to the front line with the others.
Rin watched the direction where her father disappeared, her eyes slightly red, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.
Yuu looked at the girl beside him, exhaled softly, and said gently, "Don't worry too much, Rin. Uncle Hiroshi is an experienced ninja. He's crossed more bridges than we've walked roads. He'll be fine."
"Besides, we probably won't stay in the village for long either. Maybe in a few days, or a week or two, we'll be sent to the front line again as reinforcements. Maybe we'll even reunite with Uncle Hiroshi on the battlefield."
"…Mm. You're right."
Rin nodded hard, forced down the sorrow of parting, and pulled herself together again.
"The war is still going on. We have to work hard to get stronger too. That way, we can survive on the battlefield! Mm… How about we go find Obito this afternoon and train together?"
"Alright."
Yuu nodded slightly, then added, "Let's call Asuma and the others too. Everyone is chūnin now, and they'll probably be sent onto the battlefield together soon. We've had battlefield experience, so we might as well give them a reminder in advance."
Rin had no objection to this.
They were all classmates and saw each other often. Helping one another a little was fine.
Mm… it would be even better if a certain red-eyed girl didn't get so close to Yuu.
At noon that day, the two ate lunch at their respective homes, rested for a while, then left together and headed to the Uchiha clan district to find people and start planning joint training.
…
At the same time,
in the Mountain Graveyard near the Valley of the End,
Uchiha Madara sat withered beneath the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, reading the intelligence he had received from Black Zetsu.
"…Hmph, this brat named Yahiko is actually this naive? He wants to create peace without relying on extreme force? Ridiculous. He's just like that fool, always holding unrealistic fantasies about this world."
That was right.
At this time, the Akatsuki was still led by Yahiko. Since Jiraiya had finished his three years of teaching and left Amegakure, the organization had only been developing for about three years.
Because of Yahiko's ideals, it had attracted a group of like-minded people and gained a little fame in Amegakure. But placed in the entire ninja world, it still did not carry enough weight. The things it did were all minor affairs. If not for Nagato, Madara would not even bother looking at it.
At this moment,
Black Zetsu asked from the side, "Lord Madara, should we get rid of this man? If he remains, Nagato likely won't be able to become the leader of the Akatsuki. That would be disadvantageous to your Eye of the Moon Plan."
"No need."
Uchiha Madara shook his head, a trace of mockery flashing in his eyes.
"This kind of naive idealism is destined not to survive in this cruel ninja world. We do not need to act. Reality itself will teach them the deepest lesson. And when that time comes, it will become the opportunity to reshape Nagato's worldview."
"…"
Black Zetsu said nothing.
After a brief silence,
Uchiha Madara spoke again. "By the way, how has that white-haired brat from Konoha been recently?"
"Reporting to Lord Madara, he has recently been nominated as a special jōnin. He also rescued an Uzumaki clansperson from Kusagakure together with Namikaze Minato and the others, and Konoha rewarded him with several new ninjutsu. In addition, he seems to have gained Tsunade's recognition and received some medical ninjutsu teachings from her…"
How should one put it…
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu's abilities were truly overpowered when used for intelligence gathering.
Especially when they were paying special attention to someone, it was basically impossible to hide information unless that person went to somewhere like the Three Great Sage Regions to train in secret.
Even…
"This is the drink that brat made together with Tsunade. It has been selling very well in Konoha and the Land of Fire recently. I specifically instructed White Zetsu to get a few bottles back. Please take a look, Lord Madara."
As Black Zetsu spoke, he handed over several glass bottles printed with a leaf logo. They were none other than the wildly popular Konoha Raw Cola.
"?"
Uchiha Madara casually took one bottle, looked at it, then flicked open the cap. He brought it close and smelled it before tilting his head back and taking a couple of sips. Feeling the sweet, fizzy liquid slide down his throat, he raised an eyebrow.
"The taste is somewhat unusual, but it is only an ordinary drink. No need to pay attention to it."
"White Zetsu."
As he spoke, Madara threw the remaining cola toward White Zetsu Tobi not far away.
"It's yours. After drinking this, stop mumbling those boring questions into my ear all day."
The so-called boring questions referred to "what does poop taste like?"
Although Madara knew these White Zetsu were brainless creations, he still occasionally wanted to strangle a few of them to keep his ears from being polluted by such filthy words.
At this moment,
Black Zetsu spoke again. "Lord Madara, Kumogakure and Sunagakure have already formed the momentum of a joint siege against Konoha. It is estimated that Uchiha Obito, Mikami Yuu, and the others will soon return to the battlefield. How should we proceed?"
"Wait for now."
Uchiha Madara narrowed his eyes and spoke in a deep voice.
"The battlefield is a furnace that tempers hearts and twists beliefs. We need to create an opportunity—a desperate situation that shatters Obito's hope. Ideally, that desperate situation should originate from the comrades or village he trusts."
"You mean…"
"Shimura Danzo."
Uchiha Madara spoke the name.
"That man inherited Senju Tobirama's dark side. Like his teacher, he is naturally evil and will use any means to achieve his goals. With the talent Mikami Yuu has displayed, and Obito's bloodline identity, they must have already drawn Danzo's attention.
"As long as we provoke him slightly and guide things a little, letting Root and Mikami Yuu's group have a bit of a misunderstanding… a fine show will naturally unfold before us."
"Black Zetsu, continue keeping a close watch on Obito and the others. Grasp their every move. Especially after they step onto the battlefield again. Do not miss any moment that might become an 'opportunity.'"
"As you command, Lord Madara."
Black Zetsu nodded in acknowledgment.
Afterward, Uchiha Madara's gaze turned into the distance, looking toward the Land of Water across the sea, thoughtful.
"The Lands of Fire, Wind, and Lightning have already begun to move. On the Land of Earth's side, that brat Ōnoki is too scheming and not easy to manipulate. In that case… it's about time to move Kirigakure and let it play its proper role on this stage.
"This pool of water needs to become murkier, more chaotic."
In Uchiha Madara's heart, a vast storm began brewing once again.
…
"Hah… hah…"
Several breathing sounds rose and fell.
On Konoha's training ground,
Mikami Yuu stood holding his sword, the hem of his clothes slightly dirty.
Across from him,
Obito, Asuma, and Namashi Raidō had both hands on their knees and were gasping hard, as if they had just experienced an intense battle.
Just now,
the four of them had teamed up for a battle. The format was Yuu fighting Obito and the other two alone.
As for the result…
one could tell just by looking at their positions.
Although Obito and the other two were not partners and had no teamwork to speak of,
the three of them had joined forces and used almost everything they had, from ninjutsu to taijutsu to swordsmanship, yet they still couldn't defeat Yuu. They could only barely force a draw. This inevitably made them somewhat discouraged.
In fact, judging by Yuu's current state, even that "draw" had to be put in quotation marks. Obito and the others were already exhausted, but Yuu looked like he could keep fighting. If this were a real battlefield, he probably would have already scored a triple kill.
"Damn it, why do you improve so fast, Yuu?! I already awakened my eyes!"
"And those ninjutsu just now, they were clearly so close to hitting you… Ahhh, I'm so mad!"
Obito stomped his foot in frustration, the Sharingan beneath his goggles rotating unwillingly.
He had originally thought that the Sharingan was already invincible under heaven. And just now, he had indeed seen most of Yuu's movements clearly. But he still had no way to deal with Yuu, as if no matter which direction he attacked from, he could not catch a flaw.
This result was hard for Obito to accept.
Asuma was not much better.
As the son of the Third Hokage, although Asuma was somewhat rebellious and often did not take his old man seriously, he still had pride in his heart. He always felt that most of the people his age around him were inferior to him. Even Kakashi was only temporarily ahead of him.
After all, becoming strong early did not mean becoming strong in the end. In the long run, he still had hope of becoming the strongest expert of Konoha's new generation.
But…
what was going on with this Mikami Yuu?
Every time they met, he was improving. And his speed of improvement was getting faster and faster. Did he never hit a bottleneck when training?
Mm… he really didn't.
After all, Yuu had come all this way relying entirely on his own hard work and the tiny bit of insignificant help provided by the galgame system.
Although he had indeed encountered some trouble along the way, such as Healing Technique's special event still being stuck and Neural Activation Technique still being incomplete, just his existing abilities were enough to leave his peers several streets behind. So there was no such thing as a bottleneck.
"Obito, your Fire Release power is already enough, but your timing is poor. It's too straightforward. Experienced opponents can see through it at a glance and dodge or defend easily. If you hadn't wasted so many chances, with your chakra, you wouldn't be this exhausted now."
"And Asuma, your fighting style is too reckless. You're always trying to trade injuries with the enemy. But some ninja have first-encounter-kill methods. If they land just one cut, they can take your life, just like when I used Binding Formula Seal to restrain you earlier.
"If you don't fix this mistake, sooner or later, you'll die because of it."
Yuu offered guidance.
In fact,
it wasn't just Asuma. Many ninja had the habit of trading injuries in battle.
For example, when Kakashi first encountered Zabuza, he deliberately allowed his hand to be cut, leaving blood on Zabuza so he could summon the Eight Ninja Dogs to track him. If Zabuza had been Hidan instead… Kakashi probably would have died then and there.
Yuu's words were both a warning to the other party and a reminder to himself.
Although Hidan was a special case and might not have obtained Jashin's ability yet at this time, Sunagakure used poison. Once you left a wound and the enemy smeared poison on it, losing combat power or even being killed was a matter of minutes.
In fact, a true poison master did not even need a wound to poison an enemy.
If one wanted to live longer in this world, one had to be extra cautious.
"…Got it."
Asuma nodded and sank into thought.
Obito, however, grabbed at his hair irritably, still immersed in frustration and defeat.
Only Namashi Raidō remained relatively calm. After all, as long as one's expectations for oneself were low enough, one would not feel disappointed.
Beside them,
Rin and Kurenai, who had just finished a taijutsu spar, also walked over and distributed several bottles of water to Yuu and the others. As the cool liquid entered their stomachs, the heat after training eased quite a bit.
"Speaking of which, we haven't seen much of Kakashi lately."
Rin suddenly said.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!