White Ram's chest was sunken in, his ribs piercing through his pectoral muscles. A mixture of blood, mud, and fragments of internal organs flowed from the gashes left by the broken ribs.
"Disengage first! Treat your injuries as quickly as possible!"
Not only was White Ram severely injured, but the Uchiha clansmen also all suffered fractures to varying degrees.
The group fled for several kilometers before slowing their pace.
Yōkō found a grove with large trees and pressed his hand against one of them. Wood Release chakra flowed into the tree, causing its trunk to writhe and quickly form a hollow cavity inside. He repeated this process, creating three large tree hollows.
I'll have to create a Wood Release technique like Yamato's 'Four Rooms, Two Halls, One Kitchen, Two Baths' technique someday. It's really inconvenient in the wilderness otherwise, he thought.
"Rest now. Recover from your injuries as soon as possible," Yōkō said. "Uchiha Madara is an extremely proud man. He won't waste time chasing us."
Uchiha Kane felt puzzled; why did it seem like this Anbu member understood Uchiha Madara better than he did?
The Uchiha group took one tree hollow, while the others took another. Yōkō led White Ram into a separate hollow.
White Ram gasped for breath like a broken bellows, his lungs ruptured. Peering into the wound, one could see the veins near his heart had burst. The only reason his heart was still beating was because insects had temporarily used their mandibles as needles to stitch the blood vessels together.
White Ram looked at Captain Fox, his eyes filled with resolve.
Yōkō nodded.
With injuries this severe, it was time to attempt that technique – the Aburame clan's ultimate secret art. The insect clone secret technique mastered by Aburame Ryoma allowed the body to freely switch between a swarm of insects and a physical form, transforming into insects at will.
Yōkō crouched down. "I know a healing secret technique. I'll assist you." The Hydrification Healing Technique was the only medical ninjutsu Yōkō knew. He transferred chakra into White Ram's body.
The plasma and flesh fragments at White Ram's wound sites liquefied and began to heal.
Simultaneously, insects emerged from within White Ram's body and began to devour his flesh. The insects' abdomens swelled as they ate, looking as if they were about to burst. White Ram's skin was eaten away, revealing pink, raw flesh. After devouring the flesh, some insects did indeed burst, transforming back into flesh.
Flesh, insects, flesh... the cycle repeated, switching back and forth between insects and flesh until the flesh was eventually replaced by special insects. These insects were red and tender, the same color as flesh. The insects began to differentiate; some resembled muscle more closely, others resembled fat, and some resembled red blood cells.
It was an excruciatingly painful process. Whenever he couldn't endure it any longer, White Ram would release the Cross Seal on his hand, using chakra to force himself through. When the injuries worsened, Yōkō would lend aid with the Hydrification Healing Technique.
Three days later, White Ram transformed into a large insect cocoon. The cocoon's condition seemed stable, at least it was alive, with signs of life emanating from within. Now, it was a waiting game, waiting for White Ram to emerge from the cocoon.
Yōkō found Hyūga Koe.
Hyūga Koe said, "Captain Fox, the Inuzuka ninja... unfortunately fell in battle."
"Can't be helped. Close-combat taijutsu specialists have higher casualty rates," Yōkō replied.
Hyūga Koe glanced towards the two Anbu squads. They primarily used long-range combination ninjutsu on the battlefield, coordinating seamlessly with Captain Fox, and had suffered no fatalities.
As Yōkō was about to head to the other tree hollow, Hyūga Koe called out, "Captain Fox!"
Yōkō turned back, looking at Hyūga Koe questioningly.
Hyūga Koe said, "Captain Fox, was that really Wood Release you used? The secret Wood Release technique mastered by the First Hokage?" He still found it hard to believe. Uchiha Madara wielding Wood Release was already unbelievable enough, but for an Anbu captain like Fox to also possess it...
"You mean the Wood Release? Yes, it is indeed Wood Release," Yōkō said. "Lord Orochimaru gave me an injection. After hundreds of test subjects died, I was one of the few survivors."
Hyūga Koe clicked his tongue in astonishment. Crimson Maple Fox... Captain Fox would become one of the village's leading figures because of this Wood Release.
Yōkō went to the other tree hollow, where the Uchiha clansmen were waiting for their injuries to heal.
Uchiha Kane said, "Captain Fox, we lost four men in the fight. Jōnin Uchiha Michi, and three Special Jōnin... all Uchiha with the Three Tomoe Sharingan. How is Captain White Ram?"
"White Ram's condition is critical. The Inuzuka sensory ninja also fell," Yōkō said. "Uchiha Madara is too powerful. Half of the Uchiha clan's elite forces and half an Anbu squad couldn't even make Uchiha Madara move from his spot. The gap is too vast. For the next mission to hunt down the rogue ninja Uchiha Madara, I believe we need to dispatch at least three ninja battalions, plus two Anbu squads."
Uchiha Kane nodded repeatedly. He was now starting to doubt why such a powerful Uchiha Madara even needed investigating. Shouldn't they just send a large force to hunt him down directly? He looked at the several severely injured clansmen in the hollow, his mood somber.
Neither White Ram nor the severely injured Uchiha could be moved recklessly. Everyone hid in the tree hollows, waiting.
Several days later, the brothers Uchiha Mahiru and Uchiha Kirika sought out Uchiha Kane.
Uchiha Mahiru looked serious. "Clan Leader Kane, we need to talk with you."
Uchiha Kane glanced towards the other hollow where the Anbu and reconnaissance squad were. "I'm also deeply saddened by Uchiha Michi's death. Let's discuss matters after returning to the village."
"No!" Uchiha Mahiru said firmly. "If we always hesitate and hold back, when will it end? He's just an Anbu captain. I admit Fox is powerful. But for us Uchiha to stand atop Konoha, we must defeat powerful village shinobi like Fox. The Uchiha need not fear anyone!"
Uchiha Kane was about to reprimand Uchiha Mahiru – Had this guy's brain been damaged after losing consciousness once? – when in the next instant, he saw Uchiha Mahiru's pupils and his eyes trembled.
Is that...?
"Let's go, we need to talk somewhere further away."
Uchiha Kane, Mahiru, and Kirika quietly left the tree hollow.
After the three left, Uchiha Mizukiku instantly opened her eyes. A crow landed on a tree branch opposite the hollow. The crow and Uchiha Mizukiku locked eyes from a distance. The crow then flew away from the branch, heading in the direction Uchiha Kane and the others had gone.
Hyūga Koe was taking a nap and noticed nothing.
Yōkō suddenly turned his head, then said, "I'm going to check on White Ram." Seeing the captain leave, the others said nothing.
In a bush somewhere in the forest, an ear grew from behind a leaf. If Purple Cat were here, she would recognize this ear as belonging to Fox.
Behind a large tree, Uchiha Kane stared intently at Uchiha Mahiru's eyes.
"You..."
Uchiha Mahiru said, "After my teacher, Uchiha Michi, died so tragically... I awakened the legendary Mangekyō Sharingan!"
Behind the leaf, Yōkō's ear twitched.
What?
Uchiha Mahiru revealed his Mangekyō pattern: four arcs spiraled inward towards the center, ultimately converging into the black pupil.
Uchiha Kane asked, shocked, "What is your Mangekyō's ability?"
"Ameno Mihashira," Uchiha Mahiru said. "The specifics are confidential. I can only tell you, Clan Leader, that my Mangekyō ability is related to my teacher Uchiha Michi's horrific death." Uchiha Mahiru recalled once again the gruesome scene of his teacher being crushed to death, his body shattered into a bloody pulp. His breathing grew heavy, and he closed his eyes in pain.
Yōkō pondered internally. Ameno Mihashira? What ability is that?
***
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(End of Chapter)