Chapter 135: The Uchiha Clan Head Who Doesn't Deserve a Name
After speaking, Minato vanished in a flash, leaving only Ritsu standing in this cold, gloomy forest. He slowly drew a breath. His nostrils filled with cold, damp air. Most of the surrounding trees had already been reduced to bare branches. Their leaves had fallen in the northern wind, leaving almost none remaining. Only a very few trees still retained their green coats.
"Really cold!"
Ritsu exhaled a white breath.
Unlike Konoha's dry cold, this was the kind of damp cold that seeped into one's bones. Even the Fire Country's eastern coast was far drier than here.
He activated his Byakugan.
The scenery within a fifteen-kilometer radius entered his view completely. Forest, hills, streams, and animals active everywhere—all of it passed in a glance without warranting attention. The key point was to the southeast. Thirteen kilometers away, multiple chakra signatures were moving.
In other words, Hidden Mist Village should be in the southeast direction.
These Mist ninja obviously didn't know that thirteen kilometers to the northwest, Konoha ninja had infiltrated. They continued only moving within their fixed patrol ranges.
Ritsu didn't move rashly. He waited silently. After approximately seven minutes, Minato's figure finally reappeared. His left and right hands gripped Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Shisui's shoulders respectively, while Nine-Tails jinchuriki Uzumaki Kushina wrapped her arms around Minato's waist.
Watching this inexplicably comical four-person combination, Ritsu couldn't hold back. His lips curved upward.
Uzumaki Kushina's face reddened. She released her hands and hid behind Minato. Uchiha Fugaku directly activated his stoic expression skill to maximum power. Uchiha Shisui looked somewhat nervous.
Minato's expression didn't change. He released his grip on the two Uchiha and looked at Ritsu. "Hyuga Clan Head, what's the current situation? Have you discovered any Mist ninja?"
Ritsu suppressed his rising smile and answered, "Southeast direction. At thirteen kilometers, there are chakra fluctuations equivalent to two squad-sized units. Judging from this scale, the Mist ninja are clearly on alert."
Under normal circumstances, even a village as powerful as Konoha wouldn't dispatch two squads to patrol the same area jointly. This arrangement only occurred when definite intelligence of enemy invasion had been received.
Minato nodded calmly and unhurriedly. "It's actually good the Mist ninja are prepared. We only need to defeat the resistance forces they've organized head-on. I imagine the Mist ninja will then deeply recognize the mistakes they've made!"
Ritsu nodded in agreement. Those words made sense.
Seeing this, Uchiha Fugaku took a deep breath, feeling somewhat out of place. He couldn't help wondering—aren't you nervous at all? Hidden Mist Village hasn't fallen to such depths, has it?
He'd mentally prepared himself to risk his life alongside them.
But whether the Hokage or Ritsu, why did they both seem so relaxed? Rather than appearing ready for a life-and-death battle with the Mist ninja, they looked like they were preparing to beat up elementary school students at the ninja academy!
What made him even more speechless was that this kid Uchiha Shisui was also eager to try, completely ignorant of what fear meant. He even spoke up: "Hokage-sama, if the Mist ninja's Six-Tails jinchuriki dares show his face, you can leave him to me. Last time I encountered that guy, I restrained him with genjutsu. If the Mist ninja reinforcements hadn't arrived quickly enough, after the Six-Tails rampage ended, I could have captured him alive directly."
Hearing this, Minato was shocked.
Even Ritsu looked astonished. He couldn't help asking, "Shisui, when did you fight the Six-Tails jinchuriki? How have I never heard about this?"
Uchiha Shisui smiled. "Ritsu-senpai, what's there to talk about? I just accidentally encountered the Six-Tails jinchuriki while executing a mission. We fought, but then he got away. I figured it was pretty embarrassing, so I didn't have the nerve to mention it!"
Ritsu was momentarily left speechless.
Minato looked Uchiha Shisui up and down as though examining a priceless treasure.
After two seconds of silence, Ritsu sighed. "Shisui, failing to report such important intelligence isn't acceptable. If we'd known the Six-Tails jinchuriki couldn't be deployed to the battlefield, our strategic and tactical plans could have been adjusted accordingly. We might even have made major changes."
"Of course I know that! I wrote about it in my mission report. I just didn't have the nerve to tell people I knew personally. Ritsu-senpai, you weren't part of our front base's decision-making layer at the time, so you probably didn't see my report. When Orochimaru-sama later decided to counterattack the Mist ninja main camp, he referenced my report."
"...Oh!"
After a moment of silence, Ritsu said "oh."
Not being part of the decision-making layer was his own fault—getting bullied by that old man Danzo to the point of only being able to work as a common soldier on the front lines.
At this point, Minato interrupted this somewhat awkward conversation. "Hyuga Clan Head, you and Shisui-kun's chat can wait for leisure time! Right now, we need to teach the Mist ninja a lesson first!"
Uchiha Shisui immediately lowered his head. "Hokage-sama, my apologies. I talked too much."
Looking at this young man from the Uchiha clan who readily admitted his mistakes, Minato found him increasingly precious. What a shame such talent hadn't been discovered before. So aside from Obito, the Uchiha clan had such an obedient, sensible youth after all.
Still, it wasn't too late now.
Minato silently gave Uchiha Shisui a very high score in his mind. Without showing it on his face, he began explaining his hastily formulated action plan. "Kushina, you'll lead the charge. Use a Tailed Beast Ball directly to give the Mist ninja our greeting. Then Hyuga Clan Head, Uchiha Clan Head, and Shisui-kun—you'll need to intercept and stop any Mist ninja elites who try to attack Kushina. If possible, resolve your opponents as quickly as you can. I'll provide central support!"
"Also, each of you take one of these kunai and keep it safe."
As he spoke, Minato produced three kunai marked with Flying Thunder God formulas and handed them to Ritsu, Uchiha Fugaku, and Uchiha Shisui respectively.
Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Shisui didn't refuse. Each reached out and took a kunai, placing it in their tool pouches.
However, when it was handed to Ritsu, he shook his head. He didn't believe he'd need the Fourth's support. He spoke up. "Hokage-sama, I don't need that thing. Also, I think I should lead the charge instead! Though the Tailed Beast Ball has sufficient destructive power, comparatively speaking, I believe my Wood Human Technique has greater intimidation value."
Minato didn't mind being refused. He put the kunai away and seriously considered Ritsu's suggestion for two seconds before nodding. "In that case, I'll trouble the Hyuga Clan Head to lead the charge!"
Honestly, he didn't care who led the charge.
The reason he'd planned to have Kushina lead was simply because Kushina genuinely had the strength and ability to withstand the Mist ninja's counterattack. Since Ritsu volunteered, he wouldn't refuse. Ritsu likewise possessed the capability to serve as vanguard.
They thus settled on this concise, clear tactic.
Then Minato waved his hand and ordered with a solemn expression, "Operation begins!"
Ritsu charged ahead at the forefront. His Byakugan opened wide. Every move of the Mist ninja fell completely under his observation. The Mist ninja's sensory ninja were clearly far inferior to Ritsu's Byakugan in capability. Only when Ritsu was still ten kilometers from Hidden Mist Village did a patrol squad finally detect their tracks.
A signal flare rose into the sky. The brilliant fireworks honestly weren't very conspicuous in this misty, dim environment.
However, the sound was loud enough.
Immediately afterward, like a disturbed hornet's nest, signal flares rose one after another. Ritsu and his group's tracks were thus exposed.
Ritsu called out loudly, "Hokage-sama, you can slow down a bit. I'm going to give the Mist ninja a little Konoha shock!"
After those words fell, Minato indeed reduced his running speed and made a hand signal. He and Uchiha Fugaku veered right while Uzumaki Kushina and Uchiha Shisui veered left, creating distance from Ritsu.
The next second, estimating both groups had pulled away to a safe enough distance, he immediately clapped his hands together. The chakra in his body poured out like water from an opened dam.
Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!
The ground beneath his feet shook violently. A wooden figure over thirty meters tall—like an enraged guardian deity from a temple—appeared ten kilometers northwest of Hidden Mist Village.
Ritsu stood atop the Wood Human's head, controlling the wooden figure beneath him as it ran in great strides toward Hidden Mist Village. Such a massive creature created truly earth-shaking commotion when it moved. Each footfall made the earth tremble. Just its running stirred up violent winds that blew away all the leaves from trees in its path. Many dried branches snapped with crackling sounds.
His Byakugan saw clearly. After he deployed the Wood Human Technique, many patrolling Mist ninja's expressions became exceptionally twisted. Fear, shrinking back, timidity—these emotions surfaced on their faces. But ninja tradition and prohibitions required them not to flee without fighting when encountering enemies. Even when facing opponents they genuinely couldn't match, they still had to enter battle.
So aside from individual Mist ninja who went back to report more detailed intelligence, the remaining Mist ninja appeared before the Wood Human like mantises trying to stop a chariot. They threw kunai with explosive tags attached, formed hand seals to release jutsu of considerable power, doing everything possible to try blocking the Wood Human's continued advance.
But honestly, all of this to the Wood Human was equivalent to scratching an itch. Explosive tags at most cracked the Wood Human's foot skin. The destructive power caused by those offensive jutsu was even harder to describe—because the destruction wasn't concentrated in a small area, the result was that they didn't even damage much of the Wood Human's foot skin.
After brief observation, Ritsu no longer paid attention to these small fries. His attention shifted instead to Hidden Mist Village, covered by a great barrier, awaiting the Fourth Mizukage and Hidden Mist Village's true experts to enter battle.
In fact, less than half a minute after the first signal flare rose, Fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi—who'd been prepared after receiving Yaku's message from Konoha—immediately led a large group of subordinates rapidly toward the village's northwest direction.
Accompanying him was a middle-aged man in his forties. His physique didn't look particularly strong, even somewhat thin. Yet powerful chakra filled with violent energy surged from him. This chakra was so strong it nearly materialized. Crimson chakra spread across the man like smoke and clouds.
Especially when seeing from afar that massive Wood Human charging toward the village, this middle-aged man's gaze sharpened. Then, as though intentionally releasing some restraints, even more crimson chakra emerged. This powerful chakra corroded his skin, making it peel off in chunks like rubber and crumble into powder.
Even Yagura beside him had to quickly speak to stop him, shouting, "Hayama-senpai, calm down! Don't go berserk and lose control in the village! If you want to deal with that big guy, go ahead. Leave the remaining opponents to us."
As he spoke, he looked back at the group behind him.
Among them were two figures who looked somewhat aged. One had white hair and purple eyes, his form slightly hunched. The other had reddish-brown short hair mixed with white, his body appearing quite robust.
Hearing Yagura's words, Hayama—whose body already had most of its skin corroded, making his face as hideous as a demon—answered in a low voice, "Fourth, I'll go ahead first!"
The instant those words fell, his body explosively released even more powerful chakra. Just one foot stomping the ground shattered the bricks and stones. Using that massive recoil force, his entire body shot out like a cannonball, instantly pulling away from Yagura and the others.
Yagura glanced at the Six-Tails jinchuriki's departing back and shouted sharply, "What are the sensory ninja doing? Have you clarified the attackers' situation?"
The Wood Human's appearance hadn't frightened him.
Because Konoha hadn't restricted communication between the Mist ninja delegation and Hidden Mist Village, he'd learned days ago from Yaku's letter that someone in Konoha suspected of mastering the Wood Release bloodline limit that had disappeared with the First Hokage's death.
So when Hayama-senpai volunteered to deal with such a troublesome opponent, Yagura hadn't refused. Such a massive creature required an equally enormous entity to conveniently counter.
As for the original plan to have Hayama-senpai intercept Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchuriki... one could only say plans never kept pace with changes. Adjustments based on field conditions were always necessary. The prerequisite for adjustments was accurately scouting enemy intelligence, allowing appropriate countermeasures.
"It's Konoha's Yellow Flash Namikaze Minato, the White Yaksha Hyuga Ritsu, Nine-Tails jinchuriki Uzumaki Kushina, Shisui of the Body Flicker, and... another Uchiha."
Breaking out in a nervous cold sweat, the sensory ninja shouted loudly, reporting the sensed results to the Mizukage-sama.
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