Chereads / Naruto: Beyond Infinity / Chapter 74 - Chapter 74: The Outpost of the Land of Hot Water  

Chapter 74 - Chapter 74: The Outpost of the Land of Hot Water  

"Kirigakure."

Uchiha Fugaku was reviewing the latest battle reports.

Originally, most of the conflicts near the Hot Spring Village involved various cults clashing with the village's forces. Records of Mist Village's activities were scarce, but whenever they did strike, they inflicted significant damage.

Moreover, the majority of those who had fallen were members of the Uchiha clan. 

For instance, the parents of a certain genius who developed many ninjutsu had perished in these very battles.

But over the past few days, there were clear signs of a large number of Mist Village ninjas mobilizing.

According to reports Konoha received, a squad of Uchiha had encountered a Mist Village jōnin team and had been utterly wiped out. 

No trace of the enemy's whereabouts has yet been found.

"Fugaku, we must find this team of ninja as soon as possible; otherwise, we'll be in an extremely vulnerable position," Yashiro said gravely.

The Land of Hot Springs was, after all, not the Land of Fire. If the enemy circled around behind them, they could strike a devastating blow at a critical moment.

The outpost here contained not only the forces of Konoha but also a significant portion of the Uchiha clan's strength. 

The clan's elder had also expressed the hope that Uchiha Fugaku could take charge of this location.

As long as Fugaku demonstrated the prowess of an elite jōnin, he would naturally be promoted.

Jōnin required an evaluation, but elite jōnin only required merit in battle.

"Let's go take on the mission now," Fugaku nodded, indicating he understood.

However, since he had not yet been officially recognized as an elite jōnin, only the members of the Uchiha clan at the outpost were under his command.

As for other ninjas, there were members of the Sarutobi clan, the Shimura clan, and a small number of civilian ninjas present besides the Uchiha.

The three that Fugaku referred to naturally included Yashiro and himself, along with another, a silent man who had been following Fugaku closely—Uchiha Shin.

Fugaku led the two men directly to the mission tent.

The mission tent was situated at the center of the outpost, with people constantly going in and out. 

When the three of them walked inside, it was a hive of activity.

Ninjas were handing in intelligence reports or accepting new missions continuously. 

This place functioned like an assembly line, with intelligence collection being the most crucial activity.

All the missions from this outpost were issued directly by the village, without commissions from other forces.

Konoha's missions were completed using ninjas from within the village itself.

The outpost's purpose was solely to collect intelligence and serve as a base for warfare.

Despite Fugaku's considerable reputation among the Uchiha, there were many non-Uchiha ninjas here who did not care much for the clan.

Thus, the three had no choice but to line up.

Fortunately, the efficiency of ninjas was high, and soon enough, it was their turn.

An elderly man in front of them was organizing various pieces of intelligence—Sarutobi To.

A jōnin of the Sarutobi clan, To had once been an elite jōnin who participated in the First Great Ninja War. Sadly, age had now caught up with him, and it was unclear how much strength he had left. He was also the commander of this outpost.

Even though someone of his age should have retired to the rear lines, the village had still placed him here.

After all, Konoha's resources were stretched thin, forcing them to send even the older generation of ninjas to the front lines.

Fugaku approached Sarutobi To and directly stated his request.

"Jōnin Sarutobi, I need to see the mission report from five days ago."

"The one from five days ago?" Sarutobi To furrowed his brow in thought.

He seemed to know about that mission and soon retrieved the corresponding intelligence scroll.

"That mission is still incomplete. We've already dispatched multiple ninja squads for pursuit, and we've suffered considerable losses."

Allowing a team of jōnin to infiltrate the Land of Hot Water was, of course, an urgent matter for Sarutobi To.

However, the outpost's forces were quite thin, which was why the village had sent Uchiha reinforcements.

"Leave it to us," Fugaku said firmly.

"So, you are Uchiha Fugaku? Young and promising, very well. It's yours." 

Sarutobi To handed the mission scroll to Fugaku.

He knew of Fugaku, the young leader of the Uchiha. Though Fugaku had participated in several missions, they had not been particularly dangerous ones—Uchiha, after all, were highly protective of their future clan leader.

For them to now allow him to come here meant the clan believed his skills were sufficiently honed.

And for the Uchiha, sufficient skill meant reaching at least the level of an elite ninja.

"Find them as soon as possible. It seems Mist Village may want to get involved in this Second War." 

Sarutobi To's brow tightened.

The recent movement of large numbers of Mist Village ninjas was far from good news.

If they really started fighting, Konoha had no more strength to provide reinforcements; they would have to rely entirely on the Uchiha.

Though some within the leadership were intent on depleting the Uchiha's strength, a total collapse of the Land of Hot Water would be highly disadvantageous to Konoha.

Fugaku nodded.

The three of them took the mission and immediately set out.

The site of the annihilated squad was not far from a natural hot spring.

The locations of the subsequent casualties weren't too far from there either.

The three of them arrived at the first location.

There were no signs of combat.

Even the surrounding environment was untouched. If a battle had taken place in such an open area, nobody would have come to clean up.

Five days wasn't enough time to completely cover all traces.

"The intelligence didn't specify the exact time of the battle. It was only two hours after the event that the outpost ninjas noticed something was wrong."

Fugaku looked at the ground, which still bore dried bloodstains.

All three activated their Sharingan.

"No signs of ninjutsu were left."

"Then it wasn't the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist." 

That was the only good news—after all, the Seven Swordsmen were formidable enough to kill even elite jōnin.

However, the five-day time gap meant information was limited.

"On to the next location," Fugaku decided.

Yashiro looked towards a distant hot spring inn.

"That's where the subsequent squad was killed."

"Such a close range, taunting us?" 

Fugaku was deep in thought. At such critical moments, he needed to proceed with utmost caution. Any mistake could lead to serious trouble.

"Fugaku, there's no use in overthinking right now. We need more information," Uchiha Shin advised.

Fugaku nodded.

The three of them made their way to the hot spring inn.

Its doors were shut tight.

But for ninjas, that was never a problem.

They jumped over the wall and began to search the inn.

Soon, the three met up in the warehouse.

Looking at the seven bodies hanging in the warehouse, they fell silent.

"Everyone was silenced."

But there was no mention of this in the mission report.

Which could only mean one thing.

"These Mist ninjas came back," Yashiro concluded.

Even Fugaku couldn't figure out the intentions of the Mist ninjas.

"Mist ninjas are known for their indulgence in cruelty."

Yashiro wasn't all that surprised; he had fought against Mist ninjas before and was well aware of their brutal tendencies.

"Let's head to the third location."

Fugaku, who hadn't experienced the harshness of war firsthand, looked troubled.

The third location was also the last known spot for Konoha's pursuit.

At just these three places, Konoha had already lost three squads.