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Southern Front, Uchiha Army Camp
"Hahaha! I knew you'd be fine, kid."
Elder Uchiha Rei, whom Kyosuke hadn't seen in years, greeted him with a hearty embrace.
Returning to the southern army felt just like coming home for Kyosuke. Without needing any direction, he found himself a chair and sat down.
Just as he was about to inquire about the state of the battle, Elder Rei's expression grew solemn. With a trace of apology in his tone, he began, "Upon hearing of your incident, I attempted to rally your troops to my side. Regarding that matter—"
"Please, don't." Kyosuke waved his hand with a wry smile and said, "Have you forgotten? These men were originally granted to me by you."
"That's not how it works. We must keep matters separate. I feel—"
"Elder Rei," Kyosuke interrupted, touching his nose as his gaze shifted to the strategic map laid out on the table.
Sensing his intent, Elder Rei let the matter drop, and the two of them turned their focus to analyzing the enemy's movements.
"Who are we up against?" Kyosuke asked.
Hearing this, Elder Rei mentioned a name that made Kyosuke's eye twitch involuntarily.
"Have you heard of the 'Reto' of the Sand?"
The name carried such weight that even Kyosuke, who rarely paid attention to the affairs of the ninja world, had heard of it.
Beyond his terrifying strength, there was one reason this man commanded such serious attention.
The man known as Reto was none other than one of the Five Kage who ended the Sangoku Era—the First Kazekage of Sunagakure.
This fact alone was enough to put anyone on high alert.
"Are you kidding me? What is that bastard doing in the Land of Fire? Isn't his mess in the Land of Wind chaotic enough already?!" Kyosuke gritted his teeth in frustration.
This was a crucial moment—the Tsukigakure Clan was on the verge of sweeping across the entire Land of Fire.
The last thing Kyosuke wanted was to waste time dealing with the Land of Wind's affairs.
Yet, here they were, intruding of their own volition. If he didn't fight back, the southern army would undoubtedly be destroyed.
With a flick of his wrist, Kyosuke tossed aside a thick stack of reports and turned his attention to another document, one detailing a list of individuals—starting with Shamon.
The Second Kazekage of Sunagakure and the creator of the Puppet Technique—Shamon
Next on the list was Monzaemon, the man who perfected the Puppet Technique and created the infamous "The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets."
Then came Watanabe Kaoru, a wielder of the Scorch Release Kekkei Genkai and a devout follower of the First Kazekage, Reto.
"This is just too much," Kyosuke muttered as he looked down, feeling as though he were facing off against the entire Land of Wind.
He finally understood why Elder Rei had been so insistent about him coming to the southern front as reinforcements.
With such a terrifying lineup, unless the Senju or Uchiha clans personally stepped in, the enemy had more than enough power to wreak havoc across the Land of Fire.
"Even without considering their army, just those four individuals are each more troublesome than the last."
"Judging by my estimate, even the weakest of them—Watanabe Kaoru—likely possesses strength comparable to a clan leader."
"If I take them on in succession, I'm not sure whether the enemy will survive, but my eyes will definitely be done for."
Faced with such formidable opponents all at once, Kyosuke couldn't help but feel a profound sense of isolation and helplessness.
After some careful thought, he decided to head to the battlefield himself. His plan was simple: find one of the four enemies, eliminate them first, and then reassess the situation.
When he shared his thoughts, Elder Rei wholeheartedly supported him.
With the Flying Thunder God Technique at his disposal, Elder Rei wasn't particularly worried about Kyosuke running into trouble.
After all, the main reason Kyosuke had been summoned was to handle these highly troublesome opponents.
As for the ordinary forces of the Land of Wind, the Uchiha southern army's ninja were no pushovers. Dealing with them wouldn't be a problem.
"Oh, by the way, Kyosuke." Uchiha Rei asked curiously, "Have you truly awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
"I have," Kyosuke replied without hesitation, showcasing it directly.
"Good, good, good." The elder uttered the word "good" three times in succession. It seemed that some heavy burden had finally been lifted from his heart.
"The Uchiha clan must ultimately rely on you young ones," he said with a tone full of hope.
---
Western region of the Land of Fire, the border with the Land of Rivers.
The massive army from the Land of Wind is currently stationed here.
As the leader of his faction, Reto ordinarily wouldn't engage in such large-scale actions. But someone had offered him an irresistible bargain.
"Lord Reto." A familiar voice called out from outside the tent.
"Come in." Unwrapping the scarf around his neck, Reto let out a quiet sigh and silently calculated the power balance between his forces and the enemy's.
The curtain parted, and a burly man with a dragon-shaped tattoo coiling around his right eye strode in.
This was none other than Shamon, the founder of puppet techniques in the Land of Wind.
To bring together such a fearsome lineup, the offered bargain had to be something none of them could refuse.
That bargain was an entire set of techniques for creating human puppets, given as compensation by Black Zetsu to secure their assistance.
The objective was simple: to stall Kyosuke's movements.
Until Madara and Izuna awakened their Mangekyō Sharingan, Kyousuke could not be allowed to return to the Uchiha encampment.
Seeing Shamon looking so pleased, Reto smiled faintly. It was clear his subordinate had achieved some remarkable results.
"Lord Reto, the puppet technique you provided are truly incredible," Shamon said, his voice brimming with excitement. "I've completed about sixty to seventy percent of the process. I just need suitable test subjects to proceed further."
"Don't worry." Reto nodded and shared news that delighted his subordinate. "Kaoru has already set out with her team. If everything goes as planned, she should bring back several corpses with awakened kekkei genkai."
"That's excellent."
"Once we fully master the human puppet technique, our power will grow explosively. Then we'll see who dares to challenge us again."
Hearing this, Reto chuckled and dismissed Shamon.
Yet, after his subordinate left, Reto's expression turned somber.
Indeed, the human puppet technique was astonishingly powerful, even capable of replicating a ninja's kekkei genkai and secret techniques from when they were alive.
To offer such an incredible reward, the task they'd been entrusted with could not be an easy one.
What seemed like a generous gift had already been marked with a hidden price.
But neither Reto nor his followers knew what that price would ultimately cost them.
"We must remain ever vigilant," Reto murmured as he lowered his head, continuing to review intelligence reports regarding the Land of Fire.
---
Along the Border
Watanabe Kaoru led her team as they ran along the stream
'The Uchiha army responded quickly'. She had thought that they would encounter resistance only after they penetrated deep into enemy territory.
"This works too. At least we won't have any surprises from behind," Watanabe Kaoru smirked, a cruel smile crossing her lips. She estimated that it had been about three hours since she last killed someone.
She found great enjoyment in the process of drying her enemies into mummies. Back at her home in the Land of Wind, she had countless shriveled corpses on display.
Now, she would add the Uchiha name to her collection.
Watanabe Kaoru, known for her use of Scorch Release, was one of the most feared women in the Land of Wind. Her terrifying reputation was enough to silence even the loudest of children.
Scorch Release—an incredibly terrifying ability that, upon contact with the enemy's body, instantly evaporates the moisture inside.
Those who had fought her never lived to tell the tale; they ended up as shriveled, desiccated mummies.
Even Monzaemon, who was usually headstrong and rebellious, rarely dared to provoke her.
After all, madwomen are terrifying, and even if one isn't afraid, it's wise to keep a safe distance. Many share this same belief:
A madwoman is already dangerous, but a Powerful madwoman is a force of destruction.
Soon, the Uchiha squad ahead would come to understand this all too well.
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[Chapter End's]
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