"What a pity. If we had more people, we could've taken their new base outright."
Hayama sighed regretfully.
They had found the base but couldn't take action. They only managed to cause a bit of damage before retreating.
Such results…
Felt underwhelming!
However, Kyōichi just smiled and shook his head, saying, "If I had more people… no, if I just had one more person like Minato, I wouldn't bother with this place. I'd strike their old base instead."
"Attack their old base?"
Gekkō Kazahana was stunned for a moment, but then he understood.
After they arrived here, a large portion of the enemy's forces would follow.
If Namikaze Minato were here, he could use the Flying Thunder God Technique to transport people directly back to the enemy's previous base location.
leaving them no time to redeploy.
What a shame…
"There's no helping it. The situation in the north is equally severe. Before I left, the intelligence I received was that Kumogakure's forces were massing at the Land of Lightning's border. Who knows how it's faring now."
Yamanaka Inoichi sighed.
Konoha wasn't weak.
But facing so many enemies, fresh from war…
If only one village opposed them, things wouldn't be this dire.
"It's fine. We've already gained a lot this time. It'll take time for the enemy to relocate to a new position."
Kyōichi used a sealing technique to patch up the gap in the Yin Seal.
This time, he was the main force and had no choice but to use the Yin Seal.
However, the results were excellent: the enemy's four squads were completely wiped out, four enemy squads annihilated, two ships destroyed, and Kirigakure's new base exposed.
Yagura must be fuming right now.
"What a shame. The enemy will definitely increase their reconnaissance efforts from now on…"
"Then we'll hunt the patrols."
This time, it was Gekkō Kazahana who jumped in to answer.
After following along on this mission, he had gradually grasped the essence of Kyōichi's tactics—
Lure the enemy's forces into motion, then strike at their weak points.
It's the same principle as the Three Crescent Moon Dance.
Kyōichi smiled and then looked at Yamanaka Inoichi, asking, "Inoichi-senpai, what do you think?"
"If we're only planning to take out their patrol teams, we don't need to gather elite squads into a single unit like we did this time. We can form teams of jōnin and elite chūnin to specifically deal with their reconnaissance squads."
Yamanaka Inoichi was still pondering.
He realized that while Kyōichi's tactics sounded simple, they were actually quite complex in practice. The three battles they had just fought were very flexible and not as straightforward as simply finding the enemy and killing them.
This required a perfect understanding of the enemy's psychology and one's own capabilities.
Kanda Kyōichi…
He's truly incredible!
Yamanaka Inoichi had already held Kyōichi in high regard.
But this time, his estimation was raised even further.
"That's right. From now on, we don't need to mobilize the entire team. We can engage in more guerrilla warfare, slowly whittling down the enemy's ninja forces. And we don't need to rush; we can send out small groups each time."
"What if the enemy mobilizes their entire force and attacks us directly?"
Hayama expressed this concern.
They knew their own situation.
Currently, the number of ninja on the eastern front was the smallest among the three battlefields.
If the enemy were to act desperately, he felt it would be difficult to handle.
This was also something the Sandaime was worried about.
"Don't worry. If they attack, we'll go for decapitation—take out their leader. After all, naval combat requires speed above all."
Kyōichi said.
Kirigakure ninja are powerful near water, especially the Hōzuki clan.
Moreover.
He had a trump card.
Might Duy!
Of course.
Kyōichi had no intention of letting Might Duy open the Eight Gates and sacrifice himself.
There was no need for that.
Against the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Might Duy only needed to open the Seventh Gate.
With the combined efforts of Kyōichi, Shirakumo Hayama, and others, killing a few of them wouldn't be difficult.
In fact.
With the Uchiha Police Force arriving soon, total annihilation wasn't impossible.
...
Nagano Mountain.
"It's done. Everyone can rest easy now. Take a break."
Kyōichi's shadow clone walked out of the tent.
He'd worried about a night raid, but it turned out he was worried for nothing.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen had no plans to infiltrate and assassinate.
It seems.
He really had altered the course of events.
However.
Kyōichi didn't think much of it.
Konoha's strength surpassed Kirigakure's.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen weren't worth sacrificing an Eight Gates user for.
It's not worth it!
After saying this, he returned to the tent to rest.
Only then did everyone cheer.
"It seems Sensei succeeded."
Kurenai let out a sigh of relief.
"I told you Sensei would be fine. He's so strong; Kirigakure can't do anything to him."
Asuma had even more confidence in Kyōichi than Kyōichi himself.
Kurenai glanced at him, chuckled without saying anything, and then hummed a tune, feeling extremely happy.
"Let's resume patrol!"
"Yes~"
The others smiled and didn't say much.
Just as Kyōichi had said, they mostly stayed near Nagano Mountain and didn't venture too far out.
This area had already been cleared, so there were no enemies around.
After patrolling for a while, Kurenai suddenly paused, and a look of joy appeared on her face.
"Shisui, it seems your clan has arrived."
"So soon?"
Shisui was stunned for a moment, then quickly activated his sensing ability.
His sensing range wasn't as wide as Kurenai's, but soon, he sensed one or two people, and then more and more.
"The Police Force!"
Judging by the chakra signatures, it was undoubtedly the Uchiha.
A smile appeared on Shisui's face.
The Police Force had arrived.
If they could play a role in the eastern front, the relationship between the Uchiha and Kyōichi-sensei, as well as Tsunade-sama, could improve further, which would be greatly beneficial for future cooperation!
From the chakra signatures.
The clan head had sent only elites.
I wonder who's here…
He thought to himself.
Not long after.
Several figures appeared ahead.
The first was Uchiha Inabi, followed by Uchiha Satsu—a 15-year-old Police Force member.
Seeing Shisui, Inabi smiled.
"Inabi-nii."
"Shisui! You've grown into a fine shinobi!"
He patted Shisui's shoulder, then glanced meaningfully behind.
After that, Inabi turned to Kurenai, Asuma, and the others, hesitating for a moment before forcing an unnatural smile.
Then—
"You're Asuma and Kurenai, right? I'm Uchiha Inabi. Shisui has mentioned you. Thank you all for taking care of Shisui."
Inabi gave a slight bow.
Asuma's eyes widened slightly, looking somewhat incredulous.
This is an Uchiha?
In fact, even Shisui was surprised.
When he'd left, Inabi hadn't fully "changed." Now, the transformation was drastic.
Kurenai reacted quickly and hurriedly said, "Not at all. Shisui-kun may be young, but he's actually the core of our team. We all follow his orders."
"Hahaha, this kid still has a long way to go. He's still green in many ways."
Inabi laughed, then asked, "By the way, where's your sensei? I heard from the messenger that he's the commander for the eastern front."
Shisui noticed that Uchiha Yashiro and other jōnin from the clan had already arrived.
He nodded and said, "Sensei is at the base. I'll take you there."
"Alright."
Inabi nodded, then smiled and greeted Asuma and Kurenai before leaving.
Uchiha Satsu did the same.
However.
The ones who came after weren't as friendly.
Still.
Even so, Asuma and Kurenai were quite surprised, while Shiranui Genma was utterly shocked, staring wide-eyed for a long time.
After everyone had left, he whispered, "Was that… the Uchiha?"
"Yeah."
Kurenai was a bit puzzled but nodded.
"Is he Shisui's older brother?"
"The Uchiha who came later were more normal. Maybe the one earlier was just close to Shisui."
Ebisu didn't find it strange.
"No, Shisui… doesn't have many friends in the clan."
Asuma shook his head. He remembered Shisui mentioning that he didn't have any brothers and didn't share much common ground with many in the clan.
That's why he and Kurenai were so surprised.
Has the sun risen from the west?
"Maybe… anyway, this isn't something we should worry about. Let's head back."
Kurenai wasn't sure.
But she sensed Kyōichi-sensei's influence.
By their return, not only had the Uchiha arrived—Kyōichi's main body was back in Konoha, having met the Uchiha delegation.
All elites!
However.
This was only the first group.
According to Uchiha Yashiro, they had sent thirty people to support the eastern front.
Ten had rushed ahead to avoid delaying the battle, while the remaining twenty were still being organized and would arrive in a day or two.
It was already late at night, so Kyōichi let them rest.
They could discuss the details tomorrow.
When arranging accommodations, Inabi and Shisui took the opportunity to go out and look around.
"Shisui-kun, I heard from my brother."
"Huh?"
Shisui's heart skipped a beat.
What did Tekka say?
Did he say something he shouldn't have and expose me?
Wait.
But Inabi's demeanor suggested otherwise.
He relaxed a bit, looked around, and whispered, "Inabi-nii, what are you talking about?"
"The clan head's words make sense. We should unite and deal with the external threat first, then resolve our internal conflicts…"
Uchiha Inabi glanced around, then leaned in closer to Shisui's ear, "I've already spoken to Yashiro-senpai."
"!!!"
Damn it.
Knew this'd backfire.
Uchiha Yashiro was in his thirties. How dare Inabi rope him into this? Didn't Tekka explain properly?!
If only I could have stayed in the village a few more days…
Regret and terror choked him.
At that moment, he felt like his breathing had stopped, and his heart was racing.
"He read the book and, after hearing us out, agreed with the clan head's perspective."
"…"
Shisui was stunned, then cursed inwardly.
Bastard.
Couldn't say that first?!
Nearly gave me a heart attack!
"Hahaha, Shisui, don't worr—"
Inabi's laughter stopped halfway as he looked at Uchiha Shisui, his face filled with astonishment.
Shisui looked at him in confusion, then glanced behind him.
Nothing there!
"Shisui, your… your eyes!"
Inabi pointed at Shisui's eyes, his face a mix of disbelief and joy.
The Sharingan!
Shisui had awakened his Sharingan!
He's only five years old, not even six yet…
What incredible talent!
"My eyes?"
Shisui was stunned for a moment, then looked into the distance.
Even in the dark, he could see things clearly under the moonlight.
This is…
The Sharingan?
He was both surprised and confused.
Is this how it happens?
"This is great! With your Sharingan, we can…"
"Inabi-nii, we can't complicate things. Otherwise, my plan to give up the chūnin spot will be meaningless."
Shisui quickly said.
Uchiha Inabi thought for a moment, then nodded. "You're right. Our Uchiha clan is already under too much scrutiny. It's not the time to be too conspicuous. By the way, can we rely on your sensei?"
"Sensei is Tsunade-sama's sworn brother. So… you understand."
Shisui hinted.
Inabi's eyes lit up, and he was about to ask more when Shisui glanced around and stopped him, whispering, "We'll talk more when we have the chance."
"My mistake."
Inabi nodded.
Indeed.
They were some distance from the camp, but with all the patrols and scouts around, it wouldn't be good if someone overheard.
Stay calm, don't get carried away!
However.
Thinking about Shisui awakening his Sharingan, he couldn't help but feel excited.
"Keep this secret."
"Got it!"