Renya and Shimura Danzō concealed their presence and hid in a dense forest that had not yet been touched by the flames of war.
In the forest clearing ahead, roughly several dozen people were fighting to the death.
They were divided into two camps. Although there weren't many of them, almost all possessed jōnin-level combat strength.
One side wore dark clothing, with a clan crest like a ping-pong paddle's flame Gunbai printed on their backs.
They were the Uchiha clan.
There were only five of them. Three were already wounded and could only barely fend off the enemy's attacks, clearly at a severe disadvantage.
Their opponents were six ninja wearing simple leather armor or dark fitted outfits.
They were unmistakably the Uchiha's sworn enemies, the Senju clan!
Facing the disadvantaged Uchiha, they had no intention of underestimating them. Every attack carried a biting killing intent.
If this dragged on, the Uchiha's defeat was inevitable.
Renya and Shimura Danzō exchanged looks and both saw the shock in each other's eyes.
The war between the Uchiha and the Senju—had they arrived in the Warring States Period?
The two had no intention of interfering and simply hid in the bushes, watching silently.
As someone who was half Uchiha and half Senju, a certain person didn't even know which side to help.
If he really couldn't figure it out, then he'd just be a bystander and help neither side.
Compared to the slaughter between the two clans, Renya was more curious about what period this was.
After all, the war between the Uchiha and the Senju had lasted for thousands of years. Judging by this fight alone, it was impossible to determine the exact time.
Had Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama been born in this period?
While Renya was letting his thoughts run wild, Shimura Danzō lightly tugged at the corner of his clothes.
Renya came back to his senses and looked toward the battlefield again.
Just as he had expected, the five Uchiha in poor condition were no match for the six Senju.
In a short time, two of the three previously wounded Uchiha had fallen to the ground.
From the looks of it, they had been ambushed by the Senju.
"Dammit, you despicable bastards! Izuna-sama won't let you get away with this!"
The Uchiha squad leader at the front said angrily.
He knew that with the squad's current condition they couldn't defeat the Senju. Now they could only try to drag a few of them down before dying.
The remaining two Uchiha did not retreat and followed the squad leader in launching a proactive attack.
The battle ended quickly. The Senju paid the price of one dead and two injured to kill all five Uchiha.
"We should leave quickly. Uchiha reinforcements will arrive soon."
The Senju squad leader put his companion's body into a scroll and immediately signaled the others to leave the scene.
Soon, only five corpses on the ground remained, along with the two people hidden in the shadows.
"Uchiha Izuna..." Renya murmured softly.
Looks like their luck was good. In this Warring States Period, Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had already been born.
Then they could go take a look at that old fellow Senju Tobirama-sensei!
Heh heh heh!
He could already imagine the scene of pinning Senju Tobirama to the ground and rubbing him into it.
When it came to bullying kids, Renya had plenty of experience.
When Shimura Danzō saw the expression on Renya's face, he knew his good friend wasn't holding back anything good.
From what he knew of Renya, this guy was probably thinking about going to bully his beloved Tobirama.
Poor Tobirama—please, don't let us run into you!
Just as the two were each lost in their own thoughts and preparing to leave, a burst of hurried footsteps came from far to near.
Several figures wearing Uchiha attire rushed out of the forest like phantoms and instantly landed at the edge of the clearing.
At the front was a youth of about seventeen or eighteen.
He wore the Uchiha's dark-blue high-collared clan uniform, and at his waist was a ninja blade exactly the same as Renya's!
His short black hair was neat yet fluffy, with a few stray strands hanging over his forehead, slightly shading his sharp brows and eyes.
He looked a bit like Uchiha Sasuke, but with less of Sasuke's wild arrogance and more restraint and cold sharpness.
Renya recognized the newcomer at a glance—Uchiha Madara's younger brother, Uchiha Izuna!
Uchiha Izuna's gaze swept over the wrecked battlefield and the five lifeless bodies of his clansmen on the ground.
The expression on his face grew darker. The hand gripping the hilt of his ninja blade turned pale from force, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
"Senju clan, I'll remember this!"
The clansmen he had sent out on a mission had failed to return for a long time, so he brought people to check the situation.
And he saw this scene.
Judging from the traces of fighting at the site, they had definitely suffered a Senju ambush.
This was Uchiha territory, yet the Senju dared to sneak in and set up an ambush—what nerve!
"Izuna-sama, should we pursue them?" an Uchiha clansman behind him asked hesitantly.
He felt the Senju probably hadn't gone far and that they could immediately give chase to avenge their fallen clansmen.
But the person before him was Uchiha Izuna, and he didn't even dare to put forward his own opinion.
Everyone knew that Izuna-sama's methods were far more terrifying than the young clan leader's.
In the eyes of the Uchiha, they would rather provoke Uchiha Madara than provoke Uchiha Izuna!
It could be said that Izuna's prestige within the clan far exceeded Madara's.
Uchiha Izuna's three-tomoe Sharingan coldly looked in the direction the Senju had left. After a moment of silence, he shook his head.
"Forget it. Bring the clansmen's bodies back for burial. As for the Senju's ambush, I'll make them pay later."
"Yes, Izuna-sama!"
The Uchiha had no objections and hurriedly followed Izuna's orders to clean up the battlefield.
Renya and Shimura Danzō stayed hidden in the shadows, not daring to make a sound.
Uchiha Izuna's methods weren't inferior to that old fellow Senju Tobirama at all!
Although Izuna was very young, his way of handling things was extremely seasoned. Didn't you see how those Uchiha obeyed him unconditionally?
"Indeed worthy of being Madara-sama's younger brother!"
"Who's there?!"
Shimura Danzō: "..."
He seriously suspected that Renya did it on purpose—exposing himself so he could use his Uchiha identity to infiltrate the Uchiha clan.
Had this guy even considered his feelings?!
The Uchiha immediately drew their weapons and looked warily in the direction the voice came from.
"Don't be nervous. We mean no harm."
Renya and a completely speechless Shimura Danzō walked out of the bushes.
"Who are you?" Uchiha Izuna stared at them and asked in a low voice. "Why are you appearing in Uchiha territory?"
If there was anything wrong with their identities, he would kill them without hesitation!
"We're travelers passing through the ninja world. We have no ill intentions toward you."
Uchiha Izuna narrowed his eyes slightly and said coldly, "What refined interests the two of you have!"
With ninja wars raging nonstop these days, they claimed they were traveling. Who would believe that?
They were practically treating him like a fool!