"Oh yeah! Great, we've repelled the enemy once again!"
"Yeah, yeah, we're simply too strong, too awesome!"
…
Seeing the enemy retreat, the Konoha Ninjas all cheered. Even Senba joined in. Originally, winning would have cost a great deal, but now they had won with almost no losses, so how could everyone not be happy?
"Huff! Huff! Huff!…" Seeing the Iwa Ninja retreat, Isamu also panted heavily. It was obvious that his consumption wasn't as low as he had previously shown.
"Father, are you alright?" Seeing his father panting heavily, Senba hurried forward to support him.
"I'm fine. This body is just too weak. Just releasing a few Ninjutsu and using Lightning Release to stimulate my cells has caused such massive consumption!" Isamu clenched his fists, feeling that seven-tenths of the Chakra in his body had disappeared, leaving him quite speechless.
He had only used about a dozen Ninjutsu, most of which were B-rank, yet he had nearly exhausted all his Chakra. If it were his main body, let alone dozens of Ninjutsu, even using hundreds would be no problem. Through this, Isamu understood even more clearly that his consciousness body truly lacked the power to protect his family.
"It's normal to be exhausted; you held back more than ten Jonin all by yourself. That's already incredible!" This time, Senba didn't tease his father, but instead fully acknowledged his strength.
That kind of high-speed combat was something he had never experienced before. His father followed the path where speed is supreme and only speed is unbreakable, while he followed the path of using absolute strength to break all techniques. Their paths were different, and seeing a combat style so diametrically opposed to his own gave Senba many insights.
"Alright, there's no use talking about this now. Order everyone to quickly clean up the battlefield. Leave a few people to defend the area, and have everyone else retreat to rest for a day!" Isamu said to the nearby messenger Ninja.
"Yes, sir! I'll pass it on immediately!" The messenger received the order and quickly went to notify the others.
"Senba, let's head back to the camp and rest!"
Soon, the order was passed down. After cleaning up the battlefield and leaving a dozen or so people behind to stand guard, Isamu, Senba, and the other Ninjas returned to the camp to recuperate.
Soon, half a year passed.
Isamu and the Konoha Ninjas continued defending the border against the Land of Earth's forces time and time again. During this period, Konoha Village constantly sent reinforcements to the border, replacing the fallen Ninjas. Isamu's unit still maintained a force of around five hundred people.
Meanwhile, far away beneath Konoha Village, Isamu's main body had now spent a full year recovering since activating the Ten-Tails. His injuries had healed halfway, and even that was enough to make him invincible in the current Ninja World.
By now, Senba was fifteen years old and entering his sixteenth year. To possess Kage-level strength at fifteen—it had to be said that Senba's talent was truly astonishing. If he were to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, the combination of Wood Release and the Sharingan would immediately elevate him to Super Kage-level.
A few days had passed since the New Year. Because of the holiday, the border had been unusually quiet for half a month. As the defending side, the Konoha Ninjas didn't return to the Village for the New Year and instead remained stationed at the border.
At that moment, Isamu was lying in bed with his eyes tightly shut and his face twisted in pain. Sweat continuously dripped from his forehead. Clearly, he was dreaming—and not a pleasant dream.
"No! No! No! Don't!" Isamu suddenly shouted and jolted awake from the nightmare.
"So it was just a dream…" Isamu sat up and realized he was still in his room. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and frowned deeply.
"I rarely dream. Usually, whenever I have a nightmare, something bad happens. This time… I actually dreamed of my own death. Could something really be about to happen?"
After thinking for a long time, Isamu still couldn't figure it out. With his Kage-level strength, he had almost no opponents in the Ninja World. Even if he encountered someone he couldn't defeat, he could still escape with his speed. He truly couldn't understand why he would dream of dying.
"This… this is!"
At that moment, Isamu suddenly sensed something strange. At the same time, he discovered that the Chakra within this body was slowly leaking away.
"This situation only happened once before, during my battle with Senju Hashirama. For it to happen again now… could it be…"
Thinking back to that battle, Isamu finally understood.
"So the heavens are reminding me that it's time to face my fate. Hahahaha…"
After understanding the truth, Isamu laughed loudly. He naturally knew the fate awaiting this consciousness body.
After waking in the middle of the night, Isamu didn't go back to sleep. Instead, he sat silently by the window, staring at the forest and the starry sky outside until dawn.
The next morning, Isamu headed to the camp's Tactical Command Center. Sitting in the main seat, his heart beat unusually fast. Clearly, he still wasn't prepared to face the fate that awaited him.
"I didn't expect this day to come so soon. Maybe today… maybe tomorrow… or perhaps the day after. I thought I would still have another year with Senba, but now it seems I don't even have a few days left. I really don't want to face this…"
"Eh? Lord Isamu, why are you here so early today?" Tanaka asked in surprise.
Tanaka, an Elite Chunin, entered the Tactical Command Center carrying a stack of documents. Seeing Isamu there so early in the morning surprised him greatly. Normally, Isamu wouldn't appear until much later in the day.
"It's nothing. I just slept too much yesterday and woke up early today. How's the situation, Tanaka? Any intelligence from the front lines?" Isamu looked up and asked.
"None for now. Everyone's been busy celebrating the New Year for the past half month, so nothing has happened on the front lines at all. The border is so calm it's actually frightening!" Tanaka spread his hands helplessly.
For a border that had constantly been at war, such silence was indeed unsettling.
"Frighteningly calm, huh? The New Year's already over. We should stay cautious these next few days. Perhaps the Iwa Ninja will launch a sudden surprise attack." Isamu spoke half-jokingly, half-seriously.
"That's true. Since the New Year is over, we really should stay alert. I'll send out notices to remind the front-line Ninjas immediately!" Tanaka nodded seriously.
"Yeah, go give them a heads-up." Isamu waved his hand in agreement. After all, Senba was also stationed at the front line.
After receiving Isamu's approval, Tanaka immediately went to have the messengers notify the Konoha Ninjas stationed along the border.