"Let's go."
Isamu led Senba to an open area and set up camp.
They ended up camping there for an entire day. During that time, Isamu and Senba talked about many things. After getting to know him better, Isamu discovered that Senba had no grand ambitions. Instead, his heart leaned strongly toward Konoha. This didn't surprise Isamu at all. After all, as the great-grandson of Hashirama Senju, it was only natural for him to feel that way.
However, when the topic turned to Uchiha Mikoto, Isamu was slightly surprised. Originally, Mikoto had been Uchiha Fugaku's wife, but now Senba had won her heart instead. Isamu couldn't help but wonder who would eventually become the parents of Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha.
Early the next morning, after waking up, Isamu headed into a nearby forest, caught two wild pheasants, and began roasting them over a campfire.
"Father, when do you think the Village's reinforcements will arrive?" Senba asked while sitting beside the fire.
"Probably today or tomorrow. But honestly, who cares about them? I've never had much faith in Konoha's Ninja forces. If you rely on them, you might not even know how you died," Isamu replied with a shake of his head.
"Father, how can you say that? Haven't our predecessors always taught us that bonds make a Ninja stronger? How can you not value your comrades?" Senba asked, frowning.
He genuinely couldn't understand why his father viewed Konoha's Ninja forces so negatively.
"I learned those lessons more than a decade ago. It's not that I don't value my comrades. On the contrary, I value them greatly. But when it comes to Konoha's Ninja forces, I've always had a poor opinion of them. First, they can't help me and often end up holding me back. Sometimes they even interfere at critical moments. The only reason I haven't turned around and attacked this rotten village is out of respect for your mother," Isamu said as he continued roasting the pheasants.
The resentment he felt toward Konoha still lingered.
If Konoha hadn't interfered years ago, he believed he could have completely defeated the other four great nations, unified the Ninja World, and elevated Konoha to unprecedented heights. Instead, Konoha had ruined everything. Because of that, he no longer had any desire to devote himself to the village.
"But with power like yours, shouldn't you be the one to save this so-called rotten village?" Senba asked.
"Save it?" Isamu looked at him. "Is Konoha even worth saving? The people at the top spend all their time fighting over power and influence. To truly save this village, you'd have to purge the current leadership, dismantle the existing power structure, and build a new order from the ground up. Is that really what you want?"
"N-No, that's not what I mean, but…"
Before Senba could continue, Isamu interrupted him.
"I won't stop you from serving Konoha. This is your home, and there's nothing wrong with wanting to contribute to it. But don't get too deeply involved. The waters of Konoha run far deeper than you realize. And stop trying to persuade me. I have my own opinions about this village."
"This… alright."
Seeing that further discussion would be pointless, Senba dropped the subject. Although he agreed outwardly, he still believed that serving and protecting Konoha was the duty of every Konoha Ninja.
Watching his son act like a loyal supporter of Konoha, Isamu silently cursed his former consciousness body for being useless. After spending so many years with Senba, it had failed to pass on the core ideals of the Uchiha Clan.
If Senba were weak, it wouldn't matter much. But now his strength had already reached the Super Kage level. Someone with that much power and such a straightforward mindset could easily become a target for manipulation within Konoha's political struggles.
At this point, there was little Isamu could do. He could only hope that Senba would eventually come to understand these things for himself.
Two days after the message sent by the consciousness body reached Konoha, the reinforcements finally arrived at the border after a forced march.
The force numbered roughly four thousand Ninja.
Because Konoha still had to defend against threats from several other nations, this was the largest force they could spare.
Leading the army was a young blond-haired Ninja.
As soon as the blond young man spotted Senba sitting beside the campfire, he quickly approached.
"Senba, are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine, Minato. It's great to see you've arrived!" Senba replied happily upon seeing Minato Namikaze, Shinoda, and the rest of the reinforcements.
"Lord Isamu, are you alright?" Shinoda hurried over.
He had originally believed that Isamu had sacrificed himself, so seeing him alive was a huge surprise.
"What could possibly happen to me?" Isamu rolled his eyes. "You sound disappointed that I'm still alive."
"How could I be? I'm thrilled that you survived the Rock Ninja. Why would I wish anything bad happened to you?" Shinoda replied with an awkward grin.
"Enough. Stop trying to flatter me and go bother someone else. I'm trying to eat."
Isamu waved him away while keeping his eyes fixed on the roasting pheasants.
"You haven't eaten yet? You should've said so! I have some premium canned beef here—big chunks and incredibly delicious. Please, give it a try!"
As he spoke, Shinoda pulled out several cans of beef that he had clearly been saving for himself.
Seeing this, Isamu could only shake his head helplessly.
He hadn't encountered such an enthusiastic flatterer in years. Yet only two days after waking up, he'd already met one. It seemed the number of sycophants in Konoha had increased considerably.
Still, he accepted the canned beef without hesitation.
"Lord Isamu."
After greeting Senba, Minato Namikaze approached respectfully and bowed.
The reason was simple: Jiraiya had told him that Isamu had contributed to the development of two of his signature techniques. Because of that, Minato held him in extremely high regard.
"Hmm."
Since you're here, take the troops to the front lines. The Rock Ninja may have retreated for now, but I doubt they've given up on attacking the border of the Land of Fire."
"Understood, Lord Isamu. I'll lead the troops to establish defensive positions immediately."
With that, Minato led the main force toward the front lines.
As the supreme commander of the border region, Isamu's orders carried absolute authority. Before leaving Konoha, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had specifically instructed Minato to follow Isamu's commands whenever possible.
Watching Minato lead the troops away, Isamu fell into thought.
It seemed Hiruzen truly valued this talented disciple. Otherwise, he wouldn't have entrusted such an important reinforcement force to him.