It wasn't just Kakuzu who felt a cold shiver down his spine at the sight of twenty Three-Tomoe Uchiha. Even Ren Uchiha stood there, mouth agape in pure astonishment.
This wasn't some common crop you could harvest from a field; this was twenty elite Uchiha, each possessing the peak maturity of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan! A single Three-Tomoe Uchiha was equivalent to an elite Jonin. This squad alone could go to a minor nation and play a game of "Clan Elimination" without breaking a sweat.
Even the defensive forces at the Valley of Hell shouldn't have been this luxurious. Where did Seiichiro pull these people from? And why were they here?
"Not talking, are we?" Seiichiro stared at Kakuzu with an icy gaze, his voice chilling. "Then die!"
With those words, the twenty Uchiha stepped forward in unison. Some drew their blades with a crisp ring of steel, while others began weaving signs. In the pitch blackness, dozens of crimson pupils flared to life. The temperature in the vicinity felt as if it had dropped to absolute zero.
"Wait!" Kakuzu held up a hand, his scalp crawling with dread as he scanned the perimeter. His heart skipped another beat. "This is a misunderstanding. I... I was just passing by..."
Seiichiro watched Kakuzu's attempt to stall for time and shook his head with a cold sneer.
"The underground exchange centers in the Lands of Hot Water, Grass, and Rice have already been bathed in blood," Seiichiro said. "That includes sixteen teams of bounty hunters, the high-ranking officials who established the exchanges, the corrupt merchants, and the courier ninjas. It seems you still don't understand the magnitude of the stupidity you've committed."
"Even for an S-rank rogue ninja like you... there is no exception!"
Seiichiro's eyes were like shards of ice. He raised his hand and roared, "Since you had the audacity to accept a bounty on the head of the Young Clan Leader of the Uchiha, I assume you were prepared to face the full, unbridled fury of the Shinobi world's strongest clan!"
At those words, Kakuzu's pale green eyes snapped wide. He stared at Ren—the kid standing next to Seiichiro—in utter disbelief.
"What did you say?" Kakuzu's eternal stone-face actually twitched. "This broke... he's the Young Clan Leader of the Uchiha?"
The mission intelligence hadn't mentioned a word about this! Even now, Kakuzu vividly remembered the bankbook Ren had tossed at him during their first encounter. It had a balance so meager it barely reached three digits.
Now, they were telling him that this kid—whose pockets were whiter than his face—was the heir to the Uchiha? Are you kidding me?!
Ren blinked, looking at Seiichiro with a look of realization. Come to think of it, he did technically have that status, didn't he? He'd never really had a concrete concept of what that position meant; if anything, he just knew the clan's private vault was terrifyingly deep.
Only at this moment did Ren truly feel the weight of the terrifying power that identity commanded.
"Seiichiro, I didn't mean to—" Ren started to explain. In his mind, a "Clan Leader" was supposed to be the one leading the charge. Why was he the one being protected now?
"It's alright, Ren. You don't have to worry anymore." Seiichiro turned his head, his cold expression softening as he patted Ren's shoulder with a smile. "The moment we received intel about the bounty on you from the underground exchange, I informed the Great Elder and Captain Fugaku."
"You had already left the village, so we couldn't stop you. These twenty clansmen were urgently mobilized from the main clan, the Valley of Hell, and the City of Hot Steam. Many more are already on the move."
Seiichiro cast a murderous look back at Kakuzu. "Rest assured, this won't end simply. Everyone involved in this..."
He paused, emphasizing every syllable. "...will pay the price!"
Watching the Uchiha elites close in, their Three-Tomoe eyes tracking his every twitch, Kakuzu retreated two steps. For the first time in decades, he felt the sensation of sweat drenching his back.
The arrival of the Uchiha had completely flipped the battlefield on its head.
On the other side, Ramii—the veteran Kumo Jonin—instantly sensed the shift in the tides. Fortunately, the Uchiha were preoccupied with Kakuzu, who had broken formation to lunge at Ren. Seizing this gap, Ramii signaled the Kumo elites to slow their offensive and begin pulling away from the Konoha force.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck down from the night sky! A scroll, delivered via the Heavenly Transfer Technique, appeared before Ramii.
He unrolled it immediately. As he read the intelligence within, his face paled.
"Ramii-senpai, what happened?" a Kumo ninja asked, his voice tense. "Why are there so many Uchiha here? With those numbers, we..."
Ramii cut him off with a sharp command. "Motoi, take the men and retreat immediately! I'll go inform Killer Bee. The mission is over; the village has ordered our immediate return!"
A look of relief washed over Ramii as he patted the shoulder of Motoi—a ninja with a square green facial tattoo. "The situation at the Valley of Hell is no longer something we can interfere with."
"I understand," Motoi sighed, though he looked worried. "Please take care of Bee!"
Motoi and Bee were close friends, but Motoi wasn't a combat specialist; he was a sensor who had been monitoring the secondary battlefield. He knew something unexpected had happened on Bee's end.
Ramii nodded. "Don't worry. We already had a contingency plan before we came. I'll get him out."
He pulled a pellet from his pouch and threw it skyward.
POP!
A plume of bright yellow smoke erupted against the dark sky.
Under the harsh gleam of his blade, Setsuna Uchiha thrust downward without mercy!
The newly awakened Killer Bee saw the blade and his pupils shrunk. He threw up his hand to block.
Squelch!
"Hiss!" The blade pierced through Bee's palm, forcing a groan of pain from him.
Setsuna's eyes remained cold as he yanked the blade out and slashed at Bee's vitals once more.
This guy's swordsmanship... Bee's scalp felt numb. Ignoring the pain, he utilized a partial Tailed Beast transformation, sprouting three tentacles to shove Setsuna's foot off his chest as he rolled away.
But a flickering blade shadow followed him like a vengeful ghost, severing the three tentacles instantly and slicing horizontally toward his neck! Bee slid back, ducking his head just in time to feel the wind of the blade.
Unlike Ren, this old man's swordsmanship was seasoned, ruthless, and gave him no room to breathe. With his seven swords melted by Ren and the Eight-Tails still struggling within the Genjutsu, Bee had no way to counter. He could only dodge, desperately trying to communicate with Gyūki.
After taking four more shallow cuts, Bee finally re-established contact. Without hesitation, he entered Version 2 of his Tailed Beast Cloak, coating his body in dark red chakra and white bone armor. His pale pupils locked onto the old man.
Strangely, even with the ultimate defense of the Tailed Beast Cloak, Bee felt an instinctive shiver when facing this old man.
Setsuna narrowed his single eye and halted his advance. There was no fear in his gaze; instead, the Three-Tomoe in his eye began to spin at a dizzying speed.
The two stood in a deadlock, the air between them growing heavy and suffocating.
Then, a bolt of lightning struck the northern sky, followed by a burst of yellow smoke. Seeing the signal, Bee froze.
"That's... the signal for immediate retreat!"
He didn't waste time wondering why they were retreating when they had the advantage. Without a second thought, Bee turned and vanished toward the north.
Shortly after Bee's departure, a group of shadows leaped onto the scene. It was the Uchiha elite squad and the Konoha ninjas, having successfully—and quite literally—hog-tied Kakuzu.
"Great Elder!" Seiichiro stepped forward anxiously. "Are you unharmed?"
Setsuna turned silently, his crimson eye scanning the newcomers. When he saw that the brat who always managed to get himself into trouble was still breathing, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. His tensed nerves finally relaxed.
Then, he furrowed his brow and let out a cold snort, his gaze landing on Ren, who was trying to blend into the background.
"Hmph! What could possibly happen to me?"
"Move! We're heading back to the Valley of Hell!"
"And you, Ren Uchiha! What are you doing ducking your head like a quail? Do you think I can't see you?"
"Get over here!"
Hearing the shout, Ren—who was indeed trying to make himself as small as possible in the crowd—shuddered.
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