Uchiha Chapter 74: The Requiem of Death
Mount Kikyo.
Boom! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Shuriken rained across the battlefield, while explosive tags poured down like a waterfall.
Blood soaked the earth, and the stench of death hung heavily in the air. Countless crows circled overhead. Even the clashes of Fire, Water, and Wind Release below could not drive them away.
In an ordinary wooden house in a village near Mount Kikyo, a tiny figure curled up inside a wardrobe, trembling uncontrollably.
"Dad… Mom…"
The child was small and thin, with hair already streaked with white. Tears streamed down his face as he whispered the words over and over.
Bang!
Suddenly, the front door was kicked open.
The child's pupils contracted. His entire body trembled, but he desperately forced himself to remain still.
No. Don't come looking for me.
I don't want to die.
Hiss…
A strange slithering sound reached the child's ears.
"There are actually people here. Open the wardrobe."
The cold, sinister voice sent a shiver through him.
Under the child's terrified gaze, the wardrobe doors slowly opened. Three figures stood outside, their silhouettes sharply outlined by the light.
Once their eyes adjusted to the darkness, the man at the front stuck out his tongue and spoke coldly.
"An orphan. Take him back to Konoha's orphanage and let the village deal with him. The war is about to end, after all."
A Konoha shinobi standing behind Orochimaru crouched down and spoke gently to the child.
"Come with us. You're safe now. What's your name?"
The little boy shook his head, too frightened to speak.
"Forget it. Just take him back first. Who knows? Maybe he has a talent for becoming a shinobi. He might even be able to help us someday."
…
Konoha-Iwagakure Supply Route
Countless shinobi were transporting supplies along the road. Most of them were clearly members of Konoha's medical corps.
Every one of them remained tense, constantly worried that enemy forces might suddenly appear nearby.
Those guarding the supplies were even more vigilant. Not a single one dared lower their guard.
"We won the Battle of Mount Kikyo, but the casualties were terrible. I hope Senior Shinnosuke and the others at the Iwagakure front can hold out a little longer. Otherwise…"
"This disaster didn't only affect our village. The other villages suffered heavy losses too. Don't worry. We've endured difficult periods like this before. We'll get through this one as well."
"That's hard to say. We barely won the Battle of Mount Kikyo, and the losses were enormous. Having to deal with four enemies at once was simply too difficult. Fortunately, we had powerful shinobi like Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze to hold back the enemy's strongest forces."
"I heard there's an incredibly powerful shinobi protecting Konoha's position on the Iwagakure front. The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, has been tied down there for an entire month."
"You must be talking about Uchiha Gōenji. He hasn't exactly been 'trapped' there for a month. According to the intelligence reports, Gōenji is simply too powerful. If the Tsuchikage leaves, he'll have no hesitation about inflicting devastating losses on Iwagakure. The Tsuchikage doesn't dare leave, but he can't eliminate Gōenji either."
"Hiss! That's incredible. As expected of someone from the Uchiha Clan. Even the Tsuchikage can't defeat him."
The logistics troops remained alert as they discussed the latest reports from the front lines.
Whether they were near Mount Kikyo or at one of the other battlefields, they had to remain cautious. A single moment of carelessness could cost them their lives.
The convoy continued forward.
Their mission was to reach the Iwagakure front and provide logistical support for the Konoha forces stationed there.
The war was not over.
Only the Battle of Mount Kikyo had ended.
The fighting in other regions was still raging.
The long convoy continued along the road in an orderly formation.
…
Iwagakure Battlefield
Boom!
The Four Violet Flames Formation shattered, torn apart by a pillar of light that shot into the sky.
Ōnoki stared grimly at Uchiha Gōenji, his teeth clenched.
"Uchiha Gōenji."
Akatsuchi said, "Tsuchikage-sama, the Battle of Mount Kikyo is already over. It's been a month. We can't drag this out any longer. If Konoha's reinforcements arrive, we'll be in trouble."
The battle at Mount Kikyo had ended, and naturally, they had received the intelligence.
Konoha had endured the pressure of four powerful enemies and successfully held its position.
"Tsuchikage-sama, I'm sorry to have kept you busy for an entire month. I've learned quite a lot as well. Thank you for your guidance, Tsuchikage-sama."
Riding atop the Wind-Fire Wheels, Uchiha Gōenji held a short blade in one hand and smiled lightly as he dispersed the Shadow Clones surrounding the two of them.
He knew he couldn't defeat the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki.
Over the past month, Gōenji's battle strategy had gradually shifted from attacking to stalling.
Relying on the Sharingan's powerful visual perception, he repeatedly used the Four Violet Flames Formation to trap the two of them, then repeated the process again and again.
He had been able to keep Ōnoki occupied primarily because of the old man's serious back injury.
Ōnoki had to rely heavily on Dust Release. If he attempted to use the Light-Weight Rock Technique and related techniques to maneuver freely, the strain would aggravate his back and potentially cause serious damage.
But whenever he used Dust Release, Gōenji could absorb it with Zero-Breakthrough and store the resulting energy for later use.
In other words, the longer the battle continued, the more energy Gōenji accumulated.
Simply put, during this month-long battle, he had learned a great deal from Ōnoki.
Most importantly, he had gained invaluable combat experience.
Only now was the true value of his Sharingan and intelligence becoming apparent.
The Sharingan allowed him to see countless details.
His mind allowed him to rapidly absorb and understand what he saw.
"Very well. I hope you'll still be able to speak to me like this the next time we meet."
After saying that, Ōnoki patted Akatsuchi on the shoulder.
The two turned and flew toward Iwagakure.
With the Battle of Mount Kikyo concluded, Ōnoki had no choice but to leave the front lines and return to oversee the overall situation.
As he gradually departed, the other forces on the battlefield also received the news.
One after another, they began withdrawing, preparing to return home, rest, gather intelligence, and reconsider their strategies.
Uchiha Gōenji was unable to stop them.
He still couldn't defeat Ōnoki.
Although the old man was short enough to look like a dwarf, his movements were astonishingly agile. With Akatsuchi supporting him, defeating the pair was practically impossible.
Gōenji's current arsenal was also largely ineffective against them.
Shinobi were an incredibly agile race.
Once again, he felt this truth deeply.
No matter how powerful an attack was, if it couldn't hit its target, it was meaningless.
And in this regard, Ōnoki possessed an enormous amount of combat experience. He was genuinely difficult to deal with.
"Still, keeping the Tsuchikage and Akatsuchi occupied for an entire month should count as a contribution to Konoha. At the very least, they ought to count it as eight to ten S-rank missions, right?"
Konoha's commendation wasn't particularly important to Gōenji.
What mattered were the other rewards that came with his contribution.
Those were what truly mattered.
He descended from the sky and immediately began rescuing his comrades on the battlefield.
One shinobi after another was pulled from the wreckage, treated, and bandaged.
At the same time, Gōenji directed the logistics personnel, calmly assigning tasks and organizing the rescue effort.
He looked at the severed limbs and shattered corpses.
He looked at the bright red blood flowing from countless wounds.
He looked into the eyes of the fallen, their faces still twisted by the resentment they had carried into death.
Gōenji sighed.
He gently closed the eyes of his fallen comrades.
Once again, he felt the cruelty of war.
"Once I surpass the power of Uchiha Madara, Hashirama Senju, and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, I'll eliminate war, unify the world, and reduce conflicts like this!"
For some reason, Gōenji suddenly remembered the peaceful and stable life he had lived in his previous world.
A faint sadness welled up in his heart.
Perhaps these were simply the emotions he should have as a working adult.