Chapter 195
2-in-1-chapter
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To outsiders, Shisui appeared modest, courteous, and simple; he was pleasant to be around. At his core, however, he still carried Uchiha pride. He had never doubted his own talent, and in training he saw few who surpassed him. Even Itachi, a friend across a generation, seemed to him only marginally his equal in talent.
That assessment applied strictly to training; in other matters he knew his limits. The clan head's deeds, for example, were beyond his ability to imitate.
Five minutes later the last Cloud-nin's throat was cut by Shisui; blood sprayed as the man fell, and with that the clash between Shisui's forces and Darui's main unit came to an end. The Cloud suffered a crushing defeat; their commander had been captured and their deputy had withdrawn. Over a thousand Cloud-nin lay dead.
Konoha, already at a manpower disadvantage, had no extra troops to guard large numbers of prisoners. A single prize like Darui was enough; more captives would only be a burden.
Shisui shook his empty blade. Blood droplets clung to the edge, then slung off in a clean flurry. The smooth, white blade looked as if it had just been drawn from its scabbard, without a single nick, while Darui's high-quality long sword had accumulated dozens of small chips when he was disarmed and taken.
The quality of one's weapons still mattered greatly on the battlefield.
"Elder Fugaku, have the men been sent out?" Shisui asked as he sheathed the empty blade and turned to Uchiha Fugaku.
"I have already dispatched Itachi and Kimimaro. They are young, but they travel quickly, and the clan head had already made preparations," Fugaku answered carefully, explaining both what had been done and why.
"Seizing the Kusatsu Highlands was only the beginning. There is still more fighting to do," Shisui murmured.
Regardless of whether C and his group had withdrawn, the Cloud would certainly have sent word before opening hostilities. If no surprise came, Cloud reinforcements would arrive soon, and they might bring the true bulk of Cloud forces.
"The main act is still to come," Fugaku agreed; defeating Darui's unit had truly been only the opening. The real spectacle was yet to be staged.
"Tetsuka." Shisui called to Uchiha Tetsuka, who carried four blades at his waist and looked like a walking weapons rack, and gave his orders. "Tell everyone to keep it simple when cleaning the field. Gather our own dead and let people rest. Conserve strength and chakra. There are likely more hard fights ahead. Don't waste either needlessly."
"Don't worry, Shisui-dai. Everyone knows what to do. We'll just check for men playing dead," Tetsuka replied with a grim chuckle. The blood smeared across half his face and his stiff smile made him look even more terrifying; in the clan house he would have scared a number of youngsters.
"Just make sure everyone understands. And also… go find Meirai. Tell him to keep a closer watch on the perimeter patrols."
"Understood. I'll go right away."
"There are still the wounded—those who can't move, those who are barely breathing. Get them to the rear as quickly as possible. If another battle breaks out, they'll only be in the way. Have those trained in medical ninjutsu go with them to help. Let this be handled by Senior Yashiro. He's steady and experienced, and I can trust him with it."
Uchiha Tetsuka stood still for a moment, watching Shisui. After confirming there was nothing else, he turned and left to deliver the message to Uchiha Meirai and Uchiha Yashiro.
Shisui remained where he was, surrounded by the bodies of the fallen. He surveyed the field and let out a quiet sigh. "The Cloud-nin are really strong."
The Uchiha clan had sent nearly all their elite to this campaign, yet even so, seventeen had died, twenty-two were seriously injured, and even more had sustained minor wounds. Judging by that, the Cloud-nin were indeed formidable opponents.
"Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, the Cloud-nin are the most aggressive," Uchiha Fugaku said. He found a fallen tree trunk, blew the dust and dirt from its surface, and gestured for Shisui to sit with him.
"Unlike us in Konoha, Kumogakure is ruled by a true warrior faction. From the Raikage down to ordinary Genin, it's not an exaggeration to say they're born to fight."
"But the Cloud-nin are best known for their greed. Bloodline Limits, secret techniques, tailed beasts—if it's valuable, they want it. The Magnet Release they use was stolen from the Sand, and for the Hyūga clan's Byakugan, they even dared to infiltrate Konoha and attempt an abduction."
"That incident… it wasn't the Hyūga who were at fault," Shisui said quietly.
"That's right. The Hyūga clan head only killed a kidnapper. But at that time…" Fugaku sighed. The Third Hokage was difficult to explain. In his youth, he had been truly capable, but later, his vision narrowed.
Compared with the First and Second Hokage, his heart had grown small.
It was one thing that he could not tolerate the Uchiha; that rift had years of history behind it. But what was truly regretful was his decision to abandon the Uzumaki clan, Konoha's steadfast allies.
Don't say Konoha was too weak to help them—it wasn't. At that time, Hiruzen was still in his prime, White Fang was alive, the Sannin had already risen, and clans like the Uchiha and Hyūga still had deep foundations.
Unfortunately, in Hiruzen's eyes, there was no need for Konoha to risk everything for the Uzumaki. All he brought back was Uzumaki Kushina and part of the clan's heritage.
"Hey, look at me getting off track again. We were talking about the Cloud-nin." Fugaku gave a low laugh. "Anyway, if you ask me, there aren't many decent people in that village. They're a band of raiders by nature. Reasoning with them doesn't work—you can't expect bandits to listen to logic. You have to hit them hard enough to make them understand what regret feels like."
He made no effort to hide his contempt.
Though the Hyūga and Uchiha weren't close enough to call each other allies, both were Bloodline clans. Nothing angered them more than those who tried to steal their kekkei genkai. The Cloud-nin's behavior was detestable. Back in the Warring States era, if any group had dared target the Bloodline Limits of multiple clans, every one of those clans would have banded together to wipe them out.
"The Cloud-nin really aren't good people," Shisui said after a pause, nodding in agreement.
The Mist-nin's earlier brutality had been due to that impostor who claimed to be Uchiha Madara manipulating things from behind the scenes. But the Cloud-nin's southward aggression was different—intelligence from spies embedded in Kumogakure had already confirmed that it was the consensus of the entire village, not the reckless act of a single man.
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Time continued to pass.
The clouds above grew darker, like ink spreading through water. Yet the snow still refused to fall properly. The tiny flakes shattered in the wind before they could reach the ground, melting into wet flecks that vanished on contact with the earth. The snow drifted on in a thin, unsatisfying haze.
C was halfway along the road when he ran into the arriving Fourth Raikage, A, and the main Cloud forces.
When they saw C and his handful of battered survivors, everyone—from the Raikage himself downward—immediately realized they had arrived too late.
"C, what happened?"
The Fourth Raikage, A—a massive, bare-chested man even in this snowy weather—looked down at C, his brow furrowing as the weight of bad news settled on him.
"We lost."
C's face was pale. "Konoha's assault was fierce. The Uchiha must have gone all in. There were over two hundred Uchiha clan members on the field. Altogether, Konoha sent about three hundred shinobi. We had too few Jōnin. During the first five minutes we could rely on our numbers to hold them off, but as the battle went on, our casualties mounted, and the outcome was decided before long."
"Konoha must have received new reinforcements. And it seems their commanding officer has changed as well. Hyūga Hiashi wouldn't have had the resolve to throw that many Uchiha into a single engagement." C recited everything he had gathered, his analysis spilling out in a tired rush.
"More than two hundred Uchiha?"
A frowned deeply, then asked, "Where's Darui?"
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