Nayou pushed her speed to the absolute limit. Through the earpiece, Shen's roar blasted out.
"Never underestimate the power of Konoha!"
She knew her best friend had probably intercepted Kumogakure's Ji by now.
A few seconds later, another scream tore through the earpiece.
"You haven't seen what the Uchiha are truly capable of!"
Nayou knew Shen wouldn't say that unless things were really dire.
"No, I need to go faster." She decided to push herself to the edge, channeling lightning-natured chakra into every cell of her body to accelerate further.
"I already said it—don't underestimate the Uchiha!"
The voice from the earpiece helped Nayou endure the numbing sensation coursing through her entire body.
"Zzzt!" One after another, streaks of purple lightning crackled across her pure white kimono.
A moment later, using her Byakugan, she could see two figures standing two or three meters apart.
She was still three kilometers away from Shen.
"Brat, you've really pissed me off!"
As Ji's furious roar came through the earpiece, tears uncontrollably welled up in Nayou's eyes.
"Shen!" Gritting her teeth, she pushed through the searing pain surging from her numb limbs, pushing her speed beyond its limit.
Just one kilometer remained. Her raised left hand began crackling with lightning.
At five hundred meters, it aimed straight for Shen's heart.
A streak of purple lightning shot between the two fighters.
In that instant, it illuminated Shen's crimson eyes.
Enveloped entirely in violet electricity, Nayou raised her right arm to block the incoming palm strike, then bent forward.
With his last ounce of strength, Shen took a step back.
[Kasuga Dual Lightning Punch!]
Before Ji's eyes, a small fist wrapped in purple lightning suddenly appeared.
The next moment, he felt his head yanked backward along with his entire body.
"What just happened?" He quickly opened his eyes, desperate to understand.
"Thud!" Ji flew backward three or four hundred meters, enduring sharp leg pain as he sprang back up, staring ahead.
"Why has the sky turned red?" The surreal sight immediately told him he was trapped in a genjutsu.
"Enjoy your stay." Behind Ji, countless twisted "creatures" suddenly emerged.
After exhausting his ocular powers completely, Shen collapsed backward helplessly.
As darkness took him, all he saw was a face so painfully familiar—and two trails of tears rolling down her cheeks.
Three minutes later, two of Hagoromo's ships bearing Konoha's emblem landed steadily twenty meters away from Ji.
Xiang and Qing leapt off first—one heading straight for Ji, who hadn't moved at all, the other rushing toward Kushina's unconscious form.
"Right arm lost, penetrating injury to the left leg, fractured cervical vertebrae, and caught in the Sharingan's genjutsu." Ji's gruesome condition didn't shake Xiang.
As Anbu Commander, he'd seen worse scenes many times over—so often they no longer affected him emotionally.
Meanwhile, Qing found Kushina merely unconscious. After handing her over to his subordinates, he immediately set out searching for Shen and Nayou.
One hundred meters away from where the Anbu stood, two figures lay close together on the ground.
Nayou knelt beside Shen, tightly gripping his right hand to hers.
"Drip." A tear rolled down from her cheek, trailing off her hand before falling onto Shen's face. His features bore slight burn marks as he lay motionless on the ground.
"Please don't die, Shen. Whatever you do, don't die," she pleaded, her tone filled with desperation.
Despite the numbness spreading through her entire body, her sorrowful expression remained unchanged.
She had lost even the most basic feeling in her body.
Xiang and Qing approached the pair, both visibly affected by her emotional state.
Meanwhile, the Third Hokage, who had been listening in through an earpiece, suddenly went blind.
Steadying himself, he raised a hand, removed the Kage hat from his head, and solemnly placed it against his chest.
As the Third Hokage silently mourned, Qing stepped forward to examine Shen more closely.
"Shen Uchiha isn't dead. He's simply used up all his ocular power and chakra, falling into unconsciousness."
"Thank goodness!" The moment Nayou heard the news, the tension in her body eased completely.
With a "plop," her body heavily collapsed onto Shen's still form lying on the ground.
Xiang and Qing stared in stunned silence. Even their masked mouths twitched ever so slightly beneath their coverings.
"Lord Third, I think Shen Uchiha might be truly, completely dead now," Qing remarked with mild mischief in his voice.
Upon hearing that statement, the Third Hokage immediately loosened his grip, dropping the Kage hat onto the ground.
He didn't respond but instead composed himself and smiled wistfully. "I always knew this kid would pull through. How does that saying go again? Oh right—'The good die young, while the wicked live on for a thousand years.'"
Xiang and Qing listened silently as the Third rambled on, their masked mouths curling upward beneath their coverings.
At that very moment, it was precisely noon, with sunlight shining at its brightest.
A week later, within the Hidden Leaf Village.
Clad in a black coat, Kazushi stormed out of the interrogation room.
"Elder Kazushi, how did it go?" Sitting outside, the Third Hokage set down his teacup.
"The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki from Kumogakure can last another two years at most. The next candidate is still too young," Kazushi explained before picking up another cup of tea from the table and drinking it in one gulp.
The Third Hokage already knew this information.
What he truly cared about was whether Kumogakure had other plans.
After clearing his throat, Kazushi revealed the key details extracted through his Sharingan interrogation: "They plan to create chaos at the Hyuga clan compound and use the confusion to take Uzumaki women back to Kumogakure."
"Women?"
"For future Eight-Tails Jinchuriki."
The Third Hokage understood immediately. "Truly disgusting planning."
"Not only that, they also have their eyes on the Byakugan. Their ideal target is the *main house*," Kazushi added, refilling both teacups.
Slam! Furious, the Third Hokage angrily slammed his fist onto the table. "Is Kumogakure really daring to treat Konoha as if it has no capable people?"
"Ah." Elder Kazushi inhaled deeply, narrowing his eyes calmly. "Lord Third, Elder Kazushi formally requests the Uchiha Clan's engagement in battle."
The Third Hokage frowned deeply, his expression darkening. "That's inappropriate. If we strike now, other villages will seize the opportunity."
"Then it will be just the Uchiha taking action," Elder Kazushi clarified, separating the Uchiha from Konoha.
The implications of a single clan declaring war and an entire ninja village declaring war could never be compared equally.
Although Kumogakure gained nothing this time and even lost seventeen personnel, their actions had already become a serious provocation toward Konoha.
"No," the Third Hokage replied. "Considering the current standing of the Uchiha within the village, they are already seen as representing Konoha's stance." He chose to remain patient.
Elder Kazushi wasn't surprised in the least by the response.
A declaration of war against Kumogakure? As the clan leader, he merely wanted to observe how the current Hokage would respond.
The Third Hokage understood this was a test—an attempt to gauge how he, as Hokage, viewed the Uchiha Clan.
"The Uchiha Clan will fully support Lord Third," Elder Kazushi decided it was time to express his loyalty after this initial probing.
"Chief Kazushi speaks too highly of us," the Third Hokage nodded in acknowledgment.
He understood that Kazushi had the Uchiha's future in mind—ready to spill blood for an equal shot at survival.
A blade that turns upon its wielder is a weapon no one would dare to draw.
But when turned toward one's enemies, the same sword becomes irresistible—the ultimate weapon no hand can resist wielding.
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