Uchiha Kai's mouth twitched.
After listening to Nara Kazama's plan, he almost choked on his own laughter.
Good grief—!
This was exactly the kind of trick an arms dealer would pull!
Not only could they conceal their strength, they could also make a tidy profit on the side.
The Nara clan… truly devious.
But—he liked it.
With that thought, he immediately spoke:
"No problem, I'm in. Let's move quickly before anything changes."
The two knew time was short, so they immediately split tasks.
Kai took the scrolls Kazama provided and sealed away the corpses of the Mist Ninja they had slain.
Meanwhile, Kazama went to quietly embezzle two carts' worth of supplies.
Roughly three minutes later, they reconvened.
Kazama grinned and whispered:
"I took a quick look. One cart was full of medical herbs, the other—explosive tags.
By my estimate, together they're worth about thirty million Ryo.
The one I left untouched was just kunai—not worth much. We'll keep that for reporting.
And don't worry, when I checked the carts, I never broke the seals. I used a Nara clan secret technique.
I guarantee—no one will notice a thing."
Hiss!
Hearing this, even Kai felt a stir of excitement.
So this was the value of war supplies. Even just one squad's cargo was worth such a fortune.
No wonder, in his past life, those "Eagle Nation" types loved stirring up conflicts everywhere—war profits really were a goldmine. Once you tasted it, you could never go back.
After all, even in this world where strength ruled supreme, wealth and resources were just as critical.
But what shocked him most—was Nara Kazama himself.
The man had no bottom line.
Nothing like the virtuous image of the Nara clan in the "original story."
On reflection though, maybe this was normal.
That idealized "Will of Fire" image in the original series was too much like a fairy tale.
In reality—how could any great clan survive by being selfless saints?
Even Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo, who had once been idolized in his past life, only showed their true faces because the story centered on them.
As for clans like the Ino-Shika-Cho, Aburame, and Inuzuka—they were barely featured in the main plot.
But think about it: any clan powerful enough to endure could never have been naïve good people.
The Nara clan in particular—masters of schemes and calculation.
They were no different from the capitalists of his past life: glamorous on the surface, but ruthless to the core.
That—was the reality.
As for the Uchiha… perhaps because they descended from Indra Otsutsuki, their power had always been overwhelming, and so they disdained such underhanded tactics.
Before Konoha was founded, in the era of warring clans, Uchiha strength alone was enough to dominate entire regions. Aside from the Senju, no one could match them.
But with Konoha's formation, alliances rose, and internal strife plagued the Uchiha.
They lacked political cunning, and their geniuses were duped by the Hokage's faction.
Otherwise… extermination of the Uchiha? What a joke!
Thinking this through, Kai recalled an old saying:
"Old man, times have changed."
He exhaled, then said aloud:
"Here's what we'll do. We split the explosive tags evenly. As for the herbs—you handle selling them. After all, that's already your clan's business. It'll be easier for you.
We'll settle the money after the war."
Kazama had no objections.
He pulled out a fresh scroll, divided the explosive tags in half, and tossed one share to Kai.
Kai didn't bother checking—just pocketed it.
He trusted Kazama.
As the sharpest mind of Nara, there was no reason for him to pick a petty fight with an Uchiha over scraps.
A few minutes later, Kudo Shin awoke.
Kai and Kazama had just finished dividing the spoils and returned.
Naturally, as the strategist, Kazama stepped forward to explain.
"Captain, I must apologize.
Though we repelled the Mist, Kai and I were too weak—we only managed to kill three of them. As for supplies… we could save only one cart.
We've sealed the three bodies into a scroll.
As for Ishikawa Itsuki…" Kazama sighed heavily. "That's… a long story."
And then—he spun it masterfully.
He credited himself and Kai with heroism, while dumping all the blame for lost supplies onto Itsuki's shoulders.
The summary: it was all that idiot's fault.
Had he not refused their warnings, blinded by arrogance, then with three working together, they might not have defeated the Mist, but they could at least have held out.
But instead—
the fool rushed in recklessly, only to be beaten bloody.
The only reason he wasn't killed outright was because the two of them upheld the "Will of Fire"—defending the supplies while dragging his sorry carcass back.
Otherwise, he'd already be dead.
So in the end—it was all on him.
If everyone had just defended the supplies together, none of this would've happened.
Kai, listening, was stunned.
Damn.
The Nara really were something else.
If Kazama hadn't said it out loud, Kai wouldn't even have known that apparently he too had been a selfless inheritor of the "Will of Fire."
Bang!
Freshly awakened, Kudo Shin slammed his fist against a tree, livid.
"That Ishikawa Itsuki—what a useless fool!
I knew he was arrogant, but to think he'd be so reckless!
Doesn't he realize our mission isn't killing enemies, but transporting supplies?
I understand. Once we reach the front camp, I'll report this to Lord Miyamoto personally!"
Yes—Kudo Shin believed it.
Though he hadn't seen the battle himself, he had judged Itsuki's character well enough during their short time together.
This was absolutely something that an idiot would do.
But more importantly—
Itsuki wasn't dead.
When he woke, the front-line ANBU would easily extract the truth from him.
So Kai and Kazama had no reason to lie.
Most importantly of all—supplies had been lost. Someone had to take the blame.
Otherwise, all three of them would face punishment.
The village didn't care about reasons—only results.
Now, with Itsuki as scapegoat, they wouldn't be rewarded, but at least they wouldn't be punished.
And Itsuki?
No one cared about him.
Not Kai, not Kazama, not even Kudo Shin.
If anything, they'd be happier if he died.
Yes—
Kai and Kazama were true schemers.
And Kudo Shin, having survived a war already, was no fool either.
Together, the three of them could survive this war.
But if Itsuki stayed with them—
that brainless idiot would drag them all to their graves.
So naturally, no one felt any sympathy for him.
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