Figures darted through the dense forest.
Uchiha Kai moved at a leisurely pace, not bothering with his Golden Light Step, relying only on pure taijutsu to travel.
He wasn't in any hurry.
Because he knew—once he got there, it would be a vicious battle.
To not be discovered? Impossible.
No matter how skilled he was, there was no way around Konoha leaking information.
So why rush?
The most important thing now was to keep himself in peak condition.
He bypassed Kannabi Bridge entirely and headed straight for the border where Grass Country(Land of Grass), Earth Country(Land of Earth),and Waterfall Country met(Land of Waterfall).
Yes.
Even though Hidden Stone Village had already pushed its forces all the way to the Land of Fire's border, their true main base was still planted at the tri-border of Earth, Grass, and Waterfall.
The reason was simple.
Even if the great villages had agreed to band together against Land of Fire, between ninja villages true trust never existed.
So while attacking Fire, Hidden Stone still had to guard against Hidden Stone Village stabbing them in the back.
Time passed.
Two days later, following the map in his hand, Kai finally arrived at Hidden Stone's real base.
Standing on top of a massive tree, he saw a towering cliff in the distance.
Atop that cliff lay the main Hidden Stone encampment.
"Mm. Not bad. I'll rest here first. Once night falls, I'll take a stroll through their base. As for the deployment map? Forget it—I've got zero chance of getting it. With that bastard Danzo around, Hidden Stone must've been tipped off in advance. The thing's probably hidden already. This mission's destined to fail. Their base could even be a hollow shell now, just waiting for me, the idiot, to walk into their trap.
"A sitting duck, huh?
"Never thought I, Uchiha Kai, would have a day like this.
"But that's fine. The real victor isn't set yet. With my strength, even if the mission fails, slipping away is easy enough. The only difference is—how many I take with me tonight.
"Minato, though… that's harder to say. His opponents are Madara and that filial son Black Zetsu.
"Oh well. No point overthinking it. Better focus on my own side. Worst case, things play out just like the original timeline."
Kai muttered to himself.
His thoughts churned—not only about his own situation, but also Minato's, and even Konoha's.
Honestly? It was exhausting.
He was just a two-life shut-in who wanted nothing more than to laze about, not juggle all this political nonsense.
But what choice did he have?
Kazama Nara had convinced him—if he wanted to truly "lie flat" in peace later, and if he wanted his wife and children to live in a safe, stable village, then he had to take on this burden for now.
If he could crush Hiruzen Sarutobi and that trash clique, the future would be much brighter.
Whoosh!
He casually pulled a camp cot from his sealing scroll, grabbed some dry rations, ate a little, then lay back.
He expanded his Observation Haki, covering five kilometers in all directions, then shut his eyes to rest.
…
Time slipped by.
Soon, it was around two in the morning.
Kai lay on the cot, mind racing.
Should he just rest the whole day?
The mission was already doomed anyway. What was the rush?
But the next second—
His face hardened. He sprang to his feet and strode outside the cave.
Staring into the lush forest ahead, his lips curved in a cold, disdainful smile.
Yes.
Through his Haki, he felt them—waves of chakra signatures, hundreds, no, thousands of ninja closing in from every direction.
At a glance? At least three thousand.
Well, well. They sure thought highly of him.
But one thing puzzled him.
He was still far from Hidden Stone's main camp. Within his five-kilometer range he was sure: no one was lurking or tailing him. No Root operatives either.
And Hidden Stone didn't have Byakugan or similar scouting abilities.
So how had they pinpointed his exact location?
Ten minutes later.
The swarm of ninja had him completely surrounded.
Kai crossed his arms, not even pretending to run.
When the leaders stepped forward, however, his heart sank a little.
Good grief.
He had known the Konoha higher-ups had gone all out this time, determined to kill him.
But he hadn't expected the lineup to be this insane.
He recognized them instantly—not from meeting them in this life, but from reading the Naruto manga in his previous one.
First—
Third, Tsuchikage Onoki, with his son, Kitsuchi.
The Four-Tails' jinchuriki, Roshi with Lava Release.
The Five-Tails' jinchuriki, Han with Boil Release.
Behind them stood Hidden Stone's elite:Akatsuchi, and more.
Then—he spotted Hidden Stone Village's infamous AB combo.
The future Fourth Raikage, A, son of the Third Raikage, and Killer B, the Eight-Tails' jinchuriki.
And with them, the Two-Tails' jinchuriki, Yugito Nii.
"Holy shit…"
Kai's mouth twitched violently.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, you bastard!
I'm just one Mangekyo wielder—did it really take this kind of army?
At this stage, shouldn't Onoki be scheming to kill the Third Raikage instead?
And the AB combo—
Weren't they supposed to be holding the Hidden Stone Village front on the Fire–Tan–Frost border?
And not only did they come, they dragged two tailed beasts along!
That snake, Yakushi Nono, what a terrifying informant.
Keeping her rotting in Root was such a waste.
She'd actually managed to pull together this freakshow lineup just to target him.
Kai could only sigh long and hard.
Across the field—
"Father, all this fuss…" Kitsuchi frowned. "Just for one boy?"
Onoki's face was grave.
He shook his head and spoke solemnly.
"Kitsuchi, don't underestimate him. He may be young, but he is a Uchiha with the Mangekyo. Be careful."
Yes.
As someone who had witnessed Konoha's founding, who had seen Uchiha Madara with his own eyes, Onoki understood the terror of Mangekyo.
True, apart from Uchiha Kagami, no Mangekyo had appeared in decades, which had put his mind at ease.
But when he learned through a spy that another had emerged—and that this boy was coming after Hidden Stone's deployment map—Onoki immediately grew wary.
He knew the intel smelled fishy.
How could a low-level spy get such top-tier information?
But the risk was too great to ignore.
Ninjas like Hashirama and Madara simply shouldn't exist in this world.
So he took no chances.
"Lord Tsuchikage," A spoke up, brow furrowed. "It's just one Mangekyo. Is he really worth all this?"
"Such a strong enemy, yeah! Let's clash and make Killer B burn hot, yeah yeah yeah!" rapped B, sunglasses gleaming.
He was instantly suppressed by A's palm on his head.
"Shut up!"
"Big bro, ow!" B grimaced.
Meanwhile, Onoki's tone grew even heavier.
"Yes. Be extremely cautious. The Mangekyo Sharingan is fearsome. Especially if he unleashes Susanoo—you young ones can't even imagine it. And jinchuriki—heed me well. Mangekyo's genjutsu is terrifying. Even tailed beasts struggle to resist it."
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