"The Hokage has been persuaded."
Chapter 42: Two Naras Talk, Probing Each Other
Hearing Shisui's words, Uchiha Jin's expression grew increasingly grim.
Good heavens!
This Nara Shikaku isn't coming for him, is he?
Besides that, he couldn't think of any other possibility!
After all, the Hidden Mist Battlefield's importance was actually quite general.
Konoha's main focus was still Amegakure.
Cloud Village and Iwagakure were the strongest besides Konoha, while Kirigakure was only slightly stronger than Sunagakure, and its declaration of war against Konoha was merely an attempt to gain an advantage.
Nara Shikaku was Konoha's strategist.
Why would he not dutifully go to Amegakure and instead come to the front lines with Kirigakure?
Nothing major had happened here!
His eyes were obscure, flickering, and his brain began to churn madly.
But it was useless!
There was too little usable information; he couldn't analyze it at all.
However, never mind.
It was nothing more than meeting force with force; with the few minor faults he could find, he was still a bit short of being able to exploit him.
"Jin-kun, what are you thinking?" Shisui asked, puzzled.
Uchiha Jin, hearing this, gave a bitter laugh: "As an ordinary ninja, joining your elite squad, honestly, the pressure is immense!"
Shisui, in response, rolled his eyes.
He hadn't seen Uchiha Jin's strength, so he wasn't clear about it.
But he understood very well that it was definitely not low!
Otherwise...
He wouldn't have been able to last until now!
"Alright, there's no need for this."
"You're smarter than me, and there's no need for me to persuade you."
"It's very difficult for a person to hide for a long time, because no one is a fool, especially on the battlefield!"
Uchiha Jin nodded.
Of course, he understood what Shisui was saying.
He simply hoped that this time would come a little later.
But now, it seemed difficult!
Even without seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen, he knew that old man must be eyeing him now.
After all, among the previous cannon fodder army, only a few of them had survived... Meanwhile, on the other side...
Inside a slightly larger tent, Nara Kazama walked in and respectfully spoke to the man before him.
"Clan Leader!"
Nara Shikaku, who was sitting behind his desk reading various battle reports, put down the report when he heard this and then showed a faint smile.
"Oh, it's Kazama!"
"Quickly, sit down; there's no need for us uncle and nephew to be so formal."
"It's been a few days since we last met, and you've gained a bit of manliness."
"It seems the battlefield truly hones a person!"
Nara Shikaku smiled, got up, and had Kazama sit at the guest table, then personally poured him a cup of tea.
His tone was gentle.
He was like he was facing a true family member, not caring about the superior-subordinate relationship at all.
Nara Kazama naturally looked moved.
After the two sat down, they began to chat for a while.
Nara Shikaku first inquired about his health and then reminisced about the close relationship between their two families.
Then...
When they had chatted enough, Nara Shikaku finally brought up the main topic.
"By the way."
"How do you feel about the teammates Clan Uncle arranged for you this time?"
"He didn't deceive you, did he?"
Nara Kazama's expression was calm.
Honestly...
He hadn't expected to meet his 'dear' Clan Uncle on the Hidden Mist Battlefield.
Therefore, he truly had no mental preparation for this point.
But it didn't matter.
He believed that in terms of strategy, even if he wasn't a match for his Clan Uncle, did his Clan Uncle want to extract information from him?
Heh, he was thinking too much.
He pondered for a moment before slowly speaking.
"Uchiha Jin, right?"
"He is indeed a good teammate; with his ability, he's good enough for an elite squad like Class A."
"I really can't figure out what that guy is thinking."
"A strange Uchiha!"
As he said these words, Nara Kazama began his performance.
He spoke of Uchiha's strangeness and expressed his own confusion.
He even 'leaked' a little bit of information about Uchiha Jin's strength.
But, in reality...
This 'leak' or 'not leak' was actually irrelevant.
Because since Nara Shikaku arranged for him to come, it already proved that he had noticed it.
Saying it or not saying it made no difference.
The most important thing was...
He used this dispensable information to directly cover up his biggest secret.
That was, he himself had already allied with Uchiha Jin.
"So, that's how it is!" Nara Shikaku's expression was calm, and then he smiled and spoke: "Uchiha Jin's strength sounds very strong, doesn't it?"
Nara Shikaku, in response, nodded slightly.
"Yes, very strong!"
"Not to mention the Basic Three Body Technique, he is also proficient in Fire Release, and his strongest skill is Taijutsu!"
"We were able to hold out in the Kirigakure main camp for three days, partly relying on our clan's Shadow Secret Jutsu, which could barely be used to detect the true situation ahead."
"The other part was Uchiha Jin."
"We were able to repeatedly escape from Kirigakure's encirclement entirely thanks to Uchiha Jin's Taijutsu ability."
"Many times, he was able to lead the two of us to outrun the pursuing Kirigakure!"
Hmm, good.
Some more information was leaked.
But, regarding this...
Nara Kazama couldn't do anything about it.
After all, their squad being able to hold out in the Kirigakure main camp for so long was itself a bit unreasonable.