"Naruto: Ice God"Chapter 98: Uchiha Setsuna Is Dead
"Prepare to die!"
Using his teammate as a human shield, the Kirigakure jonin swung his blade toward the head of the young Uchiha before him.
Terrified by his opponent's savage behavior, Uchiha Yowan momentarily froze, staring motionlessly through his recently awakened Sharingan as the enemy's blade descended toward him.
"Ahhh!"
With a piercing scream, the Kirigakure jonin was repelled by an invisible strike, then clutched his abdomen while wailing in agony.
"Getting distracted during battle is a cardinal sin!"
A cold voice rang out as a Hyūga clan ninja leaped in front of Yowan, delivering a palm strike to the Mist ninja's neck.
"You're..."
Recognizing the newcomer's face, Uchiha Yowan instinctively clenched his legs together.
The Exploding Balls Kid—Hyūga Iroha.
Whether due to his nickname spreading throughout the village and his subsequent abandonment of all shame, or some other reason, Hyūga Iroha specialized in targeting male opponents with his notoriously inaccurate Gentle Fist: Air Palm, inflicting profound trauma on countless male ninja across both the Kumogakure and Kirigakure battlefields.
This had gradually spread his originally Konoha-exclusive nickname to ninja from all the major hidden villages.
"Alright, let's continue fighting!"
Ignoring Yowan, Hyūga Iroha turned his attention to another male Kirigakure ninja.
"Are you okay, Yowan?"
Shortly after Iroha's departure, an adult Uchiha ninja approached Yowan, inquiring about his condition.
"I'm fine. I was saved by someone from the Hyūga clan... I never imagined they'd use their own teammates as shields."
Yowan couldn't comprehend such behavior. He had matured considerably since childhood—though he still possessed the typical Uchiha pride and sharp tongue, his actions were now guided by the principle of never abandoning any teammate.
"In their eyes, there are no such things as teammates. Everyone is merely a tool to be exploited. You'll get used to it."
Frowning as he deflected a kunai from an unknown source, the Uchiha ninja remained by Yowan's side.
Like Wada, he belonged to the Uchiha clan's hawkish faction and would never stand idly by while Yowan met his death.
"This war will likely continue for quite some time. You need to adapt to this kind of life, Yowan."
"War... what exactly has war brought us..." Yowan gazed at the brutal battlefield before him, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
...
Due to the war, the normally heavily guarded ANBU prison had lost a significant number of its wardens, making the once-frequent patrols considerably more relaxed.
Being somewhat older and unable to personally protect his grandson on the battlefield, Uchiha Wada hadn't remained idle. Early that morning, he had come alone to the ANBU prison, hoping to apply for a visit with Uchiha Setsuna, who was currently imprisoned there.
In his youth, Setsuna had wanted to follow Madara and leave Konoha, but was refused due to his age—a rejection that became a thorn in his heart.
Later, after Uchiha Madara attacked Konoha and "died" at the Valley of the End, and with Hashirama's death and Tobirama's rise to power, Setsuna felt threatened by the numerous anti-Uchiha policies being implemented. He attempted to incite clan members to stage a rebellion.
Wada had joined him.
However, when Tobirama later crushed this group of would-be Uchiha rebels with thunderous methods and sent them to Tobirama's "happy little black room," Wada—who had previously sworn he was an inheritor of Madara's will—instantly lost his nerve, repeatedly claiming he was a loyal Konoha retainer who had never contemplated rebellion.
Due to Wada's overly sincere attitude and the lack of substantial evidence, Wada and a group of clan members who wrote guarantee letters were released, while only hardliners like Setsuna were permanently confined to prison.
After Tobirama was permanently left in the Land of Lightning by the Gold and Silver Brothers and Sarutobi Hiruzen became the Third Hokage, Wada's long-dormant ambitions were rekindled. Using more secretive methods, he rallied a group of hawkish Uchiha—though this time he lacked the courage to stage a coup, merely gathering for meals and verbally condemning Konoha's leadership.
Having not dared approach the ANBU prison for many years, Wada saw the outbreak of war and his grandson's deployment to the battlefield as an opportunity. He suddenly felt the urge to visit his old friend, which brought him here early to submit his visitation request.
"Uchiha Setsuna?"
Seeing the name on the visitation application, the receiving ninja frowned and looked up at Wada.
"Is there some problem?"
Feeling uncomfortable under the man's stare and about to lose his temper, Wada remembered past events and instantly softened his tone to that of a gentle lamb.
"No, nothing. It's just that Uchiha Setsuna is already dead. His body has been claimed by someone else."
Finding the document he sought from a pile of dense files, the ninja handed it to Wada.
"Dead? How is that possible?"
Hearing this news left Wada somewhat bewildered. Setsuna's death wasn't particularly surprising, but the fact that someone had claimed his body was rather strange.
Setsuna's parents had long since died, and he hadn't married before his arrest. Who would take his corpse?
Looking at the death certificate bearing a bright red seal, Wada seemed to realize something and hurriedly returned it to the ninja.
This is serious—it looks like Setsuna still has followers active outside. I can't get involved in this murky affair.
Uchiha Wada fled the ANBU prison at lightning speed.
...
"That Mogurō fellow—could he have been eliminated by those kids?"
In the bamboo grove, Hikaru and Oishi, having waited in vain for news from Mogurō, discovered Feng Bai's group after searching.
"Let's capture them and interrogate them."
Oishi began forming hand seals.
"Ninja Art: Camouflage Concealment Technique."
After his body became completely transparent, Oishi began approaching the group from behind.
Confirming Oishi was in position, Hikaru prepared to trigger the trap he had already set.
"Enemy attack! Obito, Kakashi, Rin—get behind me!"
Before Hikaru could act, Feng Bai—already aware of the Iwa ninja presence through intelligence—sensed Hikaru's location first and hurled a Flying Thunder God kunai.
"Tch, discovered already?"
Seeing the kunai flying toward him, Hikaru triggered the trap before dodging aside.
This gave Feng Bai his opening. Following the Flying Thunder God kunai to Hikaru's side, Feng Bai immediately launched his senbon.
"Such incredible speed—what a Body Flicker Technique!"
Amazed by Feng Bai's velocity, Hikaru activated a mechanism, releasing sleeve darts to intercept the senbon attack.
He can actually react to the Flying Thunder God?
Feng Bai's expression grew serious—he hadn't expected his opponent to block his attack even in such circumstances.
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