Yūhi Shinku was a professional jōnin, after all. He wasn't about to let personal matters interfere with the mission.
He quickly walked over and began discussing the defensive handover with Yuu.
"…That's basically the situation."
Yuu gave him a brief rundown, then paused.
"The original garrison along the southeastern defensive line has been fighting continuously for quite some time. Our losses are severe, and we were even forced to abandon several strongholds.
"So I'll have to trouble you to take care of the defensive arrangements from here on, Senior Shinku."
"Leave it to me."
Yūhi Shinku nodded.
Then he couldn't resist teasing him.
"By the way, you've really been making a name for yourself lately. I heard you've practically traumatized Kirigakure.
"And Minato has been making waves on the Kumogakure front too.
"One teacher and disciple are the 'Yellow Flash' and the 'White Reaper'…
"Quite the pair."
"They're only empty titles. Nothing worth mentioning."
Yuu answered modestly.
Shinku chuckled.
"Heh. You don't need to act so restrained in front of me.
"At your age, being a little arrogant is perfectly normal.
"If a young man isn't full of spirit, can he still be called young?"
"…"
The corner of Yuu's mouth twitched.
That was easy for him to say…
If Yuu really became arrogant and started cosplaying as a stereotypical Uchiha while talking to him, Shinku would probably be the first one to get annoyed…
After saying a few more words, Shinku went to speak with his daughter.
Unlike his conversation with Yuu, everything Shinku said to Kurenai consisted of private words of concern.
Unfortunately, Kurenai couldn't go more than two or three sentences without mentioning Yuu.
Her eyes practically sparkled whenever she talked about him.
It left Shinku feeling thoroughly displeased.
On the other side,
Yuu exchanged a few words with Asuma and Hyūga Hizashi as well.
Asuma had returned to Konoha earlier during the incident involving Danzō. After Yuu returned, he had remained in the village for a while longer, and now he had come back with the reinforcement force.
Hizashi, meanwhile, had first been withdrawn from the Sunagakure front, only to be sent out again shortly afterward.
This time, he had brought a group of Hyūga clan members to the Kirigakure front.
Those who were capable truly did get worked the hardest.
In any case,
the arrival of Yūhi Shinku and the others greatly alleviated the manpower shortage along the southeastern defensive line.
Many Konoha veterans who had survived several bloody battles were rotated out and given a few days off to rest and recover from their injuries.
Tsunade also took over some of the decision-making responsibilities.
Although she kept claiming that she wanted to slack off, her actions were far more honest than her words.
She still helped shoulder some of Yuu's burden.
Since that was the case,
Yuu was more than happy to enjoy the lighter workload and focus entirely on formulating a rescue plan for Rin.
The first thing to decide was the search-and-rescue team.
Kakashi and Obito definitely had to go.
As for Yuu…
technically speaking, he could choose not to.
After all, he was now the commander of the southeastern front.
By all logic, someone in his position shouldn't personally place himself in danger anymore.
But if he stayed behind,
Rin would almost certainly die.
Obito would inevitably fall into darkness.
And there was a very high chance the original scene would repeat itself—
Rin deliberately throwing herself onto Kakashi's Lightning Blade and "committing suicide."
With Madara's ability, manipulating a group of chūnin and jōnin who knew nothing about the truth would be ridiculously easy.
But if Yuu went,
that created another problem…
Would Madara personally intervene?
Kirigakure had suffered devastating losses.
At this point, it was difficult for them to produce anyone strong enough to contend with Yuu.
And if Yuu simply rescued Rin without difficulty, Madara's entire follow-up plan would be severely disrupted.
That was something the old man absolutely couldn't tolerate.
Therefore,
the probability of Madara personally making a move was extremely high.
Which meant every plan Yuu made had to be constructed under the assumption that Uchiha Madara himself was the enemy.
Yuu had already found somewhere to test Mushin: One Heart.
There was also Three Dragons Turning Destruction, which he had only recently unlocked.
These were currently Yuu's two strongest killing moves.
If he could find the right opportunity to use them against Madara, then even the legendary "Ghost of the Uchiha," the man who had once danced alongside Hashirama, might not be able to casually withstand them.
However,
such opportunities would be rare.
He might only get one or two chances.
Besides that,
Yuu also intended to borrow a little outside help…
…
Early the next morning,
Yuu had just finished washing up when hurried footsteps came from outside the tent.
Kakashi and Obito immediately pushed aside the curtain and barged in.
"Yuu! Good news!"
Obito shouted excitedly.
"The underground bounty exchange got information saying Kirigakure has a secret base somewhere around the Land of Whirlpools!
"Ninja have been appearing there frequently lately, so they might be preparing some kind of operation!
"The location is pretty close to the direction you mentioned before!
"Rin has to be there!
"Let's go rescue her right now!"
"Oh?"
Yuu raised an eyebrow and looked toward Kakashi.
Kakashi nodded as well.
"The information really did come from the black market.
"The timing is a little suspicious, but since Rin's safety is involved, I think it's worth investigating."
"…Alright."
The moment Yuu agreed,
Obito's face lit up, and he immediately looked ready to leave.
"Don't rush."
Yuu pulled a sheet of paper covered in writing from the nearby table and handed it to Kakashi.
"This is the roster for the rescue mission.
"Kakashi, you and Obito go notify everyone one by one and tell them to prepare.
"If anyone doesn't want to participate, don't force them."
"Understood."
Kakashi nodded.
After watching the two leave, Yuu went to find Tsunade.
Today, Tsunade wasn't wearing the dark-green jōnin vest.
Instead, she had changed into casual clothes that were easier to move around in.
Her white shirt was stretched over her chest, while her golden ponytail hung down around her shoulders, giving her a somewhat lazy appearance.
"…You're personally going to rescue Rin?"
After receiving Yuu's confirmation, Tsunade frowned.
"Do you absolutely have to go?"
"I do."
Yuu nodded.
Rin was one of the people he was closest to in this world.
In theory, she was probably even closer to him than Tsunade.
If Yuu were some nameless weakling, then there would be nothing he could do.
But since he possessed enough strength,
he naturally had to involve himself and fight it out with a certain old Uchiha fossil.
Tsunade remained silent for a moment.
"Have you prepared a rescue plan?"
"Mm.
"I'm planning to bring Shisui and the others too.
"We'll split into four squads and conduct the search separately.
"As for retreat routes, there will be three by land, two by air, and another one by sea.
"Unless Kirigakure has some extremely large-scale barrier technique, they shouldn't be able to trap us."
Tsunade fell silent again.
Then, almost on impulse, she suddenly asked,
"If…
"I were the one who had been captured, would you personally come rescue me too?"
"Huh?"
Yuu froze.
What kind of question was that?
But he answered immediately.
"Of course.
"Teacher Tsunade is one of my dearest friends and family.
"Although with your strength, I doubt you'd ever need me to rescue you."
After a brief pause, Yuu added,
"Alright, if you're really worried, then why don't we make a bet?"
"A bet?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"Let's bet that I'll return safely.
"If I win, I'll treat you to drinks."
"…?"
A question mark practically appeared over Tsunade's head.
She knew her own constitution extremely well.
She lost virtually every gamble she made.
Although she always liked to blame it on objective circumstances, those were only excuses.
They didn't change the fact that her luck was terrible.
Yuu merely smiled without explaining.
Clearly, Tsunade still hadn't realized that she possessed the special trait—
"Never wins when gambling money, never loses when gambling lives."
When money was involved, things were hard to say.
But if she made a prediction before someone departed on a dangerous mission, it was practically equivalent to giving them a layer of lucky buff that increased their survival rate.
Of course,
if Tsunade made the prediction and then suddenly won a huge jackpot afterward…
that would be another matter entirely.
That thing was practically a law of causality.
Aside from Naruto, who possessed protagonist-level plot armor, no one could withstand it…
On the other side,
Tsunade looked at Yuu with a complicated expression.
After hesitating for a moment, she suddenly reached behind her neck and removed the gemstone necklace she always wore.
She held it in her palm and stared deeply at it for several seconds before extending it toward Yuu.
"Yuu, this necklace was left behind by my grandfather, the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
"They say wearing it brings protection and safety.
"I'll give it to you now. Consider it…"
"No, no, no!!"
Yuu was so startled that his entire expression changed.
He practically reacted like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on.
What a joke!
That necklace was another famous causal-law weapon!
From Nawaki to Katō Dan—
whoever wore it died!
Even Senju Hashirama himself could technically be added to that list.
With his strength and cellular vitality, there was no logical reason he should have died so many years before Uchiha Madara.
Only Tsunade herself and Naruto had survived that "curse."
Yuu might have a cheat system,
but he wasn't about to compete with the Child of Destiny in sheer luck.
Tsunade froze, clearly not expecting such an extreme reaction.
"Tch. This necklace is the most valuable thing I own.
"It's worth three mountains.
"Back then, Jiraiya begged me to lend it to him just so he could look at it, and I refused.
"And you're actually turning your nose up at it?"
"No, no, no! It's not that!"
Yuu hurriedly searched for an excuse.
"The gift is just too valuable.
"I don't think I'm worthy of it.
"Besides, something like this could easily get lost on the battlefield.
"You should keep it yourself."
Tsunade stared at him for several seconds.
Then she suddenly snorted with laughter.
"Tch. Fine. If you don't want it, forget it."
She placed the necklace around her neck again.
Then she abruptly stood, stepped forward twice—
and wrapped her arms around Yuu.
Yuu's body stiffened.
Warm softness pressed against him from the front, accompanied by a faint medicinal scent.
"Listen."
Tsunade exhaled softly and spoke in a low voice.
"There aren't many people left in this era that I still worry about.
"You're one of them.
"So…
"come back in one piece.
"If you return missing even a single hair, I won't forgive you."
Before Yuu could respond, Tsunade raised her hands, cupped his face—
and lightly kissed his forehead.
Warm.
Brief.
Before Yuu could even properly process it, Tsunade had already stepped back.
Her usual confident expression returned, although the tips of her ears were slightly red.
"Alright.
"I've placed my bet.
"I'm betting that you'll return safely.
"Don't forget you owe me drinks when you come back…
"Now go get ready!"
"…Alright."
Yuu smiled.
No matter how he looked at it,
his position in Tsunade's heart really had become somewhat different.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have offered him her necklace and then given him a farewell kiss.
She had practically assembled the complete three-piece death-flag set.
Fortunately, Yuu understood exactly what was going on and had rejected every flag except the kiss.
Considering his opponent was Uchiha Madara,
Yuu couldn't be certain whether this kind of superstition would actually help.
But…
there was no harm in trying.
An hour later,
at the entrance of the Shakuka Town stronghold,
around a dozen ninja stood in orderly formation.
Besides Yuu and his usual companions,
the participants included Shisui, Fugaku, and Yashiro—
three Uchiha.
There was also a tracking squad led by Hyūga Hizashi.
Bringing three Uchiha had been Yuu's idea.
After all, leaving two freshly awakened pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan—Shisui's and Fugaku's—unused would be a terrible waste.
He might as well bring them along and let them participate in the Uchiha clan's exclusive activity—
beating up their ancestor.
Surely, considering they all shared the same bloodline, Uchiha Madara would treat them a little more kindly.
As for Hyūga Hizashi and his squad,
they had been assigned by Tsunade and Yūhi Shinku.
During search missions like this, the Hyūga clan's Byakugan was extremely useful.
Hizashi's own strength was also close to jōnin level.
He couldn't participate directly in a Kage-level battle,
but even if he could only add a little wind to the fire, that was still some help.
Yuu had considered gathering a whole group of Kage-level fighters and simply focus-firing Uchiha Madara to death.
Unfortunately, that was rather difficult.
First,
Yuu only knew a handful of Kage-level fighters, and most of them weren't here.
Second,
Madara's strength was simply too absurd.
Considering how casually the reanimated younger Madara had beaten the Five Kage, even if elderly Madara was weaker than his reanimated younger self, ordinary Kage-level ninja still couldn't realistically compare with him.
Someone like Tsunade—
even without her hemophobia—
probably wouldn't last many exchanges against him.
Therefore,
the lineup Yuu had assembled was already close to the best possible option under the current circumstances.
Of course…
Fugaku and the others had no idea that the mastermind they were about to face was their clan's legendary ancestor who had supposedly been "dead" for decades.
As far as they knew, this was simply another opportunity to earn military merit.
If they could kill a few more Kirigakure elite jōnin or quasi-Kage experts, Konoha's leadership would certainly be forced to view the Uchiha clan in a new light.
Yuu couldn't exactly explain the truth to them.
He could only prepare secretly and do his best to minimize casualties.
Why minimize rather than avoid them entirely?
Because this mission was simply too dangerous.
Even Yuu himself wasn't confident he would definitely return alive.
All he could do was react as the situation changed and give it everything he had.
As everyone performed one final check of their equipment and ninja pouches,
Kurenai suddenly jogged forward.
She opened her arms and hugged Yuu.
Tears faintly glimmered in her eyes.
"Please be careful, Yuu.
"I'll wait here at the camp for all of you to come back."
"Mm. I will."
Yuu smiled gently and patted her back.
Then, looking past her, he glanced toward Tsunade, who stood a short distance away with her arms crossed, pretending not to care.
He gave her a small gesture of acknowledgment.
Tsunade pursed her lips and awkwardly turned her head aside—
although the corner of her gaze remained fixed on him.
Then…
"If there aren't any other problems—
"let's move out!"
"Yeah!"
The moment Yuu gave the order,
ten figures shot forward one after another like arrows released from their bows—
racing toward the Land of Whirlpools.
~~~
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