When Ying heard Uchiha Yoru's words, he was naturally overjoyed and immediately revealed where the Yuki Clan's children were hiding.
Even Uchiha Yoru was stunned.
"The southern coast of the Land of Wind?"
"How did you bring them through the battlefield in the Land of Rivers?"
Ying answered, "We didn't travel by land. There are thousands of rivers in the southern Land of Rivers, and children who aren't ninja would have great difficulty crossing them."
"The confrontation in the Land of Rivers is still ongoing. The Konoha and Sunagakure forces combined number nearly thirty thousand ninja. The children had no chance of passing through that region."
"A ship!"
Uchiha Yoru guessed that they could have followed the coastline by sea, but he immediately rejected that idea.
"No, not a ship. You created an iceberg and used it to pass through the Land of Rivers."
"Yes, Lord Yoru."
Ying respectfully lowered his head and drew the route he had taken over the past two months on the map.
It was a winding arc that followed national borders and coastlines.
Looking at the curved route, Uchiha Yoru praised, "Truly remarkable. You actually led a group of children on a detour of more than five thousand kilometers, passing through the Land of Waves, the Land of Whirlpools, the Land of Fire, the Land of Tea, and the Land of Rivers before finally entering the Land of Wind."
Then he frowned.
"After such an enormous detour through so many countries, the Kirigakure ninja were still able to track you. The bloodline-detection ninja tool created by the Hōzuki Clan must be extraordinary."
Ying said sorrowfully, "The ninja tool itself isn't extraordinary. The Kirigakure ninja are simply cruel enough."
"It is a ninja sword-type tool. It only works when stabbed into the chest of a member of the Yuki Clan."
Uchiha Yoru fell silent.
So it was Water Release: Bloodline Command.
He had assumed that this most brutal and bloody Water Release technique, which was useless for anything other than hunting down and exterminating an entire clan, had already vanished into history.
As it turned out, the Hōzuki Clan had preserved its inheritance and had even developed it to the point where it could be transformed into a ninja tool.
The ninja of the Hōzuki Clan truly deserved to die.
Now that he understood the situation, Uchiha Yoru no longer hesitated.
He stood up and said, "We'll leave now and resolve the problem within three days."
The small fishing village where the Yuki Clan was hiding was several thousand kilometers away from Kirigakure.
As long as they killed the pursuing ninja carrying the Yuki Clan captive, Kirigakure would have absolutely no way to find them again.
Although Water Release: Bloodline Command was extremely effective, it required the continuous expenditure of human lives to maintain the technique.
As long as all the pursuing ninja were killed and Kirigakure received no updated clues, it would be impossible for them to conduct a large-scale, prolonged search thousands of kilometers away in the Land of Wind.
Once that happened, the Yuki Clan's children would be safe.
He would kill them as quickly as possible, then search the vast desert of the Land of Wind for an uninhabited region and wait for the Winter Solstice to arrive.
The plan was perfect.
"Fortunately, I previously traveled to Tanzaku Town with the Second Hokage. That place falls within the region of the River Capital. From there, the fishing village is only around a thousand kilometers away."
"We can arrive in eight hours at most."
"Can this be considered good luck?"
Uchiha Yoru placed his hand on Ying's shoulder and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, instantly arriving in Tanzaku Town.
The appearance of the Flying Thunder God Technique filled Ying with delight.
The three-day return journey in his original plan had been shortened by a full eighty percent.
With two extra days suddenly available, the previously precarious situation instantly became far less dangerous.
This was precisely why Uchiha Yoru valued the Flying Thunder God Technique's strategic importance far more than its nearly invincible tactical properties.
However, to bring out its strategic value, one first needed to seize the initiative instead of being ordered around until they were running in circles.
For example, Namikaze Minato several years from now.
He was the ninja who would push the Flying Thunder God Technique to its absolute limit. Relying on that technique alone, he became a Kage-level ninja capable of instantly killing fifty Iwagakure ninja.
However, when his commanders treated him as a firefighting unit and placed the entire battlefield—and even the entire war—on his shoulders, the God of Speed was naturally forced to run himself ragged.
Overburdened, Namikaze Minato naturally lacked the ability to look after his disciples.
He was too late to save Obito.
He was also too late to save Rin.
Nearly everyone close to him died, and he was completely unable to fulfill the promises he had once made.
The delighted Ying led Uchiha Yoru onward, and before nightfall, they arrived at the small fishing village where the Yuki Clan was temporarily staying and reunited with the clan's children.
There were more than a hundred children.
Boys and girls...
Well, it was completely impossible to distinguish between them.
Children were often difficult to tell apart after being dressed up, but the Yuki Clan took it to an entirely different level.
Every child had flowing long hair, pale skin, and delicate features like porcelain dolls.
They were simply far too adorable.
Ying sighed.
"When I left Kirigakure, I brought out a full three hundred children."
"After two months of fleeing, only this many remain."
"No more can die. Otherwise, the Yuki Clan will completely disappear."
Uchiha Yoru nodded in agreement.
After seeing these adorable children, he immediately felt that Kirigakure's ninja truly deserved to die.
They could even bring themselves to slaughter children this cute.
They were utterly devoid of humanity.
No wonder so many of Kirigakure's later missing-nin became twisted, inhuman monsters.
The murderous Demon Zabuza was somehow the most warmhearted man among them, while the shark-faced Kisame Hoshigaki could even be considered an "honest man" by comparison.
Uchiha Yoru suddenly felt a weight lift from his heart.
As the Winter Solstice drew closer each day, he had developed many strange sensations he had never experienced before.
He had become increasingly cautious about killing and more resistant to wanton slaughter.
This wasn't because Uchiha Yoru had suddenly become kinder over the past few days, nor had he grown afraid of blood.
Rather, he had begun to perceive rules—vague rules that appeared to possess no binding force.
Uchiha Yoru understood that these were the rules of the shinobi world itself.
Although they couldn't directly manifest overwhelming power, they were still rules that remained in operation.
The mere fact that a rule could exist represented power.
To short-lived ninja with no understanding of history, such rules held no restraining force whatsoever.
But to Uchiha Yoru, who understood the history of another world, knew the greatness of social laws, and possessed the potential for longevity, the laws of heaven and earth were the existence most worthy of reverence.
He was like a spirit beast that had cultivated from an animal into human form and had only vaguely begun to realize that laws existed within human society.
They were rules it could previously ignore, but from this moment onward, the law had become something it had to respect.
Because behind the law stood human nations, layers of powerful enforcement institutions, and the strongest forms of violence.
The saying that spirits were forbidden from gaining sentience after the founding of the nation wasn't a joke.
Spirits would be beaten, and guns, artillery, tanks, and missiles truly weren't things newly born spirits could withstand.
The shinobi world was, at the very least, a normal world.
Its operating principles would inevitably give rise to corresponding rules.
It was only that ninja had not yet become capable of perceiving them.
At present, the rule Uchiha Yoru could confirm was: "Do not kill wantonly."
Fortunately, it wasn't "Do not kill."
Otherwise, in this chaotic age of ninja, he would have no choice but to enter the demonic path, overturn the natural order, and prove his Dao through slaughter.
Uchiha Yoru allowed Ying to comfort the children while he walked outside and circled the fishing village, carefully examining its environment.
To be honest, this place could barely even be called a village.
The entire village contained only seven households, eight small fishing boats, and a pitiful population of thirty-four people.
The sudden arrival of more than a hundred outsiders was an unbearable burden for such a village.
Uchiha Yoru frowned deeply and said to Ying, who had finished calming the children, "This place is far too barren. It cannot become the Yuki Clan's hidden settlement."
Ying nodded.
"Lord Yoru, this is merely a temporary stopping point. My final destination lies deep within the Land of Wind."
"During the previous war, I led my subordinates deep into the Land of Wind and accidentally discovered an oasis buried beneath the yellow sands."
"The underground water source there has not dried up. It has merely been covered by thick dunes."
"As long as we dig through the sand, we can reach the water source. With water, we can grow food, and survival won't be a problem."
Uchiha Yoru was extremely surprised.
"You Kirigakure ninja actually fought your way into the Land of Wind?"
Ying sighed.
"It does sound strange, but Kirigakure and Sunagakure truly did go to war."
"I could never understand what we were fighting over when several countries lay between us."
"Not only was the Third Mizukage obsessed with attacking the Land of Wind, even the Second Mizukage was obsessed with the Land of Earth and inexplicably fought the Second Tsuchikage to mutual death."
"The Land of Lightning lies between the Land of Water and the Land of Earth!"
"Honestly..."
Ying's disappointment was obvious.
Clearly, he had long since become utterly disappointed in Kirigakure's last two Mizukage.
When he encountered the seemingly normal Yagura Karatachi and saw hope that Kirigakure might return to normal through him, Ying had sided with him without hesitation.
Now, Yagura Karatachi had also encountered problems.
He had become even more insane and had even begun attacking the pillar clans within the village, acting as if he wanted to destroy Kirigakure.
The Fourth Mizukage, who was being controlled through subtle manipulation, possessed extraordinary destructive power.
Furthermore, both the Hōzuki and Kaguya clans had replaced their clan heads due to internal conflict and assassination.
The two new clan heads were both greedy, brainless fools who actually believed Yagura Karatachi's lies and cooperated in surrounding and annihilating the Yuki Clan.
Ying had completely lost hope in Kirigakure.
Without powerful outside interference, after the Yuki Clan was destroyed, the Hōzuki and Kaguya clans would inevitably be exterminated as well.
Afterward, Kirigakure itself would enter a countdown toward destruction.
Having clearly understood Kirigakure's situation, Ying had no other choice but to flee with his clansmen and attempt to preserve the last of the clan's bloodline.
"I never expected that I could understand outsiders but fail to understand my own clansmen."
"As a result, unexpected incidents repeatedly occurred during our escape, and we eventually ended up in this state."
Ying sighed in the end.
"Now, I can only ask you for help."
Uchiha Yoru snorted coldly.
He didn't dislike people asking him for help.
It was simply that the timing of this request was far too awkward, placing him in an extremely difficult position.
He said to Ying, "Since you already have a destination, begin moving now."
Ying froze briefly before immediately reacting.
He turned toward the sea and asked, "Have the pursuers already arrived?"
Uchiha Yoru's expression became extremely grave.
He turned to Ying and said, "It isn't merely the pursuers."
"The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, has also come."
Ying's expression changed drastically.
"Yagura Karatachi is here as well? How is that possible?"
Uchiha Yoru said, "He really has come, but they are still far away. You have enough time to lead the children deeper into the desert."
"Before leaving, have each child leave me a drop of blood from their fingertip."
"I can use those drops of blood to attract the enemy's attention for a short period."
Ying said resolutely, "I'll have the children leave while I remain with you to distract the enemy."
"In any case, I possess an Edo Tensei body. I cannot die."
Uchiha Yoru originally didn't intend to agree.
The Edo Tensei body itself represented Konoha, and he also lacked the ability to silence Yagura Karatachi permanently.
But after thinking about it again, he realized something was wrong.
The Impure World Reincarnation was currently an absolute secret—a forbidden technique no one knew about.
What was he even worried about?
So he said, "Then make proper arrangements. Don't allow anything to happen to the children along the way."
After lowering his head in salute, Ying hurriedly left to arrange everything.
Uchiha Yoru turned around, looked out across the vast sea, and released a deep sigh.
He had only just sensed Yagura Karatachi, and the Fourth Mizukage was still a full three hundred kilometers away.
Being able to perceive an enemy across such an enormous distance wasn't because Uchiha Yoru's sensory abilities had already transcended the mortal realm.
It was because he had sensed a karmic connection.
Yagura Karatachi was his tribulation.
So this breakthrough had already begun.
He could now clearly perceive many karmic threads.
One end was connected to himself, while the other ends were connected to other intelligent beings.
Originally, the thickest thread had been the tiger-striped line belonging to Miwa Masayo.
But suddenly, another karmic thread appeared and instantly became the thickest of them all.
Uchiha Yoru extended his perception along that karmic thread and saw Yagura Karatachi's youthful face.
At that instant, he understood many, many things.
Not only had the breakthrough already begun, but the corresponding tribulation had also arrived.
The first wave was a calamity caused by relationships between people.
This type of trial had a name.
The Human Tribulation.
Uchiha Yoru smiled.
After the Human Tribulation, would there be an Earth Tribulation, followed finally by a Heavenly Tribulation to complete the three calamities of heaven, earth, and humanity?
So the Winter Solstice wasn't the beginning.
It was the deadline by which everything had to end.
No wonder that when he received Ying's plea for help in Konoha and hesitated over his decision, he had felt as if disaster were about to descend.
Looking at it now, had he followed purely rational thought at the time and decided to abandon Ying and the Yuki Clan, perhaps the Human Tribulation would have changed.
Instead of facing the Kirigakure pursuers led by the Fourth Mizukage today, he might have been forced at some unknown future date to face Konoha's encirclement and extermination of the Uchiha Clan.
That possibility truly couldn't be dismissed.
A small number of Kirigakure ninja plus the Fourth Mizukage...
Compared to tens of thousands of Konoha ninja and the Third Hokage...
The difference in strength between the two sides was immeasurable, and the difficulty of facing them would naturally be as different as heaven and earth.
Moreover, a greater tribulation would require more time to develop.
The delay alone might cause Uchiha Yoru to miss the optimal timing for his breakthrough.
That was already an unacceptable loss.
The best way to deal with a Human Tribulation wasn't to avoid it.
It was to confront it head-on.
The old man had once said:
Strike once and open the way, lest a hundred blows follow.
Humans possessed intelligence.
They also understood fear and how to balance benefits.
As long as they were beaten hard enough to feel pain, they would naturally make the correct choice.
Wasn't it merely the Fourth Mizukage?
Wasn't it merely around a hundred Kirigakure pursuers?
They were perfect for testing his current strength and celebrating his breakthrough in advance.
Of course, he still needed to be careful.
He couldn't expose his identity and directly provoke even greater trouble.
Smiling, Uchiha Yoru began disguising himself.
He used natural energy to distort the muscles of his face, transforming himself into a square-faced man.
He took a pair of pure-black contact lenses from his pouch and placed them over his eyes, concealing the Sharingan that might appear at any moment.
In addition, he wore a black face mask identical to Kakashi's, followed by a pure-white mask.
Finally, he put on a hooded coat, completely transforming himself into his first alternate identity—the Natural Sage.
After Ying finished organizing the Yuki Clan's children, he prepared enough food and water for them, handed the drawn route map to several older children who would take the lead, and finally sent them on the road toward the desert oasis.
Only after the children's figures disappeared behind the dunes did Ying return to Uchiha Yoru's side.
He showed no surprise at Yoru's strange appearance and naturally asked, "Lord Yoru, how should I address you from now on?"
Uchiha Yoru answered, "Zhurong."
"Zhurong, the God of Fire."
Ying respectfully lowered his head.
"Understood, Lord Zhurong."
After completing his disguise, Uchiha Yoru recalled every detail involved in using this alternate identity and suddenly discovered that he had never considered what to call it.
After thinking for a while, Uchiha Yoru decided on the name Zhurong.
The identity's abilities consisted of fire-spirit natural energy and instantaneous movement.
The most fitting name should naturally be related to flames.
Between Fire Spirit, Fire God, and Zhurong, the choice was obvious.
Uchiha Yoru was extremely satisfied with Ying's composure in the face of sudden changes.
Ying might lack an understanding of human nature and had made significant mistakes during the Yuki Clan's escape, but overall, he was exceptionally capable when handling concrete affairs and possessed excellent foresight regarding the future.
He was also capable of winning people's loyalty.
It had to be admitted that although Ying's research ability remained unknown, his ability to independently handle affairs was truly outstanding.
He surpassed Uchiha Yoru's trusted subordinates, such as Uchiha Ayumi and Uchiha Shigenobu, by far more than a small margin.
Were it not for his reservations regarding the laws of life and death, Uchiha Yoru truly wanted this unflappable Ice Release ninja to govern an entire region and manage his third hidden stronghold.
By remarkable coincidence, the third hidden stronghold Uchiha Yoru had selected wasn't far from the buried oasis Ying had chosen.
It was the nation of Rōran, which would soon be abandoned.
At present, this prosperous small country stood at the peak of its national strength.
Under the rule of its minister, Anrokuzan, Rōran flourished like oil poured onto a raging fire, bursting with brilliant vitality just before being reduced to ashes.
Ying had chosen this location precisely to take advantage of Rōran's prosperity.
As long as he was willing to spend money, he could conveniently obtain all kinds of supplies from the country.
He could even acquire additional people with relative ease.
What Uchiha Yoru valued about Rōran, however, was its imminent destruction.
Once it became an ownerless and uninhabited land, Rōran would be exceptionally suitable as his personal territory.
In addition, Uchiha Yoru placed great importance on the Dragon Vein within Rōran, which was formed from natural energy.
Not only was it a special power capable of affecting space and time, but no matter how he looked at it, it strongly resembled the legendary spiritual veins.
The Dragon Vein even possessed a certain degree of intelligence and could identify and respond to the bloodline of Rōran's royal family.
That made it even more worthy of anticipation.
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