Chapter 390 – The Ambush
Informing a single garrison shinobi that Konoha had dispatched two full divisions might have seemed unreasonable at first glance.
But Fugaku didn't care in the slightest.
His position alone carried enough authority to justify such words—and more importantly, the frontline defenders needed hope.
They had arrived at the camp during the daytime. After resting through the afternoon, the unit set out once again.
A distance of ten kilometers was nothing to shinobi—less than twenty minutes at full speed.
Fugaku's arrival immediately eased the pressure on the Konoha forces stationed at the frontline.
After all, they were facing a Cloud force exceeding eight thousand.
They themselves had only two thousand defenders.
That kind of numerical gap would unnerve anyone.
The frontline commander turned out to be a member of the Nara clan.
After learning of Fugaku's unit composition, the man promptly offered to hand over command.
Fugaku didn't seize full control. Instead, he invited the Nara shinobi to serve as his deputy.
He was well aware of his own limitations.
In truth, the primary reason he had been sent to the front was not his command ability—but his personal strength.
What he truly needed to handle were two monsters:
The Fourth Raikage, and the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki.
To be honest, Fugaku felt a trace of unease.
He didn't know how far he could actually go if things spiraled out of control.
"Fortunately… the Hokage-sama prepared me for this."
That night, as he rested, Fugaku reached into his ninja pouch and brushed his fingers against a kunai.
The gesture alone eased his mind.
That kunai bore the Flying Thunder God marker.
It had been given to him by Kei before departure—with Minato's explicit approval.
With it, Fugaku carried an invisible layer of insurance.
Even if Minato couldn't fight alongside him on the battlefield, extracting him to safety would be effortless.
More importantly—
That kunai also served as a beacon.
It could bring Kei directly to the battlefield.
And that was the most critical point.
After months of preparation, the rumors circulating within the village had already taken root.
With Minato's quiet cooperation, many shinobi had learned that the mysterious Uchiha who attacked Kirigakure had wielded a black Susanoo.
Coincidentally—or perhaps not—that was the same color Kei used.
With those rumors as groundwork, combined with Fugaku's casual remarks that "Susanoo colors are random, overlaps are common", and Minato subtly backing that claim…
The mysterious Uchiha and Uchiha Kei had, in the eyes of most, become two separate figures.
That distinction was crucial.
It meant Kei could now—within limits—display his power in front of Konoha shinobi.
And perhaps even put on a performance for the Cloud forces as well, using shadow clones.
Of course, expecting Kei to come to the front now was unrealistic.
He clearly had more important matters to handle back in the village.
So for the moment—
Fugaku would face those two monsters alone.
He needed to demonstrate overwhelming strength, and at the same time forcibly restrain the scale of the war.
Letting out a quiet sigh, Fugaku closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.
He was truly exhausted.
No matter how strong he was, he was still human—long-distance forced marches of this intensity inevitably drained even someone like him.
Ironically, the jutsu he had used against the Cloud ninja earlier had barely cost him any chakra or stamina at all.
---
After Fugaku and Hiruzen departed, Kei spent several days finishing the internal arrangements in Konoha.
The village was simply too large, and the Military Police Force was perpetually short-handed.
Fortunately, Kōta and Uchiha Asahi adapted well to their new positions.
Both already had relevant experience, and after a few days of adjustment, they were able to handle their responsibilities smoothly.
As for the manpower lost to the frontlines, Kei had no choice but to push the remaining police members harder.
Just like during the manpower crisis before the Nine-Tails Incident, he also hired younger genin who were unfit for combat to assist with auxiliary work.
For those kids, being unable to go to war was actually good luck.
If this had been Kei's generation, they wouldn't have been spared so easily.
It took him quite some time to untangle and organize all these matters.
Thankfully, no news had yet come from the front.
And precisely because the frontlines had not formally erupted, Kei had the time and space to deal with other issues.
Once the real fighting began, the entire village's attention would be dragged toward the battlefield—only then could certain plans move forward.
---
"Is this the place?"
Even without a full-scale battle breaking out, Kei certainly wasn't idle.
The Military Police, ANBU, and ROOT had been jointly purging Hidden Cloud spies within the village.
Previously, because the Third Hokage had been involved—and because Kei didn't want to appear overly aggressive—ANBU had led most of the operations.
But now things were different.
Kakashi was clearly more inclined to let Kei take charge.
And with the Third Hokage absent from the village, there was no one left who could object.
According to intelligence gathered by ANBU and ROOT, combined with persistent police investigation, they had located a relay intelligence station.
It lay hidden in a forest over ten kilometers outside Konoha—extremely well concealed.
What tipped them off was a peculiar pattern:
Certain shinobi would leave at fixed times to accept missions, but their return times varied.
"Yes. According to intelligence, this should be the place," Kakashi nodded.
"Unfortunately, the Hyūga from ANBU couldn't observe the interior. There's a visual-blocking seal in place."
"But he did notice messenger hawks frequently departing from here—so there's no doubt."
"I see."
Kei's gaze settled on the vague outline of a small wooden cabin hidden among the trees.
"There are probably plenty of defensive measures nearby."
"But since we're here to capture people directly…"
He paused.
That meant there was no need to care about those measures at all.
As long as they avoided traps and explosive tags, nothing else mattered.
Kakashi nodded slightly, clearly in agreement.
The ANBU and ROOT operatives behind them remained silent—none of them had decision-making authority.
"In that case, let's move," Kei said, rolling his neck once.
"Oh—did the Hokage leave any specific instructions?"
"He wants us to leave the handlers alive if possible, and retrieve any usable intelligence."
Kakashi thought for a moment before continuing,
"Though realistically, there probably won't be much written material. We'll likely need your genjutsu to keep them alive."
Kei smiled faintly.
"That won't be a problem."
He took a deep breath—and in the next instant, his eyes turned scarlet.
Within his vision, every chakra trace lit up clearly.
The next moment, Kei launched forward.
Kakashi lifted his headband and followed immediately, with their subordinates close behind.
An ambush like this could not allow even a second of reaction time.
Even if the enemy noticed—
They absolutely could not be allowed to commit suicide.
---
The distance of about a kilometer vanished in moments.
Every trap was avoided effortlessly.
Anything tied to chakra had nowhere to hide from his eyes.
For Kei, such defenses were essentially meaningless.
His crimson Sharingan swept over the cabin.
Then—
He kicked the door in and stormed inside.
Screams erupted instantly, one after another.