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The crude mode of movement inevitably brought considerable jostling – after all, this was the first time Kagaya had controlled the Susano'o to form human-sized legs and walk with them.
This jostling unavoidably added another layer of agony atop the intense pain already wracking his entire body.
However, Kagaya couldn't stop. Although, with his Susano'o, as long as he had time to mobilize his chakra, he was virtually invincible – unless Uchiha Madara or Hashirama themselves arrived, no one could kill him while he still had chakra. Yet, another problem arose. Chakra, put simply, is generated from the combination of physical energy and mental energy. Right now, Kagaya's "physical energy" was extremely low, and the amount of chakra he could produce was severely limited.
In short, Kagaya was currently a reservoir with no inflow. His available chakra was "extremely finite." Every bit used was gone, and recovery was difficult. Under these circumstances, if a large contingent of the Senju clan arrived, they could easily exhaust his chakra and kill him.
Therefore, Kagaya had to leave, and he had to get as far away as possible.
"Damn System!"
Even now, Kagaya couldn't help but curse again. Not only did the transmission leave his body half-crippled, but it also dumped him right in the middle of a war zone between the Uchiha and Senju. How much more malicious could it get?
As soon as the words left his mouth, footsteps sounded, and four or five people appeared, instantly surrounding Kagaya.
Kagaya wasn't too concerned. In fact, he had chosen a random direction to flee and had been moving for about two or three hours now. During this time, he had encountered several groups of Senju clansmen. They would instantly recognize him as an Uchiha through some method he couldn't comprehend and then attack.
Although Kagaya still didn't know how they identified him, out of kindness, he quickly granted them a painless death – with his remaining chakra, he was virtually unmatched in this era.
The group now surrounding him, counting on his fingers, should be the ninth. However, the intervals between encounters seemed to be lengthening. As Kagaya advanced, traces of the Senju clan became sparser. This time and the last were a full forty minutes apart. Before, they came every ten minutes or so. But it didn't matter; if they came, he would just kill them.
Yet, the next second, Kagaya froze. He suddenly realized that the people surrounding him weren't Senju – they were actually Uchiha!
This isn't to say that Uchiha couldn't surround Kagaya, but throughout this journey, any Uchiha who sensed him instinctively assumed he was a "comrade." After seeing he was in no immediate danger, they simply ignored him and moved on. So, logically, this group should also see him as a "comrade"! How could they surround one of their own?
Kagaya frowned. He felt he might have been exposed.
Thinking this, Kagaya prepared to act. Although they were fellow clansmen, he had no connection to them. He could only guarantee he would spare their lives; he would never surrender willingly.
"What's your name? Did the rest of your squad die?"
Just as Kagaya was about to act, the leader of the surrounding group spoke.
Kagaya looked over. The person he saw wore blue clothing, a samurai sword at his waist, the standard Uchiha spiky hair, handsome features, and looked very young – probably only seventeen or eighteen.
"Who are you?"
Kagaya didn't answer the man's question but instead asked one of his own.
The man was clearly taken aback. He hadn't anticipated such a question. It was like coming home to your family, opening the door, and their first words were "Who are you?"
The next second, the man immediately placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword, staring coldly at Kagaya.
"No. Let me ask the questions. You... who are you?!"
His words already carried killing intent. This was the hallmark of this era – killing at the slightest disagreement!
Because in this time, human life was both the most precious and the cheapest thing.
Precious, because this era had seen so much death that some clans lacked enough members to fight, even leading to entire clans being wiped out. In this respect, human life was indeed precious.
Yet, from another perspective, people died constantly in this era, and in no small numbers. Unceasing war meant that ninety-five percent of the shinobi in this era had killed someone. In such a time, what was killing one person? Nothing! Killing a hundred, a thousand – that was normal too!
Kagaya glanced around. When this group had surrounded him earlier, they seemed relaxed, more like curious onlookers than attackers. But now, the moment the leader placed his hand on his sword, the atmosphere changed. It became thick with murderous intent!
However, although Kagaya hadn't experienced war, his dark childhood had forged an extremely calm mindset. When facing major events, he possessed a composure that was difficult to shake.
"No. You answer me first!"
Kagaya spoke nonchalantly.
The leader sneered, his sword slightly drawn from its sheath.
"You're sure you want me to answer first?"
Kagaya, seemingly oblivious to the leader's action, nodded matter-of-factly.
"Of course."
The leader was enraged. If Kagaya were facing others from a peaceful era, they might hesitate, reluctant to act rashly. But in the Warring States Era, such hesitation didn't exist. People here had witnessed far too much death. If someone annoyed you, what was the solution? Kill them!
This was an exceptionally brutal and ruthless era.
The sword was instantly drawn!
"Attack!!"
A single word filled with dense killing intent left the leader's mouth. Instantly, those around with swords drew them; those without began forming hand seals.
A situation that had been negotiable one second transformed into a life-or-death struggle the next!
"Hmph!"
Kagaya snorted coldly. How could he be bothered by these people?
Golden ribs rapidly grew flesh and blood. His three-tomoe Sharingan quickly transformed, and the Eternal Mangekyō appeared.
Swinging a skeletal arm, a golden sword began to form.
"Stand down."
Just as the two sides were about to clash, a voice suddenly rang out. It was calm yet carried an underlying sense of world-weariness, like an old man who had seen through everything speaking.
The tense, imminent clash halted instantly. The Uchiha clansmen all stopped their movements, retreating like well-behaved children. Kagaya also froze in place.
Kagaya couldn't help but swallow. He didn't quite understand why those Uchiha stopped at a single word, but the reason he stopped was because, accompanying that command to "stand down," came a sense of crisis that made his hair stand on end.
It was like a monstrous beast that blotted out the sky had slightly opened its eyes, turning its gaze upon Kagaya.
Run! Run!! Run!!!
His subconscious screamed wildly. His body almost involuntarily, beyond his control, wanted to turn and flee.
What kind of terrifying aura was this?!?
What kind of terrifying strength was this, that even before meeting the person, he instinctively felt afraid?!?
At this moment, the air around Kagaya felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. Sweat beaded unbidden on his forehead.
If he were any weaker, he would definitely have turned and bolted immediately!
But... but... but...
Slowly turning his head, Kagaya looked in the direction from which the voice had come. He knew roughly who he was about to encounter. In this era, only two people could give him such a sense of crisis: one was named Uchiha Madara, the other Senju Hashirama.
Long hair covered the right eye. The exposed left eye shone with the light of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
In that moment, Kagaya knew who he had encountered.
'Though I knew I was inferior, I never imagined that facing him directly, I would be overwhelmed by an urge to flee.'
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart pounded violently.