Crash—!
Accompanied by the sound of shattering glass, Yuu landed steadily in the hall one floor below and looked ahead.
At the far end of his vision,
Gatō had just emerged from the secret passage and was about to continue fleeing. The moment he raised his head and met Yuu's gaze, his entire body froze, his pupils contracting violently.
"Long time no see, President Gatō."
Yuu said.
Under the effects of All-Spirit Perception, unless Gatō possessed space-time ninjutsu, was powerful enough to travel an enormous distance in an instant, or could build an absolutely impenetrable secret chamber, no matter how elaborate his escape route was, he could never evade Yuu's tracking.
Although Gatō did not know how Yuu had found him, he realized that he was about to die. His whole body began trembling like a sieve as he hurriedly shouted,
"W-wait! What I did just now… was only a joke!
"Don't kill me! I can give you all my money…"
"How foolish."
Accompanied by those casually spoken words,
Yuu's figure flickered.
When he appeared again, he was already standing behind Gatō. He lightly flicked the White Fang short blade in his hand, then returned it to its sheath.
Several droplets of blood flew from the blade.
Gatō remained standing in place for several seconds before his head slowly tilted to one side and fell from his neck, landing heavily on the carpet.
The severed surface was as smooth as a mirror.
"…If I kill you, the money is still mine."
The second half of Yuu's sentence finally fell.
After that, everything became silent.
…
The following day,
news that the president of the Gatō Company had been robbed and beheaded inside his own villa rapidly spread through the coastal markets and towns of the Land of Waves.
Some people panicked, some celebrated, and others took pleasure in his misfortune.
These different reactions became the latest topic of conversation among ordinary people during their meals and free time.
"Have you heard? The president of the Gatō Corporation lost his head!"
"Serves him right! Those dogs working for him bullied people all the time. I knew long ago that he wasn't a good man!"
"Shh… keep your voice down! His people are still in the Land of Waves! A friend told me the attacker seemed to be a young man with white hair and a mask. No one knows whether he was a passing bandit or a ninja from some country. Apparently, he also stole several hundred million ryō. What incredible nerve."
"Tsk, tsk. There really are a lot of ruthless people these days."
At this moment,
Kakashi, Obito, Asuma, and the others happened to be passing through a noisy fish market. While preparing to gather information, they overheard these scattered conversations.
"…White hair, a mask, and a young man?"
Obito stopped walking as if he had guessed something. He turned toward Kakashi beside him, hesitated, then asked,
"Hey, Kakashi… don't tell me the 'murderer' they're talking about was you?"
"?"
Kakashi raised an eyebrow.
What nonsense was this?
Faced with Kakashi's expression, which looked as if he were staring at an idiot, Obito became even more interested and shouted,
"Hey, I was wondering why the dark circles under your eyes have gotten worse lately! I thought it was because you stayed up reading Icha Icha Paradise, but it turns out you've been sneaking out at night to rob the rich and give to the poor!
"Come on, anyone who hears about it deserves a share. Give me some of the money you stole, and I promise I won't report you!"
"…"
Kakashi glanced at Obito's excited expression, then looked away, his dead-fish eyes completely emotionless.
"Idiot dead-last. We're on patrol. Pay attention and stop talking nonsense."
Although he said that,
Kakashi felt his thoughts stir.
The physical characteristics mentioned in those conversations really did resemble him.
There were not many white-haired people in the Land of Waves or along the Land of Fire's border. However, there was another person who matched the descriptions they had just heard…
Could it have been Yuu?
Most people probably would not do something like this.
But Mikami Yuu…
That was difficult to say.
Judging from everything Kakashi had learned about him during their time together, Yuu was not someone who enjoyed following rules.
Rin had also mentioned that she and Yuu encountered Gatō on the street the previous day. The timing matched.
Still, if it truly was Yuu, then such behavior did not exactly conform to the ninja code…
Kakashi hesitated briefly.
In the end, however, he followed his usual personality and chose to remain silent, pretending he knew nothing.
The fewer unnecessary problems, the better.
Instead of wasting energy worrying about another person's private matters, it would be more useful to think about how to further develop his ninjutsu and increase his chances of surviving and earning merit on the battlefield.
On the other side,
Obito continued speaking excitedly for a while. Seeing that Kakashi refused to respond, he finally closed his mouth dejectedly and muttered,
"Tsk, why are you pretending to be so cool? We're teammates, yet you don't even trust me. Seriously."
"Shut up."
Kakashi quickened his pace.
"Hurry up and follow. Stop talking."
…
While people outside began discussing the identity of the "hero" who killed Gatō,
Yuu had already started taking inventory of what he gained from the outing.
The facts proved that killing someone and seizing their property truly was the fastest path to wealth.
Although Yuu had not had enough time to take all of Gatō's money, the single case alone contained dozens of gold bars, several high-quality rubies and sapphires, and tens of millions of ryō in cash.
Its total value exceeded two hundred million ryō.
Yuu's current income was already quite good, and his family had become prosperous through Konoha Raw Cola.
However, the money earned from missions and selling sweet drinks was still insignificant compared with Gatō's wealth.
Under normal circumstances, it would take Raw Cola at least one or two years to reach the scale of the Gatō Company.
"Not bad. Not bad at all."
Yuu nodded slightly.
The question was how to spend such an enormous sum.
Previously, Yuu had considered saving enough money to purchase a quantity of chakra-conductive metal and hire a craftsman to forge a ninja sword perfectly suited to his fighting style.
However, Kakashi had already given him the White Fang short blade, while Konoha had rewarded him with the Sword of the Thunder God for his achievements on the Sunagakure battlefield.
One was a divine weapon, and the other was a famous blade.
Both their materials and power were more than sufficient.
Therefore…
"I should find a way to obtain some special ninja tools or auxiliary equipment. I can ask Tsunade later… No, forget that. I should ask Teacher Minato, Jiraiya, or Orochimaru instead."
Yuu thought.
It was not that he did not trust Tsunade.
But with her personality, once she learned that he possessed such a vast amount of money, she would probably ask him for several tens of millions to use as gambling funds.
Although he had obtained a great deal of money this time, that did not mean he had a reason to throw it into a river…
After considering it for a while,
Yuu organized the valuables and placed them inside a sealing scroll.
At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.
Shisui arrived outside the tent with Inabi and Tekka. He knocked, waited for a response, then pushed the door open.
"Yuu-senpai, Jōnin Fugaku has sent back information regarding the mission you assigned him to investigate the coastal region of the Land of Waves.
"Early this morning, signs of a large fleet appeared southeast of the Land of Waves. There were many ships, and they were sailing directly toward the coast of the Land of Fire.
"Judging from the ships' designs and their concealed method of travel, there is an eighty-percent chance that they are reinforcements from Kirigakure."
"Oh?"
Yuu raised an eyebrow.
They had finally arrived.
Nearly two weeks had passed since the ambush in the valley.
Yuu had even begun wondering whether Kirigakure was planning to withdraw from the Third Ninja World War entirely.
It seemed they had merely been mobilizing their forces.
That made sense.
Kaguya Ryūga and Hōzuki Mutsuki had been killed during that battle, while Jūzō Biwa had been captured. The backbone of Kirigakure's advance force had practically been shattered.
If Kirigakure could swallow such a grudge without retaliation, then in the original story, they would not have demanded that Sunagakure "kill Pakura first before peace could be discussed."
"Can you estimate the size of their force?"
Yuu asked.
"The fog over the sea caused too much interference. To avoid alerting the enemy, Jōnin Fugaku's group did not approach too closely, so they couldn't determine the exact number.
"However, according to a rough estimate… there are between fifteen and twenty ships, possibly carrying more than five hundred troops."
Shisui replied.
Mm…
That was fewer than Yuu had imagined.
On the Sunagakure battlefield, Konoha and Sunagakure had deployed a combined force of seven or eight thousand.
Compared with that, Kirigakure seemed rather stingy. Even including the advance force and the main army, their total numbers might not have reached one thousand.
However, considering the unique characteristics of the "Village of the Bloody Mist," it was fairly normal.
After all, most Kiri ninja had died while killing one another over the previous twenty years.
A certain "Demon" had even killed more than a hundred of his classmates at once, effectively wiping out an entire generation of Kiri ninja…
"Understood."
Yuu pondered briefly, then nodded.
"Shisui, return and rest first. Recover your energy and prepare for the coming battle. I'll inform Kakashi and the others, as well as the commanders of the border strongholds."
"Yes."
Shisui nodded and departed with his two clansmen using the Body Flicker Technique.
Yuu released a long breath, then went outside to find Honekawa Koo.
Around half an hour later,
five or six chūnin departed Shakuka Town carrying the news that "Kirigakure's reinforcements have arrived." They headed toward the various strongholds along the southeastern defensive line to deliver the warning.
Shakuka Town's state of military readiness was also raised by one level.
Aside from the personnel carrying out their routine patrols outside, nearly all the ninja remaining in camp began checking their ninja tools and making preparations for battle.
Inside the command post at the center of the camp,
Yuu summoned Kakashi, Rin, Obito, Kurenai, and the others currently present at the stronghold and announced that battle was approaching.
"Whoa, are they finally coming?"
Naturally, Obito was the most excited.
"Patrolling the same areas every day has been so boring! My Sharingan has been starving for action for ages!
"This time, I'll definitely show you the results of my recent special training and leave all of you stunned!"
"Hopefully."
Yuu replied vaguely before continuing,
"Although Kirigakure is weaker than Konoha, this region is close to the coast and has abundant water sources, making it their home ground. We still need to be as careful as possible.
"It would be best to lure them farther inland, then divide and eliminate them throughout the forests and hills…
"Asuma, later, take several squads and set explosive-tag traps in a few nearby locations suitable for ambushes.
"Kakashi, you and Obito… and Captain Gekkō Shigure, your teams…"
…
"Clan Head, are we certain we shouldn't retreat yet?"
Near the coastline of the Land of Waves,
beside a cluster of reefs,
several Uchiha wearing Konoha flak jackets were lying concealed and observing the coastline several hundred meters away.
They were Uchiha Fugaku's group, which had been assigned to gather intelligence.
At this moment,
Uchiha Yashiro, who was lying beside Fugaku, appeared somewhat nervous.
"This distance is too close. If Kirigakure has sensory ninja, they may easily discover us.
"Shouldn't we follow what Mikami Yuu said before and retreat first, then fight after regrouping?"
"…Why are you panicking?"
Uchiha Fugaku glanced at Yashiro.
"This is the best opportunity to determine the composition of Kirigakure's reinforcements. Once we miss it, we'll have to fight them without an intelligence advantage.
"Don't worry. Even if we are discovered, we are Uchiha. Do you really think these people could stop us from leaving?"
"That's true."
Uchiha Yashiro nodded.
The overwhelming majority of Uchiha possessed a mysterious confidence in their bloodline.
They always believed that no matter what kind of crisis they encountered, it could be easily resolved beneath the power of the Sharingan.
At the same time, because the Uchiha had spent years serving as public security officers inside the village, they carried pent-up frustration in their hearts.
They constantly wanted to prove themselves to the village so that the restrictions placed upon the Uchiha clan might be relaxed, allowing them to undertake more outside missions and accumulate achievements and prestige.
Now was the perfect opportunity to earn military merit.
"One, two…"
"There are sixteen ships in total. Three of them are larger, so they should be carrying Kirigakure's commanders.
"The first group to disembark should all belong to the Kaguya clan. You can tell from their hairstyles and builds.
"The white-haired ones behind them should be from the Hōzuki clan, and…"
Just as Uchiha Fugaku narrowed his eyes and continued observing and analyzing,
a subtle chakra fluctuation suddenly appeared from their flank.
Uchiha Yashiro vaguely sensed that something was wrong. He turned and examined the surroundings, his brows furrowing.
Suddenly…
an intense sense of danger surged through his heart.
Then he saw the beach not far away explode as two figures shot out like hunting leopards!
One of them held a sword in each hand, with lightning coiling around both blades.
The other wore a mask in Kirigakure ANBU style and wielded an extremely long, needle-like blade. His entire body radiated fierce killing intent.
"…The Seven Ninja Swordsmen?!"
Uchiha Yashiro was abruptly shocked.
Fugaku's eyelid also twitched.
It was not surprising that Kirigakure's reinforcements included members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
After all, Fuguki Suikazan and Jūzō Biwa had already suffered defeat once. Since Kirigakure intended to continue the war, they naturally needed to recover their lost reputation.
But…
how had these two determined their group's location in advance?
Sensory ninjutsu?
Or perhaps…
There was no time to think further.
Uchiha Fugaku rapidly formed seals and spat out a massive fireball.
"Prepare for battle! Finish this quickly before the people on the coast arrive!"