Uchiha Ren pondered for a moment but did not immediately answer Uchiha Fugaku. Instead, he turned toward Hyūga Hizashi beside him and asked,
"How far away is the first wave of reinforcements from us right now?"
Hyūga Hizashi thought for a moment before replying,
"A large force can't move as quickly as we do. Judging by the time, they'll still need more than half an hour before they reach our position."
Uchiha Ren continued,
"The first reinforcement unit is being led by your brother, Hyūga Hiashi. You should have a way to contact him, right?"
Hyūga Hizashi nodded.
"Yes. The Hyūga clan has its own specialized communication methods."
The Hyūga clan had stood strong in the shinobi world for thousands of years. Naturally, they possessed their own unique communication system.
Hearing this, Uchiha Ren immediately said,
"Send a message to Hiashi at once. Tell him to redirect his troops immediately and head toward Kikyō Mountain."
Hyūga Hizashi did not hesitate.
"Understood!"
Without worrying about being discreet, Hizashi pulled out a special scroll from his ninja pouch and began operating it.
Seeing this, Uchiha Ren turned to Uchiha Fugaku and pointed toward Dodai and the others.
"In warfare, speed is everything. What we're racing against now is time. If we bring them with us, they'll greatly slow us down. Take the 10th Division of the Konoha Military Police Force and escort them back to the village."
Logically speaking, the best choice for Uchiha Ren right now would have been to execute Dodai and the others on the spot.
However, their value was simply too great.
Dodai was an elder of Kumogakure, and there was even an Eight-Tails jinchūriki among them. Executing them would be an enormous waste.
If they were taken back to the village and imprisoned, they could become powerful bargaining chips during future negotiations with Kumogakure.
Uchiha Fugaku hesitated and said worriedly,
"Our current forces are already limited. If we split up further, you'll be in even greater danger."
"And if we bring them along, perhaps the Kumogakure army will hesitate to attack."
Uchiha Ren shook his head.
"No need. When facing an army of several thousand, whether we have fifty more or fifty fewer people doesn't make much difference."
"As for threatening the Kumogakure army with these prisoners… it might work if we were only facing Kumogakure."
"But don't forget—we also have Iwagakure and Sunagakure watching like tigers waiting for their prey."
"And I know the Raikage well enough. If he holds an absolute advantage in troop numbers, these prisoners won't restrain him. Instead, they might become our own death warrant."
Fugaku still hesitated.
"Ren , how about this—why don't you escort the prisoners back with the 10th Division, and I'll lead the force to Kikyō Mountain?"
"You're the Uchiha Clan Head now. Your safety is absolutely vital."
Uchiha Ren smiled faintly.
"Don't be so pessimistic. The situation isn't as serious as you imagine."
"As long as we send this information back to the village immediately, Konoha can organize reinforcements and reach Kikyō Mountain within a day."
"In other words, once we arrive there, we only need to hold the position for half a day before the village's reinforcements arrive."
"So our chances of victory are still quite high."
After a pause, Uchiha Ren turned to A-Fei.
"Contact Kenji. Have him find a way to deliver this intelligence to Minato Namikaze."
A-Fei nodded and immediately began contacting the White Zetsu stationed near Uchiha Obito.
"That's the plan. I'll leave things here to you. The 1st, 4th, and 7th Divisions of the Military Police, along with the Hyūga Divine Arrow Battalion, will follow me!"
Without giving Fugaku any chance to argue further, Uchiha Ren immediately set off toward Kikyō Mountain with more than two hundred shinobi.
Seeing this, Fugaku could only sigh.
He stopped bothering with the battlefield cleanup and instead led the 10th Division in escorting the captured Kumogakure shinobi back toward Konohagakure.
Meanwhile…
At the outskirts of Konoha, in the forest near the Konoha Orphanage, beneath a patch of shadow.
"Kenji, something's happened!"
A White Zetsu suddenly emerged from the trunk of a tree, startling Uchiha Obito, who had been secretly observing a certain figure inside the orphanage.
"Damn it! Don't you know you can scare someone to death like that?! And stop calling me Kenji! I'm not Kenji!"
Obito hissed angrily, lowering his voice as he glared at the suddenly appearing White Zetsu.
The White Zetsu scratched its head in confusion.
"But you're not Uchiha Madara anymore, and you're not A-Fei either. And you haven't turned back into Uchiha Obito yet."
"So if we don't call you Kenji, what should we call you?"
"A-Fei said that's your new codename."
"That idiot A-Fei…"
Obito gritted his teeth in fury.
Ever since A-Fei had interacted with Uchiha Ren a few times, he had learned about Obito's embarrassing nickname—Uchiha Kenji.
Now every White Zetsu knew it.
Fortunately, the one silver lining was that none of the White Zetsu understood the meaning behind the nickname. Otherwise, Obito would truly have no face left to show anyone.
With a sigh, Obito gave up arguing with the brainless creature.
"Forget it. What do you want? What happened?"
White Zetsu quickly explained the situation before adding,
"Lord Ren wants you to find a way to pass this intelligence to Minato Namikaze and have him make a decision as soon as possible."
Obito's expression turned serious as he realized the gravity of the situation.
"Understood. Keep an eye on the orphanage for me."
Without another word, his body twisted and disappeared.
A few breaths later, Obito reappeared outside the Hokage Tower, looking somewhat troubled.
According to his reconnaissance, Minato Namikaze was currently holding a meeting inside the building. There were too many people around—it would be extremely difficult to deliver the message.
Moreover, according to the plan he and Uchiha Ren had devised, his identity could not be exposed yet.
Even if he met Minato directly, gaining his trust would still be a problem.
After thinking it over repeatedly, Obito finally sighed and made up his mind.
The situation was urgent.
Compared to Konoha's survival, the "surprise" he and Ren had planned for Minato no longer mattered.
Besides, if Ren had sent him to deliver the message, he must have already anticipated this situation.
With that thought, Obito entered the Kamui Dimension.
He raised a hand and removed the mask from his face, then began removing his disguise. After that, he changed into a set of everyday clothes bearing the Uchiha clan crest.
Finally, from a dusty corner, he pulled out something that had been left untouched for a very, very long time—
A Konoha forehead protector.
After wiping the dust from it, Obito tied the protector across his forehead.
Then, with determined eyes, he stepped out of the Kamui Dimension.
Konoha shinobi — Uchiha Obito has arrived!
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