Kirigakure had declared war.
This was far from good news.
Uchiha Kin couldn't help but frown.
After all, Yashiro had been sent to defend against Kirigakure.
"Don't you dare die on me."
Kin still held some sentiment for the man, who had watched him grow up.
As the two worried about the situation in Kirigakure—
A group of people suddenly rushed toward them.
"Inoshishi-sama, that's the kid!"
A crowd of ragged civilians pointed accusingly at Uchiha Kin.
Kin was baffled. Had he offended anyone?
He glanced at the White Fang, only to see the man silently take a step back and whisper barely audibly:
"We're on a mission. No conflicts allowed. And we must conceal our identities as shinobi."
Kin's face darkened.
Was this a joke? Or was the White Fang deliberately setting him up?
"So you're the brat who said us swordsmen are worthless?"
A burly middle-aged man strode forward, nostrils flaring.
"Wasn't me," Kin immediately denied. He'd only called them outdated.
"It was him!!" The civilians behind the man shouted in unison.
"Yeah, I heard it with my own ears!"
Their chaotic voices clashed into an irritating cacophony.
"SHUT UP!!" The man roared at the crowd, finally silencing them.
He turned back to Kin.
"Got anything else to say for yourself?"
"Doesn't seem like it'd matter," Kin shrugged. These people had already made up their minds.
"Good." The man grinned savagely, cracking his knuckles.
The next moment—Kin bolted.
Only to find the White Fang already sprinting ahead.
The man's eye twitched. With a furious wave, he bellowed:
"AFTER THEM!!"
The mob gave chase, flooding the streets behind the two.
As they ran, Kin gritted his teeth.
"Why so many restrictions?!"
"To prevent mission failure due to unnecessary incidents," the White Fang calmly explained.
"Even in situations like this?!"
Kin glanced back. The crowd was growing.
Fragments of shouts reached them:
"Get that kid! He insulted swordsmen!!"
Ah. So that's why.
Not that it helped.
"Get… that kid?"
The White Fang abruptly skidded to a halt, sidestepped with a flourish, and gestured grandly toward Kin—
As if presenting him on a silver platter.
This had nothing to do with him.
"YOU BASTARD!!"
Damn you, White Fang!!
Kin roared, surging forward with renewed speed toward an alley.
The White Fang, now playing traffic director, cheerfully pointed:
"That way! Hurry, don't let him escape!"
One pursuer veered toward him instead.
The White Fang raised a halting hand.
The man, clutching a wooden club, blinked dumbly.
"What're you doing?" the White Fang asked.
"Beating up the guy who insulted swordsmen!"
"Ah." The White Fang nodded sagely. "He went that way. I'm just a passerby."
"Ohhh!" The man's face lit up with gratitude. "Thanks!"
As the mob thundered past, the White Fang wiped imaginary sweat from his brow.
"Good luck."
His smile was definitely not gleeful.
But the moment he turned—
A hand shot out from the alley and yanked him in.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"
Kin had a shuriken launcher pressed to the White Fang's forehead.
This demanded an explanation.
Or else.
"Let's talk this through," the White Fang chuckled nervously.
Meanwhile, in the Land of Rain…
Under Orochimaru's command, Konoha had temporarily withdrawn from Rain territory.
"Orochimaru-sama, when do we counterattack?"
An aggressive jōnin voiced the discontent simmering among the ranks.
Surrendering hard-won outposts felt like an insult to Konoha's prestige.
Orochimaru's gaze flicked to him.
Many shared this sentiment. Withdrawing while holding the advantage made no sense—unless one understood the bigger picture.
"Amegakure's become a rabid dog, biting anyone in reach," Hyūga Kazeto interjected. "Right now, they're pushing into the Land of Wind. If we attack, they'll abandon Suna and turn on us."
Rain shinobi fought desperately to protect their homeland, spilling into neighboring nations.
This had bought Amegakure breathing room—and earned Hanzo the title "Demigod of the Shinobi."
The last man to single-handedly battle multiple villages was Hashirama Senju.
The "God of Shinobi."
Even with Konoha's retreat, Hanzo still launched sporadic assaults. But seeing no gains—and with Konoha showing no intent to re-invade—he'd grudgingly relented.
The jōnin's lips twisted in disdain, though he dared not protest further under Orochimaru's watch.
Orochimaru scanned casualty reports. Though Hanzo had left the Land of Fire's front, small Rain squads still struck like suicide units—inflicting escalating damage.
"Have their skills improved?" a red-haired shinobi murmured.
"Yes. And the pattern resembles…"
He trailed off, hesitant.
"The Foundation Internal Energy Technique," Orochimaru finished.
The room tensed.
The technique's power boost was undeniable.
"Keep this from the village for now," Orochimaru ordered.
"Orochimaru-sama?" Confusion rippled through the ranks. No one suppressed such intel without reason.
But Orochimaru offered no explanation.
"Foundation Internal Energy Technique…"
His expression was ice.
If other villages had it—and surely Tsunade's team had noticed—the leak's origin hardly mattered. Konoha would still pin it on Uchiha Kin.
And use it to extort the Uchiha.
Standard procedure.
"How pointless, this perpetuation of the Second's will."
Orochimaru's smirk was razor-thin.
...
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(End of Chapter.)