Uchiha Ryun led the Uchiha clan's shinobi through Shitian under the cover of night. As he had predicted, there was not a single Suna-nin in Shitian.
They smoothly arrived at the foot of Mount Daigu. Uchiha Ryun and the Uchiha shinobi looked up at the mountain, which was nearly a thousand meters high, and took a deep breath. To put it in perspective, even Mount Tai was only 1,545 meters tall.
Moreover, the path was rugged, with no proper mountain trail. They could only climb. Although shinobi had chakra, even with it, scaling such a height would be extremely difficult.
Uchiha Ryun took a deep breath. "Everyone, wait here for now. Once I reach the summit, I will lower about twenty ropes. Then, all of you can use the ropes to climb up more easily."
"Sixth Elder, this is too dangerous. Let me do it instead!" A jōnin frowned, his expression sincere.
Uchiha Ryun pushed him aside. "You have all entrusted your lives to me. Naturally, I must take responsibility for you. It's just a small mountain." As he spoke, he glanced at Mount Daigu.
Clearly, he didn't actually consider it a small mountain. But as a leader, he understood the principle of leading by example.
The Uchiha shinobi were visibly moved. Uchiha Ryun waved his hand and smiled. "Just a bit of hardship."
Then, he activated the Body Flicker Technique, moving up a hundred meters in an instant. His hands grabbed onto a small protruding rock on Mount Daigu, and he began climbing.
He enhanced the adhesion of his hands to the rock with chakra, slowly ascending. The shinobi below watched his movements with concern.
Uchiha Ryun never stopped climbing. He knew that at this moment, he bore the lives of a thousand Uchiha shinobi, the honor of the Uchiha clan, and the key to this battle.
Therefore, he could not fail. He could not stop. He could not fear. The only path left for him was to keep climbing until he reached the summit.
At the beginning, the climb was relatively easy. He could take step after step upward. But when he reached higher height, Uchiha Ryun suddenly felt the oxygen thinning—hypoxia.
His face, initially flushed, turned pale. Even as a shinobi, he still seemed powerless against the forces of nature.
Uchiha Ryun pulled out two kunai, channeled chakra into them, and forcefully stabbed them into the rock above. Then, he jumped up, stepping onto them to rest.
After taking deep breaths for about two minutes, he felt somewhat recovered and continued climbing. As the altitude increased, the temperature dropped further. Some rocks even had a thin layer of frost.
Uchiha Ryun's breath formed visible white mist. His Uchiha-style robe was not suited for cold weather, so he could only increase the amount and speed of his chakra circulation to maintain body heat and rock adhesion.
He didn't know how long he had been climbing when he finally saw the edge of the cliff. Just as he sighed in relief, his foot slipped, and he fell about ten meters. Uchiha Ryun quickly stabbed a kunai into the rock wall.
Sparks flew where the kunai met the rock. He pulled out another kunai with his other hand and stabbed it into the rock as well. The intense friction made his hands go numb, but he didn't dare let go. He couldn't let go.
Victory was right before him. Only a few dozen meters remained to the summit. How could he fall now? How could he allow himself to fall?
The comrades below were waiting for him. They had entrusted him with their lives and their honor. He couldn't—couldn't let them down. He couldn't lose. He had to keep climbing!
Uchiha Ryun roared inwardly. His muscles began to tremble. Even though his body was filled with natural chakra, he was still human. He would still tire. He still had limits.
What Uchiha Ryun was doing now was pushing past those limits. He forced his body to move, enduring the soreness of his muscles as he climbed upward, step by step.
Finally, after some time, his hand touched the edge of the cliff. He stabbed two more kunai into the rock below his feet to prevent himself from falling if he lost strength.
Then, he gripped the cliff edge with both hands. His muscles were already sore and swollen, making it hard to exert force. In frustration, Uchiha Ryun roared, "Aaaaaah!"
One centimeter, two centimeters—his feet slowly left the kunai. The muscles in his arms were as hard as stone. Even his head strained with effort.
Veins bulged on his forehead, and the blood vessels in his neck stood out terrifyingly. His face was twisted with exertion, his entire body trembling.
When more than half of his body was over the cliff, he threw his head forward, using the momentum to fling himself onto the mountaintop.
Now, his legs from the knees down dangled in the air, while the rest of his body lay on the lightly snow-covered summit. He gasped for breath. He was so tired. He wanted to sleep.
A wave of drowsiness hit him, but then the System's voice rang out. "Host, you must not sleep. If you sleep now, you might freeze to death."
Uchiha Ryun jolted awake. He circulated his chakra to recover his stamina, then crawled forward on his hands and knees until his entire body was on the mountain. He stood up, took out two soldier pills, and tossed them into his mouth.
Though soldier pills were portable food, they contained trace amounts of chakra, which could help him recover somewhat.
He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and circulated his chakra. The chakra from his surroundings entered his body, nourishing his muscles and easing his soreness.
About an hour later, Uchiha Ryun opened his eyes. Suppressing his exhaustion and pain, he took out ropes from a storage scroll and tied them together, forming twenty ropes each a thousand meters long.
Then, he found trees or stone pillars on the mountain and securely tied the ropes to them. At the ends of the ropes, he tied small rocks to help weigh them down as they descended to the foot of the mountain.
After completing this task, he let out a sigh of relief and sat down, observing the scenery around him.
Mount Daigu—what a mountain! Even in the ninja world, this place must rank among the tallest peaks.
Uchiha Ryun smiled and shook his head. In just over ten minutes, shinobi began reaching the summit from below. Hearing the noise, Uchiha Ryun looked over and saw it was Uchiha Ippū.
Uchiha Ryun waved. "Ippū, come here. Watch your step!"
Uchiha Ippū saw Uchiha Ryun's exhausted state and felt a pang in his heart. He hurried over.
"Sixth Elder, you..." Uchiha Ippū's eyes reddened as he looked at Uchiha Ryun's pale face and weary expression.
For those who had used the ropes to climb, the ascent had been much easier. By attaching chakra to their feet and gripping the ropes, they could practically run up.
Uchiha Ryun waved his hand. "It's nothing. Just a bit tired. Let me sleep for a while. Wake me when everyone's here."
Uchiha Ippū nodded, fighting back tears. The Sixth Elder was only eighteen years old, yet he had taken on the heavy responsibilities of leading the troops and climbing the summit alone. It was both admirable and heartbreaking.
Uchiha Ryun fell asleep in Uchiha Ippū's arms. If not for the rise and fall of his chest and his soft snores, everyone might have panicked.
As the other shinobi reached the summit, they initially wanted to report their arrival. But seeing Uchiha Ryun asleep, they all fell silent.
Even the jōnin began organizing the shinobi, warning them not to make noise because the Sixth Elder was resting. The shinobi all nodded, moving as quietly as possible.
Who said the Uchiha clan was inherently evil? Look at this—was this evil?
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