Yamanaka Kino stormed back into the assault team's encampment, his face dark with anger. He had just finished a heated argument with several of the squad leaders who had stayed behind to guard the camp.
He'd wanted them to go with him to assist Uchiha Yuan in returning, but they'd all flatly refused. One of them had even blurted out in frustration—
"It'd be better if that Uchiha bastard just died out there."
Kino let out a long, helpless sigh. He stopped walking and looked at the exhausted assault team members resting around the camp, his eyes filled with confusion and thought.
Truth be told, he had once been like most Konoha shinobi—distant, even hostile toward the Uchiha clan.
The reason was simple: the Uchiha were too proud. You could feel their disdain, the sense that they stood above you, every time they spoke.
When Kino learned that Uchiha Yuan would be his superior, he had instinctively resisted. But no one dared defy Orochimaru's orders.
And just as he'd expected, Uchiha Yuan was arrogant, overbearing, and utterly dismissive. As the unit strategist, Kino's tactical suggestions had been rejected again and again, often in the most brusque way.
Yet, on the battlefield, Uchiha Yuan's performance left him no choice but to respect him. It was easy to forget how young he actually was.
After several fierce engagements, Kino's heart had begun to change. Under Uchiha Yuan's leadership, they had won again and again. His respect turned genuine.
"Strategist Yamanaka," a young ninja in his twenties called out. "Will they go help the Captain?"
Kino shook his head. The young man slammed his fist down angrily. "Damn it! If those guys had launched their frontal attack like they were supposed to, we wouldn't be in this mess! Now the Captain had to stay behind alone for us!"
"Let's hope he's safe," another muttered.
"With the Captain's strength, no Cloud-nin can stop him!"
Voices rose around the camp, the soldiers' tone filled with respect. It was clear that not only Kino, but the entire assault team had come to recognize Uchiha Yuan's command.
At that moment, Uchiha Yuan strode into the camp.
Seeing him, Kino froze for a second, then used the Body Flicker Technique, flashing to his side.
"Captain! Thank goodness you're back! Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," Yuan replied calmly.
He walked to the front of the assembled soldiers, scanning them with sharp eyes before asking, "Strategist Yamanaka, how many made it out?"
Kino's face twisted bitterly. "Two hundred and eleven."
Yuan's brow furrowed deeply.
The assault force had started with over three hundred shinobi. Nearly a third of them had been wiped out in the Cloud-nin ambush.
"I've already reported the situation to Captain Sarutobi," Kino said grimly. "The First Battalion must give us an explanation for this!"
"An explanation? You want us to explain?"
A voice rang out coldly from behind.
Both Yuan and Kino turned to see Shimura Ichizō approaching with a group of Konoha shinobi behind him. His sharp, predatory eyes glared down at Yuan.
"It's because of your cowardly retreat," he sneered, "that our plan to annihilate the Cloud-nin at Qingtang Mountain failed."
Kino stepped forward, angry. "Captain Shimura! We were ambushed! How is that a retreat? The Cloud-nin knew our exact route—the plan was clearly leaked!"
Yuan raised his head high, his gaze cold and unwavering as he locked eyes with Ichizō. "According to HQ's plan, your First Battalion was to launch a frontal assault to draw their attention while we struck from behind. Tell me, Captain Shimura—where were your men?"
Ichizō gave a disdainful snort. "You were supposed to coordinate with us. We didn't appear because we were adapting to the battlefield as planned. If you hadn't fled, we would have completed the encirclement and wiped out the enemy."
Yuan chuckled darkly. "Your plan? Don't tell me your plan was to use us as bait."
Ichizō's face stiffened, and he snapped, "Battlefields are unpredictable! Plans change! The mission failed, and your team bears the main responsibility!"
Yuan's cold smile deepened. "Who bears responsibility isn't for you to decide."
The confrontation ended there, the air between them crackling with hostility.
Later, Yuan led the battered survivors back to the joint defensive line of the Third and Fourth Battalions.
At Konoha Headquarters, Jiraiya rubbed his temples in frustration as he stared at two mission reports — one from Sarutobi Shinnosuke, the other from Shimura Ichizō. Each blamed the other for the failed Qingtang Mountain raid.
From just a glance, Jiraiya saw the truth: Ichizō's report was a farce. He had clearly used the mission as an excuse to get rid of Uchiha Yuan — altering the plan without authorization and turning the assault team into live bait.
In his report, Ichizō claimed it was a "necessary field adjustment due to unexpected circumstances."
Jiraiya saw through it easily, but Ichizō's political status in the village meant Jiraiya couldn't pursue the matter without stirring greater trouble. In the end, he issued only a perfunctory statement: neither side would be punished.
At a front-line outpost facing the Cloud-nin forces, Uchiha Yuan received Sarutobi Shinnosuke's transmission with HQ's decision.
No one would be penalized. Not Yuan's assault team — but not the First Battalion, either.
Yuan wasn't surprised. Beside him, Yamanaka Kino's expression was complicated. He sighed, both frustrated and relieved.
"Still," Kino said quietly, "we'll avenge those who fell."
He paused, then added, "Captain… if we ever have to cooperate with the First Battalion again, we need to be careful. Shimura Ichizō tricked us once — he'll do it again if he can."
Yuan stared into the distance, eyes hard as steel. "I know."
He had told no one that he'd single-handedly annihilated the Cloud-nin at Qingtang Mountain. He didn't want to reveal the scale of his power.
And the Cloud-nin, out of pride, wouldn't publicize that their entire Seventh Squad had been wiped out. Thus, Konoha's leadership assumed Yuan had merely fought his way out through superior taijutsu.
Kino noticed the flicker of killing intent in Yuan's eyes and quickly spoke, worried.
"Captain, don't do anything reckless! The First Battalion commands the largest force, and Captain Shimura's status is such that even Lord Jiraiya must tread carefully. Promise me you won't do anything foolish!"
Yuan glanced sidelong at him, then smiled faintly. "You think I'd go assassinate Shimura Ichizō?"
Kino blinked in surprise. Yuan chuckled. "Relax. I'm not stupid enough to throw my life away like that."
Just then, a Konoha shinobi landed in front of them, panting. "Captain! Urgent orders! The Third Battalion's Third Squad is under heavy attack from Cloud-nin. Captain Sarutobi commands the Fourth Battalion's First Squad to move for immediate support!"
Yuan's expression hardened at once. "Understood."
Beside him, Yamanaka Kino lifted a whistle to his lips and blew a sharp, piercing tone — the signal for an emergency assembly.
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