The passing wind blades slashed against the trees, leaving deep gouges in the bark.
"Granny, this guy!" Seeing the unreasonable scene before her, Ye Cang was stunned.
Uchiha Fugaku didn't seem to be affected by Ye Cang's attack at all. He was still walking straight towards Chiyo and Ye Cang.
Seeing Uchiha was about to walk right up to them, Ye Cang abandoned all restraint. Wind Release and Fire Release techniques flew from her hands in a continuous assault against Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Fugaku, advancing without pause, was completely uninfluenced. The sharp Wind Release ninjutsu and the burning Fire Release passed through him as if they knew each other, unable to even ruffle his clothes.
"Ye Cang, fall back!"
Chiyo roared.
Then her whole body rushed towards Uchiha Fugaku.
Ye Cang, who had just retreated and found her footing, watched Chiyo charge forward.
"Granny Chiyo!!!"
In the past, Ye Cang often felt these old-timers in the village's upper echelons were a hindrance to its development. But now, she felt a new kind of understanding. It turned out these elders of the village weren't just resting on their laurels.
"Shut up, you brat!" Ye Cang's slightly wretched cry was cut off.
Chiyo didn't look back, but her voice was stern.
Chiyo, who had rushed in front of Uchiha Fugaku, did not meet him with the physical collision one might expect. Instead, they passed through each other—or, more precisely, Chiyo passed straight through Uchiha Fugaku's body.
"Just as I thought!" Chiyo's head was lowered, but her slightly aged body moved with unusual flexibility.
With a flip of her hands, she produced a scroll from the satchel at her side.
"Ninja Art: Chaotic Rush!"
The moment the scroll's seal was released, a huge chakra shockwave suddenly rippled out in all directions.
Uchiha Fugaku, who had been advancing, vanished in an instant.
Ye Cang, who had been full of tragic resolve just a moment before, now looked on in puzzlement at Granny Chiyo and the spot where Uchiha Fugaku had just disappeared.
"Granny! What was that?" Ye Cang's voice was full of confusion.
"I underestimated the troops chasing you this time!" After Chiyo spoke, a handful of kunai flew from her hand.
Thwip. Thwip. Thwip.
The thrown kunai shot towards the shadow of a tree trunk.
Caw!
A black crow flew out from behind the trunk. It dropped a few feathers, flapped its wings, and flew away.
"Granny, what just happened?" Ye Cang slid her single sword back into the sheath on her back, walked up to Chiyo, and asked.
"Let's go, for now. Konoha's pursuit squad should be gone for real." Chiyo ignored Ye Cang's question and rushed off in the direction of the Sunagakure army.
"This old woman!!!" Ye Cang looked at Chiyo's ignoring back, stomped her foot, gritted her silver teeth in resentment, and followed.
Whoosh!
In the dense forest, Ye Cang chased after Chiyo.
"Granny, what happened back there?" Ye Cang caught up and asked the question again.
Chiyo rolled her old eyes and gave Ye Cang a look.
"Girl, can't you think it through for yourself?"
"Ugh, but isn't that what I have you for, you old lady? Just tell me!"
"Do you remember the eyes of the man who was chasing you just now?"
"Yes, those eyes should be the Sharingan, known as one of the three great dojutsu in the ninja world! And didn't that guy say his name was Uchiha?" Free from the pressure of pursuers, Ye Cang's voice took on a slightly lazy, teasing tone.
"Oh, Granny, you mean... the two of us were actually caught in an illusion just now?"
"That's right. The Sharingan, the Byakugan, and the legendary Rinnegan that only belonged to the Sage of Six Paths—these are the three great dojutsu inherited in the ninja world."
"Aside from the Rinnegan, which is a legend, the other two belong to Konoha's Kekkei Genkai."
"The Sharingan has always been the inheritance of Konoha's Uchiha clan. It holds incredible abilities. Once awakened, the user's power increases dramatically. Among these, the Sharingan is also known as the Eye of Illusion."
"That Uchiha Fugaku was able to make both of us fall into an illusion without even being physically present."
"I didn't expect that after so many years, another monstrous talent has appeared in the Uchiha clan! Hehehe. If I hadn't come to retrieve you for the retreat this time, little girl, you might have died in the line of duty." Chiyo turned her head to look at Ye Cang beside her.
This child was a ninja whose talent was no less than Rasa's within Sunagakure.
"How much damage did your surprise attack actually do to Konoha this time, that they would send someone like Uchiha Fugaku after you?" Uchiha Fugaku's appearance made Chiyo very curious about just what losses Ye Cang had inflicted on Konoha's camp to make Orochimaru dispatch such an elite character in pursuit.
Ye Cang's Scorch Release was extremely powerful for large-scale destruction, especially against a fixed site like a camp.
Hearing Chiyo's question, Ye Cang fell into a rare silence.
Chiyo waited for a moment but received no reply from Ye Cang. She turned to look at her.
Sensing Chiyo's gaze, Ye Cang turned her head to look in another direction.
Seeing this behavior, Chiyo understood.
Ye Cang's personality was the carefree type. If she had accomplished something, she wouldn't be able to hide it like this; she'd definitely be bragging about it.
"Could it be you ran into Orochimaru? If you met him, it's understandable you couldn't gain an advantage, given his strength," Chiyo said with a light laugh.
"I... I basically caused no casualties to Konoha's camp this time. And I didn't run into Orochimaru either!"
"Oh? Then who was it? Could it have been that strange girl, Tsunade?" Chiyo was a little puzzled. According to Sunagakure's intelligence, Tsunade was still at Konoha Hospital, so she probably hadn't come to the front lines.
Could their intelligence be lagging?
Just as Chiyo was secretly pondering this, Ye Cang spoke.
"Granny, it wasn't Tsunade. It was a child. A child no older than ten. My Scorch Release was blocked by that child's Water Release ninjutsu."
"The kid wasn't very old, but he could use powerful Water Release ninjutsu in a place like the Land of Rivers." Ye Cang paused here, remembering when she first saw Okamoto Dosuke. He had been wearing a white medical uniform. "And that kid... is a medical-nin."
"I was caught off-guard and injured by that kid. If I'd had just a little more time, I would have killed him!" A strong, murderous glint shone in Ye Cang's beautiful eyes.
After listening to Ye Cang's words, Chiyo's heart grew slightly heavy.
The appearance of Uchiha Fugaku had already sent waves through her mind. Now, after hearing Ye Cang's account, she felt it again.
Another genius. Konoha was truly an enviable village!
From the end of the Warring States Period to the establishment of the ninja villages, Konoha's powerful shinobi and geniuses had been endless. It was what gave Konoha the strength to stand proudly as the leader of the Five Great Nations.
Could Sunagakure really win this war against Konoha?
Chiyo's heart felt heavy.