Uchiha Ran gazed down at Osayi, who was kneeling on the ground, a faint smile on his lips. There seemed to be a quiet glimmer in his eyes as he spoke calmly:
"Osayi, you've always believed that you broke free of the Sharingan's genjutsu. But it looks like… you guessed wrong."
Osayi clutched his chest in agony, desperately trying to stem the relentless flow of blood pouring from the wound in his torso. He couldn't accept what was happening before his eyes. He had always been confident that he could easily resolve any Sharingan genjutsu—yet now, that belief had been utterly shattered by Uchiha Ran.
"Was it… when you drew your sword?" Osayi sank to one knee, his voice trembling. "That's when the genjutsu activated? Impossible! There's no way a genjutsu could wound me this badly without affecting my perception or disrupting my chakra!"
"Damn you, Uchiha brat—what the hell did you do?!"
Looking down at the kneeling Osayi, Uchiha Ran seemed almost like a villain savoring his moment. Instead of killing him immediately, he chose to explain, his tone eerily composed.
"This is my genjutsu—Life Is But a Dream. The instant I drew my blade, you were already completely hypnotized."
"…Completely hypnotized?" Osayi lowered his head.
"Yes. Complete hypnosis," Ran replied softly. "Unless you're some special kind of sensory-type ninja, you'll never realize you've been hypnotized. Even now, even after I've told you the truth, you still can't break it. So go—repent in the Pure Land."
As if devoid of emotion, Uchiha Ran slowly pushed Life Is But a Dream toward Osayi's head.
"Uchiha brat," Osayi snarled, suddenly reaching out and gripping the blade that was piercing toward his brain. "The path of a ninja is paved with sacrifice. Someone like you—who thinks he's won and then toys with his enemy—will only bring about his own destruction in the end!"
"Let's vanish together like dust!"
"Lightning Release Secret Art—Thunderclap, Form Eight!"
Boom—!!
A colossal explosion erupted. A blazing fireball surged skyward as lightning scattered wildly in all directions.
A magnificent, miniature mushroom cloud rose into the air, countless arcs of plasma crawling across the battlefield.
The explosion was deafening. The sky itself was dyed a brilliant gold.
In the final instant before everything was consumed, Osayi recalled a conversation with the Third Raikage.
"Osayi, stay behind me. The beautiful land of Konoha—we will claim it without fail."
"Yes, Third Raikage-sama! I will follow you closely and eliminate Konoha's threats!"
Lightning flooded his vision, and Osayi's voice echoed faintly through the chaos:
"Brat… come with me—"
In the end, it was nothing more than wishful thinking.
Uchiha Ran was already standing on a distant tree branch, calmly watching as the shockwave from the explosion swept past.
"What a pity, Osayi," he said indifferently. "I already told you—you were under Life Is But a Dream. Completely hypnotized. Everything you saw, every person you faced, could have been nothing more than an illusion. I was merely curious whether you might reveal some special information."
He paused, then added coolly:
"With that explosion, I don't even need to clean up the body. As expected—an insect should crawl on the ground, then scatter with the wind. What matters now is going to the Land of Frost to seek reinforcements. You weren't even worth another glance."
With a flick of his wrist, Uchiha Ran sheathed Life Is But a Dream. In the next instant, he vanished.
Only two leaves drifted slowly down from the tree.
Not long after Ran's departure, a Frost Country patrol squad arriving to смен shifts reached the site of the explosion.
"There are only traces of a large-scale lightning explosion here. All other evidence has been erased."
"It's a Cloud ninja from the Land of Lightning! Only they possess Lightning Release of this magnitude. Recently, they've been active in the Land of Rice Fields. Lord Frost Shadow has already ordered Jōnin Pinto to prepare for an investigation."
"Damn it… why are Cloud ninja appearing here? Have they set their sights on the Land of Frost?"
"Don't jump to conclusions. Leave it to the higher-ups."
"Yes, sir!"
Shortly after the Frost ninja withdrew, another group arrived at the blast site.
"Unacceptable! Why would Osayi use a forbidden technique and sacrifice himself in a place like this?!"
"Lord Troy, then should we still proceed to seize the Seven-Tails from Takigakure?"
"No. Without Osayi's Storm Release, and with Lord A and Killer B absent, we can't handle the Seven-Tails anymore. Withdraw and rendezvous with Lord Dodai."
"Yes, Lord Troy!"
As for Uchiha Ran carrying Namikaze Minato's request for aid—this was something the Frost Ninja leadership had long anticipated. Once they learned that a vital trade route had been destroyed by the Cloud Village, the Frost leadership was furious. They immediately arranged for Pinto to accompany Uchiha Ran to the border of the Land of Rice Fields.
"Pinto," the leader instructed before departure, "don't push yourself too hard. Leave as much as possible to the Konoha ninja."
Along the way, Pinto chatted casually with Uchiha Ran.
"Ran-san, you're truly an outstanding Uchiha—already assigned to border missions at such a young age."
"You flatter me too much, Jōnin Pinto," Ran replied modestly, adjusting his glasses. "I'm just an insignificant, ordinary Uchiha. Those elders who've already awakened their eyes—that's where the truly exceptional Uchiha are."
Pinto neither agreed nor disagreed. Everyone knew that among the Uchiha, there were prodigies who rose to fame early, and others who bloomed late. As long as they experienced a drastic change—especially on the border battlefield—awakening the Sharingan was only a matter of time.
Uchiha Ran and Pinto soon returned to Konoha's encampment.
After reporting the Frost Country mission results to Namikaze Minato, Pinto also informed him that the Cloud Village had, in effect, already invaded the Land of Frost.
"A large-scale Lightning Release explosion…" Minato murmured thoughtfully. "So besides the A–B duo, Cloud Village has other experts operating here as well."
"Commander Minato," Nara Shikaku added, "we've already uprooted most of Cloud's outposts in the area. I suspect they're about to make a move. Since their forces aren't fully assembled yet, perhaps now is the right time to meet them directly. They've been staying in the Land of Rice Fields, and everyone's on edge."
"I agree," Minato nodded. "At present, we have Ino–Shika–Chō, myself, Jōnin Yūhi Kurenai's father—no, Jōnin Sarutobi Shinku—Jōnin Pinto, as well as Ran, Tsubaki, and Dōmu. That should be enough to meet them."
As he spoke, Minato handed a Flying Thunder God kunai to Inuzuka Tsubaki.
Minato's mastery of the Flying Thunder God had already reached a refined level. He entrusted the marked kunai to Tsubaki, who specialized in reconnaissance, instructing her to return to the Land of Fire's border and find a safe, concealed area. If a dangerous battle broke out, he would use Flying Thunder God to extract everyone.
At the same time, Minato ordered Dōmu and Uchiha Ran to remain at the rear of the formation, ready to scatter their Flying Thunder God kunai across the battlefield if necessary.
Meanwhile, within the Cloud Village camp, A was in a towering rage.
He didn't even know who Osayi had fought. He didn't know who had killed him—nor whether Osayi had managed to take his enemy down with him through self-destruction.
Tomorrow.
He would meet the Konoha ninja.
Osayi's death would not be written off so easily.
The Fourth Raikage slammed his fist into the ground, his fury shaking the earth.
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