In the dark forest, the team led by Uchiha Chiya, disguised as Iwa-nin, moved quickly through the trees.
Behind them, Root ninja from the organization pursued relentlessly.
"Faster!"
A Root ninja roared.
"Don't let them escape!"
Chiya could faintly hear the voices behind him.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. He deliberately slowed his pace from time to time, just enough to let the pursuing force always catch a glimpse of their silhouettes.
He had already calculated every step.
Less than five miles from the border, the Iwagakure teams that Fugaku had mentioned were just ahead.
Suddenly, familiar chakra came from within the trees.
Chiya's gaze flashed as he looked over.
Then several figures darted out from inside.
These people were the Uchiha unit that had separated earlier.
Fugaku, leading the group, lowered his voice and quickly moved close to Chiya.
"Their advance force has been lured over according to plan. They are at the mountain valley one mile ahead."
Chiya gave a nod.
'Good.'
He made a hand gesture. Ten elite Uchiha immediately understood and quickly scattered into the darkness.
Chiya raised his hand and formed seals. Ten copies of "Chiya" from Iwagakure appeared.
He took Fugaku with him and continued running forward. The Root ninja behind them noticed nothing unusual.
"Lord Danzo's order is to capture them alive!"
The Root squad leader gritted his teeth.
"They must not be allowed to escape from the Land of Fire!"
"Faster! They are picking up speed!"
A Root ninja looked at the figures ahead that were about to disappear and a flash of anxiety crossed his face.
"Can't catch up?"
Watching the "Iwa-nin" ahead vanish, the leading Root captain's face filled with fury.
"Damned Iwa-nin, they were toying with us!"
"Captain, look over there!"
A Root ninja sensed something unusual and his eyes lit up at once.
Everyone followed the line of sight and looked over.
Scattered points of firelight could actually be seen in the distance.
"Iwagakure ninja!"
"No wonder they were so bold. So this is their main base!"
"Captain, what do we do?"
"What do you mean what do we do? This is still our Land of Fire beneath our feet!"
"Kill! Charge in!"
"..."
Border mountain valley. The moonlight was cold and pale.
The Iwagakure team was resting and regrouping.
The one-eyed captain leading them was patrolling the surrounding area.
Ever since yesterday, when he noticed signs of Konoha-nin activity, he had brought his people over.
Who would have thought those ninja would be so capable of fleeing, their speed extremely fast.
His own group was not a tracking-specialized combat unit, and he felt frustrated inside.
He could not help but add a few more points of contempt toward Konoha-nin.
'These Konoha-nin are truly this cowardly!'
The one-eyed captain glanced casually at the quiet forest, then suddenly furrowed his brow.
His sharp gaze swept toward the trees.
'There is movement.'
In the next second, several battered Iwa-nin burst out from the tree cover, their bodies bearing obvious marks of battle.
"Captain!"
"It is Konoha-nin. They are charging this way!"
The one-eyed captain's pupils contracted as he looked ahead.
Before he could think further, dozens of black-clad ninja had already burst out of the forest. The Konoha headbands on their foreheads gleamed with cold light under the moonlight.
"Iwagakure trash!"
The Root squad leader saw the large number of Iwa-nin and his fury ignited.
"You dare invade the Land of Fire. Not one of you will leave here alive today!"
The one-eyed captain's expression changed sharply.
It was true that they had been thinking about invading over these past few days, to cause some trouble for Konoha.
But they had not yet taken any concrete action.
These usually timid Konoha-nin actually dared to strike first?
Being so bold like this, could it mean there is an ambush?
Watching one black dot after another rushing toward them, he became certain in his heart.
'These Konoha-nin truly are underhanded!'
'Konoha, you think you have us cornered?'
'We Iwa-nin are not afraid of death!'
"Enemy attack! Prepare for battle!"
The one-eyed captain roared.
He stepped back while forming seals.
"Earth Style, Splitting Tile Jutsu!"
Four or five earth shields drilled up from the ground and blocked the way ahead.
The jutsu launched with a loud and powerful sound.
In the distance, one point of firelight after another lit up.
The Iwagakure ninja were clearly stirred up, and immediately charged toward this direction.
The two forces clashed together.
There were no fewer than a hundred people in total.
All kinds of jutsu flew through the air. Screams, explosions, and roars rose and fell without pause.
...
Chiya led the Uchiha group and had already quietly withdrawn to the shadows at the edge of the battlefield.
"Are we going to move in?"
Fugaku looked toward the fighting, asking in a low voice.
Chiya shook his head. Inside his three-tomoe Sharingan the scene of slaughter was reflected.
"No rush. Let them bite each other for now."
At the center of the battlefield, Earth Style and Fire Style collided and produced deafening explosions.
"Earth Style, Mountain Earth Jutsu!"
The one-eyed captain slammed both palms to the ground. A massive rock wall rose from the earth and crushed several Root ninja into pulp.
"Wind Style, Vacuum Consecutive Waves!"
The Root ninja pushed back without yielding. Sharp wind blades cut three Iwa-nin in half at the waist.
Root had been trained purely for killing. Against the Uchiha, who often read the enemy one step ahead, they gained no advantage.
But against these ordinary Iwagakure ninja, their combat power was at full capacity.
Very soon, blood had stained the entire mountain valley red.
Chiya watched with cold eyes alongside his group, and at that moment he noticed Danzo's figure finally appear at the edge of the battlefield.
The old fox Danzo's expression was extremely ugly.
Seeing this scene, Chiya's lips curved into a smile.
'Danzo, do you like the gift I sent you?'
"That advisor actually entered the fight himself!"
A nearby Uchiha said with surprise.
"He is a Wind Style user. This Hokage advisor is quite powerful!"
Chiya's gaze flickered.
'Danzo's strength is real enough.'
'Otherwise he would not have cultivated so many Root talents.'
"Chiya, enough people have died. Should we not..."
With Danzo personally joining the battle, the scale of victory quickly tipped toward Root's side.
"Yes, about time!"
Chiya's lips curled upward. He waved his hand at everyone.
They all raised their hands and formed seals, returning once more to their Uchiha appearances.
Even their clothing had changed back, Uchiha uniforms with the large clan crest on their backs.
The Uchiha, uniformly dressed and lined up in unison, looked truly like a striking sight.
"Everyone, it is about time for us to pick the peaches!"
Chiya returned to his original appearance, a smile spreading across his face.
"One principle: if you can use an explosive tag, use one. If you can use Fire Style, use Fire Style. If you can ambush, prioritize ambushing!"
"All of you are the elites of the clan, and will be the hope of our Uchiha in the future! Showing our faces is necessary, but protecting yourselves must always come first!"
Hearing these words, everyone's expressions became solemn.
"Yes!"
Chiya gave a nod and looked toward the battlefield.
"Charge!"
The moment Chiya's words fell, he led the way and burst forward.
"Lord Danzo, leave the fighting to us Uchiha!"
Hearing that familiar voice, Danzo turned around.
Seeing it was Uchiha Chiya and a group of Uchiha, his face was extremely colorful, as though he were constipated.
He absolutely did not believe these Uchiha would show up here by such a coincidence.
Danzo's gaze fell on the feet of one Uchiha member. The mud on them had clearly already dried.
'These people had obviously been watching for a while now!'
"Uchiha. Very good!"
Danzo laughed in fury.
"Thank you for the praise, Lord Danzo. Our Uchiha have always been very good!"
Chiya said with a smile.
He quickly moved to a low-lying depression, took a deep breath, raised his hands, and formed seals.
"Fire Style, Great Fire Annihilation!"
Scorching flames poured out from Chiya's mouth.
The fire spread rapidly from the depression upward to higher ground, generating a powerful fire-storm in the process. The surrounding area instantly became a sea of flames.
The Iwagakure ninja were directly engulfed within it.
Because the flames covered an extremely wide area, they were very difficult to dodge and very difficult to defend against. Whether intentional or not, even the Root ninja who were still fighting were burned by the flames as well.
It was just that their burns were lighter.
The rapidly advancing fire directly swallowed an entire front row of Iwagakure ninja.
"Fire Style, Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Fire Style, Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
"..."
One Uchiha after another stood beside Chiya.
They launched jutsu toward the center of the battlefield and threw kunai wrapped with explosive tags.
The casualties among the Iwagakure ninja mounted quickly, but the Root ninja were affected as well, sustaining various degrees of injury.
'These are all my Root elites!'
'What the Uchiha just did was clearly deliberate!'
This scene made Danzo tremble all over with rage.
'Evil Uchiha!'
'They truly deserve to die!'
Watching as the last of the Iwagakure ninja were wiped out while the Uchiha were still firing off Fire Style jutsu, Danzo could finally no longer hold it in.
"Uchiha Chiya! Stop right now!"