On the sixth day after Shisui requested reinforcements, the Mist shinobi abruptly ceased all major movements. Their harassment dwindled to the point that it barely matched the scale of ordinary mission-level skirmishes.
On the seventh day, Shisui's scouts reported that the reinforcements had reached a point eighty li {kilometers} from the camp.
At a shinobi's full speed, that distance could be covered in mere hours.
"At their pace? I'd say they'll take another two days to cover that distance."
Uchiha Hui laughed in irritation as he listened to the report.
Shisui nodded. Even he had to admit Hui wasn't wrong.
Still, he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he drew out a letter he had prepared long ago.
"It's fine. Let them take their time. Hui, I need you to deliver this personally to Commander Nara. Request fresh orders and bring his reply back by tomorrow—no later."
"No problem. Leave it to me! I'm not one of those weaklings who can't handle a little travel."
Hui grinned, took the letter without asking further questions, and immediately set off.
After he left, Sima Yi closed the book he had been reading and spoke calmly.
"You've thought this through? Once you make your move, their hostility toward you will only deepen."
"Yes, Teacher."
Shisui's gaze was steady.
"I've made up my mind. If I want to save the village, I must first save the clan. Konoha cannot remain in the hands of people like them."
The delayed reinforcements had stripped away yet another layer of illusion. If the Mist truly had sent more troops, who would have cared whether the Uchiha lived or died? Who would have cared about the safety of the front lines?
Sima Yi nodded with quiet satisfaction.
At last, Shisui had recognized where he truly stood.
"Then act as you see fit."
"Yes, Teacher."
That night, Hui sprinted hundreds of li, bypassing the sluggish reinforcement force and arriving at the Uchiha compound" camp under cover of darkness to request an audience with Nara Suzaku.
Seeing Uchiha Hui arrive so late, Suzaku's scalp prickled.
Had the front collapsed? Had the Mist launched something major?
"Commander Nara, Captain Shisui asked me to deliver this to you personally. Please read it and reply as soon as possible."
Hui's grave expression only confirmed Suzaku's worst suspicions.
Heart sinking, he took the letter and read.
It has been confirmed that Kirigakure has no reinforcements.
However, their elite shinobi have harassed our lines day and night for several consecutive days.
Our manpower is insufficient to guard the entire line, and reinforcements have yet to arrive.
We request permission to withdraw to the rear and await reinforcement.
Please advise.
…That was it?
If the Mist had no follow-up forces, then what were the reinforcements for in the first place? The enemy was clearly just trying to harass them.
Suzaku reread the letter twice to ensure he hadn't misunderstood.
Then he slowly looked up at Hui.
After a long pause—and suppressing a strong urge to hit someone—he convened the jōnin for discussion and issued his decision.
"Permission granted. Uchiha Shisui is authorized to withdraw to the secondary line of defense. Once relieved by subsequent forces, he is to return to Konoha."
The assembled jōnin nodded in relief. If the front didn't truly need support, they could proceed home without worry.
Only Kohane Utatane looked displeased. Her nephew had already been dispatched forward. If he returned alongside the Uchiha, the villagers would hardly notice him at all.
But by her calculations, the reinforcements were nearly there already. There was no recalling them now.
Hui, for his part, couldn't care less about her thoughts. He grabbed the order and immediately departed, racing back through the night.
Meanwhile, in the Land of Whirlpools, Ao received secret intelligence of his own.
"Konoha reinforcements?" he frowned. "Where did this information come from?"
Their reconnaissance units had been wiped out. How could they possibly know this?
"It was delivered deliberately," one aide replied. "Likely the same individual behind the previous night raid."
He didn't care about the source. What mattered was whether it was true.
"Even if it is," another aide muttered, "with the Uchiha guarding the front, we can't break through."
"Our losses from the last raid were severe," the first aide added. "We should proceed cautiously."
Ao's expression darkened.
Now he understood why the previous commander had approved that night attack.
The Mizukage had already planned this.
"…Finances."
He exhaled heavily and burned the intelligence report.
"It's likely genuine."
"So what? We can't get past the Uchiha anyway."
"Yes. Let's abandon this. Our numbers are already too thin. As for the Mizukage's order…"
None of them wanted to chase Sharingan anymore. They only wanted to return home. The resentment among the bloodline shinobi was reaching a breaking point.
Ao hesitated—but seeing the others unwilling, he relented.
However—
The next morning—
"What did you say? The Uchiha have withdrawn?"
All three of them stared in disbelief.
Ao personally went to the front with his Byakugan activated.
"They've truly retreated… Are they falling back to the secondary line, or returning to Konoha?"
If they were heading home outright, that would be a blatant insult. The Mist hadn't even left yet.
"Likely to the second line."
The first defensive line stretched fifty li around the Uchiha camp. Beyond that lay the second.
Ao's Byakugan gleamed as he considered the intelligence from the previous night.
Then—
He laughed.
"Heaven has handed us an opportunity. It seems Konoha's internal conflicts are no less severe than our own."
He understood now.
Betraying comrades disgusted him.
And yet—
He was about to do exactly what his unseen counterpart expected.
After all—
They were the same kind of people.
"Assemble everyone. We move tonight."
Meanwhile, thirty li from the front—
"Captain Rikito, it's nearly dark. Only thirty li remain to the camp. Should we increase speed and arrive before nightfall?"
Several squad leaders stared at the seventeen-year-old with strained expressions.
Even if they didn't want to support the Uchiha wholeheartedly, this display was embarrassing.
A day's march of less than thirty li? Pausing every few steps to "scan for danger"? The intention was painfully obvious.
"No need," Rikito replied calmly. "The closer we are to the front, the more cautious we must be. Traveling at night is dangerous. If the Mist exploit that, who will take responsibility?"
"With the Uchiha guarding the front, how could Mist shinobi possibly appear here?"
The squad leaders held their tongues. None dared openly defy him.
Only the younger members muttered in dissatisfaction—quickly silenced by their superiors.
That night, Rikito ordered campfires lit for cooking.
For someone who preached caution—
His actions showed none.
In the shadows of the forest—
A cold voice whispered.
"They're lighting fires here? They truly don't think we exist."