Chapter 52 (Patreon)

In the depths of night, the black blade moved like ink.

The Kirigakure forces stationed along the border of the Land of Water had already begun to lose their nerve.

Especially after sunset.

Because they knew very well—

Whenever night fell, that blade-wielding god of death would awaken.

The Kirigakure shinobi were furious.

It was not that they were completely incapable of fighting back.

The problem was that they were being killed before they could even see what their enemy looked like.

At this point, they would rather Yujiro’s team charge straight at them in open combat.

At least then, they would not have to spend every night waiting for death.

“Ahhh! He’s here! The God of Death is here!”

“Sound the alarm! Enemy attack!”

Suddenly, another Kirigakure camp was thrown into chaos as Yujiro and the others struck again.

Half an hour later—

The camp was in ruins.

Bodies, broken weapons, and shattered tents lay scattered everywhere.

“Move out.”

Yujiro flicked the blood from his black blade, his expression calm.

“Next camp.”

Right now, he could feel his body growing stronger with every passing moment.

As expected, the battlefield was the fastest place to sharpen one’s strength.

When every day was spent standing on the edge of death, growth came naturally.

Because if you failed to grow stronger—

You died.

…

Konoha.

Hokage Building.

Inside the Hokage’s office, Minato held a report Jiraiya had sent from the border five minutes earlier.

“Yujiro’s three-man team has gone deep behind enemy lines and eliminated at least five hundred Kirigakure shinobi in two weeks.”

“Among them are several shinobi with strength comparable to jōnin.”

Just those first two lines were enough to leave Minato deeply shaken.

This level of strength was far beyond what he had expected.

So even now, he had still underestimated Yujiro.

Who could have imagined that the tense situation at the border would be broken so quickly by only three people?

Minato placed the report down and looked at the special Flying Thunder God kunai lying on his desk.

Ever since Yujiro and the others left the village, Minato had kept his attention on that kunai.

If anything went wrong, he would use the Flying Thunder God Technique and rush to their side immediately.

Knock, knock, knock.

At that moment, someone knocked on the office door.

“Come in.”

The door opened.

A man with a stern and dignified face stepped inside.

The moment Minato saw him, he stood up.

“Fugaku-san.”

“Fourth Hokage.” Uchiha Fugaku took a deep breath. “I have decided to accept the proposal you brought to me last time.”

Minato’s eyes brightened slightly.

“Then the Uchiha Clan is willing to send reinforcements to the front line?”

“Yes.” Fugaku nodded. “This time, I will personally lead our forces to the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.”

Minato’s expression showed clear relief.

After Yujiro had once said that the Uchiha Clan’s people did not seem like shinobi of Konoha, Minato had personally gone to speak with Fugaku.

Fugaku had been surprised by it as well.

During the Third Great Ninja War, the Uchiha Clan had remained passive, and in the end, they had nearly stopped participating altogether.

So Minato’s request had caught him completely off guard.

Still, Fugaku had made his decision.

“There is one thing,” Fugaku said in a low voice. “While I am away from the village, I do not want any trouble to fall on the Uchiha Clan.”

Minato nodded firmly.

“You have my word, Fugaku-san.”

…

Over the next two days, the news spread through Konoha.

The Uchiha Clan had sent hundreds of elite shinobi to reinforce the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.

Many civilians praised them for it.

Some, however, whispered that the Uchiha only moved because they could no longer withstand pressure from the Hokage.

Fugaku naturally knew both kinds of voices would appear.

But he did not care.

He left Konoha with the clan’s elite.

On one hand, he truly wanted the Uchiha Clan to stand together with Konoha again.

On the other hand, he was worried about Uchiha Itachi.

After all, he had not seen Itachi for half a month.

Minato had given him some information about Yujiro’s team, but none of it came from directly seeing the three of them.

As Itachi’s father, Fugaku could not help worrying about his son’s safety.

…

Land of Water.

Kirigakure.

Mizukage’s office.

Several high-ranking figures of Kirigakure had gathered there.

“Yagura-sama, if this continues, our losses will become unbearable!”

One elder’s face was twisted with distress.

“We must send elite shinobi to assassinate Yujiro’s team.”

Another older man spoke in a low, grave voice.

“That team is definitely a hidden assassination unit from Konoha.”

“Using the information we paid for with our men’s lives, we have already confirmed some basic details.”

“One of them is Hatake Kakashi, known as the cold-blooded Kakashi.”

“Another possesses the Sharingan.”

“And the last one is a man dressed in black who wields a blade.”

“Three people.”

The elder’s expression darkened.

“And those three are about to tear through our entire defensive line.”

After hearing the analysis, the elders of Kirigakure fell silent.

“Then do as Genji says.”

Yagura finally opened his mouth.

“Send the assassination unit.”

His tone remained calm and indifferent from beginning to end.

But none of them knew—

The current Yagura was no longer truly himself.

He was nothing more than a puppet being controlled by Obito’s Mangekyō Sharingan.

…

Near the outer region of the Land of Water.

The fighting continued.

It had never truly stopped.

Even Kakashi and Itachi were beginning to feel the pressure.

But Yujiro was different.

He moved like a demon on the battlefield, cutting down one enemy after another without hesitation.

One slash.

One body.

Two enemies.

Two corpses.

Then...

[Ding! Mission complete: Genin eliminated.]

[Reward: Fire Attribute +20 unlock points.]

[Ding! Mission complete: Jōnin eliminated.]

[Reward: Earth Attribute +50 unlock points.]

[Ding! Third Limiter unlocked.]