Uchiha Seiryu [217-219] (Patreon)

Chapter 217: The Meaning of the Will of Fire

"Now, hand over Konohamaru." Seiryu looked at the other side coldly, signaling them to give up the hostage.

"You think I'm an idiot?" The Kumogakure ninja holding Konohamaru shouted, as if raising his voice would give him more courage. "Escort us to the border. Once Lord Raikage is safely across, I'll let this brat go."

"You're threatening me?" Seiryu narrowed his eyes. The just-brightening sky darkened again, thunder crackling in the clouds.

"Don't move!" The Kumogakure ninja holding Konohamaru raised his other hand, brandishing a lit explosive tag. "This tag is already active. If my chakra disappears, this kid and I will both be blown sky-high."

"Interesting." Seiryu sheathed his sword and nodded. "Alright, let's go."

At this, the sealing team stepped forward, trying to apply chakra-sealing techniques to the remaining Kumogakure ninja.

But the remaining Kumogakure ninja refused to be captured easily. One of them drew his weapon to resist—but a bolt of lightning from the sky struck him down instantly, turning him to a charred corpse.

"What are you doing?" the Kumogakure ninja holding Konohamaru shouted.

"You only said you'd trade Konohamaru for your Raikage. These people weren't part of the deal," Seiryu said calmly. "I'm just handling some prisoners who refused to surrender."

"You…" The man was stunned, but then snapped angrily, "Of course I meant my teammates too! If you don't want this kid to get hurt, escort them all to the Land of Lightning."

"Do you think I'm that easy to push around?" Seiryu replied coldly. "At most, it's one for one. Otherwise—go ahead and kill the hostage, and we'll go to war."

"This kid is the grandson of your Third Hokage!" the other gritted out.

Everyone present turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen wanted to say something, but realizing that Seiryu was the one in charge here, he bit his lip and said, "Konohamaru is my grandson, and a future ninja of Konoha. Every member of the Sarutobi clan is prepared to sacrifice for the village."

Seiryu spoke slowly, "The reason I'm willing to trade your Raikage for Konohamaru isn't because he's the Third Hokage's grandson, but because the Will of Fire tells us that, when necessary, the leaves of our village can burn brightly to illuminate the young sprouts. But that doesn't mean you can make endless unreasonable demands. Konoha has never feared war!"

The Kumogakure ninja's expression shifted. He'd hoped to provoke inner conflict in Konoha by bringing up Hiruzen, but didn't expect the old man—who once ignored the Hyuga clan's plight for the sake of peace—would stand so firm when his own grandson was threatened.

Konoha's morale soared after Seiryu's words.

Rescuing a Konoha child at great cost, not just the Hokage's grandson, was a different matter entirely.

Some of the ninjas from old clans, especially the Hyuga—who had suffered similar situations—couldn't help but think: if their own children were ever in danger, would the Hokage also do anything to protect the village's children?

No one doubted it. Since Seiryu became Hokage, his policies—like banning early graduation from the academy and raising the conscription age to 12—made clear his stance: as long as he was there, no child needed to go to war.

"You escort them to the border first. We'll negotiate prisoner exchange after the Raikage is back in the Land of Lightning. Until then, you must ensure their safety," the man holding Konohamaru said, masking his nerves.

"Fine. Let's go," Seiryu replied.

Konoha's ninjas sealed the prisoners' chakra, bound their hands, and marched them in a line toward the border, following Seiryu and the Third Hokage.

Sasuke and Neji approached Seiryu at this point.

"Sensei, Neji and I will stay here," Sasuke said. "Naruto's not doing well."

"Not well?" Seiryu glanced over. Naruto was slumped by a scorched tree, dazed and listless, not even responding to Deidara waving a hand in front of him.

"Is it the battlefield?" Seiryu understood at once. His own first time on the battlefield had been much the same.

Sasuke and Neji, thanks to their upbringing and training, had always had stable minds and adapted better. But kind-hearted Naruto, suddenly faced with the horrors of war, was deeply shaken. Seiryu himself, having come from a more peaceful world, had found it hard to accept the cruelty of the ninja world at first.

Back then, even after unlocking his Sharingan under immense stress, it had taken Seiryu nearly a month to get used to battlefields.

Seiryu knew lectures wouldn't help. It was better for Sasuke and Neji, his close friends, to stay and help Naruto work through it.

He nodded, "Alright, you two stay and oversee the battlefield. Make sure all our fallen comrades are brought home as intact as possible."

"Understood!" Sasuke nodded firmly.

…

Seiryu led Konoha's forces swiftly toward the border.

By noon, they'd crossed the Land of Hot Water and reached the border with the Land of Lightning.

Kakashi was already there, leading Konoha's border troops against the assembled Kumogakure forces.

Both Kumogakure Jinchuriki were present, but Kakashi's Mangekyo Sharingan made them wary.

After all, their intel said Seiryu didn't use genjutsu, but it said nothing about other Mangekyo users. Even perfect Jinchuriki like Killer Bee and Yugito Nii weren't eager to test if Mangekyo-level illusions would work on them.

Chapter 218: Naruto's Doubts

After a great battle, dawn arrived on a devastated battlefield. What was once a lush forest was now a wasteland.

Morning mist clung to the ravine like a shroud. A broken lightning blade was stuck in the remains of a massive cedar, still crackling with chakra, scorching spiral marks into the bark.

Soil that had been washed clean by a storm three days ago was now stained dark brown, blood coagulating in the gullies like amber.

A crow's talons dug into a Konoha ninja's empty eye socket. The ninja's throat had been slashed through, and maggots crawled in the broken windpipe.

Even in death, he clutched half a Kumogakure forehead protector, the metal edge embedded in his palm—perhaps a trophy he took from an enemy before dying.

Neji shooed away the crows and straightened his comrade's body, then waved for the retrieval team to come.

A stream carried scrolls covered in sealing charms eastward, blood-foam swirling into strange faces in the eddies. Downstream, the charred corpse of a Kumogakure jonin knelt half-submerged, seven burning explosive kunai in his back, his hands forming the sign—usually the second-to-last in lightning jutsu, but now, what jutsu he'd tried to use would forever be a mystery.

A massive crater pockmarked with honeycomb holes marked where hundreds of explosive tags had detonated together.

Blasted ribs stuck out at angles, tattered green vests clinging to them. A severed hand gripped a rock fissure, blue-and-white cloth jammed under its nails—remnants from a Kumogakure ninja who'd tried to shield himself from the blast.

A rustle came from a pile of dead leaves; a breeze revealed a Konoha chunin beneath, eyes open, reflecting a melted Kumogakure forehead protector as molten metal dripped from a twisted mask.

Wind moaned through a thicket of senbon needles.

At the center, a Konoha special jonin skewered through the chest by a lightning jutsu still stood upright, pinned by a lightning-empowered stake, left hand forming a sign, right hand's earth spear pointing precisely at his enemy's heart.

Sasuke struggled to separate the bodies of a Konoha ninja and a Kumogakure ninja locked in death. Even with a fatal wound in his gut, the Konoha chunin had managed to stab his kunai into his enemy's chest—both dying together.

Sasuke gently laid them flat, closed the Konoha ninja's eyes, and signaled the retrieval team to preserve the bodies for burial.

"Naruto, don't just stand there. We need to gather our comrades' bodies and bring them home before noon," Neji said softly.

"Neji, is this what war is?" Naruto stood up, lips tight, struggling to speak. As he took a step, his foot slipped.

He stumbled back, crunching a broken rib. The stench hit him like a living thing, writhing into his nose and stomach. He clamped his mouth shut, a muffled sob startling the crows feeding on brains nearby.

Two types of forehead protectors glinted in the pile of bodies. A Konoha ninja at the top lay face-up, a cloud-patterned kunai in his right eye socket.

Naruto retched, stomach acid and ramen splattering the scorched earth, his fingers digging into the mud and touching something slick—a length of intestine, still wrapped with an explosive tag, hanging from a leg guard.

Sasuke's kunai flashed, flicking the purple organ aside.

"Don't move carelessly," Sasuke warned, scanning the area. "If you step on a trap, it'll be trouble."

"You okay?" Neji asked, patting Naruto's back.

Naruto jerked his head up, blue eyes bloodshot. "Why… why did they have to tear people apart like this?!"

His shout startled more crows, who fled the corpse hanging in a tree, black blood dripping from the stump of its neck.

"Those people—friend or foe—someone's father or son, someone's family is waiting for them at home, but now they're all dead here!" Naruto cried.

"You're right. But this is war," Sasuke said, glancing at his emotional friend. "Sensei says war is the continuation of politics. As long as there are leaders trading interests, war will never end."

Before Sasuke finished, Naruto rushed to a collapsed earthen wall.

He clawed at the rubble, trying to free a trapped Kumogakure wounded man.

Neji's face changed. He lunged forward, shouting, "Are you crazy? There's an explosive tag in his sleeve!"

"But he's still alive!" Naruto's face glowed in the morning sun. "Hang in there!"

He slapped a bandage over the wound, not noticing the enemy gathering chakra in his left hand.

A dull sound and a flash of lightning—Sasuke coldly drove his Chidori into the enemy's heart, the blade reflecting Naruto's stunned face. "This is who you wanted to save."

"I…" Naruto's injured arm began to heal in a puff of smoke as Neji set him down. Naruto collapsed again, muttering, "Why? I just wanted to save him."

"Sensei was right. The ninja system in this world is deeply flawed," Neji said quietly.

At that moment, inside his mind, Naruto looked up at the Nine-Tails behind the seal.

The Nine-Tails, for once not sleeping, sat up and looked down at Naruto.

"Kid, stop overthinking. I can feel your negative emotions—keeps me from sleeping," the Nine-Tails grumbled.

"Sorry, Kurama," Naruto said apologetically. "And… thanks for your help earlier."

"Hmph. I just didn't want my Jinchuriki to die so pathetically," the Nine-Tails snorted.

"Why does chakra have to be used for war, as a weapon to kill?" Naruto sighed.

The Nine-Tails paused, lost in thought. He remembered a long-ago boy who'd asked the same thing—why, when the Sage of Six Paths had hoped chakra would connect people and foster understanding, had it become an instrument of war?

Back then, the Nine-Tails had no answer. Now, after thousands of years, he still didn't.

"I don't know," the Nine-Tails said. "In my long life, I've seen humans destroy each other countless times. You always say tailed beasts are disasters, but I've watched you spend years making chakra into deadlier jutsu just to kill each other better."

He had to admit, Naruto was very much like that boy—kind, and a bit naïve.

"Isn't there any way for everyone to give up war?" Naruto murmured.

"Even Hashirama and Madara couldn't solve it. They brought peace for a while, but once they were gone, war returned," the Nine-Tails replied. "You humans are strange creatures."

Naruto fell silent, then left the sealed space without a word.

"Hey? Naruto? You okay?" Deidara waved a hand in front of him.

"Brother Deidara," Naruto said quietly, realizing he was riding on Deidara's clay bird. "This is…"

"Uchiha kid said you weren't doing well, so he asked me to take you back to the village," Deidara replied.

"Thanks," Naruto forced a smile.

"No need to thank me!" Deidara slapped his shoulder. "Did you see my art last night? Wasn't it awesome?"

Naruto's mind flashed back to the explosions Deidara had caused, and the horror of those who died.

"Big bro… do you remember how many people you killed yesterday?" Naruto's voice trembled.

"Who knows?" Deidara shrugged. "They were all enemies anyway. If they became part of my art, at least they died for something."

Chapter 219: Clash at the Front

At the border of the Land of Hot Water, the sky suddenly darkened. The Konoha army parted, letting Seiryu stride forward, the Fifth Hokage's cloak billowing behind him in the wind.

"There he is," Killer Bee and Yugito Nii watched Seiryu approach cautiously. When Killer Bee saw who Seiryu was carrying, he was shocked.

"Big brother?" Seeing A's badly burned body, Killer Bee tried to rush forward, but Yugito stopped him.

"Calm down, Bee. The Raikage is in their hands—we can't risk it now," Yugito said.

"Everyone's here," Seiryu observed the two strongest Jinchuriki on the enemy side, then turned to the Kumogakure ninja holding Konohamaru. "Let's begin the exchange."

The Kumogakure ninja was sweating, struggling to keep the explosive tag primed and keep hold of Konohamaru, all while under the deadly glare of Konoha.

By the time he reached the front line, his back was soaked with sweat, but he never let go of Konohamaru's neck.

"Send the Raikage across the border first!" he shouted.

"Is that how exchanges work?" Seiryu narrowed his eyes. Under his gaze, the Kumogakure ninja's hands shook.

"Hurry up and send the Raikage across, or I'll take this brat with me!" he yelled, lifting Konohamaru.

"Konohamaru!" Hiruzen Sarutobi cried anxiously.

"Alright, have it your way." Seiryu laughed lightly, then tossed A toward Killer Bee and Yugito as if he were trash.

Killer Bee's octopus tentacle caught A and pulled him back.

"Big brother!" Killer Bee shouted, frantic. "Medics! Medics!"

The moment the Raikage was safely back, the Kumogakure ninja holding Konohamaru suddenly grinned maniacally.

"Damn Konoha! Die!" He released his chakra, and the primed explosive tag glowed bright white. He never planned to go back alive; seeing the Raikage safe, he decided to take Konohamaru with him.

But in the next instant, Seiryu appeared in front of him. With a chakra-infused hand, he laid out a complex sealing jutsu—the explosion's fire was instantly absorbed into the seal in Seiryu's hand.

A moment later, Seiryu lifted Konohamaru and returned to the front lines, leaving behind only a headless corpse.

"Sealing jutsu…" Yugito's face was grave. The intel said Seiryu didn't use illusions, so the Jinchuriki had felt safe. But sealing techniques were even more threatening to them than illusions.

Even if they could risk resisting a Mangekyo illusion, a sealing jutsu was deadly.

Seiryu tossed the still-unconscious Konohamaru to Hiruzen, who checked his grandson and, seeing he was just drugged, handed him to a clansman, then stood beside Seiryu. With two Hokage at the front, Konoha's morale soared.

Meanwhile, the Kumogakure army, having witnessed their Raikage thrown back like garbage, lost their fighting spirit.

Then, A—who was being treated—suddenly had his right arm explode in a spray of blood.

"Uchiha… Seiryu!" Killer Bee, seeing his brother injured, glared at Seiryu, drew his sword, and charged.

As Killer Bee ran, chakra surged around him. In moments, the ox-headed octopus tailed beast appeared.

Seiryu faced the rampaging Killer Bee without flinching. "I could have ended this inside your borders. Do you know why I brought it here instead?"

His eyes blazed. Black Susano'o rose from the ground, mixing with his chakra. With a single punch, he smashed the tailed beast into the earth.

From above, Susano'o spoke coldly to the Kumogakure army, "I wanted you to see your Raikage's fate, so you'd understand the cost of provoking Konoha."

The towering Susano'o drew two swords, lightning gathering along their blades. In an instant, it unleashed two slashes like rifts in the sky, sweeping toward the Kumogakure army.

Seeing this, the eight-tailed beast quickly got to its feet and retreated, shielding the army.

"Matatabi!" Yugito shouted, transforming into a blue-flamed cat. Together, they formed tailed beast bombs to intercept the lightning blades.

A massive explosion rocked the border plains. Though the bombs weakened Seiryu's attack, the remaining lightning swept forward. Both tailed beasts had to shield the army with their bodies.

The two massive beasts crashed down in front of the Kumogakure army. The Eight-Tails bore a huge gash, and Matatabi was knocked back to its original form.