Chapter 110 — Hatred
Uchiha Kei chose to retreat in a straight line, though he intentionally shifted his route slightly away from Fukuhiko Kōhei's path.
Moreover, he deliberately waited a short while before setting off.
He didn't want what was about to happen to involve Fukuhiko Kōhei—or worse, be discovered by him.
Uchiha Kei had always been a calm and cautious person.
However, his calmness and caution didn't mean he was without a temper.
Kei firmly believed that the most prudent way to deal with trouble was to eliminate the root of the problem completely.
If the source was gone, then the trouble would vanish along with it.
It was much like a joke he remembered from a video game he had played in his previous life—
"If I kill everyone, there'll be no witnesses to my crime."
At first, Uchiha Kei had thought of it as a mere joke, but not anymore.
His experiences—especially before he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan—had taught him a harsh truth:
If everyone who witnessed his Sharingan was dead, then no one could reveal his secret.
Of course, things were different now.
With the power of the Mangekyō, he no longer cared whether his regular Sharingan was exposed.
Between Kei and Kitsuchi, their relationship had already gone far beyond mere trouble—
There was deep, personal hatred between them!
Uchiha Kei had killed Kitsuchi's close teammates and comrades, and had nearly sent Kitsuchi himself to the afterlife.
Had Kei not been so low-ranked back then, had he mastered more powerful jutsu or been stronger overall, Kitsuchi might not have survived even that encounter.
Kei would never forget how Kitsuchi had beaten him like a dog back then.
If it hadn't been for Imai Kenta saving his life at the critical moment, Kei would have died on the battlefield that day.
Even after that, Kitsuchi had shown no mercy.
Had it not been for Minato Namikaze's last-minute arrival, both Kei and Kenta would have died with regret.
Kenta's death might not have mattered much to Kei—but he had no intention of throwing away his own life.
That grudge had been engraved deeply into his heart ever since.
Taking a deep breath, Uchiha Kei slowed down gradually.
He left behind a shadow clone to observe the situation and lure Kitsuchi.
Kei was confident that Kitsuchi's mindset wasn't too different from his own.
Perhaps Kitsuchi wasn't as sinister as Kei, but he surely wanted revenge for his fallen teammates.
Sure enough, after Kei had run about a kilometer, his shadow clone fed back information—
Kitsuchi was pursuing him.
"Hmph. Since you're so eager to die, I'll gladly oblige," Kei muttered darkly, though he didn't stop moving.
If he wanted to kill Kitsuchi, he had to maximize his own advantages.
After searching for a while, Kei found a relatively favorable location and quietly set up an ambush, patiently waiting.
Meanwhile, Kitsuchi stood silently, staring at the dissipating smoke of Kei's shadow clone.
The other Iwagakure shinobi behind him watched him intently.
The Iwa-nin behind Kitsuchi shared the same mindset as him.
None of them were willing to accept the failure of Iwagakure's operations in the Land of Grass, and even less willing to become bargaining chips in future negotiations with Konoha.
As the son of the Third Tsuchikage, Kitsuchi had his pride—and his own code of conduct.
Even though the outcome of the ongoing negotiations was uncertain, there were still things he needed to take care of.
Especially when he hadn't forgotten about that little brat from the Uchiha clan—or Namikaze Minato, the "Yellow Flash."
Both of them had placed him in mortal danger, especially Namikaze Minato, who had nearly taken his life!
And that Uchiha brat wasn't much better—he had killed Kitsuchi's comrades, his trusted friends, and even his most loyal subordinates!
"Captain, what should we do now?"
Just as Kitsuchi stood there, glaring at the slowly dissipating smoke, a nearby Iwa-nin approached him and reported:
"They split up. Each direction has at least one person. The center area has two. Altogether, they've broken into five teams."
In any shinobi village, sensory-type ninja were indispensable.
Their presence could make battlefield operations infinitely easier.
Kitsuchi nodded in response, then asked calmly, "How many people do we have left?"
"That Uchiha brat killed four of ours and severely injured another.
The other Konoha ninja killed another four.
We still have twenty-five men left," the Iwa-nin said, scratching his head with a troubled expression.
The Uchiha boy had left quite an impression on him too.
Even though the true heavyweights had been intercepted by Konoha's squad leader, Kei had managed to take down four Iwa-nin almost instantly—an impressive feat, even if the ones he killed weren't the strongest.
"Good," Kitsuchi nodded and quickly gave his next order.
"Then we'll split into five squads as well. Track and eliminate them.
Use your shadow clones to lead the way—you won't be involved in direct combat."
"Understood," the sensory ninja replied with a nod.
As a sensory type, it was natural for him to avoid direct fights.
"One last question," Kitsuchi said, taking a deep breath.
"Which direction did that Uchiha brat go?"
"This way," the sensory ninja said after a brief pause, pointing straight ahead—
In the direction where Uchiha Kei had fled, right where his shadow clone had disappeared!
Kitsuchi's face darkened further as he nodded grimly.
Without hesitation, he randomly picked a few Iwa Chūnin to accompany him and set off at once.
Truthfully, Kitsuchi didn't want to bring anyone along.
He knew that if he wasn't careful, Uchiha Kei could easily wipe them all out.
Still, he had his own reasons. Even if he felt a little guilty, he didn't say much about it.
Silently, he accelerated forward.
Before long, he, along with four Iwa-nin and a sensory clone, arrived at a relatively open clearing.
"He's here!" the sensory ninja's shadow clone announced.
But just as he spoke, before he could say anything more—
Whoosh!
A kunai flew through the air, aimed straight at them.
Kitsuchi reacted instantly, throwing his own kunai to intercept it.
The two kunai clashed mid-air and fell harmlessly to the ground.
But the Iwa-nin immediately noticed—
There was an explosive tag tied to the incoming kunai!
"Watch out! Explosive tag!"
The sensory ninja shouted urgently, and everyone scattered immediately.
Boom!
A deafening explosion sent rubble and thick smoke billowing into the clearing.
Although none of the Iwa-nin were seriously injured or killed, their vision was completely blocked.
The sensory ninja's clone dodged the blast, but he remained on high alert, scanning his surroundings carefully.
Suddenly, the clone sensed a surge of chakra rushing toward him—fast.
He barely had time to react before he saw it:
A blade coated in blue chakra slicing through the smoke—
And a pair of emotionless, blood-red eyes locking onto him.