"Itachi, was it your request to accompany the clan on this mission?"
Numerous figures leaped through the dense forest. Fugaku, at the forefront, unconsciously looked at his eldest son and asked.
Itachi, hearing this, first glanced at the clan members following behind him. Then he nodded slightly and said, "Yes."
Fugaku said nothing about Itachi's cold attitude. Ever since Itachi became an Anbu squad leader, he had maintained a distant attitude towards the clan.
To say that he requested to come along this time, honestly, even Fugaku himself didn't believe it. But seeing the proud faces of the clan members behind him, Fugaku didn't refute it.
Since the Uchiha clan and Konoha reconciled a few years ago, Shisui and Itachi, these two geniuses who had awakened the Mangekyo, had become role models for the clansmen.
Moreover, both held high positions, with Shisui even being the captain of the Hokage Guard Platoon.
Thinking of this, Fugaku said no more. The fact that their clan could participate in this war meant that the path to military promotion was once again open to the Uchiha. Everything was developing in a good direction.
Itachi secretly breathed a sigh of relief when his father stopped asking questions.
He had left the Anbu and followed the main force because Hiruzen had given him a mission.
To gather information on the Akatsuki, the only known source at the moment was Orochimaru.
However, to prevent Orochimaru from evading Konoha's search again, Itachi was sent to the Land of Grass frontline with the Uchiha clan first.
Hmm?
Just as Itachi was still contemplating, Fugaku beside him suddenly stopped.
He looked ahead with a vigilant expression, his crimson three tomoe Sharingan spinning wildly in his eyes.
The Uchiha clan, who had been moving forward, all stopped, looking at Fugaku in front, unsure of what was happening.
"Come out!" Fugaku called out in a deep voice, his gaze fixed on the area ahead.
Someone?
Itachi looked expressionlessly in the direction of Fugaku's gaze. The next moment, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
There really was someone?
Father—
"Oh, I've been discovered."
As the words fell, the entire ground began to tremble.
The Uchiha clan members behind Fugaku went from vigilant to astonished expressions.
In front of them, a man wearing an Iwagakure Jonin vest on a giant clay golem overlooked the Uchiha forces below.
"I had originally thought I could use this terrain to strike you all."
At this, the man, who looked simple and honest, scratched his head and sighed.
"As expected of the Uchiha clan's leader."
They had prepared this trap for several days, not even bothering to hijack the previous supply convoy.
"Iwagakure's Akatsuchi!" Fugaku couldn't help but frown.
The person before him was the Third Tsuchikage's guard, a ninja who, like Kitsuchi, had already made a name for himself during the Third Great Ninja War.
"Oh my, I didn't expect to be recognized, but none of you will leave today."
As Akatsuchi's words fell, countless figures appeared from the surrounding dense forest.
"These are Iwa ninjas?"
"How can there be so many people here?!"
The Uchiha clan members all looked around with grim faces, they were surrounded.
Itachi calmly looked around. With Jiraiya on the front lines, there shouldn't be any mishaps. That left only one possibility: Takigakure had not followed Konoha's orders. They had allowed Iwagakure's forces to pass through.
Moreover, the Uchiha clan's deployment to the front lines should not have been known by too many people. This meant that there was an Iwagakure spy within Konoha.
Thinking of this, Itachi said to Fugaku beside him, "Father, let's break through."
Fugaku nodded. "Yes, protect the safety of the clan members as much as possible."
He formed a single hand sign, and a massive Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique shot towards the clay golem in front of them.
Itachi didn't respond. He simply pushed off the ground, and headed towards the Iwagakure forces surrounding them.
"Everyone, attack!"
Akatsuchi waved his hand, and the Iwa ninjas hidden in the surroundings all formed hand signs, moving towards the Uchiha clan they had surrounded.
Seeing that Iwagakure was not alarmed, but instead attacked them, the Uchiha clan members were not willing to simply sit idly by and rushed towards the Iwa ninjas coming at them.
"Let's fight them!"
"For the glory of the Uchiha!"
—
In the dense forest, the Shinji Squad's four members were advancing rapidly. They had spent nearly a day searching for Iwagakure's forces, but had found nothing.
It was as if all the Iwa ninjas lurking in the Land of Fire had vanished without a trace.
At this moment, Shinji could only lead his squad members towards the Land of Grass frontline.
After all, three days were almost up. Regardless of the outcome, they had to return and report to Jiraiya.
Hmm?
The next moment, a hint of surprise flashed across Shinji's face.
Immediately after, Neji beside him spoke, "Sensei, about three kilometers ahead, there's a huge Chakra fluctuation."
"I sensed it. Someone is fighting, and the scale is not small."
Shinji frowned and immediately issued a new order, "Everyone, full speed ahead. Kill all enemies on sight."
No matter who was fighting ahead, this was within the Land of Fire. They had to confront them.
"Yes."
Yushu, Koto, and Neji all responded, their expressions solemn, as they headed towards the location.
...
"As expected of the Uchiha clan, truly troublesome." Akatsuchi looked at Fugaku and Itachi with a grim face, saying hatefully.
Their painstakingly prepared trap had not only failed to annihilate this Uchiha force, but these two in front of him had killed many Iwa ninjas.
Fugaku said with a calm expression, "Iwagakure is nothing but a bunch of weaklings."
The Uchiha clan had simply not appeared on the battlefield for many years. That didn't mean they were so weak that anyone could step on them.
Although his clan had suffered losses in this battle, compared to Iwagakure's forces, they were much better off.
However, Akatsuchi in front of him was not the kind of ninja who sought undeserved fame. His Earth Release and monstrous strength made it impossible for him and Itachi to defeat him quickly.
No, it should be said that Itachi hadn't even used his full strength yet.
As he thought, Fugaku glanced at his son beside him, who looked somewhat weak.
Was he hiding his strength? Or were his eyes already failing?
"Don't underestimate me!" Akatsuchi, hearing Fugaku's taunt, was so exasperated that he clapped his hands and shouted.
Earth Release: Super Added-Weight Rock Technique!
Rumble—
Akatsuchi spat out a huge amount of clay, gradually forming an even larger clay golem than before.
Suddenly, the entire forest seemed incredibly tiny beneath the feet of this giant.