Naruto: I, Uchiha, Just Want to Die

Chapter 12: Terrible News, The Two-Tails Jinchuriki! A Night Stalker on the Move!

The headband symbol of the Hidden Hot Water Village (Yugakure) is three wavy lines, resembling the character "川" 

Upon learning that there were Hidden Hot Water Village shinobi searching ahead, Uchiha Setsuna swiftly led his team to encircle them.

The abilities of shinobi from the great nations naturally surpass those from the smaller ones.

The moment they spotted the targets wearing Yugakure headbands, Uchiha Ci didn't even have time to throw a set of shuriken as a preemptive strike before the elder, Uchiha Setsuna, had already leaped into action.

All Uchiha Ci could see was him drawing his long sword, with fiery flames spiraling up its blade, and then he lunged downward.

Like a wildfire spreading across the plains, the three Yugakure shinobi fell, unable to even utter a word, cut down like weeds.

This gave Uchiha Ci a sense of being power-leveled by a max-level veteran while he was just a low-level character.

After dispatching the three small fry, Uchiha Setsuna held his blade horizontally against the throat of one of the Yugakure shinobi and coldly asked:

"Who sent you?"

The Yugakure shinobi, trembling with fear, hesitated to speak.

Seeing this, Uchiha Setsuna directly activated his Sharingan, glaring coldly at him.

Moments later, after deactivating his Sharingan, he swiftly finished off the Yugakure shinobi with a single slash.

Uchiha Ci, standing to the side, noticed the elder's expression change slightly before he turned around and ordered:

"We're moving out immediately, crossing the border tonight!"

"Once we pass through the border checkpoint, don't stop. Head straight for the capital of the Land of Hot Water to rendezvous with Fugaku, the Captain of the Police Force."

"If we encounter any enemies, do not engage in prolonged combat; retreat quickly."

"Elder, what's going on?" 

Uchiha Seijiro swallowed hard, his tension growing as he looked at the elder's grave expression.

Uchiha Setsuna spoke succinctly:

"The Two-Tails Jinchuriki has appeared in the Land of Hot Water."

"Their likely target is our clan's stationed forces in Hell Valley. Additionally, there's a high probability that ninja will try to intercept us ahead."

"The situation is out of control."

"We must head to Yukemuri City, the capital of the Land of Hot Water, immediately, find the contact from the ninja cats clan, and relay the information back to the Uchiha."

"What?!" 

Uchiha Seijiro's face turned pale with shock.

The Hidden Cloud's Jinchuriki can be used as a weapon of war.

If the Jinchuriki reaches Hell Valley, where there are currently no top-level experts stationed, it would be a devastating disaster for the clansmen there!

It's only the eve of the Third Shinobi World War, and the Hidden Cloud is already deploying their Jinchuriki in small-country battlegrounds?

Uchiha Ci, standing aside, had a gleam of sharpness flash through his eyes.

The Two-Tails Jinchuriki, no less…

No matter how skilled one is with shuriken, a single slap from a Jinchuriki could turn you into a meat paste.

After a brief sparring session with Uchiha Seijiro, Uchiha Ci had realized—

When shurikenjutsu reaches a ridiculously high level, even a Uchiha Chūnin with two tomoe Sharingan would find it challenging to face him.

In other words, Uchiha Ci, though still a Genin, now possesses Chūnin-level combat strength.

If shurikenjutsu can be considered a specialty, Uchiha Ci might even qualify for a Special Jōnin title.

Pulling off an insurance scam with regular missions has become increasingly difficult.

Only by taking on more dangerous missions and facing more formidable enemies can he achieve a dignified exit!

Now, on his first battlefield mission, he's already hearing about a major boss like the Two-Tails Jinchuriki. Uchiha Ci's feelings are indescribable.

He was almost in tears...

Uchiha Setsuna glanced around, observing the expressions of his two subordinates, intending to boost their morale.

Seijiro, the useless pacifist, was filled with fear, his gaze evasive, looking like a turtle desperately wanting to hide his head in his shell.

But Uchiha Setsuna could understand this reaction. 

After all, encountering an enemy of this level during a mission was akin to an S-rank mission.

Being scared is perfectly normal...

However, when Uchiha Setsuna looked at Uchiha Ci, he couldn't help but twitch an eyebrow.

What's up with this kid?

His eager gaze, the tears at the corners of his mouth, and the overly excited expression on his face as if he had just taken a shot of adrenaline...

He's muttering under his breath: "Tatakai! Tatakai! Tatakai…" (Fight! Fight! Fight...)

It's like he's one step away from carving "I want to fight!" on his face.

Uchiha Setsuna's brow furrowed, thinking to himself, "What the heck is this?!"

He shook his head, swallowing the motivational speech he was about to deliver.

With a cold expression and icy gaze, he drew his sword and pointed into the pitch-black darkness ahead!

"Move out!"

They plunged into the darkness, advancing all the way.

In the lightless night, the mountains lay low, like slumbering dragons, terrifying in their silence.

Thanks to Uchiha Setsuna's decisiveness in eliminating the three Yugakure shinobi who were patrolling for the Hidden Cloud, the Uchiha team crossed the border into the Land of Hot Water without incident.

Meanwhile,

Under the narrow slit of night, they sped through.

The clouds covering the full moon parted slightly, allowing cold moonlight to spill down, illuminating the valley.

Rami, a Hidden Cloud Jōnin resting with his ninja blade in hand, suddenly opened his eyes.

He furrowed his brows and muttered, "Something's wrong, it's too quiet."

He then turned to ask his teammate on night watch:

"Moroi, has the Yugakure shinobi reporting back to us returned?"

Moroi, while polishing his ninja blade, frowned slightly and replied, "No."

"It's been over half an hour."

Rami frowned, pondering for a moment before immediately ordering:

"Send a message to our spies in the border villages on both sides. Ask them for updates."

Moroi, just about to perform a summoning technique, suddenly looked up.

A carrier pigeon flew in under the moonlight. He reached out to catch it and pulled out a scroll from the bird's leg.

"Rami-senpai, the message has arrived."

"The Uchiha have entered the Land of Hot Water. They're not far ahead of us. They've changed direction and are heading toward Yukemuri City instead of Hell Valley."

Rami was startled, immediately waking up Dodai, who was still resting.

"Something's wrong. We need to catch up with them quickly!"

"Uchiha Setsuna might already know our plan."

...

Back to the Uchiha squad.

At this point,

The team had crossed the border into the Land of Hot Water, passed through three villages, and didn't dare stop for a moment.

The moon had set, the sky was beginning to lighten, and the chirping of monkeys echoed through the mountains and valleys.

They had been marching nonstop since 8 AM the previous day, crossing the border without any rest and continuing their forced march through the night.

They were exhausted.

Although Uchiha Ci had honed advanced skills and had impressive combat strength, his chakra reserves were still limited.

He was drenched in sweat, gasping for breath, struggling to stand.

Fortunately, there was an abandoned village nearby where they could rest.

Uchiha Seijiro declared he couldn't walk any further. Uchiha Setsuna frowned slightly but reluctantly ordered them to rest.

He first instructed the still mobile Seijiro to clear a spot, then set up explosive tags and bells around the village, taking on the tasks that should have been done by his subordinates.

As for Uchiha Ci, who was so exhausted that he could barely move, he still tried to get up and help.

The elder promptly smacked him on the back of the head, knocking him out cold.

Uchiha Setsuna summoned a ninja crow for vigilance, then exhaled deeply and gravely told Seijiro:

"We still have half a day's journey to reach Yukemuri City. Rest here for two hours, and then we'll set off immediately."

With that, Uchiha Setsuna closed his eyes, snoring thunderously.

Seijiro also couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground, sleeping like a pig.

The three of them finally had a moment of respite.

Little did they know, the danger behind them was closing in fast.