Naruto: I, Uchiha, Just Want to Die

Chapter 13: Roar, Death Battle! Sacrifice!

Boom!

A colossal foot, as large as a building, stomped down, causing the ground to tremble with a deafening roar.

Uchiha Ci opened his eyes and immediately saw the massive form of the Two-Tails, Matatabi, rampaging through a strange encampment.

Cries, shouts, the whizzing of kunai past his ears, the deafening explosion of explosive tags—

And above all, the terrifying roar of the giant beast!

A compressed ball of blue-black chakra constantly formed at its mouth.

Then—

Boom!

The Tailed Beast Bomb was launched, aimed directly at Uchiha Ci!

Faced with such an overwhelmingly terrifying ninjutsu, Uchiha Ci's heart pounded wildly. His mind was a chaotic mess, his pupils gradually dilating. The primal fear of this colossal beast clawed its way into his heart!

But the next moment—

Talent: Battle Instinct (S) awakened.

Everything went black before Uchiha Ci's eyes as he felt his body move on its own.

"Cloud Village is attacking! Everyone, wake up!" 

Uchiha Setsuna's roar exploded in his ears, followed by a storm of debris from a nearby explosion.

A ringing sound accompanied the chaos.

Uchiha Ci shook his head, dislodging dust from his forehead.

He opened his eyes, fully awake now!

He found his body trapped in a strange position between a flying half-wall and the broken beams of a house.

Ahead,

Uchiha Setsuna was facing off against three Cloud Village shinobi, all of them breathing heavily.

Beside him,

Uchiha Seijiro clutched a kunai, trembling from head to toe, his hands, feet, and even his Sharingan shaking violently.

"Why, why, why am I, a Chūnin, facing enemies like this?!"

He shouted in a trembling voice, on the verge of breaking down.

"So, I finally caught you, Uchiha rats!" 

The elder Cloud shinobi, Rami, sneered, forming a series of hand seals.

Tiger–Boar–Tiger–Boar–Tiger!

A ball of lightning appeared in his hand, ready to strike.

This was the Lightning Release: Scatter Strike Murudo, a ninjutsu similar to the Chidori. It gathered Lightning Release chakra in the hand, but unlike Chidori, it didn't stimulate cellular metabolism. Instead, it radiated electricity outward, making it a small-scale but lethal technique.

The blue glow of the lightning reflected off Uchiha Setsuna's face, which was full of gravity.

Clearly, the three before him were formidable enemies.

Especially the one in the middle wearing a black hat and having a single eye, Dodai.

This man was one of the Third Raikage's right-hand men, possessing the terrifying Lava Release Kekkei Genkai, with strength rivaling a Kage.

He was nearly on par with Uchiha Setsuna.

Adding to that, Jonin Rami's interference and Special Jonin Moroi's sealing of the escape routes, this formation was designed specifically to kill him!

Realizing this, Uchiha Setsuna narrowed his eyes, having already made his decision.

He turned his head, coldly ordering his two subordinates:

"Ci, Seijiro!"

"Go!"

"The mission is yours to complete; I'll create the opportunity!"

Upon hearing Uchiha Setsuna's words, Rami, the leader of the three Cloud shinobi, scowled.

He narrowed his eyes and spoke to Moroi beside him:

"Go slaughter those two. Uchiha Setsuna likely has critical intelligence. We can't let them escape to notify the Uchiha."

Moroi frowned slightly. "Senior Rami, if I leave here, I can't guarantee that Uchiha Setsuna's escape route will remain blocked."

"Then you must finish them quickly. Kill them and immediately return to reinforce the barrier."

Rami's gaze was filled with killing intent:

"Today, Uchiha Setsuna must die!"

"Otherwise, with his ocular power, he could possibly contain the Two-Tails in Hell Valley, causing our entire plan to collapse."

Hearing this, Moroi took a deep breath and nodded.

Then, he moved his legs, bypassing Uchiha Setsuna, and charged towards Uchiha Ci and Seijiro.

Seeing this, Uchiha Setsuna immediately tried to stop him.

However, two figures stood firmly in his way.

Dodai smiled coldly. "Old man, in a mortal combat, maybe I'm not your match, but with the two of us here, we can break each other out of genjutsu and entangle you easily."

Uchiha Setsuna gritted his teeth, his expression still icy. "Oh really?"

"Kids these days sure know how to talk big."

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

Uchiha Ci flipped his hand, drawing a kunai from his ninja tool pouch, and smashed through the wooden beams, crawling out from under the half-destroyed wall.

Hearing Uchiha Setsuna's command, he quickly connected the dots with the intelligence he had gathered.

A brief analysis of the situation:

First, this attack by Cloud Village was premeditated.

Their plan was to unleash the Two-Tails Jinchuriki into Hell Valley, destroy the Uchiha clan's garrison there, and achieve their goal of freeing the Blood Pool Clan.

For this,

The powerful ocular abilities of Uchiha Setsuna, which could potentially interfere with the Two-Tails' actions, made him their primary target for elimination.

Next, the current situation.

The three Cloud Jonin were deployed to ensure the complete elimination of Uchiha Setsuna.

Judging by the situation on the field, it would take all three of them to achieve this.

But now, one of them had broken away, aiming to kill him and Seijiro to prevent the mission's intel from reaching the Uchiha.

This was both a danger and an opportunity!

Uchiha Ci grinned, dusting himself off, and stepped forward boldly.

In the original history, facing such a scenario, Shisui, with his Body Flicker, would have likely escaped, while the pacifist Seijiro beside him might have been the catalyst for opening his eyes.

If Uchiha Ci were to die here, he couldn't do worse than in the original history.

At the very least, he had to get the intel back.

After all, the Will of the Heavens has standards—if you're a Heaven's Chosen Warrior, you can't perform worse than history.

Facing the rapidly approaching Moroi, Uchiha Ci stepped forward, his gaze sharp.

He slightly turned his head and said decisively to Seijiro beside him:

"Seijiro-senpai, you retreat. I'll hold them off!"

"What?!" Seijiro was shocked by Ci's words.

"Are you crazy? That person, I've seen him in the records; he's a Special Jonin skilled in kenjutsu and fūinjutsu."

"You absolutely can't beat him!"

Uchiha Ci shook his head, glanced at him calmly, and said:

"Seijiro-senpai, if no one stays behind, we'll both die here, and the intel won't get back to the clan."

"Moreover, if you die here, they might take your Sharingan, leading to the loss of our clan's bloodline limit."

"So, compared to that, it's more appropriate for me to stay behind!"

"You... you..." Seijiro's face showed deep emotion as he stared at Uchiha Ci in shock.

He couldn't understand why someone would treat life and death so lightly.

Moreover, they were willing to sacrifice their life to save him!

The enemy was a Jonin!

These words nearly brought tears to Seijiro's eyes.

He immediately nodded firmly.

But then, his face suddenly turned pale as he turned back to Uchiha Ci and said:

"But Ci, I don't know how to contact the Ninja Cat Clan!"

Uchiha Ci nearly coughed up blood in frustration.

"This... this is indeed a problem."

Uchiha Ci hesitated for a moment, then pulled out a parchment scroll from his side and handed it to Seijiro.

"Here, take this. It's a one-time contract with the Ninja Cat Clan. After using it, ask the Ninja Cat emissary for help."

Holding the contract scroll, Seijiro was deeply moved.

A summoning contract with the Ninja Cat Clan was a treasure many desired.

On the battlefield, this kind of thing could save your life!

But Uchiha Ci handed it over so casually, as if entrusting him with his final wishes!

However, before Seijiro could shed tears and express his gratitude,

In the next instant,

Uchiha Ci's expression changed as he pushed him away!

A barrier suddenly rose between the two of them!

Moroi had clapped his hands to the ground, setting up a deathmatch barrier that trapped him and Uchiha Ci.

Only the living could walk out of this barrier!

If Uchiha Ci hadn't pushed him, they would have both been locked inside!

Seijiro felt like the world had gone silent.

Through the transparent barrier, he saw Uchiha Ci shouting at him silently:

"Go!"

Seijiro's pupils constricted, and tears streamed down his face.

At this moment, all the past grievances between them vanished like smoke.

In his heart, only the towering, Buddha-like image of Uchiha Ci remained!

He gritted his teeth in recognition of Uchiha Ci's resolve!

He didn't bother to wipe his tears, scrambling on all fours, tightly clutching the summoning contract as he fled.

"Uchiha Ci, wait for me!"

"I will definitely find someone to save you!"