For a moment, the Rain-nin commander only stared at Uchiha Yuan in disbelief. But the shock quickly melted into fury.
He had realized that the sword knocked from his hands had been struck aside by a single shuriken—and the fact that it came from a child ignited his rage.
So what if he was a Leaf shinobi? So what if he bore the Uchiha crest?
The Rain-nin commander was proud. He served under that man—the demigod of the ninja world, Hanzo the Salamander.
Even the Five Great Nations treated the Land of Rain with wary respect. And for the smaller nations trapped between their borders, the Rain was a regional power no one dared provoke.
"Leaf shinobi," the commander growled, "why did you interfere?"
Yuan, unfazed by the man's killing intent, met his gaze coldly. "A foolish question. Kusagakure is Konoha's ally. As long as we're here, this is not a place where your kind can run wild."
The Rain-nin leader sneered. "Hmph. An arrogant brat from the Uchiha clan. Do you think you can stop us alone? We Rain shinobi don't fear Konoha."
As his words fell, the Rain-nin drew their weapons, chakra flaring as they prepared to attack.
But before they could move, figures flickered into existence around Yuan—his own squad, the Konoha reinforcements.
The Rain-nin froze, their killing intent instantly replaced by unease. They tightened their formation, weapons raised defensively, eyes darting between the Leaf shinobi.
Yamanaka Mokuno stepped forward. "Lord Yuan, what are your orders?"
Yuan's gaze stayed fixed on the Rain commander. "What do you think?"
Mokuno hesitated before replying, "The Land of Rain hasn't formally declared war on us. If we kill them, it could draw the Rain village directly into the conflict. We should avoid that for now."
"I understand," Yuan said calmly.
He took a step forward, his tone like ice. "If you Rain-nin have no death wish, then get out of my sight."
The commander's hands trembled, veins standing out on his fists. He wanted nothing more than to cut the arrogant Uchiha down—but the eyes of the Konoha shinobi around him were cold and unyielding.
He swallowed his rage. "At least tell me your name. We Rain-nin don't retreat without knowing who forced us to."
"Uchiha Yuan," came the quiet reply. "Remember it."
A moment later, the Rain-nin vanished into the forest.
The surviving Grass-nin collapsed in relief. But their relief turned to indignation as their leader rounded on Yuan.
"Damn it! Why did you let them go? You should've killed those Rain dogs!"
Yuan's eyes turned cold. "Insolent fool."
He vanished.
A bang echoed through the square—his fist smashed into the Grass-nin captain's jaw, sending him sprawling backward, teeth scattering across the ground.
The Grass-nin clutched his bleeding mouth, eyes wide with horror. "Y-You dare strike me? Don't forget, Kusagakure is your ally!"
The others started to move, but when Yuan's gaze swept across them, they froze in place, the blood in their veins turning cold.
Yuan stepped forward and planted a boot squarely on the downed man's chest. The pressure forced a groan of pain from his throat.
"Be grateful you are Konoha's allies," Yuan said flatly. "Otherwise, you'd already be dead. Remember this well—how we handle our enemies is none of your concern. That punch was mercy."
With that, he disappeared in a blur. The other Leaf shinobi followed, leaving the shaken Grass-nin behind.
"Captain, are you all right?" one of them asked hesitantly.
Smack!
The captain backhanded the man across the face. "Do I look all right, idiot?!" He spat blood and broken teeth. "That damn Uchiha brat… I'll remember this, Uchiha Yuan!"
By nightfall, Yuan's group was approaching the main Konoha encampment on the Grass–Earth border.
Along the way, they'd passed multiple skirmishes—Grass-nin fighting against shinobi from the Land of Waterfalls. Like Amegakure, Takigakure had seized the chaos to invade, plundering Grass Country's resources.
Yuan ignored them all. He wasn't here to play peacekeeper.
After a full day of travel, the massive Konoha camp came into view atop a high ridge.
As they neared the base of the slope, two Leaf sentries appeared in a flash, blocking their path.
"Halt!" one barked.
Mokuno stepped forward. "We're here under Lord Jiraiya's command. Here's the reassignment order."
The other guard inspected the document carefully, then nodded. "Wait here."
He vanished toward the camp.
Inside the central command tent, a middle-aged man sat listening to a series of reports. His brow was furrowed, his silence heavy.
This was Mitokado Shisho—once head of the Anbu under the Third Hokage, and now the supreme commander of Konoha's forces against Iwagakure.
As the briefings ended, a blond man beside him spoke up.
"Shisho, the Takigakure incursions are getting worse. They've raided our supply routes three times this week. We can't keep losing convoys like this."
Mitokado Shisho turned toward him. "Haiichi… we've already warned them. You saw the reply."
The blond man—Yamanaka Haiichi, head of Intelligence—nodded grimly.
Takigakure had indeed sent a formal apology, claiming their forces meant no harm to Konoha. But they also insisted that their war with Kusagakure was "a matter between small nations," not Leaf's concern.
Haiichi's frown deepened. "According to our forward scouts, Takigakure might be getting covert support from Iwagakure."
Shisho's expression darkened. "Typical Iwa tactics. Too cowardly to fight us openly, too sly to leave us in peace. They're waiting—watching how things go with Cloud before making their move."
At that moment, a Leaf messenger entered the tent and knelt. "Lord Shisho, a squad just arrived. They claim to be reinforcements under Lord Jiraiya's orders."
Shisho took the scroll from him, scanning its contents—then paused, eyes widening slightly.
"Well now…" he murmured, a rare smile tugging at his lips. "So he's the one they sent."
Some people die… but they're never truly gone.
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