Naturally, no one dared to disobey the Hokage, especially since they had no reason to stay here. Without a word, the others scattered into the forest. Fumori Masaki and Uchiha Kagami guarded the rear, and only followed after everyone else had entered.
The Chakra Samurai, having been hit hard, took some time to regroup. By then, the Konoha ninjas were long gone. Uchiha Kuya understood that in such a complex environment, the Chakra Samurai could never catch up, so he had no choice but to give up.
Uchiha Kuya was extremely unwilling. He hadn't managed to control Asuna and the others, which meant he had no leverage against Konoha Village. The war couldn't be prolonged as much as possible, which was very disadvantageous for him.
"It seems I need to act faster," Uchiha Kuya decided in his heart. He had to return quickly and use the Daimyo's name to twist the facts of this matter, in order to provoke future conflicts.
At this moment, Uchiha Kuya remembered the vanished Black Zetsu and felt a little regretful. Such a useful guy was just gone. If he had been there, he could have helped gather intelligence, but now it was impossible.
"This time wasn't without any gains," Uchiha Kuya pulled out a scroll from his Pregnant and then undid the sealing jutsu. A crimson Mangekyo Sharingan lay quietly in his palm.
Now Uchiha Kuya had obtained Indra's power. All that remained was Ashura's power within Fujimura Yuuki. Fortunately, he had known Fujimura Yuuki's identity early on, otherwise, with Black Zetsu gone, he wouldn't know where to find Ashura's reincarnation.
Holding this Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Kuya silently considered how to use it. The best method would be to transplant its optic nerve into his own eye. This way, there was a certain chance for the Mangekyo Sharingan to evolve further, and an evolved Mangekyo Sharingan would never lose its light.
Only such a Mangekyo Sharingan could truly unleash the power of the Uchiha clan. Ordinary Mangekyo Sharingan not only put a huge burden on the body but also led to blindness if overused. Often, they couldn't be fully developed before becoming unusable.
For example, the Perfect Susanoo could actually be achieved with an ordinary Mangekyo Sharingan, provided it was pushed to its limit and the user possessed vast chakra. However, due to the burden an ordinary Mangekyo Sharingan placed on the body, almost no one could reach this level with it.
The only exception was Uchiha Obito, who, thanks to his residual Six Paths power, retained the Mangekyo Sharingan's special chakra. Even after his death, he could bestow it upon Kakashi, allowing him to reach the standard of a Perfect Susanoo.
Without the extraordinary power of the Six Paths, even the strongest Uchiha clan leader in history, Madara, only managed to advance his Susanoo to its perfect form after obtaining the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Furthermore, this level of Mangekyo Sharingan greatly reduced the burden and strain on the body, allowing the user to use the "power of the gods," Susanoo, without restraint, as long as chakra permitted.
Uchiha Kuya had already confirmed in the previous battle that if he couldn't use Susanoo, he wouldn't be able to contend with Fumori Masaki. His Mangekyo Sharingan's vision had already become blurry, so the day he lost his sight was probably not far off.
However, the transplantation and evolution of the Mangekyo Sharingan were not 100% guaranteed. According to Black Zetsu, the closer the blood relationship, the higher the possibility of fusion and evolution. If it failed, it would lead to extremely dire consequences, even loss of life!
Uchiha Kuya couldn't be sure if the evolution would succeed. His blood relationship with Uchiha Ken couldn't be considered distant, but certainly not close either. He was still hesitant about whether to directly transplant this Mangekyo Sharingan or attempt fusion and evolution.
"However, I am not an ordinary Uchiha clansman. Perhaps it's worth a try..." Uchiha Kuya thought of his special abilities, which included body modification. It might not be impossible to combine the optic nerves and achieve evolution.
Uchiha Kuya shook his head, deciding to put the matter aside for now. He needed to control the order within the capital to avoid any complications or unexpected situations.
While Uchiha Kuya was busy reorganizing the situation in the capital, Fumori Masaki and the others arrived deep in the forest. Aburame Shibi's parasitic insects and Hyuga Hiashi's Byakugan were observing the rear, confirming that no Chakra Samurai were pursuing them.
This was within Fumori Masaki's expectations. He could guess that Uchiha Kuya's focus was on the capital, and it was unlikely he would send Chakra Samurai into such complex terrain. Fumori Masaki suddenly ordered them to stop in place, sending the Konoha ninjas who had come to assist with Hatake Sakumo to guard the surroundings, leaving only the others.
"Ken, your eye—!" When everyone could finally stop to rest, Fujimura Yuuki saw that one of Uchiha Ken's eyes was closed, with blood seeping out, and couldn't help but exclaim.
Hyuga Hiashi looked at Uchiha Ken. He had, of course, noticed earlier that Uchiha Ken's eye had been taken, and it was easy to guess by whom.
"Ah, I was tricked by that guy." Uchiha Ken's breathing was heavy. He still couldn't easily let go of this matter. "That damned guy, I'll get it back from him sooner or later."
"We'll all help you, don't worry." Uchiha Kagami stepped forward and patted his shoulder. He could understand Uchiha Ken's feelings. The Sharingan needed both eyes together to unleash its true power. Losing one Mangekyo Sharingan greatly impacted Uchiha Ken's combat ability.
"Thank you, Clan Head Kagami, if it weren't for you and Lord Hokage, I might have already—" Uchiha Ken stopped there, and everyone else understood what he meant next.
"Father, how is that guy?" Asuna asked.
"His Mangekyo Sharingan seems to have some kind of genjutsu similar to the Substitution Jutsu, but it's more advanced than a regular Substitution Jutsu and harder to catch. To avoid escalating the war, I withdrew from there and didn't eliminate him," Fumori Masaki replied.
"So that's how it is. That's why he was unharmed in that explosion," Mizuki and the others immediately understood why Uchiha Kuya had survived at that time.
"Is he very difficult to deal with?" Asuna asked again.
"In terms of combat power, he's not particularly troublesome. The main issue is this ability, which is quite difficult to counter, and we don't know its conditions yet," Fumori Masaki said. "However, he can't use this ability indefinitely. We just need to push him until he runs out of strength."
Asuna nodded. If that was the case, even if they couldn't resolve this ability, they could just keep cutting down Uchiha Kuya repeatedly. Sooner or later, the Mangekyo Sharingan would be pushed to its limit. After all, it wasn't the same Mangekyo Sharingan as Uchiha Madara's.
"Sensei, when are we returning to the village?" Hatake Sakumo stepped forward to ask. "Since the opponent made their move at this time, they won't let us go. What follows will likely be a full-scale conflict."
"Hmm, I've already considered that point," Fumori Masaki nodded. "We still need to wait for someone. Let's rest here for a bit, no need to rush. Uchiha Kuya won't send anyone to pursue us."
Everyone was a little curious about who Fumori Masaki was referring to. Asuna asked, and Fumori Masaki didn't keep them in suspense, saying, "It's Princess Chihime."
Princess Chihime, due to the special meaning of "Hime" (princess), was often referred to as Princess Chihime by those familiar with her.
Asuna and the others were slightly startled. They knew that Princess Chihime was an important figure in stabilizing the domestic situation in the future, as she came from a Daimyo family and could represent the royal family. She was also one of the leaders of the Shinobi Sect Revival Movement, capable of rallying those who supported it. But they hadn't expected Fumori Masaki to plan on bringing her out of the capital.
"Princess Chihime holds a very important position, and I cannot let anything happen to her. Although Uchiha Kuya probably wouldn't do anything to her as long as she doesn't step forward, I still think it's safest to bring her out," Fumori Masaki said. He didn't mention another reason, which was that in the upcoming punitive war, Princess Chihime could represent the royal family and vouch for Konoha Village.
"So that's how it is. So, Sensei, the mission you sent Heizo and the others to execute was..." Hatake Sakumo suddenly understood what mission Hattori Heizo was sent to do and why he hadn't come with him.
Fumori Masaki nodded slightly and said, "We have diverted most of Uchiha Kuya's and the Chakra Samurai's attention. Heizo and the others should have no problem bringing Princess Chihime out."
"Certainly not. That's the Aerial Combat Unit. There's currently no good way to deal with them," Uchiha Kagami added from the side.
They didn't wait long before they heard a faint sound in the sky. Looking up, they saw several people descending from above: Hattori Heizo, Namikaze Minato, and other important members. Among them, Princess Chihime was being held in Hattori Heizo's arms. Princess Chihime seemed a little scared, clinging tightly to Hattori Heizo.
After landing, Princess Chihime let out a sigh of relief. Hattori Heizo placed her on the ground and then said to her, "Forgive my rudeness, Your Royal Highness."
"It's nothing, thank you," Princess Chihime smiled, then looked at Fumori Masaki, bowing slightly and saying, "Long time no see, Lord Hokage."
"Long time no see, is everything alright, Princess Chihime?" Fumori Masaki asked.
"I'm fine, just a little startled," Princess Chihime gave a wry smile. "Hearing the commotion just now, I thought something had happened and didn't dare let anyone from the mansion go out. While waiting, I saw a group of people descend from the sky. At first, I thought it was someone attacking the capital, but it turned out to be the Hokage's students."
Princess Chihime was truly startled at the time. Because of the urgency of the situation, Hattori Heizo and the others couldn't explain in detail. After making Princess Chihime understand the basic situation and why they were there, they took her away. Princess Chihime, worried about the people in her mansion being implicated, also asked Hattori Heizo to help take them with them.
Fortunately, Hattori Heizo had over thirty people, and those on the ground basically had no means of dealing with the Aerial Combat Unit. Coupled with Namikaze Minato's Flying Thunder God Transfer, they managed to evacuate everyone from Princess Chihime's entire mansion. This eased Princess Chihime's mind. As for the other people in the capital, she couldn't consider them as much.
"Tobi led the Daimyo's Chakra Samurai to attack Asuna and the others, which caused such a commotion just now and startled you," Fumori Masaki explained.
"He really made his move…" Princess Chihime had speculated earlier, but when it was truly confirmed, her expression couldn't help but darken slightly.
She looked at Asuna and the others, and seeing that they were all fine, she also breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Ah, this matter… Lord Hokage, I don't know what to tell you."
"These are all Tobi's schemes, you don't need to worry about it," Fumori Masaki shook his head slightly. "Speaking of which, we also bear some responsibility for this matter. In the battle just now, we confirmed Tobi's identity. This guy is from the Uchiha clan, a remnant of Uchiha Setsuna's faction who betrayed the village back then."
"What? But I heard the newspapers say that Uchiha Setsuna's faction was already—!" Princess Chihime was immediately startled. She had heard of that incident and remembered it clearly, and she knew that the faction members should have all been dealt with at the time.
"That's true, but for some reason, this person survived. We didn't anticipate this, nor did we expect him to secretly come to the Daimyo's side and impersonate someone else," Fumori Masaki actually had a faint guess, but it wasn't appropriate to explain the details to Princess Chihime.
Although Princess Chihime knew that Tobi was from the Uchiha clan, she didn't feel it was Konoha Village's responsibility. Firstly, this person was an Uchiha clansman who had betrayed Konoha Village back then. She, having studied the New Shinobi Sect's ideology for many years, wasn't so narrow-minded as to blame Konoha Village. Secondly, she believed that the reason things had reached this point was because her brother was a poor judge of character and lacked tolerance, which led him to be deceived.
"Your Royal Highness, the opponent will certainly use the name of His Highness the Daimyo to launch an expedition against our village. This is probably what the opponent desires," Hatake Sakumo said. "To end the domestic strife as soon as possible, Your Royal Highness, we need your help."
"If there's anything you need my help with, just say it," Princess Chihime nodded. She certainly didn't want violent unrest in the country. Now that there were schemers causing trouble in the capital, the only ones she could rely on and trust were the Konoha ninjas.
"Good, let's return to the village first. The opponent will need some time to reorganize the capital. During this time, we need to establish a method to deal with the enemy," Fumori Masaki said.
Thus, everyone immediately set off to return to Konoha Village. Because this had been considered beforehand, there were people to meet them along the way, and they returned to Konoha Village unimpeded.