Chapter 36: Clearing the Field
With the enhanced dynamic vision of his Sharingan, Uchiha Kei deftly dodged the final, desperate attack from the last Iwagakure ninja. In a swift and precise motion, he ended the man's life.
He let out a soft sigh. Looking at the eight lifeless bodies sprawled across the blood-soaked ground, Kei couldn't help but feel a flicker of emotion.
The overwhelming stench of blood hanging in the air was nauseating. Still, Kei felt no sympathy for these Iwa shinobi.
In the heart of war, it was kill or be killed. He had long accepted that truth. Kei wasn't a psychopath who enjoyed this sort of thing, but he certainly didn't shy away from it either.
"Life is so fragile… I suppose this is a kind of release for you," he murmured to himself. Sighing again, he pulled out another soldier pill from his pouch.
It was the third one he had taken within the last twenty-four hours. He didn't like relying on them, but he had no other choice.
Fortunately, though soldier pills had side effects, they were relatively minor—just like their modest benefits. In this situation, having something was better than nothing. Kei wasn't in a position to be picky.
Sliding his ninjatō back into its sheath, Kei didn't spare another glance at the corpses as he turned and ran toward Imai Kenta's last known location.
By now, Minato had likely finished his own fight—he might have even started helping clear the remaining mid-tier Iwa nin.
But Kenta's status was still uncertain. Kei didn't particularly care whether the guy lived or died, but having one more ally was still one more asset.
Especially since Kenta had impressive regenerative abilities. Out of the three of them, his condition was by far the best. Kei could use someone like him right now.
After running roughly five hundred meters to the left, Kei began to notice bodies scattered on the ground. A quick check revealed a common thread among them:
Like the ones Kei had dispatched, all bore fatal sword wounds.
However, unlike Kei's usual clean one-strike kills, these bodies told a different story. Some clearly died from sneak attacks, while others showed signs of extended combat before succumbing to fatal blows.
Following the trail of corpses, Kei eventually caught sight of Kenta darting out from behind a tree, charging toward a small group of Iwa shinobi.
His speed was like a lightning bolt—within a heartbeat, he was upon them. With a thunderous slash, he cut one of the Iwa nin down before they could even react.
The man hadn't even drawn his kunai before his life ended.
"Watch out!" someone shouted.
Too late.
Without pause, Kenta's sword swung again, cutting down the one who'd tried to warn the others.
Taking out two enemies in rapid succession snapped the remaining Iwa shinobi out of their shock. They immediately pulled out their weapons, bracing for a counterattack. Kenta paused, eyeing them cautiously.
From a distance, Kei watched the scene unfold. Clearly, a surprise attack was no longer an option. Kenta was now locked in a stand-off.
"Lucky you," Kei muttered with a wry smile. "Who would've thought that since taking on this mission, I'd actually start getting used to saving people?"
Kei had always been ruthlessly pragmatic on the battlefield. The fact that he hadn't killed his own teammates was already an act of mercy. In fact, he had used a teammate to block a jutsu once—an unavoidable decision in a life-or-death situation.
As for saving others? The only reason he was doing it now was because of this cursed mission.
No one in Konoha would ever believe that Uchiha Kei—the same man who rescued so many captives behind enemy lines—was someone like this.
Smirking at the irony, Kei pulled out two kunai and threw them without hesitation. The already-tense Iwa shinobi flinched like startled birds, instinctively tossing their own kunai to intercept.
Kenta's previous ambush had clearly left them on edge. Now, faced with another unexpected assailant, their reaction was panicked and defensive. They assumed Kenta was trying to distract them for another strike.
What they didn't know was—the real threat wasn't Kenta.
While their focus was on the airborne kunai, Kei suddenly surged forward. Even without using the Body Flicker Technique, his speed was blinding.
As the kunai clashed in mid-air, Kei had already closed in on one of the Iwa nin from the side.
The man wasn't an idiot. Instinctively, he swung his own kunai—only to find himself hopelessly outclassed. Under the scrutiny of Kei's Sharingan, his movements were sluggish and painfully predictable.
"AARGH!"
A distorted scream rang out as Kei delivered a fatal blow. One clean strike.
The horrifying scene shattered the composure of the final Iwa ninja. Kei saw it—the slight tremble in the man's hand as he clutched his kunai.
Kei silently shook his head. There was no need to intervene any further.
Because Kenta had already appeared behind the trembling Iwa nin.
"Thanks for the backup, Captain." Kenta wiped the blood from his blade with a bright, harmless-looking smile that, given the slaughterhouse atmosphere, looked downright eerie.
"Of course I came to help. Who else is going to shield me from jutsu?" Kei replied dryly, sheathing his own blade. "Is everything taken care of?"
"Pretty much." Kenta didn't seem fazed by Kei's sarcasm, still smiling earnestly. "I'm not sure how many Captain Minato took out, but I imagine he cleared quite a few."
Clearly, Kenta had also noticed the earlier commotion caused by Minato. It was safe to assume he'd taken care of the enemies on his end.
But the fact that he hadn't shown up yet meant only one thing—he'd probably sped ahead to scout or eliminate more Iwa nin before Kei and Kenta caught up.
Kei nodded. Just as he turned around, his eyes narrowed.
At some point—without a sound—Namikaze Minato had appeared behind them like a phantom.
The Flying Thunder God Technique. Truly, one of the most terrifying and elusive jutsu in the entire shinobi world. Whether used for assassination or infiltration, it was virtually unstoppable.
"Kei-kun, I've found the target," Minato said without wasting time. "But… we've got a bit of a problem."