Chapter 28
"Wipe it off."
Shika Ryo lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on the bloodstains spreading across Yuki's fair face. Since the Chunin Exams, he and Yuki had barely interacted on missions. He had grown much shorter, and Yuki even had to slightly raise her eyes to see his expression.
"You're here too, Shira?" Yuki took the handkerchief, wiped her face, and looked at Hinata Tokuma.
"Well, as a clan in Konoha, those with even a little combat ability, as long as they're not too weak, are usually on the battlefield as a matter of course," Hyuga Tokuma explained, his bright white eyes showing a hint of confusion. He thought to himself, "Uchiha Yuki isn't exactly young, so why does she seem so clueless about these things?"
Yuki felt uneasy thinking about Obito becoming a Chunin.
Lu Liang noticed her concern, placed his hand on her slightly unruly hair on the top of her head, and tried to straighten it.
"Don't worry, Obito Uchiha is, after all, a disciple of Minato-senpai." Shika Ryo could see that Obito was merely a figurehead used by the Third Hokage to restrain Kakashi, who had lost his father, a kind of bond. "Without Minato-senpai leading the team, Team 7 probably wouldn't have taken on a mission of this level."
At this point, Lu Liang added, "Obito is getting on in years, and you two aren't related by blood. Sometimes, it's time for you to let go. Xue."
"Does even Shika Ryo think so? But Obito hasn't even opened his eyes yet." Yuki smiled helplessly: "There's nothing I can do, I'm not worried."
The three of them chatted quite a bit amidst the swirling yellow sand and falling snow.
The neglected frontline commander, Jiraiya, touched his nose.
Why do I feel like I got humiliated in front of three special Jonin?
While Nara Shikaku was under Minato Namikaze's command, he heard his younger brother, who had just been promoted to Special Jonin, request to be transferred to Jiraiya's front line. Upon arriving at the scene, he saw Nara Shikaku, who, as expected, was practically living and working alongside Uchiha Yuki on missions.
Sure enough, he's a love-obsessed younger brother.
He was speechless, and he almost punched Nara Shikara in front of the snow.
"You sent us to the battlefield, and you came here to date?"
"What are you saying, big brother? Yuki and I were originally in the same team. Genma was assigned to Might Guy and Ebisu's team, which is on a different front."
Lu Liang, with his hands in his pockets, kicked away the pebbles at his feet.
Besides, he wasn't just wasting his time here.
He also killed quite a few enemy ninjas, so his battle record was not bad!
Shikaku frowned at his persistent younger brother and lowered his voice: "Uchiha Yuki is not suitable for you."
If we're talking about Uchiha Yuki, whose grades were mediocre during her time at the Ninja Academy, but whose outstanding appearance was a major asset, Shikaku would wholeheartedly agree. Or even any Uchiha clan member, as long as Shikaku and the other party were interested. The Uchiha clan's rule against marrying out would really need to change. However, Uchiha Yuki's strength grew dramatically later on, and she was even working in the Anbu recently. Now, she's the highly sought-after "Konoha Yuki-hime" on the front lines, and on the other side, "Shisui of the Body Flicker," both considered genius Uchiha ninjas. How could the Nara clan possibly agree to let such talented ninjas marry into the Nara clan, to his younger brother who's only good-natured and has average strength?
With Shika's lazy nature, he would have been able to succeed without the Nara family's support.
Even just wanting to be transferred to Jiraiya's subordinates is fraught with difficulties.
Even if Shikara were to marry into the Uchiha clan, it's uncertain whether the Uchiha clan would agree.
Besides, Shisui and Yuki are currently the only two members of the Anbu.
Lord Danzo's Root organization also intended to absorb the past of Uchiha Yuki and Uchiha Shisui.
The relationships between them are incredibly complex, not to mention that it's obvious to everyone that Uchiha Yuki deeply admires Namikaze Minato. First, with Jiraiya's support and the added assistance of the Uchiha clan, Minato is a standard member of the Third Hokage's faction. Second, even if Uchiha Yuki doesn't join Minato's faction, she's still a standard Uchiha like Uchiha Shisui, meaning both of them are undoubtedly Fugaku's confidants.
Therefore, Shikaku dared not think any further about the crucial nature of Uchiha Yuki.
Lu Liang shrugged: "I don't care whether Xue likes me or not. I like her, and it's enough for me to be by her side."
"So you're willing to watch the woman you like be with other men?"
Lu Jiu's words made Lu Liang fall silent for a moment. He said, "As long as Xue is happy, that's enough."
-
In the full-scale war, none of the five major powers were spared.
When Uchiha Yuki received Uchiha Fugaku's handwritten letter, the Battle of Kikyo Mountain had just ended. As one of the main forces in this war, she inflicted considerable damage on the enemy's Sunagakure. Especially in snowy weather, when the yellow sand sometimes mixed with snowflakes, it was very effective for Yuki's combat. Particularly when the temperature difference between day and night was extreme, under Jiraiya's instructions, Yuki often launched surprise attacks on Sunagakure ninja strongholds alone in the dead of night.
Even though the war was so brutal, with corpses strewn everywhere, it was all covered by the snow in the desert within a few days.
The Konoha ninja achieved an almost completely overwhelming victory.
Yuki opened the letter from Fugaku.
The letter was very brief, containing only some very general statements.
It's basically the same rhetoric: don't bring shame to the Uchiha clan.
Xue wondered if everyone who became the head of the Uchiha clan received the same training in saying these things...
Besides mentioning some rumors about Shisui and her on the battlefield, it also mentioned that Itachi, along with most of the young and middle-aged members of the Uchiha clan, accompanied him. The Uchiha clan went to the battlefield as a clan. Furthermore, Itachi's growth was very rapid.
I'm ashamed to send a four-year-old to the battlefield. Aren't you worried about leaving him with psychological trauma?
When you were Fugaku-kun, you were still competing with others in the clan's training grounds, testing your fire-style power.
Life and death are commonplace for ninjas; death is an integral part of their lives.
【Snow, take care of yourself. Mikoto will be waiting for you to return to Konoha.】
The last two sentences surprised Xue somewhat.
I never expected Fugaku to say something like that. I thought he would say that he would only die because he was too weak.
Yuki picked up her pen, intending to write a reply to Fugaku, to tell him that she was doing well.
Suddenly, the pen tip fell onto the letter paper.
As the dark, inky black watermark spread out, Xue felt her heart pounding rapidly.
Her breathing became rapid, and Xue gripped the corner of the table for support.
I instinctively felt that something must have happened.
"So, is Obito really alright, Jiraiya-sama?!"
Xue clutched her chest with her right hand, her delicate brows furrowed, and ran to Jiraiya's office to demand an explanation.
"Don't worry. Even if Team 7 is on a mission, Minato will be there."
"You don't believe me? Don't you believe Minato?"
By this point, Jiraiya had lost all patience.
He had no interest in discussing another Uchiha brat with a greenhorn who was only a minor celebrity.
Yuki sensed Jiraiya's irritation and couldn't press him any further.
"Excuse me, Jiraiya-sama, I'll take my leave now."
Jiraiya sensed the chakra fluctuations of the Flying Thunder God Kunai, and space-time ninjutsu was sometimes used for delivering messages.
The moment the kunai disappeared, it was replaced by a strip of paper still covered in dirt.
[Urgent Report]
[The Kannabi Bridge mission has been successfully completed. Obito Uchiha has died. Do not inform Yuki.]
The last few words were written hastily, yet with heavy strokes. Jiraiya's heart was heavy. The handwriting was clearly Minato's; it seemed his disciple intended to keep this a secret from Uchiha Yuki until the war was over. On the battlefield, weakness was the original sin. Jiraiya formed hand seals and burned the note to ashes, leaving not even a trace.
The Uchiha clan should already know about this, otherwise Uchiha Yuki wouldn't have come to question them as soon as she received the letter.
However, they didn't mention that Obito Uchiha had died, so Yuki Uchiha came here to verify it.
Thinking of this, Jiraiya sighed. Perhaps he should have softened his tone a little more when speaking to Uchiha Yuki?
-
On the battlefield, Asuma stared at the slender figure in the distance and said, "Is that the Uchiha clan? Why are they cutting down everyone they see?"
Lu Liang watched as Xue, sword in hand, searched for a target with a blank expression.
"Uchiha Yuki." He answered Asuma, who, as Hiruzen Sarutobi's youngest son, was perfectly suited to be trained under Jiraiya.
Asuma revealed an expression of great interest: "Nara-senpai, she's Obito's older sister. I've heard other Jonin talk about her. Her nickname is quite nice too."
"You'd better not mention Obito's name in front of Yuki." Although Shika Ryo didn't know the reason, based on his understanding of Yuki, the only person who could make Yuki act like this was Uchiha Obito.
Asuma nodded shrewdly; he was quite interested in Uchiha Yuki.
However, he wouldn't make a fool of himself by approaching someone when they're in a bad mood.
In the battle against Sunagakure, they suffered repeated defeats under the attack of Konoha's elite forces.
It's only a matter of time before Sunagakure is forced to sign a ceasefire treaty with Konoha.
After nearly a year of attrition, under the direct sunlight, even Xue's skin had tanned from a pale white to a yellowish-white.
Long, curly hair that has been neglected for a long time has even split ends.
During the daily routine report, Yuki unusually raised her hand and asked if she could be transferred to the Uchiha clan's front line.
"Please forgive me, but I cannot agree, Uchiha Yuki."
Jiraiya was having a headache over Uchiha Yuki, as it had been almost a year since he received news of Uchiha Obito's death.
This brat always subtly asks if there were really no Uchiha clan casualties.
He went to ask his other colleagues if the Uchiha clan had any strange telepathic abilities!
Fortunately, he had made arrangements with everyone beforehand, otherwise he might have let something slip.
He felt that Uchiha Yukari's trip to the Iwa ninja was a minor matter, as killing people to vent her anger was just that—a minor matter.
The important thing is, wouldn't they take their anger out on his disciple Minato for not protecting him properly?
He glanced at Uchiha Yuki, who had her eyes lowered, appearing very obedient on the surface but whose true thoughts were unfathomable.
He nodded. It was entirely possible. Besides, given his foolish disciple's guilt, who knew if he might casually agree to some outrageous request?
After the routine meeting, Asuma walked beside Uchiha Yuki.
"How did you manage to use that ice-style technique, Snow-senpai!"
"Are you talking about Bingyu?" Xue didn't dislike the third generation's youngest son, even though he looked more mature than his peers.
However, he is more easygoing than Lu Liang, and on the surface, he looks a bit like a delinquent.
Asuma took the sword from Yuki and tried to infuse it with chakra. However, Hyoyu simply absorbed his chakra without reacting. Asuma scratched his head sheepishly and chuckled, "Seems like you're ignoring me?"
Xue raised an eyebrow and took the ice feather; a distinct chill immediately emanated from it.
Asma found it very interesting, and he reached out and grasped the tiger's mouth of the snow sword.
He poured chakra into it again, and the speed at which the ice feather emitted its chill seemed to pause for a moment.
Then, a wind began to rise around the sword. Yuki's eyes widened slightly as she turned to look at Asuma.
"Is it because my chakra is wind-style? This sword is really interesting."
As Asma released his grip, the wind gradually stopped.
Yuki fell into thought. The Uchiha clan was usually skilled in Fire Release ninjutsu, and she was no exception.
In a sense, Ice Feather can use ninjutsu of the same element as the chakra element it inputs.
However, no matter what type of chakra she inputted, using ice feathers as a medium, what she used was ice release, similar to a bloodline limit.
“Wind-attribute chakra is rare…” Yuki said, her gaze meeting Asuma’s.
Asuma blushed slightly and looked away. "Is that so? Perhaps it's because I'm from the Sarutobi clan... just like you're from the Uchiha clan and skilled in Fire Release?"
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