Sheathing his longsword, Senju Butsuma suddenly called out, "Anbu One."
A dark shadow materialized abruptly, as if stepping out from nowhere. He was completely shrouded in black clothing, bearing a striking resemblance to the Uchiha Shadow Guards.
If the Uchiha clan possessed an elite assassination and intelligence unit like the Shadow Guards, there was absolutely no reason for the Senju—the other supreme clan of the Warring States—to lack one. They simply called theirs the "Anbu."
"What is the reliability of the intelligence that person just provided?" Butsuma asked.
"Such information can be easily verified with a quick investigation," Anbu One replied calmly.
Butsuma nodded and waved his hand. "Go quickly and return quickly. I await your report."
"Yes!" The Anbu operative acknowledged the order and vanished with a soft whoosh.
Senju Butsuma stared intently at the spot where the cloaked figure had disappeared, falling deep into thought. Experts at the Peak Jōnin level were exceedingly rare in any clan. Even for the Senju and Uchiha, losing even one was akin to bleeding from the heart. If this intelligence was true, the Uchiha had suffered an absolutely devastating loss this time. Currently, their northern border was unstable. If he were to initiate a war right now...
As Butsuma pondered, his eyes grew brighter and brighter. Ever since he was outmaneuvered by the Uchiha during the Hyūga conflict, he had felt suffocatingly aggrieved and had constantly sought an opportunity to reclaim his lost face.
However, all these plans had to wait for Anbu One to confirm the situation. He couldn't just foolishly believe a mysterious figure's random words. Speaking of that mysterious man... who on earth was he? To be able to infiltrate the Senju compound completely unnoticed and then disappear so bizarrely right in front of his eyes...
"Owl..." Butsuma murmured under his breath, still completely clueless as to the man's identity.
Far away in the northern territory of the Uchiha clan.
Inside Xuan's room, the dead of night had fallen, and all was completely silent. The air rippled slightly, and Xuan's true body materialized.
On the futon, Xuan's Shadow Clone had been sleeping peacefully. The moment the true Xuan entered, the clone's eyes snapped open. With a soft poof, it dissolved into white smoke.
Xuan chuckled lightly and quickly laid down, assuming the exact same position the Shadow Clone had just occupied. "The intelligence has been delivered to Senju Butsuma. Knowing the Senju's character, once they verify the information, there's an eighty percent chance they'll launch a war. Perfect. Everything is proceeding exactly according to my design."
Thinking of this, Xuan closed his eyes and drifted into a pleasant sleep.
The world was incredibly complex—so complex that completely unpredictable things would always happen. It was impossible to calculate every single variable flawlessly. Yet, at the same time, the world was incredibly simple. As long as you obtained intelligence earlier than others, gathered more intelligence than others, and leaked that intelligence to the right people, events would naturally unfold exactly as you desired.
The next morning, Xuan woke up right on time. After washing up and practicing Ninjutsu for a while, a new day began.
Earlier that morning, back at the main Uchiha compound, Uchiha Tajima received the battle report from the north.
After reading the report with bloodshot eyes, Tajima could no longer control his erupting fury. With a violent punch, he smashed his desk to splinters. "Shinobi Six! Shinobi Seven!" he roared.
"Here!" "Here!"
Two figures suddenly appeared on either side of the Patriarch. They were the last two surviving Shadow Guards. Their expressions were completely hidden beneath their black hoods, but from the slight trembling of their bodies, one could still perceive their immense rage. It should be known that the absolute first rule of a Shadow Guard was to completely discard all emotions.
"The two of you—go! Go to the north and thoroughly investigate the situation! I do not believe it! I absolutely refuse to believe this happened! How could they fall into an ambush?! How could they possibly be ambushed?! The entire situation is far too bizarre! And what about Uchiha Xuan?! With his level of strength, how is he still alive?! Investigate it! I demand a thorough, absolutely clear investigation!"
Tajima bellowed, his chakra boiling uncontrollably. The entire room was saturated with an incredibly oppressive, suffocating pressure. If an ordinary Genin were standing in the room, they would have completely mentally collapsed just from the sheer killing intent.
"Yes, Patriarch!"
The two operatives acknowledged the order in unison. Brimming with killing intent, they prepared to leave.
"Wait!"
Tajima suddenly called out, stopping them. Taking two deep breaths, he forced himself to say, "Do not go just yet. Regardless of how this happened, the specific details aren't the primary concern right now. The twelve-clan alliance cannot be forgiven. I am convening a general clan meeting. I will rally all the high-level experts in the clan and personally march north! Before the Senju even have time to react, I am going to wash those twelve clans in a river of blood! We haven't fought a true war of annihilation in years. It seems the Warring States have forgotten the absolute terror of the Uchiha."
Tajima spoke with a contorted, savage expression. He immediately dispatched messengers to summon the Uchiha upper echelons.
During the clan meeting, there were very few voices of opposition. When faced with situations like this, the Uchiha clan's opinion was always remarkably unified: Blood debts must be paid in blood.
"Good. Then prepare for war. Gather all military supplies. We deploy for the north in three days. Our objective: completely erase the twelve clans from existence. We must move blisteringly fast. We must secure total victory before the Senju even catch wind of this news," Tajima declared, finalizing the grand strategy.
The Uchiha war machine immediately began turning at full speed. Batches of supplies were rapidly gathered. Within three days, everything was perfectly prepared for deployment.
Dressed in full combat armor, Uchiha Tajima stood with a chilling, murderous aura, ready to lead his army north.
Suddenly, an Uchiha scout sprinted in from the eastern border, screaming frantically, "Patriarch! Terrible news! The Senju have declared war on us!"
"What?!"
Tajima jolted violently, subconsciously taking a step back. Why would the Senju declare war right now?! The timing isn't a day early or a day late—it perfectly coincides with the exact moment I'm about to march north!
"The Senju... those bastards!"
Boiling with rage, Tajima drew the longsword at his waist and swung it violently. A terrifying surge of chakra erupted, transforming into a massive crescent blade of energy that crashed into the distant forest. Amidst a deafening explosion, a massive swathe of ancient trees was effortlessly cleaved down.
"Patriarch... what do we do?" a Peak Jōnin stepped forward and asked quietly.
Tajima forcefully suppressed his fury and let out a long, heavy sigh. He closed his eyes in deep resignation. "What else can we do? Prepare to intercept the Senju army. Simultaneously, send a message to Uchiha Tō: tell him he must hold Xin City at all costs. We absolutely cannot afford to lose another single inch of our northern border." His voice was utterly saturated with exhaustion.
Under these circumstances, Tajima naturally had absolutely no time to deal with Uchiha Xuan. He would just have to let the brat stay in the north for now.
At the same time, a deep sense of suspicion began gnawing at his heart. What the hell is going on? Under completely impossible circumstances, my forces suffer the loss of six Peak Jōnin. And right after that happens, the Senju instantly react and launch an invasion? Could they have received the intelligence at the exact same time I did?
It almost feels like... there is an invisible pair of hands manipulating all of this from the shadows.
Tajima shook his head violently, completely dispelling the absurd thought from his mind. Are you kidding me? How could anyone possibly orchestrate something of this scale from the shadows? I'm just being overly paranoid.
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