The war in the Land of Rain had already continued for two full years, and by now every side involved had long since developed bloodshot eyes from the endless fighting.
To be honest, even the origins of this war were somewhat absurd.
Hanzo of the Salamander, relying on the military strength of Amegakure, had directly declared war on the Land of Iron, Sunagakure, and Konohagakure at the same time in an attempt to expand the Land of Rain’s territory.
Seeing Hanzo acting so arrogantly, the three great powers naturally refused to tolerate it.
One after another, they dispatched large shinobi forces into the Land of Rain.
Since he called himself a “Demigod,” then naturally everyone wanted to see whether this so-called Demigod was truly worthy of the title.
Facing simultaneous attacks from multiple nations, Hanzo initially remained extremely domineering.
He directly summoned Ibuse and spread terrifying poison across entire battlefields, forcing countless shinobi armies into retreat.
However, the coalition forces were not weak either.
After developing countermeasures against the poison, they launched fierce assaults upon Amegakure itself, forcing Hanzo into repeated retreats for a considerable period of time.
Naturally, such a massive war quickly attracted the attention of the other great nations.
Seeing chaos erupt throughout the Land of Rain, Iwagakure and Kumogakure also sent troops to join the battlefield.
Of course, their intentions were extremely simple.
Whoever looked weak would be attacked.
As the war dragged on, Sunagakure eventually chose to temporarily cooperate with Hanzo in order to jointly resist Konoha’s pressure.
Seeing this, the other two great villages immediately withdrew their own forces back toward their borders.
Their attitude was extremely straightforward.
“You all continue fighting if you want.
We’ll simply stand here and watch.”
Although everyone else cursed inwardly at their shamelessness, no one dared recklessly provoke additional enemies under such circumstances.
After all, neither side wished to face even more opponents.
Especially not two shameless great nations waiting nearby to take advantage of weakness.
Thus, the battlefield situation gradually became extremely strange.
Sunagakure and Amegakure joined forces to pressure Konoha, while Konoha desperately resisted in order to prevent the flames of war from spreading into the Land of Fire itself.
The three factions constantly exchanged blows, yet despite the endless bloodshed, no true victor had emerged even after years of fighting.
Crack!
Yu casually twisted the neck of a Sand shinobi before tossing the corpse aside indifferently.
“Clean up the bodies and withdraw immediately.”
“Yes!”
Several Uchiha clan members behind him immediately nodded respectfully.
During these past two years of warfare, Yu had completely won over the majority of the Uchiha forces on the battlefield.
Whether through strength, tactical judgment, or leadership ability, he had gradually gained the recognition of nearly everyone.
More importantly, many of these Uchiha shinobi had personally been saved by him during missions.
As for those hardline clan members who initially opposed him…
Heh.
By the time Yu returned to camp, he was immediately summoned toward Orochimaru’s command tent once again.
The moment he entered, Yu directly began complaining without restraint.
“Can you people stop treating me like some machine?
It’s already been two years.
Even Nawaki gets occasional leave, yet I’m the only one constantly running around the battlefield every single day.”
Orochimaru still maintained his usual faint smile.
“The capable naturally shoulder more responsibility.
Yu-kun is so reliable, so working slightly harder is perfectly normal.”
“Heh.”
Yu immediately sneered coldly while staring directly at him, clearly expressing one meaning.
Try saying that nonsense again.
Orochimaru wisely chose to stop joking afterward.
There was no helping it.
Although Yu was only twelve years old now, his current strength had already become frightening enough to make even Orochimaru wary.
Two years of constant warfare had given Yu overwhelming combat experience, and his growth speed had become astonishing because of it.
However, raw strength alone was not what truly made Orochimaru cautious.
What truly frightened him was Yu’s Sharingan combined with his terrifying Genjutsu abilities.
Over the past two years, Yu’s reputation across the battlefield had gradually spread farther and farther.
The enemy shinobi even gave him a notorious title.
Phantom Blade Blood Owl.
His swordsmanship was fast and ruthless.
His Genjutsu was practically impossible to guard against.
Most terrifying of all, none of the enemies who encountered him ever survived.
Combined with his increasingly cruel methods on the battlefield, the nickname naturally spread rapidly.
Unfortunately, Yu himself hated the title immensely.
He thought it sounded ridiculous.
“Speak.
What mission is it this time?”
Yu lazily slumped into a chair while rubbing his temples helplessly.
For the sake of increasing his influence within the clan and further consolidating control over the Uchiha faction, he had no choice but to continue accepting these dangerous assignments.
Orochimaru smiled before handing him an intelligence scroll.
“This information just arrived.
Take a look first.”
“Hmm?”
Yu unfolded the intelligence report before immediately developing a headache.
“Sunagakure is truly annoying.
If they can’t gain an advantage on the front lines, they immediately resort to sneak attacks elsewhere.”
As he continued reading, Yu suddenly paused slightly.
“A covert force entering through the Land of Rivers?”
According to the intelligence, the force leading this infiltration mission was very likely commanded by Sasori’s parents.
In other words…
This should be the mission where Sakumo Hatake earned the title of “White Fang.”
Yu immediately frowned slightly.
Where was Sakumo?
Why had he not appeared yet?
Yu slowly raised his head and looked toward Orochimaru with an increasingly unfriendly gaze.
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to have me lead the Uchiha into this operation again.
You should know very clearly that after two years of war, not many of the Uchiha reinforcements from before are still alive.”
Orochimaru merely smiled and shook his head.
“Yu-kun misunderstands.
This time, I do not intend for you to lead the Uchiha forces.”
Yu’s expression relaxed slightly.
However, Orochimaru’s next sentence immediately darkened his face again.
“This mission only requires Yu-kun alone.”
Yu’s face instantly became extremely ugly.
“Are you actually listening to yourself right now?
You want me alone to deal with over a hundred enemy shinobi?
Do you think I’m invincible or something?”
Orochimaru looked at him with an amused expression.
“With Yu-kun’s current strength combined with Manda’s assistance, I believe this mission should not be too difficult.”
Yu was just about to curse him outright when another figure suddenly entered the tent.
A white-haired middle-aged man calmly walked inside.
“Orochimaru, stop scaring the child already.”
Although the newcomer spoke lightly, his voice carried natural authority.
“Even if this brat is very capable, he’s still only twelve years old.”
Orochimaru immediately nodded politely.
“Senior.”
Seeing the newcomer, Yu finally smiled.
Now this felt more reasonable.
If someone was going to handle this mission, then it should obviously be Sakumo Hatake instead.
What was the point of forcing him to shoulder everything alone?
Sakumo looked toward Yu with obvious admiration in his eyes.
“It’s already been two years.
I heard you’ve grown quite a bit stronger recently.”
Yu rubbed his chin thoughtfully while examining him.
“Strange.
Why aren’t you wearing an ANBU mask anymore?
Did they fire you from the ANBU already?”
“Uh…”
Sakumo visibly paused for a moment before the strange expression in his eyes quickly disappeared.
Soon afterward, he laughed loudly.
“What nonsense are you talking about?
As a shinobi of Konoha, serving on the battlefield for the village is naturally my duty.”
“Heh.”
Yu merely smiled before turning back toward Orochimaru.
“I can accept this mission, but I have one condition.”
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Please speak, Yu-kun.”
Yu slowly stood up.
“We’ll discuss it after I return.”
Then he turned toward Sakumo.
“So, Senior, when do we depart?”
Sakumo’s expression immediately became serious.
“The sooner the better.
This is an urgent operation, so please understand.”
After the two left the tent together, the smile on Orochimaru’s face gradually faded.
“What exactly does Yu-kun want this time?”
His golden eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“Something important enough for him to personally negotiate conditions…
it certainly won’t be an ordinary request.”
After leaving the command tent, Yu first reported the situation to Fugaku before immediately departing alongside Sakumo toward the Land of Rivers.
Including them, the operation team consisted of only five people in total.
Because of their small numbers and rapid movement speed, they quickly arrived near their target destination.
A massive bridge stretched across the river ahead of them.
Yu observed the bridge quietly before frowning slightly.
“Senior, this operation won’t be easy.”
Sakumo naturally understood the difficulty as well.
However, his expression remained calm.
“Easy or not, it still has to be done.
No matter what happens, we absolutely cannot allow the enemy force to pass through here.”
Yu then turned toward the remaining three Jonin accompanying them.
“The three of you should stay behind and avoid participating directly.”
One of the Jonin instantly exploded in anger.
“What did you just say, brat?”
Yu calmly continued.
“I’m saying this for your own good.
Once the battle truly begins, Senior Sakumo and I likely won’t have time to protect all of you.”
The Jonin’s expression immediately darkened.
“Don’t get arrogant just because you’re talented.
Our strength isn’t weak either.”
Yu coldly looked at the three of them.
“The problem isn’t whether you’re weak or not.”
His voice gradually became indifferent.
“The problem is that if too many people join this fight, you’ll only become a burden instead.
At that point, Senior Sakumo and I won’t be able to fight properly.”
The three Jonin immediately wanted to argue further.
However, Sakumo quickly interrupted them first.
“Enough.
Yu is correct.”
He looked seriously toward the three subordinates.
“Once battle starts, I may not have enough spare attention to protect everyone.
Avoiding unnecessary casualties is the priority.”
As for Yu himself, Sakumo honestly felt no concern whatsoever.
After all, this boy’s battlefield record was already terrifying enough.
Not long ago, Yu had once faced over thirty enemy shinobi alone during an ambush mission.
In the end, not a single enemy survived.
Combined with the possibility of summoning Manda for support, there truly was little reason to worry about his safety.
Yu lightly nodded before casually brushing his hand across Sakumo’s back while smiling.
“Senior is absolutely right.”