Chapter 221: What?! He's the Young Chief of the Uchiha Clan?!
Forget how Kakuzu felt sheer terror at the sight of twenty Uchiha with three-tomoe Sharingan. Even Uchiha Ci wore an expression of utter astonishment!
This wasn't some cabbage growing in the field—this was twenty Uchiha warriors, each with a fully matured Sharingan!
One three-tomoe Sharingan alone signifies an elite Jonin. A team like this could annihilate the entire clan of a small nation outside the Five Great Nations.
Even considering Hell Valley's stationed forces, there was no way such a luxurious lineup could be gathered.
So, where exactly did Seijiro pull these people from? And why were they here?
At this moment:
"Not going to talk?" Seijiro fixed Kakuzu with a chilly glare and said coldly, "Then go to hell!"
As soon as the words fell, all twenty Uchiha warriors stepped forward in unison. Some drew their blades, others began weaving hand signs.
In the dark of the night, countless pairs of scarlet Sharingan glowed brightly. The surrounding air dropped to freezing temperatures in an instant.
"Wait!"
Kakuzu glanced around nervously, his heart sinking as his scalp tingled. He hurriedly raised his hand and said, "This is a misunderstanding! I—I'm just passing through!"
Seijiro sneered and shook his head at Kakuzu's attempts to stall for time.
"The underground exchange offices in the Lands of Hot Water, Grass, and Rice Fields have already been wiped out," he said.
"Along with sixteen bounty hunters who arrived, the higher-ups who operated those exchanges, the corrupt merchants, and the courier-ninjas."
"It seems you still don't understand the gravity of your foolish actions."
"Even for an S-class rogue ninja like you, the consequences are the same!"
His icy gaze gleamed like an unyielding glacier as he raised his hand and declared:
"If you dared to accept a mission to claim the head of the Uchiha clan's young chief, then you must be prepared to face the wrath of the most powerful clan in the ninja world!"
At these words, Kakuzu's eerie green eyes contracted sharply. He looked incredulously at Uchiha Ci, standing beside Seijiro.
"What did you say?!"
"That pauper... he's the young chief of the Uchiha Clan?!"
Even Kakuzu's eternally stoic face began twitching uncontrollably. This wasn't in the mission intel at all!
He could still recall how Uchiha Ci had taunted him with a savings book when they first met—a savings book with a pitiful three-digit balance.
And now, he was being told that this broke, pale-faced brat was the young chief of the Uchiha Clan?
What kind of joke was this?!
Uchiha Ci blinked, looking at Seijiro in sudden realization. Now that he thought about it, he did hold that title.
But he'd never had a clear concept of what that position entailed. If anything, it just meant access to the clan's impressive treasury.
Only now, in this moment, did Uchiha Ci fully grasp the kind of terrifying power this identity represented.
"Seijiro, I didn't become this for—" Uchiha Ci began to explain. To him, a clan leader was supposed to lead the charge, not be protected like this.
"That's enough, Ci. You don't need to worry anymore."
Seijiro turned his head, his cold demeanor softening as he patted Uchiha Ci's shoulder with a comforting smile.
"When I received the bounty information targeting you, I immediately informed the Grand Elder and Captain Fugaku. Unfortunately, you had already left the village by then, so we couldn't stop you in time."
"These twenty clansmen were urgently summoned from the clan, Hell Valley, and Yumegakure. And more are already on the move."
"Rest assured, this won't end easily. Everyone involved in this matter—"
Seijiro shot a frosty glance at Kakuzu, emphasizing each word with chilling precision:
"Will pay the price!"
Hearing this, Kakuzu couldn't help but take two cautious steps back as he felt the Uchiha warriors closing in. Sweat began dripping down his forehead as the scarlet Sharingan eyes bore into him.
---
With the arrival of the Uchiha warriors, the battlefield underwent a dramatic shift.
On the other side, when the experienced Kumogakure Jonin, Ramui, saw the Uchiha, he immediately sensed that something was wrong.
Fortunately, the Uchiha seemed focused on Kakuzu, who had broken formation. Seizing the opportunity, Ramui ordered his elite Kumogakure forces to ease their offensive and gradually distance themselves from the Konoha side.
At that moment, a streak of lightning flashed across the night sky.
A scroll arrived before Ramui via a Heavenly Delivery Technique. He quickly unfurled it and read the information inside.
After a quick scan, Ramui's face changed dramatically.
The Kumogakure ninja beside him noticed and immediately asked, "Ramui-senpai, what's going on? Why are so many Uchiha here? With these numbers, we—"
Before the ninja could finish, Ramui interrupted with a stern command:
"Motoi, take your team and retreat immediately. I'll inform Killer Bee myself. The mission is complete, and the village has ordered us to regroup!"
After making this decision, Ramui exhaled deeply and patted Motoi on the shoulder.
"The situation in Hell Valley is beyond our ability to intervene."
Motoi, a sensory ninja with distinctive square green markings on his nose, let out a long sigh of relief. "I understand. I'll leave Bee to you, senpai!"
Despite his concern for Killer Bee, Motoi knew he wasn't strong enough to provide assistance.
Ramui nodded. "Don't worry. Before we came, Bee and I had already planned a strategy. I'll notify him to retreat immediately."
He pulled out a signal flare from his ninja pouch and launched it into the sky.
Boom!
A bright yellow plume erupted, lighting up the night sky.
---
Elsewhere, as a fierce blade strike shone, Uchiha Setsuna's blade ruthlessly slashed down.
Killer Bee, who had just regained consciousness, widened his eyes in shock and quickly raised his hand to block.
Shing!
The blade pierced through Bee's hand, eliciting a pained grunt.
With a cold gaze, Uchiha Setsuna withdrew his blade and aimed for Bee's vital points once more.
"This guy's swordsmanship…"
Bee's scalp tingled. Enduring the pain, he partially transformed into his Tailed Beast state, summoning three tentacles to fend off the foot pressing on his chest. Rolling away, he narrowly avoided the next strike.
Yet, like a shadow, Setsuna's blade followed, severing the three tentacles and slicing toward Bee's neck.
Bee sidestepped just in time, ducking his head to narrowly avoid decapitation.
Unlike his earlier battle with Uchiha Ci, this older opponent's swordsmanship was ruthless and relentless, leaving no room to breathe.
Adding to his woes, Bee's seven swords had been melted by Ci, and the Eight-Tails within him was trapped in a genjutsu.
For now, Bee could only evade while attempting to communicate with the Eight-Tails to lift the illusion.
After sustaining four shallow cuts, Bee finally reconnected with the Eight-Tails.
Without hesitation, Bee triggered a partial Tailed Beast transformation, cloaking himself in dark red chakra armor reinforced with white bones.
His ghastly white pupils locked onto the elder before him.
Strangely, despite his formidable defenses, Bee couldn't shake a sense of unease when facing this man.
Meanwhile, Setsuna paused, his single Sharingan narrowing as he observed Bee's transformation.
No fear showed in his gaze. Instead, the three-tomoe Sharingan in his eye spun rapidly in eerie silence.
The two stood locked in a standoff, the tension thick in the air.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning illuminated the sky from a distance, followed by a bright yellow smoke plume exploding mid-air.
Seeing the signal, Bee hesitated.
"That's the retreat signal!"
Without delay, Bee turned and fled toward the northern borders of the Land of Hot Water.
Shortly after Bee's departure, a group of Uchiha and Konoha ninja arrived at the scene, having tied up Kakuzu along the way.
"Grand Elder!"
Seijiro rushed forward anxiously. "Are you alright?"
Uchiha Setsuna turned his scarlet eye to the group, his gaze landing on a certain disheveled young man still alive.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, tension easing from his body.
But then his brow furrowed, and he shot Uchiha Ci a cold glare.
"Hmph! What could possibly happen to me?"
"Let's go! Back to Hell Valley!"
"And you, Uchiha Ci! Stop hiding in the crowd like a scared quail. Do you think I can't see you? Get over here!"
Hearing this, Uchiha Ci, who had been shrinking into the crowd, shuddered. For a moment, he didn't know how to face the elder.
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