With the awakening of the Mangekyo Sharingan, Tetsuo unlocked two extremely powerful ocular techniques: Kakuzhan and Ikuno.
He felt as if he had been reborn, with his entire body filled with an indescribable power.
He used these newly acquired ocular techniques without hesitation, effortlessly annihilating the five Kumogakure enemies who were about to attack and doing his utmost to heal his younger brother.
However, just as he was concentrating on saving Hamasu, a figure suddenly appeared behind them without warning.
Tetsuo's sharp intuition immediately alerted him to something strange behind him, and he quickly turned, preparing his sword tightly in hand.
"Aniki!" Tetsuo shouted excitedly.
It turned out that the sudden arrival was Shintaro.
Shintaro gave a slight nod, then looked around to ensure safety before stepping toward Hamasu and carefully checking his wounds.
"Your Mangekyo's ability is actually to control trees, and it also has healing capabilities. This combination is very rare."
Upon hearing this, Tetsuo mumbled to himself as if waking from a dream.
"Mangekyo? I actually awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan..."
He couldn't help but gently reach out to touch his eyes, still in disbelief.
He then introduced his ocular techniques: "The technique of my left eye is called Kakuzhan, which can generate and manipulate trees, while the technique of my right eye is called Ikuno, which has strong healing effects."
"Thanks to these two magical ocular techniques, I was able to defeat the tough Kumogakure Ninja and successfully save my brother."
With that, Tetsuo's eyes filled with joy.
Shintaro turned to look at the still-comatose Hamasu, using his Six Eyes to closely observe him and said, "Well, the healing effect is quite remarkable. Your brother has no major issues anymore. All he needs is a good rest to recover."
However, he suddenly changed the topic, looking at Tetsuo with concern, and said: "But you need to be careful. Not long after you activated the Mangekyo, you started using ocular techniques one after another. How can your eyes withstand this if it continues? I'm here to help you."
Upon hearing that his brother was safe and sound, Tetsuo's heart, which had been tightly wound, finally relaxed. He sighed in relief, and his body softened like a deflated rubber ball.
As his mental tension eased, a deep exhaustion surged into his heart like a tide, making him barely able to stand. Not only that, the wounds all over his body that he had been ignoring began to ache as if they were just joining the fun.
At this moment, Shintaro walked toward Tetsuo. He extended his right hand, a faint white light flickering in his palm. Soon after, [Reverse Cursed Technique] was activated, and white fluorescence quickly enveloped Tetsuo's eyes and then spread throughout his body.
After a while, Tetsuo slowly opened his eyes, and an indescribable feeling of relief spread through his body, as if all the fatigue and pain had left him at that moment.
He looked at Shintaro with gratitude, his voice slightly hoarse: "Aniki, thank you!"
Shintaro smiled and nodded in response. Then, he turned his attention to the battlefield behind Tetsuo.
The scene before him made him gasp.
Countless large trees seemed to have been enchanted, tangled in strange postures, forming a massive cage.
Inside this cage, the five Kumogakure ninjas had long since lost their vitality, their bodies twisted into grotesque shapes. The scene was both tragic and horrifying. Faced with such a shocking sight, Shintaro couldn't help but have various thoughts running through his mind.
'This is similar to Wood Release, but unfortunately, the ocular technique is different from ninjutsu. Besides consuming chakra, it also drains ocular power. I have the Mangekyo Six Eyes, so I'm not afraid of the consumption, but Tetsuo is different. It's said that the First Hokage not only had exceptional Wood Release abilities but also had chakra far beyond that of ordinary people.'
'Anyway, Tetsuo's Kakuzhan isn't as good as the First Hokage's Wood Release, but it might be comparable to the Wood Release ninjas trained by Danzo.'
At this moment, Shintaro suddenly formed a hand seal quickly and shouted,
"[Katon: Gōka Shōmetsu]!"
In an instant, blazing flames were expelled like a volcano, forming a sea of fire that surged forward.
Wherever the flames passed, the trees instantly ignited and burned, turning to ash in the blink of an eye. All traces caused by Tetsuo's Mangekyo awakening were erased.
Seeing the scene before him, Shintaro sighed in relief, but then he turned to look at Tetsuo beside him, and said with a serious expression: "Remember, you must not tell anyone about your Mangekyo ability except your brother. This is not only related to your personal safety but also to the fate of the entire Uchiha Clan."
After a pause, he continued: "Once the news leaks, I'm afraid it will cause a lot of trouble and even danger. Therefore, I will personally inform the patriarch about this matter. And you just need to be sure to hide your Mangekyo, and there's no need to worry too much about anything else."
After saying this, Shintaro looked at him carefully.
Although there were still many doubts in his heart, Tetsuo nodded without hesitation, indicating that he would strictly follow Shintaro's instructions.
Because he knew Shintaro would never say this without reason; there must be a deeper meaning.
He carefully picked up Hamasu, then quickly walked to the grass under a large tree in the distance and gently laid him down. At the same time, Shintaro used [Kokakyu no Jutsu] without hesitation, directly burning the wooden bed made by Ikuno.
It didn't take long after completing these minor tasks, and Asuma arrived hurriedly with reinforcements.
As he ran, he shouted loudly: "I'm late! Shintaro?! You got here first, so it looks like my help is no longer needed here."
He was panting, with beads of sweat hanging on his forehead.
It was evident that he had just gone through a fierce battle and was very exhausted. He turned and continued to the next location to get support.
"Don't worry." Shintaro immediately stopped him, "The battle is over. I just personally checked the entire defense line, and I can confirm that this is the last battlefield."
Asuma's nerves finally relaxed, and his body slumped to the ground like a deflated rubber ball.
"Good..." Asuma sighed in relief.
Shintaro's expression was very gentle, with the style of the Fourth Hokage, and he said: "This time, the defense against the Kumogakure Village's attack was very successful. The other side sent ten teams of twenty people each, a force of two hundred to attack our defense line of five hundred kilometers."
"But we managed to block this wave of attacks, and almost all the Kumogakure ninja teams were wiped out. Of course, we also had to pay a heavy price. Many teams suffered many casualties. According to my initial statistics, we also suffered over fifty elite casualties."
"But in any case, we managed to hold the defense line and maintain the territory of the Land of Fire. Here, I will personally write a letter to the Hokage, requesting rewards for your outstanding achievements as recognition of your extraordinary strength and perseverance."
"At the same time, make sure to spread what I said to every team to ensure that all our ninjas can hear my promise: the hard battles you've endured will definitely bear fruit and will never be in vain!"
At this moment, except for Tetsuo, Hamasu, and Asuma, there were only a dozen ninjas who had come from behind for reinforcements. But even so, Shintaro never forgot how to win people's hearts.
In fact, rhetoric like this is undoubtedly a typical approach of politicians. However, many ninjas on the scene believed in this deeply and expressed their appreciation for his actions.
After saying this, Shintaro began ordering people to make statistics on specific situations, and soon after, he wrote a letter directly to report the border situation to Konoha.
The first requirement was reinforcements. Although this attack was a resounding victory for Konoha, the defender, it didn't mean that Konoha didn't suffer any losses.
According to the statistics, fifty-two Konoha ninjas died in battle, and the number of wounded reached one hundred and five, twenty-four of whom were seriously injured and could not participate in battles in the short term.
This was still the case when Konoha had Shintaro. He not only had the best combat power but also strong detection and healing abilities, namely the Six Eyes and [Reverse Cursed Technique].
Once Shintaro knew there was an enemy attack, he ran alone, using lightning teleportation to move quickly along the defense line.
However, since Kumogakure's attack occurred simultaneously, although he arrived in time to support the nearest team, there were still other teams that were attacked.
He knew that this battle had to be resolved quickly and could not be delayed, so he used [Limitless Technique] unconditionally. With astonishing speed and power, he defeated his enemies one by one without giving them a chance to breathe.
In this way, the casualties on Konoha's side were effectively controlled. However, the Kumogakure Village concentrated its forces and divided them to attack this time. Although Shintaro had superior strength, it was difficult to protect every comrade.
Facing his comrades who unfortunately died or were injured, all he could do was his best and fight for the pension they deserved from the village. At the same time, he did not forget to request rewards and honors for the survivors.
Everything Shintaro did was made public, and the Konoha ninja were filled with gratitude. And this is what he hoped for: to win the support and respect of everyone through his actions.
This is the glorious record created by the Uchiha Clan under the leadership of Uchiha Shintaro!
These military exploits not only made many ninjas in the border regions extremely proud but also put the top leaders of Konoha Village and Kumogakure Village in a difficult position at the same time.
Danzo and the Fourth Raikage had the same habit—they liked to slam the table to express their anger and dissatisfaction. However, Ai's table was the large one in the Raikage's office, while Danzo's was undoubtedly the one in the Hokage's office.
"Sarutobi! Look at what you've done! Clearly, you were the one who arranged for Uchiha Shintaro to lead a team to the northeastern border of the Fire Country to carry out a mission. But now, what has happened? It's been less than a month since they departed, and Uchiha Shintaro has already achieved remarkable feats."
"Could it be that you did this just to let the Uchiha Clan fully rise and become so powerful that we can no longer suppress them?" Danzo asked angrily.
Hiruzen's face was as dark as water, and he was calmly puffing on his pipe. As smoke filled the air, he slowly said, "Danzo, don't be too extreme. Even if Shintaro leads the Uchiha Clan and achieves great feats, it's for Konoha. The village's foundation is the great responsibility of the family and the country."
After saying that, Hiruzen looked at him carefully, as if trying to see into his inner thoughts.
Then, he changed the topic and continued, "Don't you want to witness the revival of Konoha's glory and reputation with your own eyes?"
Before he finished speaking, Hiruzen put a big hat on Danzo's head.
Danzo silently complained in his heart but couldn't refute it, so he had no choice but to relax his clenched fist.
After a pause, Hiruzen added, "Besides, Konoha has placed many strong ninjas in the security forces. The one who went to support the northeastern part of Konoha this time is an outstanding ninja who has experienced hundreds of battles."
"Konoha will never allow the Uchiha Clan to dominate."
After hearing this, Danzo had no choice but to give up his original idea. After all, at this time, he had just been dismissed for attempting to assassinate the Hokage, and in terms of both momentum and status, he could not compare with Hiruzen.
❀❀❀
At this moment, on the other side of the distant Ninja World Continent—in Kumogakure Village, Ai silently read the battle report that came from the front lines without saying a word.
The very sturdy wooden table was immediately split into two parts.
"This is outrageous! Konoha Village's defense line is so strong and difficult to break through?! We have lost so many excellent soldiers, but we haven't even been able to make a small dent in their defense line."
His face was filled with disbelief and anger.
Mabui, who was standing beside him, holding a file, continued to report the latest situation analysis on the battlefield to Ai very responsibly. However, she didn't know that by doing so, she was pouring another bucket of oil on Ai, who was already furious.
"There are two reasons for the failure of this offensive mission. One is the early warning ability of the Byakugan from the Hyuga Clan. This is a powerful Kekkei Genkai that cannot be matched by many sensory ninjutsu. Moreover, the Hyuga Clan sent three strong Jonin to the front line. They can not only detect the enemy's situation but also provide timely support to each other."
"The other is Uchiha Shintaro, the monster known as the White-Haired Demon Eye. Once our team encounters him, the entire force is annihilated."
"Hyuga, Uchiha!"
Ai's eyes were sharp as he spoke of the two great clans in Konoha. If looks could kill, these two clans would have been destroyed ten thousand times over.