Chapter 8: One Word, Steady!

A few days later, under Nara Suzaku's command, the army gradually retreated, leaving only a few necessary Ninja guards and Uchiha clansmen to cover the rear.

"Hmph, talking about assisting us, but they're clearly just monitoring us!" Kai's face was grim. This blatant distrust was simply trampling on the dignity and honor of the Uchiha Clan!

Shisui looked at the map with a calm expression. After that day, his emotions had become even more stable, and such minor matters no longer affected him.

"Let it go, Brother Kai. Let them do as they please. This kind of surveillance isn't new, and besides, there's no way they'd leave us here to guard the border."

"Ha~ You sure have a good temper."

Kai propped up his face, looking bored.

"So, what do we do next? The Mist Ninjas have almost completely withdrawn from the Land of Whirlpools. Now that the war is over, things have gotten a bit dull."

Shisui sighed as he looked at the map. He had many thoughts, so many that he could hardly believe it himself. Unfortunately...

At this point, he glanced resentfully at Sima Yi, who was calmly sipping tea nearby.

Unfortunately, all of his ideas had been firmly rejected by the man.

Sima Yi, seemingly unaware, continued quietly savoring his barley tea.

Although the taste was slightly bitter, it had its own unique flavor. He couldn't deny that many things in this era intrigued him.

Swoosh~

At that moment, a Ninja body flickered into the tent, kneeling halfway in front of the desk.

"Squad Captain, there's a message from Commander Nara. They've already withdrawn to Kuro Town and request that we begin returning to Konoha in half a month."

"The victory banquet will already be over in half a month, and yet we'll still be here suffering in the wind. Typical of them."

Uchiha Kai grumbled in dissatisfaction. The Ninja in front of the desk was not from the Uchiha Clan, so he didn't respond to the comment and continued his report: "Additionally, there seems to be new movements from the Mist Ninjas."

"Mist Ninjas?"

The three of them immediately turned their attention to him.

...

Land of Whirlpools, Hidden Mist Village Front Line.

"These are Mizukage-sama's latest orders. Please have Ao Jonin execute them immediately."

Inside the tent, an ANBU member from Hidden Mist Village handed a letter to the temporary front-line commander, the Byakugan killer Ao.

"Are you kidding me? Organizing an elite assault at this time is suicide! How could Genji agree to such an order?"

Ao opened the letter, his expression turning sour.

"Please execute Mizukage-sama's orders."

The ANBU member remained calm, coldly repeating the same words.

"This is ridiculous." Ao's anger flared as he clenched the letter into a ball. However, after a brief moment, he bowed his head and replied, "Understood. Please inform the Third that I will carry it out as soon as possible."

After receiving a response, the ANBU member swiftly disappeared, leaving Ao and his two aides in the tent, exchanging glances.

"Most of Konoha's ninja army has already retreated, only the Uchiha are still on guard against us. Perhaps this is an opportunity," one of the aides reminded Ao.

The other aide shook his head repeatedly. "But our ninja forces have also withdrawn, leaving only a few members of the bloodline clans, and there aren't many of them. Any action now would result in heavy losses. They're the village's hope—we can't just throw their lives away like this."

"We could secretly call back some forces and give them an ambush, just like we did in the Land of Whirlpools."

"Impossible. Who knows how many Uchiha are secretly watching the camp. Any movement will alert them."

"Damn it, why would the higher-ups suddenly demand such an operation?"

The two aides began to discuss, but Ao quietly reopened the letter, a look of sorrow and helplessness in his eyes.

Seeing him remain silent, the two gradually quieted down and looked toward him.

Ao sighed and destroyed the letter. "The objective of this mission is the Sharingan. The higher-ups have ordered us to obtain a Three Tomoe Sharingan at all costs."

As he spoke, Ao reached for his eyepatch. Underneath it was a Byakugan from the main Hyuga family, an eye of immeasurable value to him. He could say that this eye had helped him get to where he was today.

"Sharingan? Haven't we tried that before? The side effects of transplanting a Sharingan are too severe—it's not worth the trouble. Why suddenly issue such a mission?"

The two aides, both of high status, were already familiar with these kinds of human experiments.

"I'm not sure. Maybe they've found some solution. Don't ask too many questions. Give the orders—we move tonight."

"Understood!"

Ao's expression was serious, and he gave no further explanation. After issuing the command, he was left alone in the tent, deep in thought.

Only he knew that this mission's true target wasn't the Uchiha, nor the Sharingan, and not even Konoha. It was the members of the bloodline clans who had yet to retreat from his own camp!

"What a joke! You're sending them to their deaths just for this reason? Third, what are you thinking?"

In the Konoha Eastern Front camp, both Shisui and Sima Yi were puzzled by the intelligence they had just received from the front lines.

Uchiha Kai, on the other hand, looked excited and quickly asked, "Troop movements? Didn't the previous reports say that most of their forces have already retreated?"

"Yes, according to reliable intelligence, fewer than a hundred Ninjas remain in the Hidden Mist camp. They had been watching us from various points, but after a few ANBU members from the Mist entered the camp this afternoon, they began to gather."

"Tch, how boring. Looks like they're preparing to retreat."

Upon hearing this, Kai sat back down. Given the small number of troops, it was clear they weren't planning to attack. Most likely, they were preparing to abandon the camp and return to the Land of Water.

Shisui shared the same thoughts as Kai. After all, the Land of Water was just an island nation surrounded by sea, with no need to leave anyone here to monitor enemy movements.

Unlike them, even after the Uchiha forces retreat in half a month, other Konoha Ninjas would come to replace them and continue monitoring the movements of surrounding nations.

Sima Yi continued sipping his barley tea. With insufficient intelligence, he found it difficult to determine the enemy's intentions but still cautioned, "Keep a close watch. Don't be careless."

"Got it. Brother Kai, you should go personally, and be careful. If the Mist Ninjas make any moves, report back immediately!"

Uchiha Kai leapt to his feet with a confident, stylish pose, patting his chest and assuring them, "Leave it to me!"

After the two left, Shisui asked, "Sensei, I don't know why, but I have an uneasy feeling. Could the Mist Ninjas be planning to attack us?"

Sima Yi pondered for a moment without immediately responding. After some time, he shook his head and said, "As the ancients said, war is about courage."

"Although the situation is different now, morale still plays a big role. The Mist Ninjas have recently suffered defeat, and their morale has dropped. The remaining forces should have no fighting spirit and are unlikely to launch an attack."

"And given their current situation, even if an attack were successful, it would be meaningless. So, by common sense, they would never take such a foolish action."

He could find a thousand reasons why the enemy wouldn't act but not a single reason for why they would launch an attack.

This obvious situation led him to deep thought. A military commander would never be so foolish, right?

"I think the same, but..."

Shisui sighed; his instincts as a Ninja did not ease his worries about this reasoning.

Seeing this, Sima Yi chuckled softly. "Since their hostility is hard to gauge, I have a plan that can help you get through this."

"You really are impressive, Sensei! What is your plan?"

"Hehehe, one word: steady!"

"Steady?"

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