I, Uchiha Yu, am solely focused on cultivating immortality

Chapter 72 Fight! We must fight!

Keisuke Unno is very arrogant and makes no attempt to hide his presence.

Even Miwa Masayo easily identified that there were five people in the target group, including a four-person team, which should be a special jonin with three genin, and the other was the puppeteer being protected by the four-person team.

The four-person team's composition should be the same as the team that Uchiha Yu wiped out; taking them down shouldn't be too difficult.

But the puppeteer is no ordinary puppeteer. The traces he left behind prove that his taijutsu is very strong, at least at the level of a Jonin of the Sand Village. In addition, with two different types of puppets, but of absolutely excellent quality, the puppeteer may have the combat strength equivalent to three Jonin. He truly deserves to be Ebizo's son.

However, in Uchiha Yu's memory, Keisuke Umino left no reputation. It was most likely due to bad luck that he was killed in the war before he could make a name for himself.

Uchiha Yu sneered. His luck was indeed bad. He couldn't even make it to the war, and he was about to die.

The pursuit lasted all night. In the darkest hour before dawn, Uchiha Yu and Miwa Masayo caught up with the Sand Village ninja and saw the campfire they had lit on the opposite hillside from afar.

The Sand Village ninjas disregarded two ninja prohibitions: first, they could not light campfires in the open at night; second, no more than two people could sit around a campfire.

Bans may be unreasonable or even inhumane, but every ban is a lesson learned in blood.

Illuminated by the campfire, even across the entire valley, Uchiha Yu could observe enough information with his Sharingan.

"The four-person team's special Jonin is skilled in Wind Release, and one of the three Genin is a puppeteer, but the puppets are made of ordinary hardwood, so they're very poor."

"So, this puppeteer is weak, meow?"

"Hmm, ordinary wood ignites easily, so we can completely ignore him. The other puppeteer actually has three puppets, and they are all replicas of the Bunzaemon Chikamatsu Ten Puppet Masters."

"Tsk tsk, the level of realism is exceptionally high, and the materials are top-notch. This is not something that money can buy. He is definitely Keisuke Umino."

"Who's the sixth ninja, meow?"

The Sand Village ninja team gained another member. He sat with Keisuke Umino, enjoying hot water, fresh wild fruit, and the service of the genin.

Clearly, the newly emerged ninja is of equal status to Keisuke Umino, at least a Jonin.

With the addition of a new Jonin, the Sand Village ninja's fighting strength has increased by about one-third.

The title of Jonin is a heavy weight, and its influence on the outcome of a battle is something that even a Kage must pay attention to. The thought of giving up the fight began to surface in Uchiha Yu's mind.

However, such thoughts would be burned away by anger as soon as they appeared. The weight of a Jonin was heavy, but it was not enough to change his decision. It could only make him choose the timing more carefully.

But the first change that Uchiha Yu received during his wait was bad news.

As dawn broke, another Sand Village ninja joined the group. He went directly to Keisuke Umino and another Jonin, and the three of them formed a three-person team in perfect harmony.

The new ninja's demeanor, movements, and the obedience of everyone around him led Uchiha Yu to conclude that he was a seasoned Jonin whose experience and combat prowess surpassed that of Unno Keisuke.

Uchiha Yu and Miwa Masayo felt heavy-hearted. Their target had gathered three Jonin and one Special Jonin, whose strength far exceeded their expectations. They had no confidence in defeating four Jonin.

Masase Miwa asked, "What should we do, meow?"

Uchiha Yu replied, "Follow them, and then... it depends on the specific situation."

Before a war officially begins, there are very few missions that require more than five ninjas to carry out, so it is highly unusual for seven ninjas to be gathered together.

Furthermore, it would be even more inappropriate for three Jonin to form a team if the Genin and Chunin had not suffered large-scale losses.

Uchiha Yu judged that this group of Sand Village ninjas was probably just meeting temporarily, and that they would soon disperse and go about their own missions.

A powerful puppeteer like Keisuke Unno is more effective in combat when acting alone.

Uchiha Yu guessed correctly.

After finishing their simple breakfast, the Sand Village ninjas left in a four-person team, heading south in a search formation.

After a while, one of the Jonin left alone and went north at great speed, leaving only the later Jonin and Keisuke Umino by the campfire.

Although Keisuke Umino wasn't alone, Yuu Uchiha was already very satisfied. He happily said, "The opportunity has arrived. Once those ninjas are a little further away, we'll make our move."

"Mitsuyo Miwa, you hold off that Jonin who came later, I'll take care of Keisuke Umino, and then we'll gang up on your opponent together."

"No problem, meow."

Just as they were happily preparing for battle, a sharp whistle came from the sky. It was the cry of a swift eagle, and the two Sand Village ninjas who were resting and talking immediately stood up.

After Swift Eagle left, the higher-ranking Jonin launched three signal flares without hesitation, which exploded into three thick clouds of red, white and black smoke in the sky.

Uchiha Yu knew that it was an emergency signal from Sunagakure, but these signals were like passwords, temporarily determined and used for a limited time, and outsiders could not possibly know what they specifically meant.

But this time was different. He quickly realized the meaning of the emergency signal: it was an emergency assembly order for the Sand Village ninja.

All the Sand Village ninja who left returned as quickly as possible, and there was even a new Sand Village squad, a three-person squad led by a Chunin.

The dramatic ups and downs of the situation caused Uchiha Yu to lose his temper, and he uncharacteristically swore.

"Puppeteer Keisuke Umino, two Jonin, one Special Jonin, one Chunin, and five Genin."

Uchiha Yu realized that there was no saliva in his mouth. He took out his water bottle, took a sip, and said in a dry voice, "I don't know if I can swallow this."

Miwa Masayo sensed Uchiha Yu's worry, and even more so, his determination: "You really want to fight?"

Uchiha Yu declared resolutely, "Fight! We must fight!"

Masase Miwa had already seen through Yuu Uchiha's determination, but when he heard him confirm it himself, he was still shocked and his face changed drastically.

Although only one ninja squad was added, these three people represent a qualitative leap in numbers. The Sand Village ninjas have now gathered ten ninjas, giving her and Uchiha Yu a significant advantage.

Moreover, the enemy also has four Jonin, giving them a qualitative advantage.

In Miwa Masayo's opinion, it was time to consider retreating.

But Uchiha Yu surprisingly refused to give up: "We've already chased you all this way. Whether we can win or not is one thing. If you leave without even fighting, my heart will definitely be turned upside down."

The insistence on fighting wasn't just due to the threat of inner demons; the most important reason was that a vague voice inside Uchiha Yu was shouting: Victory!!

Having learned from absorbing natural energy and the experience of succeeding by following one's physical sensations and inspiration, Uchiha Yu finally decided to defy the true meaning of the Way of the Dead and initiate a battle without being 90% certain of success.

The chances of winning this time are probably only fifty percent, which is too low, far too low.

"The chances of victory are too low, and even if I manage to win by sheer luck, I can't possibly wipe them all out."

"I need to disguise myself so they can't see what I look like."

Uchiha Yu handed over everything related to his identity to Miwa Masayo, then used natural energy to twist his facial muscles, transforming himself into a square-faced man, and stuffing black contact lenses into his eyes.

The disguise was just the base layer; he put on a black mask like Kakashi's and goggles like Obito's for a second disguise.

Finally, he took out three more masks and carefully put them over his goggles.

I can finally relax.

(End of this chapter)