Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

then

"Madara, Madara... Sharingan, Uchiha, could it be... Impossible, this is absolutely impossible, wasn't that man dead for decades?"

under the moonlight,

Kazuma's face was so gloomy it seemed like water could drip from it; he was terrified by his own guess.

[Chapter 259. Kaguya Kimimaro VS Samurai Ogasawara Uemon]

Just as Kazuma was being frightened by his own conjecture, Uchiha Torajiro's squad had already witnessed the entire 'hunt' at Hotei Bath. They saw three lone guests who had come to bathe and soak in the hot springs being knocked unconscious by a handkerchief, dragged away, tied up, and taken to the nearby Ito Meat Shop, where they were hidden under the meat delivery truck.

As dawn broke, three oxcarts carrying various kinds of fresh meat for the embassy set off.

Uchiha Torajiro's squad continued to follow behind, all the way to the embassy. Arasaka Rokuro stepped forward and directed the oxcart to be driven inside. They went to the kitchen, where the various kinds of fresh meat were naturally handled by the kitchen staff. The two men, who were clearly not employees of the butcher shop, carried the prey covered with sacks and followed Arasaka Rokuro out of the kitchen and onto another road.

They crossed several small bridges and followed the winding corridor to the entrance of a courtyard. Rokuro Arakasaka turned around and said, "You wait here. I'm going to see the special envoy."

"Yes, Master Rokuro."

The two agreed.

This wasn't their first time doing this job, and they were very familiar with the procedures.

Rokuro Arasaka walked into the courtyard, came to the door, knocked gently, and said, "Sir, the goods have arrived."

"Send it to the usual place."

"Yes, my lord."

"By the way, Rokuro, I heard that some people from the police department came looking for you yesterday? What did they want with you?" Just as Rokuro Arakasaka turned to leave, Hiramiya Saiki, who was sitting in the house, suddenly asked.

"It's a friend of mine who grew up with me. He seems to have offended a group of powerful figures from out of town recently. I asked a few people to help him, but they ended up getting beaten to a pulp. So I was thinking of using the police department's influence to intimidate those out-of-towners. I didn't expect it to even alarm you, sir. It was my negligence."

Rokuro Arasaka tried his best to remain calm and maintain his usual humble and respectful attitude.

"I see! Haha! If the police department isn't doing their job properly, we can contact them through the embassy. Alright, let's go deliver the things first." Hiramiya Qijing didn't care too much about this small matter. Just as Ogasawara Uemon said last night, after careful consideration, he felt that Konoha would never take action against him because of some lowly commoners.

in contrast,

Kazuma, that annoying guy, is the real trouble.

He was just casually trying to scare Rokuro Arasaka, and when he didn't find anything wrong, he immediately lost interest.

After thanking them politely, Arasaka Rokuro carefully withdrew and led the two men at the door toward the "usual place." This so-called "usual place" was the tea room of the special envoy's residence. To be honest, Arasaka Rokuro had no idea what Hiramiya Saiki and Ogasawara Uemon were doing. He was only responsible for delivering the hunted goods to the tea room, where his trusted confidant who had come to Konoha with Hiramiya Saiki would take over.

The tea room is only a five-minute walk from Hiramiya Nariaki's residence.

Arakasaka Rokuro and the others soon arrived at the entrance of the tea room.

however,

He didn't even knock on the door.

Then someone shouted angrily from inside the tea room: "Who's there?"

Rokuro Arasaka was stunned for a moment, instinctively showing a bewildered expression due to the suddenness of the event. The two people behind him who were responsible for moving the goods looked similarly at each other, glancing around and looking left and right, before they could figure out what was going on.

A sharp blade of light rose from below, tearing open the roof. Tiles rained down like a storm, causing Arasaka Rokuro and his men to flee in terror.

"Konoha ninjas? What are you trying to do by sneaking into the embassy?"

Ogasawara Uemon was both shocked and furious.

Uchiha Torajiro, who had barely managed to parry Ogasawara Uemon's powerful blade, turned pale and jumped back, standing on one side of the roof, confronting Ogasawara Uemon through the hole... This guy is strong!

Because he had secretly followed Rokuro Arasaka into the area, he was constantly on high alert, wary of any potential surprise attacks.

however,

Even so,

Facing Ogasawara Uemon's attack, which was clearly more of a probing strike, he almost couldn't withstand it.

"What are you here for? Of course, I'm here to investigate the truth behind the missing persons case. Ogasawara Uemon, right? I advise you to honestly turn yourself in, so you can avoid some physical suffering." Uchiha Torajiro was inwardly groaning, but on the surface he refused to show any weakness and confronted Ogasawara Uemon head-on with a tough attitude.

Upon hearing the words "missing persons case,"

Ogasawara Uemon's eyebrows twitched noticeably. As a man with a keen sense of smell who had repeatedly escaped death, he sensed something was amiss. Konoha actually dared to use force at the embassy... Weren't they afraid of causing conflict with the Daimyo?

only--

Thinking about these things now is obviously useless. The other party has already come knocking on our door with that good-for-nothing Rokuro Arasaka. This matter is not going to be resolved so easily.

"Confess? I'm sorry, sir ninja, I don't understand what you're saying. This is the private property of the Special Envoy's office. Whatever your problems may be, please contact the Special Envoy through legal channels. Please leave now, otherwise... I will have to eliminate the thieves who intend to assassinate the Special Envoy."

Ogasawara Uemon said, enunciating each word clearly.

After he finished speaking, Ogasawara Uemon swung his sword and assumed an attack stance.

Uchiha Torajiro frowned at this moment. The guy in front of him looked like a big, burly man, but he turned out to be a shrewd person. His words were so eloquent... To be honest, if someone with a weak will were standing here in his place, they might really have temporarily retreated to take legal channels because of the name of the special embassy.

unfortunately,

He is an Uchiha.

At this point, he would never back down. He wouldn't retreat an inch until he found out exactly where the missing persons had ended up. If he retreated now, it was very likely that when he came to check through the proper channels next time, he would find that there was nothing there and everything would have been cleaned up. There were countless similar schemes and old stories like this.

"I will not give you the chance to destroy the evidence."

Uchiha Torajiro said firmly.

"court death!"

A fierce glint flashed in Ogasawara Uemon's eyes.

His murderous intent, which he had barely managed to suppress, surged up again. He hadn't wanted to take action, since killing Uchiha Torajiro would bring him no benefit and would likely cause him a lot of trouble. That's why he thought of letting Hiramiya Kiyoshi handle it, since that old man was far more skilled at dealing with such matters than he was.

However, Uchiha Torajiro was completely ungrateful.

Since he's willingly courting death, then don't blame him for showing no mercy. At worst, he can continue to wander the world. Anyway, he's made quite a bit of money by Ping Gong Qi Jing's side in the past year or so, so even if they part ways, he doesn't have to worry about lacking money or supplies for a while.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, and he made up his mind to kill.

then,

The blade flashed again.

【Iaijutsu】

This is a unique skill that only a small number of samurai in the Land of Iron can master. It is a sword-drawing technique that allows one to "preempt the enemy before they act and kill them before they move." The samurai rely on this lightning-fast sword-drawing technique to cut down the ninjas before they can unleash their ninjutsu.

It is precisely because of such military strength that

The samurai were not completely eliminated by the times; they were even able to maneuver among the five great nations and obtain the title of a permanently neutral country.

The moment he saw that dazzling flash of light, Uchiha Torajiro's mind went blank. Then he realized he was done for. This time, he was truly done for. He had taken one of his opponent's attacks and thought he was formidable, but he had arrogantly assumed he could withstand a few more blows, wanting to gauge his opponent's strength. But...

This is a real tiger!

Such a sharp slash,

Even among the clan's Jonin, very few could cut through it!

Wait, something's not right! How can someone still think after being cut down? And why doesn't he feel any pain at all? Sensing something was wrong, Uchiha Torajiro regained his attention, which had been somewhat distracted by the thought that he was definitely going to die, and only then did he notice a rather short figure in front of him.

"...Itachi?"

This young man, with his appearance, tear troughs, and a serious expression that is about 80% similar to Elder Fugaku's, is none other than the genius among the new generation of geniuses in the clan, Uchiha Itachi.

"Torajiro-senpai, watch out, I can't take this!"

As soon as Itachi finished speaking, he was thrown backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing straight into Torajiro's arms. The impact made Torajiro's chest feel tight, and he stumbled back several steps, shattering more than a dozen glazed tiles, before finally stopping his retreat while still holding Itachi.

"Cough cough!"

Uchiha Itachi coughed twice and moved his numb arm.

"I'm sorry, Torajiro-senpai. That guy's sword is not only fast, but his strength is also terrifying. I couldn't hold on just now. But I had no choice but to fight him head-on. From now on... it won't happen again."

"...So, Itachi, you're the one the captain sent to deliver a message to, the one who'll help us in a crucial moment?"

Uchiha Kojiro's reaction was not slow.

They realized that Itachi Uchiha's appearance at the embassy was no coincidence.

“That’s right, Kimimaro and I have been following you guys since yesterday, Torajiro-senpai.”

"They've been following us since yesterday? Speaking of which, Kimimaro is here too... Ah!"

Uchiha Torajiro saw Kimimaro, who was covered in bone fragments and looked like a white hedgehog, fighting fiercely with Ogasawara Uemon. His question was immediately changed into an affirmative statement.

"Torajiro-senpai, go help your men! There are still a few skilled enemies down there, and you all have a mission to complete. Don't forget your mission; if we can't gather solid evidence, we'll become criminals for attacking the special envoy... This guy is on Kimimaro and me!"

Uchiha Itachi explained the situation in a very fast voice, not giving Uchiha Torajiro a chance to interrupt.

After saying that, he immediately rushed towards Ogasawara Uemon.

He completed the hand seal with one hand while running.

He unleashed a Phoenix Fire Technique, the scattered fireballs forcing Ogasawara Uemon to stop his pursuit of Kimimaro. It must be said that Ogasawara Uemon, a former samurai from the Land of Iron, was incredibly powerful, possessing a swordsmanship that was both fast and ruthless, combined with immense force and heavy weight, making him extremely aggressive.

Just now, Kimimaro was engaged in a battle with Ogasawara Uemon.

Because he was too young and his body was still developing, he was no match for Ogasawara Uemon in strength and was knocked away.

but--

This, in turn, provoked Kimimaro.

"Itachi, don't use genjutsu! This guy is a good opponent! Let me try him out first! If we miss this opportunity, who knows when we'll encounter another master of taijutsu like him again." Swordsmanship, according to the ninja classification system, can be categorized under taijutsu. Kimimaro's forte is taijutsu, and he is also skilled in using weapons, not fists and feet.

The only special thing is that,

The weapon he used was not a standard sword, spear, or club, but his own bones.

He can fine-tune his bones according to the actual needs on the battlefield, transforming them into weapons such as swords, clubs, and even whips. Therefore, he studies and learns everything from swordsmanship, club techniques, spear techniques, whip techniques, etc., and then integrates these things into his own through actual combat.

"Don't let your guard down!"

The power of the ocular energy that had been building up in Itachi's crimson eyes gradually subsided.

He temporarily abandoned the idea of ​​using illusion magic to quickly end the battle. Since Kimimaro wanted to use this enemy to hone his skills, he would let him be! As long as he could control the situation and prevent a complete disaster, that would be fine. In any case, based on his observations, he could confirm that the threat posed by the enemy in front of him was only so-so.

That swift and powerful sword-drawing technique was indeed domineering.

Special Jonin might not even have a chance to unleash a ninjutsu before being killed. However, their strength seems to lie only in swordsmanship. Against a ninja like Kimimaro who excels in taijutsu, they might be evenly matched or even gain the upper hand. But genjutsu is the nightmare of most ninjas and samurai who are skilled in taijutsu.