Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

No, it's not just Kazuma, but also Kogitsunemaru, Unko, Tenmoku, Murasaki, and Kamanosuke lurking underground.

Not long ago, his colleagues, whom he had been searching for in vain, appeared before him. Kazuma, Murasaki, and Unko were joining forces to attack the En no Gyoza. Kogitsunemaru was wielding his katana and launching a fierce attack on Dunbei, who was protecting Tsuchigumo Hotaru. Tenmoku was not participating in the battle; judging from his posture, he was probably scouting the surrounding situation.

His anger grew even more intense.

A deep sense of guilt welled up in his heart, because he had brought great danger to Senior Yizhi Xingzhe and the others.

only--

The shouts of the warrior in the next instant brought him back to his senses.

"Jiroku, I'm counting on you. Take Hotaru away from here." The seventy-six-year-old En no Gyoza, his white hair flying, wielded his kunai with difficulty but with great tenacity as he resisted the attacks of Kazuma's four-bladed iron claws wrapped in wind blades, dodged the senbon poisoned by Murasaki, and had to be on guard against Unko's lightning escapades at all times.

As he spoke, the old man once again swung his already battered kunai to block Kazuma's attack.

The left index finger quickly made a sweeping motion in the air.

Although it wasn't written down, anyone with a keen eye could see that Yi Zhi Xing Zhe wrote the character 'wind'. Then, a gust of wind suddenly rose from the ground, blowing away the poisoned thousand sticks that Zi Zi had thrown. The howling wind left several bloody cuts on Yun Guang's body.

Even Kazuma had to retreat several steps to avoid the fierce wind.

This is the secret technique passed down through generations of the Earth Spider clan—

【Word Binding Technique】

Simply writing down words can unleash corresponding power. For example, when the Traveler just wrote down the word 'wind,' he summoned a gale to help him repel his enemies. Of course, this secret technique also has its limitations and shortcomings, but that's a story for another time.

Now, let's talk about the present situation.

"Senior Tsuchigumo?"

Upon hearing the shout from the Traveler of the Servants, Jiro was a little taken aback.

Let him leave with the Earth Spider Firefly?

Shouldn't he stay behind to buy time for the others to escape? No matter how intense his anger was, his reason was not overwhelmed. He knew that he, the senior Enno Gyoza, and Dunbei were no match for Kazuma and the others.

At this moment,

Escape is the only chance of survival.

However, it's impossible for everyone to escape together; someone must stay behind to cover the rear and block Ma and the others from pursuing them.

“They’ve come for my clan’s forbidden technique. Di Lu, take Ying and leave. They won’t stop you. My clan’s forbidden technique is on me. If I die, they will get nothing. Even searching my memories will be useless. Only if I live can they possibly obtain my clan’s forbidden technique.”

The servant shouted loudly.

These words were addressed to Jiraiya, as well as to Kazuma and the others.

to be frank,

He didn't recognize Kazuma and the others, but he could sense that the gaze Kazuma was giving him was exactly the same as that of the attackers who had tried to seize their clan's forbidden techniques, whom he had previously dealt with. So he decided to call out tentatively to see what these guys were up to.

The reactions of Ma and the others confirmed that his guess was correct.

"Truly a worthy warrior in this campaign."

Kazuma clapped his hands, temporarily stopping his companions' attack, and said loudly, "You're right. My target is your clan's forbidden technique. As long as you hand over that forbidden technique to me, I can spare your lives. Anyway, your lives or deaths are meaningless to me. I only want the forbidden technique."

This statement—

Half true, half false.

His goal is indeed forbidden techniques, but if possible, he wouldn't hesitate to use more high-quality materials to enhance his forbidden technique, "Soil of the Dead." Of course, if that's not possible, then acquiring the forbidden techniques will definitely be his top priority.

Seeing this, the wandering monk sighed helplessly.

He wasn't exactly angry or desperate; at this moment, he was surprisingly calm. This kind of ending... wasn't entirely unexpected, especially given his deteriorating health over the past two years. Every night before falling asleep, he worried that he wouldn't see the sun rise the next day, and that death was just a stone's throw away from him.

It all depends on whether they die in their bed or on the battlefield.

Now it seems,

Perhaps dying of old age in bed is destined to be an impossible option.

"Kazuma, you guys..."

Di Lu was stunned.

He thought that he and Ma were after him, and he also felt guilty for implicating the senior, the Traveler.

Is the result the opposite?

However, after reassessing the situation, he had to admit that it seemed En no Gyoza was right; Kazuma and the others weren't targeting him. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been Kamanosuke attacking him, and En no Gyoza wouldn't have been the one being besieged...

“Jiri, I can’t hold out much longer. I’ve already taken a soldier’s ration pill, which should be enough to hold them off for about three minutes. You and Dunbei take Hotaru and leave. Don’t waste any more words. For the sake of our friendship these past few days, please take Hotaru to the Hokage to assist him.”

The traveler completely ignored what the horse said.

While the saying "old people become shrewd" has a somewhat derogatory connotation, it's not entirely inappropriate to apply it to En no Gyoza. He witnessed the end of the Warring States period, saw the three Shinobi World Wars, and even got involved in one of them. His life experiences can be described as magnificent and eventful.

Having witnessed so much deceit and treachery, how could he possibly be fooled by a mere youth like Kazuma!

He didn't believe a word of Ma's promises.

In his experience, situations like this never end peacefully. They either end up being slaughtered or fighting their way out. Of course, there are occasional instances of someone pretending to be weak while actually being strong, but those are rare occurrences that might not happen for decades. Generally speaking, the first two outcomes are the most common.

Therefore,

He took a soldier's ration pill the moment the battle broke out, stimulating his aging body to forcibly extract some chakra. Otherwise, he would have been beaten down by Kazuma and the others long ago. However, the soldier's ration pill was not a panacea for bringing the dead back to life.

Rather, it is a slow poison that drains the pond to catch all the fish.

His aging body could not withstand the effects of the second soldier's ration pill.

Therefore,

three minutes,

That was all the time he could buy.

As for using forbidden techniques to turn the tide and wipe out Kazuma and the others... unfortunately, that's impossible. Their clan's forbidden techniques require preparation time, and the longer the preparation time, the greater the destructive power of the forbidden technique. Right now, he simply doesn't have that time. More importantly, the chakra required to activate the forbidden technique is also beyond his means.

"You don't know what's good for you!"

With a cold face, Kazuma spat out these words through gritted teeth, and with a wave of his hand, the crowd that had stopped attacked again.

"Senior Tsuchigumo, I..."

Di Lu had something else to say.

but--

"Land!"

Please!

"There are less than three minutes left!!"

All the words were stuck in his throat. Jiriku felt like he had a ball of fire burning inside him, but he had nowhere to vent it. He could only simmer in his heart. He looked at Kazuma and the others, gritted his teeth, and rushed towards Dunbei and Tsuchigumo Hotaru. Seeing this, Kamanosuke, who had been hovering underground, immediately made another move to try to stop Jiriku's actions.

However, the traveler wrote the character 'thunder' in mid-air.

then,

Thunder echoed, and sunlight fell.

Kamanosuke emerged from underground, covered in dust and dirt. The thunderbolt that fell from the sky had almost taken him away in one fell swoop. If he hadn't been close to Jiraiya, and if En no Gyōja hadn't been worried about implicating Jiraiya, frankly, even if it hadn't actually killed him in one blow, it would definitely have kept him in bed for three to five months.

Jiriku did not care about Kama no suke.

Because the Ennogyoja said he would stop Kazuma and the others, and what he was to do was to escape with Dunbei and Tsuchigumo Hotaru, the lightning strike just now was not only aimed at Kamanosuke, but also at Kazuma, Unko, Murasaki, and Kogitsunemaru who was entangled with Dunbei.

They were forced to retreat and dodge.

This gave Jiraiya and Dunbei an opportunity.

Jiraiya rushed to Dunbei's side, picked up Tsuchigumo Hotaru, and together with Dunbei, who was already covered in wounds from Kogitsunemaru's attacks, they ran wildly towards the northeast. It wasn't that they didn't want to go southwest towards the direction of the Daimyo's residence, but rather that Kazuma and the others were blocking the southwest direction.

At this moment,

Naturally, the first priority is to stay as far away from Ma and the others as possible.

It's not too late to return to Daimyo's mansion and find Uchiha Mugen once we're safe.

"grandfather--!"

Hotaru Tsuchigumo, who had remained silent since the start of the battle, trying not to cause trouble for her grandfather and Dunbei, nestled in Jiraiya's arms. Watching her grandfather's receding figure, she seemed to realize that this parting might be forever, and she couldn't help but burst into tears.

However, not many tears fell.

Jiriku softly said "sorry," and then struck the back of Tsuchigumo Hotaru's neck with a chop, instantly knocking the girl unconscious and silencing her cries.

beside,

A deep sadness flashed in Dunbei's eyes, which were pale from blood loss. However, he tried his best to suppress his feelings of sadness. Now was not the time to be sad. What he had to do now was to protect Miss Hotaru's safety. Even if it cost him his life, he would escort Miss Hotaru to a safe place.

The Traveler watched with satisfaction as Di Lu and the others departed.

Then,

He completely abandoned his future, which probably didn't last much longer.

Chakra was recklessly squandered, harming this already decrepit body without any care.

He used the [Word Binding Technique] to its fullest extent, single-handedly holding off Kazuma and the others for two and a half minutes with his old and frail body. During those two and a half minutes, he prevented any of them from escaping. Then, as his chakra was depleted, the backlash from the Soldier's Food Pill made it extremely difficult for him to even lift a finger, and he couldn't even commit suicide.

but,

He was barely clinging to life.

"Zi Zi, don't let this old guy die, the forbidden technique hasn't been completed yet..." Yi Zhi Xing Zhe felt the voices getting farther and farther away from him, and he could no longer hear what He Ma and the others were saying. His heavy eyelids, as if they were weighed down by a thousand-pound boulder, slowly slumped down, and the scene in his vision changed from blurry to dark.

then,

Consciousness also plunged into boundless darkness.

[281. Chapter 279 begins with... Mist Ninja?]

"He's still breathing."

Zizi placed her fingers on the chest of the soldier, feeling the faint but still present heartbeat. He had fainted due to the backlash from taking the soldier's ration pill.

The person is not dead yet!

The situation that Kazuma feared most did not occur.