Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

After following those tiny marks for a while, the surrounding environment gradually changed. The ground under their feet became flat and neat, and the neatly arranged cedar trees around them didn't seem to have grown naturally. Until they stopped and saw the huge carved stone gate blocking their way, and the magnificent stone palace behind it.

"Hey, who would build a palace in a godforsaken place like this?!"

Kakashi looked up at the enormous stone gate in front of him, which was carved with star patterns, and muttered to himself.

"It's probably someone, or some shady characters."

Hozuki Mangetsu surveyed his surroundings.

"By the way, isn't this part of the Land of Fire's territory? Don't the border guards patrol here?"

"This one~~"

Kakashi, drawing out his words, said helplessly, "The Land of Iron is over there!"

It's not accurate to say that the Konoha ninjas were unprepared. Rather, the Land of Iron, as the only permanently neutral country in the ninja world, strictly adhered to its promises to the ninjas. Of the three Shinobi World Wars, it only fought the Rain Ninja in the Second Shinobi World War, and that was because the Rain Ninja had taken the initiative to provoke and declare war on the Land of Iron.

It was precisely because of the honest attitude of the warriors of the Land of Iron,

During the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha's military strength was stretched thin, and the border guards were forced to reduce their patrol range. The area around Mount Sumeru, which bordered the Land of Iron, was completely abandoned. Subsequent events proved that the Land of Iron's stance was firm. Both the Iwa and Kumo ninjas attempted to bypass Konoha's defenses and directly attack the heart of the Land of Fire by passing through the Land of Iron.

The warriors of the Land of Iron sternly refused all their attempts to enter the country, displaying an attitude of ready to fight anyone who dared to enter to the death.

Since the end of the Third Shinobi World War,

With limited manpower, the border guard forces could only selectively guard key locations. Places like Sumilu Mountain were no longer frequented by anyone with nothing better to do than patrol here. As a result, no one discovered that such a magnificent palace had been built here.

"A permanently neutral country?"

Hozuki Mangetsu shrugged.

The Hidden Mist Village resides far out at sea. Since the Second Mizukage, aside from fighting with the Hidden Leaf Village, the Hidden Sand Village, and minor skirmishes with the Hidden Cloud Village, they have had no ability to intervene in matters on the mainland. Their understanding of the Land of Iron is entirely based on written materials.

“That’s right. The Land of Iron is a permanently neutral country, so the area around Mount Sumeru basically doesn’t have any decent defensive forces. As a result, they took advantage of the situation. If only I had known…” Kakashi couldn’t finish his sentence.

Knowing this wouldn't have made any difference.

The Land of Fire is a battleground on all sides.

Konoha has never had enough ninjas; the border defense forces are always short-handed, and even now, they still don't have enough manpower.

"Sigh! Anyway, I'll write a report when I get back and explain that places like Sumilu Mountain, where things are kept in the dark, should probably be investigated." Kakashi thought to himself that Sumilu Mountain's situation was probably not an isolated case, and who knows what other strange things were hiding in other places.

"We'll talk about going back when we get there. Kakashi, we need your help!"

"Again?"

Kakashi flexed his fingers, the kunai dancing between them like butterflies flitting among flowers. He looked up at the sky, where strange-looking large birds broke through the clouds and appeared in everyone's sight. "Are these... birds?"

"It can fly, so what else could it be but a bird? Wait, something's falling down?"

The moment the words fell,

Feathers rained down like a storm.

Fortunately, with the skills of everyone present, it was not difficult to dodge the attacks of these feathers.

"wrong."

Itachi Uchiha's eyes turned bloodshot as he saw the traces of chakra flow hidden within the feather. Moreover, it was an extremely familiar flow pattern, with a 90% similarity to the explosive tags that his clan made and sold. This was not a feather at all, but a damn bomb.

"Watch out, these feathers are going to explode!"

Before he could even speak, Uchiha Sen had already pulled Ringo Ameyuri along. She was also an Uchiha, and also a three-tomoe Uchiha. Her insight was no less than that of Uchiha Itachi, the rising star of the clan, and she naturally noticed the trickery with the feathers.

However, with Itachi Uchiha, a good kid in the clan, around, she didn't need to say anything more.

really,

Itachi Uchiha spoke up the moment he realized the problem.

Kakashi... He also has Sharingan, but unfortunately it's not the original one, so he's a little slower than Itachi and Chihaya. However, his movements when dodging those feathers are not slow at all.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom--!"

One explosion after another echoed through the mountains, and bursts of fiery flames dispelled the surrounding cold mist. The field of vision widened considerably after the explosions, making it easier to see the strange birds, estimated to number thirty or forty, circling in the sky.

"A bird that drops bombs?"

Hozuki Mangetsu looked up at the strange birds in the sky, feeling a bit of a headache.

Flying monsters... that's a bit tricky! None of the six of them are good at aerial combat. To be precise, there have always been very few ninjas who can fight in the air. To be honest, you can't find many flying ninjas in the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

Even if there were a secret technique like [Super Beast Imitation Painting], which doesn't belong to any particular race, that could be taught to anyone,

However, this kind of secret technique is not something that just anyone can learn. In addition to having the talent for Yang Release chakra, one must also have considerable skill in drawing. It is not difficult for the geniuses of the Uchiha clan to copy a set of drawing techniques with their Sharingan, but the talent for Yang Release techniques... directly eliminates 99% of the Uchiha clan.

Even Sogen, with Samehada's help, improved his Yang Release technique before he could learn the secret technique of [Super Beast Imitation Painting].

Anyway,

These strange birds are a bit of a problem for Kakashi and his friends.

and,

The troubles don't stop there.

"Whoosh!"

Kimimaro thrust out his bone sword with lightning speed, slicing away the strange snake with blue scales that was crawling down the rock wall beside him.

"There are snakes!"

He shouted to remind everyone.

just,

Just as he was about to discard the monstrous snake that had been pierced through, the blue-scaled snake first split into two along the wound and then attacked Kimimaro once again.

"Split? Regeneration?"

Kimimaro raised his eyebrows slightly.

The bone knife in his hand slashed out again like lightning.

He directly cut the two blue-scaled serpents into pieces. The serpent pieces that fell to the ground were not dead. They continued to wriggle and attract each other, merging back into one, and suddenly became four blue-scaled serpents. Then, they launched a third attack on Kimimaro.

What the hell is that?

Kimimaro frowned.

Anyone else might have been terrified by the blue-scaled serpent's ability to regenerate, but for Kimimaro... to be honest, Kimimaro had quite a range of expressions when he was young, and he looked quite funny when he was angry. But whether it was his nature or the influence of Itachi Uchiha, Kimimaro became more and more calm as he grew older.

Now, he has completely become a person with a blank expression who doesn't know what fear is.

That face was as cold as the perpetually frozen iceberg in the northernmost part of the Snow Country.

The seemingly infinitely regenerating blue-scaled serpent did not move him at all.

"Itachi, switch hands. Taijutsu attacks are ineffective against these monstrous snakes." Kimimaro calmly retreated, directly switching positions with Uchiha Itachi. These monstrous snakes were not attacking from all directions, but only from one side.

On the other side,

Uchiha Itachi was facing a group of strange dogs with crossbows on their shoulders that he had already cleared out.

Kimimaro was adept at dealing with these strange dogs, and he was even more efficient at killing them than Itachi Uchiha.

While Itachi Uchiha and Kimimaro worked together seamlessly to clear out the monsters, Ringo Ameyuri and Chihaya Uchiha also began to work hard to clear out the strange birds in the air. Hozuki Mangetsu overlooked one point: although none of them could fly, it did not mean that they did not have effective means of aerial combat.

Chihaya Uchiha unleashed a wind blade that swirled upwards, tearing the strange bird in the air in two. Hozuki Mangetsu's brow twitched as he watched this masterful technique, a combination of swordsmanship and wind release.

but,

What surprised him the most was Ringo Ameyuri.

"Holy crap... Yuri, your Lightning Release technique has improved way too much!" Looking at the vast, dark clouds in the sky that seemed like an endless ocean, with lightning bolts rolling like dragons and snakes in the sea of ​​clouds, and the deafening thunder that made people's ears go numb.

Such power

That's truly alarming!

"Yu Yuri is very strong."

At this point, Uchiha Chihaya simply stopped paying attention to the strange bird in the sky, glanced at Hozuki Mangetsu, and said succinctly.

“I know! Yuri is a genius, but... it’s been a long time since we’ve worked together. I never expected... she would have fallen to this level.” Hozuki Mangetsu said helplessly. Although they were both Kirigakure ninja, there weren’t many opportunities for him, the vice-commander, to take action in the Investigation Department.

most of the time,

Chihaya Uchiha and Ameyuri Ringo always teamed up for missions; their combination was more than enough to handle most of the trouble.

at the moment,

That seems to be the case.

When Ringo Ameyuri unleashed her full power, the strange bird was struck by lightning and fell like dumplings, and even the strange dog and snake on the ground could not escape the terrifying lightning strike.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Mount Milou, a secret laboratory deep within the palace.

"Oh! We've been discovered? Pen number 3." In a nutrient tank that resembled a bed, a child who looked to be about seven or eight years old lay inside, his body submerged in a dark green, viscous liquid, with only his mouth, nose, and eyes visible.

"The movement was much faster than expected, but... it was already too late."

"Konoha, just you wait! It won't be long before I'm heading back!"

Pleasant laughter echoed through the secret laboratory.

Having successfully acquired four bloodline limits using the Oni-Garuru Technique, he was in an unprecedentedly joyful mood. The white monster with the Wood Release bloodline limit that Kazuma and the others brought him brought him an unexpected surprise. Not only did he obtain the Wood Release bloodline limit, but this new body also gained a 'capacity' far exceeding his expectations.

Lying in the nutrient tank,

Hiruko could clearly feel his life force growing stronger by constantly absorbing nourishment.

Okay,

He prepared the nutrient solution according to the standard of "more is better".

Otherwise, if the original proportions were used, it probably wouldn't be enough to fill this newborn, hungry body. So he was in a good mood, and even the discovery of the No. 3 animal pen on Mount Sumilu and its likely destruction soon wouldn't stop him from being in a good mood.

"Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru! Soon! I'll catch up with you soon, and then... surpass you!!!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.