Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

"It's good that you're clear-headed! It's nothing to be confused for a moment. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. Just don't stay confused forever."

Akimichi Torifu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lord Hokage, it's about time to start arranging for Naruto Uzumaki to be sent to the front lines." Nara Shikaku adjusted his mindset and immediately focused on his work.

"It was all to comfort you! Otherwise, it would have passed by long ago."

Akimichi Torifu complained twice, then quickly stood up and left the Anbu base with Nara Shikaku, heading towards the Hokage Building.

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.

The mirror reflected a man dressed as a member of the secret service. His fox mask was pushed up to the top of his head, covering his spiky white hair. His handsome face was mostly obscured by the black mask, revealing only a pair of heterochromatic eyes—one jet black and the other crimson.

Kakashi removed his mask, and if it weren't for his crimson eyes, it would have been difficult to discern his identity.

After everything was packed up, he left home and hurriedly headed towards the Hokage Building.

"Kakashi!"

As Kakashi entered the Hokage's office, he saw Guy waving and greeting him excitedly. He wasn't surprised at all; it was a logical choice. Although Guy didn't know ninjutsu and his genjutsu was limited to dispelling common genjutsu, his taijutsu was arguably the strongest in Konoha.

Protecting Naruto, who is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, naturally requires a sufficient number of skilled fighters. Guy is undoubtedly one of the strongest fighters in the village, and the fact that he was chosen to protect Naruto shows that the Hokage has excellent judgment.

Besides Akai,

He also saw the clan leaders of the Aburame and Akimichi clans sitting on the sofa.

"Kakashi, you've finally arrived!" Akimichi Torifu muttered, not giving Kakashi any excuses, and waved his hand, saying, "You all know each other, right? I don't need to introduce you, do I? Now that everyone's here, let's go. Uzumaki Naruto has been waiting at the village entrance for quite a while."

Shimi Aburame, Choza Akimichi, Might Guy, Kakashi Hatake.

This was the protective force that Akimichi Torifu had cobbled together to protect Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. In addition to the four people who were on the surface, four elite ANBU squads were also dispatched to escort him in secret along the way.

This is already a rather luxurious lineup.

It was the last bit of wealth that Akimichi Torifu, the Fifth Acting Hokage, could scrape together, including the heads of two clans.

At the main entrance of the village,

With a large backpack on his back, Naruto's emotions rose and fell like the tide. He was excited about his first long trip away from the village, but at the same time he was afraid of the unfamiliar world outside. His fluctuating emotions made him pace back and forth in place.

Uchiha Genji ignored the brat, simply standing with his hands behind his back, watching the group of figures appear on the roof of the Jiedao in the distance.

It's finally here!

"Elder Xuanshi, thank you for your trouble!"

Akimichi Torifu greeted Uchiha Genji.

"It's my duty, Lord Hokage, you're too kind."

Genji Uchiha waved his hand.

Akimichi Torifu didn't waste any words, but looked at the young man standing next to Uchiha Genji with some doubt. If he remembered correctly, his name was Uchiha Shisui, a genius in the Uchiha clan who was on par with Uchiha Muneaki. But why did he look so haggard?

"This is Uchiha Shisui. To ensure Naruto's safety, I'm sending him to the front lines as well. It just so happens that this kid's genjutsu is quite good; if we encounter any tricky trouble, it should come in handy. I wonder what the Hokage thinks?"

"We would be delighted if the nobles were willing to lend a helping hand again."

Since the Uchiha clan volunteered their services, Akimichi Torifu had no reason to refuse.

Uchiha Shisui stood there like a wooden statue. His old beliefs and convictions had been shattered by the darkness in Danzo's memories, and he had not fully recovered to this day. Instead of going to the front lines with Sogen, he stayed in the clan to recuperate.

However, even after resting for more than half a month, there was no improvement.

Elder Jun was a little worried.

Fearing that Shisui would die young like his cousin, Uchiha Kagami, he decided to send Shisui to the front lines. The old man felt that young people might have more in common, so he wrote a letter to Sogen, hoping that the clan leader could help comfort Shisui.

[Chapter 108: Naruto Uzumaki is on his way]

The crackling sound of firewood dispelled Naruto's sleepiness.

He rubbed his eyes, lifted the blanket covering him, thanked Uchiha Shisui, and returned the blanket. The blanket bore the mark of a fire fan, making it easy to tell where it came from. The Uchiha clan's crest, like their pride, was well-known. Naruto remembered seeing similar patterns everywhere in the Fujika family's house.

Uchiha Shisui's smile was pale and forced. He took the blanket, but didn't have the energy to say anything to Naruto. He just sat on the wooden stump and continued to stare blankly.

Everyone was used to it.

This genius from the Uchiha clan, I don't know if he's possessed or what, he just keeps his head down and travels when he's on the road, and when he rests he just sits there in a daze, thinking about nothing all day long. But after spending the last two days together, I can tell that Uchiha Shisui is a rare and good person.

Not to mention that they are extremely rare even within the Uchiha clan, there are very few kind-hearted people like them even if we extend the scope to the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

He was cheerful and generous, spoke gently and politely, and always greeted people with a smile, making people feel comfortable and at ease when interacting with him. What was most admirable was that this did not mean that Uchiha Shisui had high emotional intelligence in dealing with people. On the contrary, he was quite innocent and naive, and all of these actions came from the heart.

Naruto leaned against his backpack and slept for a while, not forgetting to take out a blanket and cover himself with it.

None of the other people around thought of this.

"Naruto, wake up and go wash your face. Get ready for dinner."

Choza Akimichi was stirring the soup in the pot with a ladle.

As the head of the Akimichi clan, few people know that he has excellent cooking skills. This is not a family tradition of the Akimichi clan. The members of the Akimichi clan love to eat, but they do not like to cook. Akimichi Choza's cooking skills were actually honed on the battlefield. It is only those surviving comrades who fought alongside him who know that Akimichi Choza's cooking skills are not bad.

Unfortunately, after leaving the battlefield, Akimichi Choza didn't cook much anymore.

This time, escorting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to the eastern front was also a way for him to pick up his long-abandoned skills.

Tonight's dinner is pork soup with grilled rice balls.

An enticing aroma filled the air, and Naruto's stomach began to rumble. He was exhausted from traveling all day, and besides, a half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home. Naruto was exactly that age, so he ate a lot and got hungry quickly. He hurriedly went to the stream to wash his face, with Kakashi following silently behind like a ghost.

They have been away from Konoha for two days.

Kakashi was still pondering how to communicate with Naruto. It all came down to the mess left behind by Hiruzen Sarutobi. The connection between Kakashi and Naruto was the Fourth Hokage, but Naruto didn't know that he was the Fourth Hokage's child. Kakashi didn't know whether he should reveal this secret.

But without this bond, he would have no reason to take care of Naruto.

He had also consulted with the two clan leaders, Shion Aburame and Choza Akimichi, but unfortunately, neither of them gave him a clear answer. Whether or not to reveal his identity to Naruto was a dilemma plaguing the village's higher-ups. Continuing to conceal it risked Naruto hating the village one day, but revealing the truth now risked Naruto going berserk…

While the higher-ups sighed, they secretly cursed the 'Third Generation Leader' for being incompetent and muddle-headed!

A perfectly good Jinchūriki,

Instead of nurturing them properly, they've only caused so much trouble.

This has caused trouble for their successors.

"Uncle Choza, how much longer do we have to walk?" Naruto asked, holding a rice ball. This was a routine he'd been doing for the past two days, even though he actually knew the distance, he still couldn't help asking every night while eating.

"If the journey goes smoothly, we shouldn't have to eat outdoors again tomorrow."

Akimichi Choza was carrying a rice bowl that was much larger than anyone else's, almost half the size of a pot.

If Naruto weren't too young and couldn't travel fast, they would have already reached the front lines. The mobility of ninjas is just that exaggerated. To be precise, it's not just ninjas; as long as they have refined their chakra and filled their hands and feet, even if they can't do delicate operations like climbing trees and walking on water, they can travel fast without being taught.

"Tomorrow?"

Two bright lights appeared in Naruto's eyes.

Will I be able to see the wisteria blossoms tomorrow? He had a lot on his mind and couldn't wait to confide in someone.

As for the possibility of going to the battlefield,

He didn't really understand it, so he didn't really care.

Before he knew it, Kakashi had finished his dinner and left the campfire, disappearing into the nearby forest. He drew his katana, the blade gleaming with a cold, snow-white light under the moonlight. He appeared like a ghost behind a wandering ninja without a headband. The blade flashed lightly, and large patches of crimson blood fell onto the tree trunk, where the lifeless corpse lay motionless.

This is just the beginning.

Kakashi became the incarnation of the Grim Reaper on earth, wantonly reaping the lives of these greedy and audacious fools. These guys were hired to ambush Naruto here, planning to launch an attack and kidnap him at nightfall. Unfortunately, they got the mission through an underground intermediary, so they didn't know the identity of the client.

After the interrogation yielded no results,

Kakashi then unleashed his full power to kill.

These small fry didn't even have time to throw out an explosive tag before they were all slaughtered. It wasn't just Kakashi who did it; the wooden-like Uchiha Shisui killed even more people than Kakashi. Soon after, Akimichi Torifu and Guy's shadow clones also arrived at the scene of the massacre.

"Shisui, Kakashi, what did you find?"

Choza Akimichi kicked over the body at his feet, looked it over, and didn't see any conspicuous or special markings.

"As before, the identity of the person behind the scenes is still unknown."

"Zhi Shui answered softly."

This is the seventh attack in two days. Since Naruto left the village, all kinds of attacks have never stopped. The elite ANBU squad hiding in the shadows has suffered heavy casualties and is no longer able to continue its protection work. And yet, they still haven't found out the true identity of the mastermind.

"They're either Cloud Ninja or Iwa Ninja."

Aburame Shimi is the real person here.

Their clan's method of raising worms inside their bodies makes it impossible for them to coexist with shadow clones. The worms devour chakra and disrupt the stability of the shadow clones, causing them to disintegrate on their own without anyone having to do anything.

"The Cloud Ninja are the most likely candidates! They are the most aggressive."

Finally, he added one more thing.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Some things don't need evidence. After all, the only ones with the ability and courage to attack Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki are a few other villages. The Sand Village is still recuperating, and the Kirigakure's spies in the Land of Fire have been wiped out several times.

What remains are the Cloud Ninja and the Rock Ninja.

They had the ability to investigate Naruto and his group's route, the resources to hire rogue ninjas to launch an attack, and even infiltrated several skilled individuals among them. Otherwise, the elite Anbu squad wouldn't have suffered such heavy casualties. Konoha's Anbu hadn't fallen so low as to be utterly defeated by a group of rogue ninjas.

"Hold on for one more night. Before we set off, the Hokage had already contacted the Uchiha clan head, and the reinforcements to welcome us will arrive tomorrow morning."

Choza Akimichi encouraged everyone.

Although such a move is somewhat unnecessary.

Excluding Naruto, the youngest person present, Uchiha Shisui, was a strongman who had experienced the Third Shinobi World War and earned his reputation. He shouldn't be intimidated by such a small force.

"Don't worry, Senior Choza! Kakashi and I will definitely protect Naruto."

Ah Kai patted his chest and said with great enthusiasm.

After saying that, he glanced at Kakashi and said, "Right? Kakashi!"

"I will protect Naruto with my own life." Kakashi was too lazy to pay attention to Guy, that idiot who would get hot-blooded every now and then, but what he said today was true. Having lost so many treasures, he didn't want to lose any more!

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.

"Failed again!"

"Isn't that normal? Although there's no Byakugan from the Hyuga clan, and no one from the Yamanaka clan, there's the head of the Aburame clan, who's good at playing with insects. If it were that easy to succeed, I'd suspect it was a trap."