As the Falcon Aircraft lifted off, an intense argument raged inside the speeding Indra's Ship.
"Third, why must I take command? What good is hiding behind the frontlines?"
"Cut the crap! It's not even about reputation ('face')—must be the Hyuga traditionalists again. Calling me back? Hello, bad signal—I'll call you later!"
The moment Shen hung up his phone, it rang again.
"I just said there's no reception! Huh? Have they lost their minds?"
After hanging up once more, he let out a groan of frustration.
"What's wrong?" Nayou leaned closer.
"Nothing," Shen quickly changed his expression and gave her a reassuring look. "Probably here to protect you. Don't worry, they won't go too far."
"Mm." Nayou murmured thoughtfully, not pressing further.
Protect her? Sure. More like dragging her back to the Hyuga. At best, they're just here to keep an eye on her.
If this was just a routine mission beyond the Hyuga compound, they might not have protested.
But being 'taken away'—and straight into battle? If the disciplined Hyuga did nothing this time, something would definitely be wrong.
Silence settled over the cabin once more.
Shen's fingers idly brushed across a red button on the steering wheel, while Nayou stared blankly at the passing scenery outside the window. Both were thinking the same question.
How could the Uchiha and Hyuga clans—representing openness and conservatism—truly coexist?
Nearly an hour passed in silence.
After a long pause, Shen made his choice—and slammed the red button.
At the same time, Nayou seemed to reach her own decision. She turned her head back, ending her distraction with the view outside.
Whoosh! The second engine of Indra's Ship ignited, two small flames bursting instantly from the exhaust pipes at the rear.
The sudden thrust gently pushed them into their seats, though neither seemed bothered.
Their eyes met for a second—maybe they both understood what the other was thinking.
Back in the Hot Water Country, Konoha and the Yugakure shinobi alliance had regrouped.
Orochimaru's phone rang not long after.
"I understand," he said after hanging up, deeply frowning.
This call should've come days earlier originally.
But during relocation, they hadn't found time to install mini base stations.
Without setting up signal coverage along the way, real-time communication with the outside world simply wasn't possible.
Jiraiya and Tsunade, his childhood companions, immediately sensed something important had happened.
Sakumo, a ninja skilled at reading people's expressions, waited patiently without pressing for details.
About a minute later, Orochimaru stopped hesitating before speaking up, "Hot Water Country."
In short, Hokage Third felt uneasy and decided to dispatch three hundred jonin plus nearly one thousand chunin reinforcements to Hot Water Country, hoping to wrap up the local battle quickly for subsequent support in Grass Country.
"On the Grass Country side," Sakumo asked directly, "who has been assigned there?"
"Shen's Scientific Combat Division," Orochimaru replied, his expression turning somewhat uneasy.
He looked at Tsunade, "Nawaki went too, and..."
"The young lady from the Hyuga clan?" Jiraiya, quick on the uptake, answered the question he hesitated to voice.
In other words, Team One—the legendary squad that shattered Konoha's Chunin Exam records seven years ago—had all stepped onto the battlefield!
Sakumo naturally knew all about this illustrious Team One.
Team One was an experimental squad created by the Third Hokage. It brought together reconnaissance, stealth support, and enemy disruption into one perfect unit.
To many jonin in Konoha, it had always been considered a perfect combination.
"Isn't the Scientific Combat Division quite small in number? Are they being used as a Special Squad then?"
"No," Orochimaru explained Sakumo's confusion. "Professor Sarutobi wants them to take overall command. He still wants to protect these children."
Jiraiya and Tsunade both wore expressions that seemed to say "just as expected."
Their teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had never been willing to send children to war.
These budding talents represented Konoha's future.
And wasn't the very purpose for which Hashirama Senju founded the village—to protect children from being exposed to war too early?
"But," Orochimaru didn't think much of his teacher's approach, "they won't willingly stay behind in the rear."
Jiraiya smirked and nodded in agreement.
"We need to resolve things with Kumogakure quickly once reinforcements arrive—we can't afford to drag things out," Tsunade, worried about her younger brother, turned her gaze toward the Land of Grass.
Sakumo immediately formed his own judgment, "Kumogakure won't sit idle. Before our reinforcements arrive, they're likely to make their move."
Orochimaru, who had seemed about to speak but held back, silently acknowledged this guess.
The days before reinforcements arrived would be a period requiring extreme vigilance.
Inside Konoha's labyrinthine underground tunnels existed a mysterious office.
This was Root's headquarters.
Danzo stared blankly at the intelligence report in his hands.
"Iwagakure and Shen Uchiha..."
His good hand rested on the desk, fingers continuously tapping against the surface.
This intelligence had just been handed to him by his subordinates.
The content was extremely brief—merely nine characters: "Iwagakure is investigating Shen Uchiha."
Yet the information contained within was far more complex than what these nine characters could convey.
"Why are they investigating Shen Uchiha?"
"Why did Hiruzen Sarutobi send him to the Land of Grass?"
"Is there some special connection between these two matters?"
Danzo's three rhetorical questions finally received partial answers through the latest intelligence report that arrived that evening.
"A thirteen-year-old Commander-in-Chief..."
He let out a cold laugh as he shut the intelligence report.
Again, the sound of "tap-tap" echoed from his fingers drumming on the desk inside the otherwise empty office.
"Hahaha!" Danzo suddenly burst into raucous laughter.
But as he kept laughing, his face twisted with rage: "Hiruzen Sarutobi, you dare not tell him the truth!"
"That's why you sent him to the Land of Grass!"
"To confuse him about why Iwagakure is targeting him!"
"And even took the opportunity to strengthen his willpower!"
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, you remain as merciful as ever!"
Danzo's voice slowly grew colder after a brief outburst, sinking back into turmoil.
"To become Hokage, one must eliminate all obstacles."
"But if it's for the sake of Konoha, he must grow stronger and stay alive."
Danzo's expression shifted between calmness and distortion.
A terrifying idea and a familiar old one violently collided deep within his heart.
"Everything I've ever done has been for the sake of Konoha!"
The previously indecisive Danzo suddenly grabbed a secret letter and began scribbling messy handwriting across it.
What it recorded were the features of the Elemental Chakra Mode and Shen's personality traits.
He had made a decision — a ruthless one.
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