Senju Haruto left the Fire Temple without a second thought, leaving the task of cleaning up the battlefield to Ji-Riku.
First of all, Ji-Riku had insisted on doing it himself. As the head monk of the Fire Temple, performing rites for the dead was part of his calling. Whether or not those Uchiha had once been a threat to the village's peace, they were dead now — and the dead deserved to be laid to rest.
Second, Haruto had already spent the entire night collecting Sharingan eyes from the fallen. Clearing the battlefield was tedious, time-consuming work — the kind he had no intention of doing himself.
Besides, the war wasn't over yet. Haruto had only repelled Kirigakure's invasion force.
In the forests near the Valley of the End, Kumogakure's shinobi were still on the move.
And he wasn't worried in the slightest about Ji-Riku uncovering his secret.
Wood Release wasn't limited to creating plants, greening landscapes, or building houses.
Back when Danzō was still alive, he had ordered Yamato to steal Kakashi's Sharingan.
For various reasons, Yamato — who saw Kakashi as a comrade — couldn't bring himself to kill him. Instead, he used his Wood Release to create a perfect replica of Kakashi's Sharingan and handed that to Danzō.
Using the same principle, Haruto had crafted complete, unmaimed bodies for the dead Uchiha clan members.
His Wood Release was far stronger than Yamato's, and Ji-Riku's strength was far beneath Danzō's.
Haruto had also told Ji-Riku that those Uchiha had died defending the village, and that they should be buried without delay.
Rather than return to the village, Haruto headed straight for the Valley of the End. His Wood Clone had already been dispatched to deliver the news of the Fire Temple's victory to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
But as Haruto raced forward, a familiar voice rang in his ears once again:
Please proceed to the Valley of the End for check-in. Upon successful check-in, you will receive a reward!
"Another check-in mission?"
Haruto blinked, then grinned in delight.
He didn't know why his little "check-in assistant" had been giving him missions so frequently lately, but every single one so far had brought him incredible rewards — and with them, a massive boost in strength.
With that in mind, he wasted no time.
"Check in first… then go support Kakashi's squad," he murmured.
From what he knew, Kakashi's team was holding position in the forests above the Valley of the End, trying to block Kumogakure's incursion.
"Hm?"
Just then, memories from his Wood Clone returned to his true body.
From those memories, he saw that the clone had already informed Hiruzen Sarutobi about the defeat of the Kirigakure forces.
Still, Hiruzen's expression had remained troubled.
Konoha's shinobi were no weaker than those of any other village — but this time, the Raikage himself was determined to bathe the village in blood.
The Fourth Raikage had personally entered the fray, crushing the unit under Kakashi's command.
Fearing for their lives, Hiruzen had been preparing to don his battle armor and head for the Valley of the End in person.
Fortunately, Haruto had lived up to expectations, forcing the Mizukage to retreat.
With that front secured, Konoha could now turn its full attention to fighting Kumogakure.
"Kakashi should be with Yamato, Aburame Torune, Shibi Aburame's son Shikuro, and Hyūga Hizashi right now," Haruto thought, his eyes narrowing as the towering statues of the Valley of the End came into view.
On the other side, apart from Guy being absent, it was practically the best combat lineup Konoha could field.
"I'm here."
He landed lightly atop Uchiha Madara's stone head.
Though he had been in this world for five years, this was the first time he'd seen the two colossal statues this close.
"No check-in trigger?"
He waited a moment. From past experience, he knew the "check-in assistant" could be unpredictable.
For example, the last time, entering the Fire Temple's forest hadn't triggered anything — only meeting Yagura had done it.
So he wasn't sure if standing on Madara's head would be enough.
If it wasn't, he'd have to come back later.
After all, Hiruzen's intel suggested Kakashi's squad was already in dire straits.
But just as Haruto was about to leave and rush to their aid, the voice came again:
Congratulations, host. You have reached the check-in location. Check-in commencing! Exiting early will be considered a failure!
"It triggered," Haruto murmured. He still didn't know what the penalty for failure was — and had no intention of finding out.
1%... 23%... 67%... 88%... 100%...
Congratulations, host! Check-in complete. Reward acquired: Mangekyō Sharingan!
Meanwhile, in the forests around the Valley of the End…
Kakashi was leading his people in a rapid retreat. He had never imagined he would encounter the Fourth Raikage here of all places.
No matter how sharp his mind was, he had no answer for the sheer speed and power of the man's Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
They had clashed fiercely, and though no one on Kakashi's side had been killed outright, the cost was heavy.
In the end, he had no choice but to order a withdrawal to the Valley of the End and send for reinforcements from the Third Hokage.
"Kakashi…"
Hizashi Hyūga's Byakugan had been active the entire time, watching for any pursuit.
And sure enough, Kumogakure's shinobi had looped around behind them, setting up an ambush along their escape route.
If his Byakugan hadn't spotted them in time, they would have been taken completely off guard.
"Enemies ahead!" Hizashi shouted, warning the others.
"An ambush?"
Kakashi's brow furrowed. He halted at once, ready to ask how many there were — but the hidden enemies emerged on their own, blocking the way forward.
Kakashi's eyes flicked over his group.
All that remained with him now were Yamato, Aburame Torune, and Hizashi.
Their attackers numbered more than twenty.
"I'll hold them off. You go on ahead," Hizashi said, stepping forward without hesitation, his voice carrying the resolve of a man prepared to die.
"None of you are going anywhere."
The Raikage's voice boomed from another direction.
In terms of speed, no one here could match him.
The only reason it had taken him this long to catch up was that Yamanaka Kaze and a number of Root shinobi had stayed behind to buy Kakashi's squad time.
But the gap in strength was overwhelming.
The Raikage's hand had punched straight through Kaze's chest, leaving a gaping hole.
When he caught up to Kakashi's group, he tossed Kaze's body at their feet without the slightest care.
"Kaze!"
Torune Aburame flinched at the sight. He had known Kaze intended to sacrifice himself to delay the enemy, but seeing his comrade's corpse filled him with grief and rage.
And worst of all — their situation had just gone from bad to hopeless.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
🚀 Stay ahead of the story with early access to 100 chapters and bonus exclusive content—only on Patreon.
👉 patreon.com/Rawink00