Chapter 73: Uchiha Hikari’s Gift
Cough! Cough cough cough!
In the pitch-black cave, a heart-wrenching coughing fit suddenly erupted.
Shirakumo Hayama struggled to open his eyelids, feeling as if his chest was weighed down by a thousand-pound boulder, making it hard to breathe, yet both painful and itchy, causing him to cough incessantly.
In a daze, a figure from the darkness stepped forward and stuffed a pill into his mouth.
“Swallow slowly.” Hyuga Homura’s voice came from beside him.
Once the medicine took effect, Shirakumo Hayama felt a bit better, gasping for breath as he surveyed the cave.
Inside the cave, only a single flickering candle provided faint light. Hyuga Homura’s face still bore dried bloodstains, while across from him sat the disheveled Shisui Uchiha.
“It’s my fault for holding you back…” Shirakumo Hayama said, full of guilt.
If it weren’t for his own lack of strength, getting knocked out right at the start of the battle, his two teammates wouldn’t have been thrust into a bitter fight, leading to their current dire situation.
“It’s because the enemies were too strong.” Shisui Uchiha, leaning against the stone wall opposite, slowly raised his head.
By the faint candlelight, Shirakumo Hayama finally noticed that on Shisui Uchiha’s face, the left eye socket was sunken, as if even the light had been swallowed into it.
“Shisui! You?!” Shirakumo Hayama’s voice caught in his throat.
Shisui Uchiha made no attempt to hide his lost left eye, merely sweeping his remaining eye over his two companions.
He said to them, “The enemies from Star Village are no longer something ordinary ninjas can handle. To eradicate Star Village, we must launch a war.”
But Konohagakure at present no longer had the strength to support another war.
“Moreover, the opponent has a bloodline of our Uchiha Clan that was lost abroad. If not handled properly, it might make the village suspicious of the Uchiha Clan.”
Listening to Shisui’s explanation, Shirakumo Hayama and Hyuga Homura both recalled that terrifying black-haired girl.
Shirakumo Hayama had been knocked out, so he hadn’t seen the later battle.
But Hyuga Homura had clearly witnessed the slaughter between two giants in the forest!
That godlike power still filled him with lingering fear.
“So, I hope for this mission, I will make the full report to Hokage-sama. As for the mission details, I hope you two keep them confidential to a certain extent from others.”
When saying the last sentence, Shisui Uchiha looked toward Hyuga Homura.
This statement was mainly directed at Hyuga Homura.
Shisui knew that with Shirakumo Hayama’s personality, aside from reporting to Hokage-sama, he wouldn’t reveal mission details to anyone else.
And Hyuga Homura was a member of the Hyuga Branch Family, with not only the Branch Family patriarch above him, but also the Hyuga Main Family patriarch.
So Shisui didn’t press the issue, showing consideration for Hyuga Homura’s status and emotions.
After a brief silence, Hyuga Homura nodded.
Shirakumo Hayama clutched his somewhat dazed head and said, “You’re the captain; I’ll follow your lead.”
“Thank you for understanding.” Shisui slightly lowered his head in thanks.
Next, the three took turns keeping watch through the night, resting up.
Shisui, filled with a bellyful of doubts, and worries about how the village high-level officials would view the Uchiha Clan once word got back to the village, was unable to sleep.
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Star Village.
This small ninja village deep in the mountains was now undergoing relocation.
Kado directed his merchant caravan and the village’s villagers to load daily necessities onto horse carriages, then, under Star Ninja escort, head out in batches toward the Capital City of the Land of Bears.
They would establish a new ninja village on the eastern suburbs outside the capital, near the forest and mountains.
“The name Star Village will become history.” Yoruya stood at the gate of Star Village, watching the villagers excitedly moving house, gazing at the Star Village surrounded by lush green trees, and let out a sigh.
In the future, this place would serve as a military stronghold for stationing troops in the western region.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of Star Village’s residents and ninjas would begin new lives.
Yoruya was very worried about what the future held.
But the eyes of these villagers and Star Ninjas were filled with hope for the future.
Suddenly, a commotion arose from afar. Kakuzu dragged two Sand Village captives through the crowd, the Anbu ninjas’ chains scraping harshly on the ground.
“Yo, Lord Kakuzu, where’d you catch these from?” Kado, stealing a moment of leisure amid the busyness, teased.
Kakuzu snorted lightly: “Just two infiltrating small fry.”
He then arranged for the Anbu ninjas to take these two Sand Ninjas away for imprisonment, awaiting Lord Shura’s instructions.
“Nameless-sama has returned!”
The figures of Uchiha Hikari and Uzumaki Kushina escorting Stone Village captives caused an even greater stir.
“Nameless-sama! Kushina-sama!” The other Star Ninjas bowed in respect upon seeing them.
Kakuzu couldn’t help but look toward these three Stone Village ninjas bound by Adamantine Sealing Chains, his teal pupils glinting faintly with greed especially upon seeing the Explosion Release ninja Kari.
He said to Uchiha Hikari, “This guy’s got decent strength. Give him to me.”
Ninjas that caught Kakuzu’s eye were either exceptional jonin worth harvesting hearts from, or ones with bounties on the underground black market.
“Don’t get any ideas about these three.” Uchiha Hikari gave Kakuzu a cold glance: “Lock them all up. They’ll be useful later.”
Kakuzu clicked his tongue and signaled to several Anbu behind him.
These Anbu then fitted the Stone Village ninjas with special restraints before escorting them to the prison for confinement.
“We just ran into three Konoha ninjas earlier and beat them off.” Uzumaki Kushina, having released the Adamantine Sealing Chains, recounted the recent battle.
Yoruya watched as Sand Village ninjas were captured, Stone Village ninjas bound, and now heard they’d beaten off three Konoha ninjas, letting out a complex sigh.
Rustle—
The forest suddenly rustled with noise.
Everyone’s attention was drawn to a figure.
A slight smile tugged at the corners of Uchiha Hikari’s cold face as she clutched the “gift” in her hand and walked forward.
“They’re here—your two companions should have been delivered too.” Menma was saying something to the person behind him.
Behind Menma followed a curvaceous female ninja walking unsteadily, her Sand Village headband crookedly hanging on her bloodstained combat uniform.
Upon seeing this female ninja, Uchiha Hikari’s pupils contracted sharply, nearly crushing the “gift” hidden in her hand.
“Lord, who is she?” Uzumaki Kushina also sized up this female ninja with the Sand Village headband, birch-green intermixed hair color, and a pair of long legs.
“Yakura, Sand Village jonin—now my prisoner.” Menma said to Kakuzu: “Assign her a cell. No special treatment; standard procedure.”
“Yes, Lord.” Kakuzu grumbled twice; he’d long recognized the Scorching Release Yakura.
As a hero of Sand Village during the Third Great Ninja War, Kirigakure had posted quite a bounty for her on the underground black market.
Yakura, weakened from the fierce battle she’d just endured, was fitted with an anklet and handcuffs by Star Village Anbu ninjas and locked away in the prison.
Menma was about to enter the village to learn from his subordinates how many infiltrating foreign ninjas had been captured, when Uchiha Hikari tugged at his sleeve.
“What’s wrong?” Menma turned back and saw Uchiha Hikari slowly raising her right hand.
“Brought you a gift.” The girl opened her slender fingers.
In her palm, a bloodied three-tomoe Sharingan seemed to be staring intently at Menma.
