Chapter 17

But it had nothing to do with him.

Clearly, he had made up his mind; he would grow slightly closer to Uchiha Jin and Nara Kazama from now on.

As for Ishikawa Ki?

Heh.

In his eyes, that guy was already a dead man.

After taking a deep breath, he finally spoke slowly.

"Very well, then it is settled."

"From now on, when I am not with the squad, Ishikawa Ki will be the captain."

"Gather at the village gate at eight o'clock tomorrow morning; we are to officially depart for the Hidden Mist battlefield."

"Each of Itachi return and prepare well."

"..."

The next day, dawn.

As the sky just began to lighten, a considerable number of ninja had already gathered at the main gate of Konoha.

The eyes of the vast majority were filled with longing, clearly marking them as fresh graduates and cannon fodder; only those who had truly been to the battlefield or hailed from clans wore expressions of tension, to varying degrees.

Time slowly passed.

Kudo Shin, accompanied by Uchiha Jin and the other two, approached the jonin at the head, Miyamoto Yukie.

"Lord Miyamoto, Team Seven of Class B, reporting to Itachi!"

"Hmm, go wait down there."

Miyamoto Yukie nodded.

With a simple nod, she dismissed Kudo Shin and the others.

Once the group reached a corner, Kudo Shin spoke, his tone heavy.

"Now, I will briefly introduce the situation."

"Currently, the Hidden Mist and our Hidden Leaf have not actually declared war."

"Other battlefields cannot spare personnel for now, so we must temporarily go to the front lines, specifically to the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools, to hold the position."

"This group of ours is led by Lord Miyamoto Yukie."

"Itachi don't need to understand the rest; just know that on the battlefield, Itachi must complete any order given by a superior, no matter what."

"What we must do now is wait!"

"Once the unit is fully assembled and the supply convoy arrives, we will officially set out."

Nara Kazama and Uchiha Jin both nodded heavily.

They were well aware of battlefield discipline.

The most important thing on the battlefield is to obey the orders of superiors!

In the ninja world, we are weapons!

But, unfortunately.

Ishikawa Ki did not think so; he immediately spoke with firm determination.

"Everyone, rest assured."

"With me, Ishikawa Ki, being in the top three of our class, I will definitely protect all of Itachi."

"All Itachi need to do is trust me!"

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Jin and Nara Kazama twitched their mouths violently.

Their squad leader is still right here, and Itachi can't wait to take his place?

Where do Itachi think Kudo Shin stands?

Originally, the two already looked down on Ishikawa Ki; after this behavior of his, they truly didn't know what to say.

They had seen stupid people.

But they had never seen anyone this stupid!

People like this usually die the fastest on the battlefield.

Precisely because of this, the two silently resolved to stay far away from this guy.

As for Kudo Shin, there was no need to mention it.

The look in his eyes as he gazed at Ishikawa Ki was incredibly complex.

However.

He did not speak.

Having experienced war, he knew clearly that people like this die the fastest on the battlefield; there was no need to lower himself to their level.

Just then, suddenly, everyone's vision blurred.

By the time everyone reacted, they saw a member of the Uchiha clan, wearing a sword at his waist and robes embroidered with the Uchiha fan symbol, standing right before them.

It was none other than Uchiha Uchiha Shisui!

"Are Itachi... Lord Uchiha Shisui?"

"Greetings, Lord Uchiha Shisui."

"..."

Everyone spoke up in turn.

Yes.

Although the current Uchiha Uchiha Shisui had not yet earned the title of "Uchiha Shisui of the Body Flicker."

Uchiha Shisui, who frequently appeared on the battlefield, already held a certain reputation within Konoha.

Unlike them, ordinary ninja and clan rejects, Uchiha Shisui was a genius of the Uchiha clan.

Uchiha Shisui smiled and nodded: "I have some private matters to discuss with Jin."

"Captain, I'll step aside for a moment." Uchiha Jin frowned but spoke to Kudo Shin nonetheless.

Hearing this, Kudo Shin naturally nodded.

Immediately after.

Uchiha Jin and Uchiha Shisui walked directly toward a spot not far away.

Kudo Shin and Nara Kazama watched the backs of Uchiha Shisui and Jin, their eyes filled with inexplicable meaning.

Yes.

Although they knew Jin was from the Uchiha, they truly did not expect that he and Uchiha Shisui, the Uchiha genius, shared such a close personal bond.

It seems.

Their teammate is truly not simple!

Meanwhile, on the other side.

After Uchiha Jin and Uchiha Shisui arrived a short distance away, Uchiha Shisui solemnly handed him a fishnet undershirt.

"I forgot yesterday; I'm making it up to Itachi today."

"The battlefield is fraught with peril, and this is your first time fighting. As your older brother, I naturally must help Itachi fill in the gaps."

"This is a chainmail undershirt mixed with a small amount of meteoric iron and refined iron."

"Hurry up, put it on so I can see."

Uchiha Jin: "..."

Looking at the fishnet garment before him, he couldn't help but frown slightly.

He was a grown man and truly didn't want to wear such a thing; besides, he was confident that with his own abilities, no one could harm him.

But there was no choice!

Seeing the worried expression on Uchiha Shisui's face, his heart was filled with mixed emotions.

He truly hadn't expected that after so many years since his transmigration, he could still feel such profound care.

Uchiha Shisui treated him far too well!

This only made him more conflicted, after all, the Uchiha's messy affairs were best left unmentioned.

After a moment of thought, he took a deep breath and put on the mesh undershirt.

"Mm, it looks good."

"This way I can rest a little easier. Also, let me quietly tell Itachi something."

"The Anbu just reported that the Hidden Mist declared war on the Hidden Leaf yesterday, but this matter was not told to your unit."

"The true purpose of your unit is to buy time for the Hidden Leaf."

"Now the Hokage has ordered our Uchiha clan to dispatch elite forces, and Lord Fugaku will be in charge of the Hidden Mist battlefield."

"So, hold on."

"As long as Itachi hold out for half a month, I will find a way to transfer Itachi to my squad."

Hiss!

Hearing these words, Uchiha Jin's face instantly changed drastically.

Yes.

Even though he knew they were cannon fodder, learning the true danger of the situation made him unable to stop himself from drawing in a sharp breath.

They really are cannon fodder!

This shows that the chance of survival for their group is truly slim to none.

The Hidden Mist has already declared war, yet the Hidden Leaf is still pulling in personnel.

Uchiha Shisui had already made their unit's role clear.

It was simply to delay time.

However.

Despite everything, his heart remained full of gratitude toward the Uchiha Shisui before him.

Such news was undoubtedly top secret, yet Uchiha Shisui quietly told him, which was enough to show his care.

Taking a deep breath, he nodded solemnly.

Though he cultivated the Way of Lying Low, Uchiha Shisui's trust in him made him decide to return a little of that trust.

Of course, just a little.

He simply could not bear to let someone who cared so much worry needlessly on his behalf later.

Thinking this, he spoke quietly.

"Uchiha Shisui, do not worry."

"I will quietly tell Itachi, but do not tell anyone, not even the Hokage or the clan head."

"I am not that useless."

"I killed Uchiha Yoshio and the others!"

"..."