"Green Medicine… no description, such a plain and simple name. Since the reward is tied to healing, it's most likely some kind of medical drug."
Uchiha Yu calmed his thoughts and moved toward the rear of the group, becoming increasingly curious about this reward item.
The mission system was always like this—
Tasks were issued at random,
Rewards often vague and abstract.
Yu glanced at the "Mission List," focusing on the "Main Quest."
Whether it was a main or side quest, once issued, it would remain stored in his consciousness in text form.
> Main Quest: The Night of the Massacre
Options:
1. Finish killing the remaining Uchiha.
2. Successfully escape Konoha Village.
Reward: (Plunder) Steal another's Mangekyō Sharingan, absorb their ocular power, and gain the ability of that Mangekyō.
They had already escaped Konoha…
But the mission hadn't been marked as complete. Yu figured it out—
The system had likely judged that they hadn't escaped successfully yet.
To complete this main quest, Yu guessed—
Either the rogue Uchiha squad needed to reach complete safety,
Or they had to eliminate all pursuing forces and get far away from the Land of Fire.
"Captain… Tamao's wounds are bleeding again, heavily…"
The young Uchiha carrying Tamao looked anxious, sweat dripping from his brow as he glanced back frequently.
Tamao lay silently on his back—his head, chest, and limbs wrapped in bandages soaked through with blood, like a mummy steeped in crimson.
He was unconscious, eyes tightly shut, his breathing visibly weak.
The Uchiha squad all stopped in their tracks, casting worried glances at Tamao, memories of Danzo's powerful Wind Release jutsu still sending shivers down their spines.
Other than his back, Tamao didn't have a single patch of intact skin on the front of his body, as if he'd been cut by a thousand blades.
Uchiha Izumi's bright, clear eyes were filled with concern for her comrade. She hated herself for not studying medical ninjutsu back in Konoha.
Everyone knew in their hearts—
No one was going to help them now.
There was no chance of encountering a medical ninja on this journey.
Tamao was very likely to die on the road.
Yu frowned slightly and focused, then reached out into thin air.
The others had no idea what he was doing.
But moments later, they all looked on in astonishment as two items appeared in Yu's hand as if conjured from nowhere—
Like some kind of mysterious space-time ninjutsu.
"Yu really isn't ordinary at all…"
Uchiha Minami pushed up his black-rimmed glasses, muttering to himself.
Even Uchiha Mikoto looked surprised, despite still being restrained by the Yasakani.
From his storage space, Yu took out a small black porcelain bottle and a yellow paper-wrapped military ration pill. He poured one pill from each and slipped them into Tamao's mouth.
The black porcelain bottle contained a type of medical pill that could actively stimulate the user's chakra.
He handed both items to the Uchiha youth carrying Tamao and instructed, "Give him one pill every hour."
The Uchiha took the bottle, and everyone else finally let out a breath of relief—
Though concern quickly returned to their faces.
---
Yu's intent was to flood Tamao's body with chakra, to forcibly extend his life.
This kind of crude method was widely used during the Shinobi World Wars.
If medical support wasn't available on the battlefield, they would force-feed dying soldiers with military ration pills to boost their internal chakra and keep them alive a bit longer.
But everything came at a price.
At most, it would buy a week.
If a dying person didn't receive medical ninjutsu treatment in time, their chakra network—overstimulated by the medicine—would suffer irreversible damage.
And the wounded would die suddenly.
"He won't die for now. Let's keep moving—
Our pursuers are probably already on the way.
If you don't want to die, then run faster."
Yu's tone was calm as he turned and returned to the front of the group, leading the way once more.
He had done everything he could.
Whether Tamao lived or not—was up to fate.
"You rest, I'll carry him."
Uchiha Minami took the medicine bottles from the exhausted young Uchiha and hoisted Tamao onto his own back.
The young Uchiha's back was soaked in blood. He quickly bowed in gratitude, saying,
"Thank you, Captain Minami."
Minami reminded him, "Change out of those bloody clothes and keep them—
The blood could leave a trail."
The young Uchiha nodded earnestly, full of gratitude.
He had been Tamao's subordinate.
He originally thought Yu would abandon their captain—
After all, they were on the run.
But Yu didn't.
That alone brought him a sense of peace.
Even Captain Minami, who had once been at odds with Tamao, now let go of past grievances.
The Uchiha still didn't know where this road would ultimately take them—
But within the group, a subtle change had already begun to take root.
---
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Uchiha compound—
A flock of crows circled in the night sky, their hoarse cries echoing endlessly, casting an eerie and deathly atmosphere over the already cursed land.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado walked side by side toward the compound.
ANBU had already been stationed at every street and exit.
The three of them wore grim expressions, their minds working through the aftermath of all that had happened tonight.
"Hiruzen, I believe the Uchiha massacre…
might've been the work of that rogue Uchiha squad."
Koharu spoke in a quiet, measured voice.
As she spoke, Koharu's dim, aging eyes showed no emotion whatsoever—
In her mind, this was simply the proper course of action.
Homura Mitokado's eyes lit up.
He found the plan very feasible.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, however, only felt a strange sense of déjà vu from this attempt to shift the blame.
He simply glanced at Koharu and chose not to comment.
Koharu continued unhurriedly:
"After the Uchiha Clan was wiped out by the rogue Uchiha squad, Itachi Uchiha did everything he could to stop them—yet still failed.
Now, he becomes Konoha's heroic ninja.
Hiruzen, with Danzo dead, Konoha is in desperate need of reliable people."
Hiruzen questioned sharply: "If Itachi refuses to become this so-called hero, are we going to use Sasuke to keep him here?"
Koharu squinted, smiled faintly, and slowly nodded.
Hiruzen flung his robe sleeve with a cold snort: "With Itachi's personality, he would never accept being turned into a hero under such circumstances—
Even if we use Sasuke to coerce him, it won't work."
Koharu's lips curled into a subtle smile.
Right in front of Homura, she leaned close to Hiruzen's ear and whispered a few words.
Hiruzen's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, falling into troubled thought—
Now caught between two difficult choices, hesitation began to set in.
---
At dawn—
At the Root Division headquarters, a team of six elite Root members quietly left Konoha.
They were Danzo's most trusted subordinates.
After learning that Danzo had died at the hands of the rogue Uchiha squad,
they took matters into their own hands and set out for revenge.
At the front of the group were Yamanaka Kaze and Aburame Torune.
---
Back at the Uchiha compound—
Civilians' corpses lay scattered across the streets, their bodies twisted in chaos.
Blood pooled in the lower grounds.
Crows perched along the walls, eyes glowing red, silently watching the surroundings—
Waiting for something to arrive.
And then Itachi approached slowly.
Whoosh—
The flock of crows suddenly spread their wings and dispersed, black feathers drifting down like ash.
Itachi had only walked a few steps when he spotted what he was looking for.
There, against the wall of a wooden house, sat Sasuke—head bowed.
Itachi activated his Mangekyō Sharingan:
"My foolish…"
But Sasuke didn't move. His eyes remained closed.
"…Hmm?"
Itachi frowned slightly, rubbed his eyes—
His vision turned hazy, as if shrouded in mist.
When it cleared—
He was shocked to discover that Sasuke had already lost consciousness.
°°°
A/N: 50 stones then 1 additional chapter. Rain it upon us!
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