บท 17: Chapter: 17 Have You Ever Heard Thousand Birds Singing?
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Two months ago, the Senju Clan launched a surprise attack.
The Uchiha suffered heavy losses, retreating a hundred miles before they could barely regroup.
In this battle, more than a hundred clan members perished, and Uchiha Madara's last Brother was stabbed through the abdomen.
The guilt in his heart made him briefly consider abandoning the war.
Hiding this from his father and brother, he went to the riverbank daily to calm his mind and heal the psychological trauma caused by the war.
There, he met a friend who shared the same troubles.
The two immediately hit it off, quickly becoming close friends with no secrets between them.
At the same time, they vaguely sensed each other's identities.
The conflict on the main battlefield immediately sparked a significant ripple effect in various regions.
Originally planning to retreat from the southern front and move deeper into the Land of Fire to recover, the three clans, for some unknown reason, suddenly began launching frequent attacks on the Uchiha forces.
In a month, there were over twenty skirmishes.
Though the scale of the battles couldn't compare to the main battlefield, the cruelty of war remained the same everywhere.
"Find them! You must find the hideout of those bastards!"
Within the commander's tent, Uchiha Rei's furious roars echoed repeatedly.
The actions of the three clans were highly cunning, continuously avoiding direct confrontation.
With the Nara clan involved, creating battle plans became exceptionally easy. Strategically, the Uchiha were always at a disadvantage.
Unable to conduct a direct siege, splitting the battlefield had become the status quo.
However, against the coordinated tactics of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the same-sized Uchiha teams found themselves at a disadvantage.
In just over a month, battle reports recorded a chilling casualty ratio of 1:2.13.
If this continued, the gap in war potential between the two sides would shrink rapidly.
When that day arrived, the southern front would face a dire situation.
"I need prisoners, high-ranking prisoners!"
"You useless bunch! If you can't capture anyone, I'll have your hides!"
After a round of furious shouting and smashing, a group of unit captains scrambled out of the tent in embarrassment.
Capture prisoners?
Easier said than done! Did they think the enemy clans were fools?
Currently, the initiative lay with the enemy.
If they didn't want to fight, there was nothing the Uchiha could do, no matter how angry they got.
By now, even a fool could see that the three clans were cooperating with the Senju.
Without a decisive result on the main battlefield, there would never be an all-out final confrontation.
Oh, if the southern army weakened enough, the main forces of the three clans might show up.
But by then, who would be the target of annihilation would be an open question.
With heavy thoughts weighing on their minds, the unit captains returned to their camps to prepare their next moves.
Before leaving, they all cast varying glances at the figure waiting outside the tent.
The sight of the menacing mask, akin to that of a demon or grim reaper, struck fear into their hearts. They all knew who this person was.
And because of that, they couldn't suppress the amazement they felt.
Nine years old—at such a young age, he had already become the most dazzling star on the battlefield. His achievements had won over everyone.
In this time, many clansmen had applied to join him, hoping to make their mark under his leadership.
However, Kyosuke decisively refused every single one of them.
His three-man team had developed perfect coordination and a clean, efficient combat style, hitting and retreating without hesitation.
Adding others would not increase their combat effectiveness but instead disrupt the rhythm of his hunting operations.
Recruiting people was on his agenda—Kyosuke knew he needed to start building his power base. But the time wasn't right yet.
He already had a plan, one that, if executed well, would attract a lot of talented individuals.
For now, he needed to find a way to end this stalemate. If the situation deteriorated, everyone would face punishment from within the clan.
Pulling back the curtain, he entered the tent. The place was already in shambles; anything breakable had been smashed to pieces.
Even so, Uchiha Rei sat there, stewing in anger.
At this moment, few people other than Kyosuke would dare to approach him.
"Lord Rei."
Kyosuke maintained his respectful tone.
"Oh, it's little Kyosuke."
Seeing his most talented subordinate, the old man forced himself to calm down and squeezed out a smile. "How many did you take down this time?"
Shaking his head without answering, Kyosuke went straight to the point.
"I have an idea that might lure out a high-ranking enemy commander."
"Is that true?"
Uchiha Rei's eyes lit up. His biggest headache right now was finding the enemy.
If they could capture a high-value prisoner, the army could launch a full-scale assault and recoup all their losses in one move.
Kyosuke then explained his plan in detail.
"No way!"
Uchiha Rei shot up from his seat, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at his prized subordinate.
"Do you even know what you're saying?"
"I'll use myself as bait to draw the enemy into an ambush."
"As long as we can ensure success, the three clans will definitely send out significant figures."
"Ensure success…"
Uchiha Rei clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and asked, "Do you realize this means you'll face an enemy you absolutely cannot defeat?"
"Yes," Kyosuke replied calmly, "There's a high chance they'll send a perfect Ino-Shika-Cho trio to intercept me."
A perfect Ino-Shika-Cho meant a team fully capable of executing every tactic, typically composed of three elite Jōnin.
In other words, Kyosuke would be facing a Jōnin-level Ino-Shika-Cho trio, likely accompanied by additional support.
The commander knew the boy had strength rivaling a Jōnin.
But this was too risky.
Even a small mistake could cost them everything.
The Nara clan was known for their cunning.
They would thoroughly investigate before making a move.
With the Yamanaka clan's exceptional sensory abilities, setting up an ambush would be nearly impossible.
Facing three Jōnin alone, especially a perfectly coordinated Ino-Shika-Cho team, even Uchiha Rei himself would hesitate to guarantee victory.
Could it be that the boy already had Jōnin-level strength?
The commander doubted it.
He knew that during the clan's raid years ago, the boy and Madara had worked together to eliminate an infiltrating Ino-Shika-Cho team.
But that situation had been entirely different.
If the Yamanaka hadn't been injured, or if the Ino-Shika-Cho's coordination hadn't been disrupted, or if there had been fewer ninja willing to die for the clan—
Any one of those factors changing would have led to a completely different outcome.
"This kid is getting too full of himself. I can't let him drag me into this madness."
Kyosuke was the clan's future hope. Uchiha Rei would never gamble with his life.
Understanding this, Kyosuke raised his arm slowly, his voice calm yet firm.
"Lord Rei, please allow me to demonstrate my confidence."
What did he mean?
Before Rei could react, a flash of lightning burst forth.
In an instant, the camp resounded with a sound like the chirping of a thousand birds.
[Chapter End's]
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