I, Uchiha, will not be whitewashed!

By the time the news from Horikoshi Village reached the camp, it was already dark.

Shuoge stood outside the command tent, waiting.

Kai and Hong stood behind him, the three of them still carrying the fishy smell and burnt odor of the sea.

The tent was brightly lit, with shadowy figures moving about. People were talking, but their voices were low and indistinct. After about fifteen minutes, the curtain was lifted, and a staff officer came out and glanced at Shuoge.

"Come in."

Shuoge went inside.

The long table was filled with people on both sides, with Orochimaru sitting in the main seat, his fingers interlaced and resting on his chin.

Sakumo Hatake is not here—he seems to be on a secret mission.

The Nara clan's tactical advisor sat to Orochimaru's right, a pen in his hand, the map already covered in markings. Several Jonin sat on either side, their expressions grim.

"Tell me what you saw in Horikoshi Village," Orochimaru said calmly.

Shuoge recounted it once more. Corpses, knife marks, burned-out houses, shattered fishing boats. Nothing was omitted, nothing was exaggerated, nothing was expressed with emotion.

After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence in the tent.

The Nara advisor tapped a spot on the map with his pen.

"Horikoe Village is located at the southernmost point of the eastern front, close to the Kirigakure-controlled area. Kirigakure will clear the village first, then push forward; the next step is our outpost."

His pen drew a line on the map.

"If the outpost is captured, the Kirigakure forces can circle around to our rear from the south and cut off our supply lines."

A Jonin frowned. "Where did they get the troops? The Seven Ninja Swordsmen are crippled, and their frontline camp has been captured. What are they going to fight with?"

"Take your life." Orochimaru's voice came from the main seat, soft but heard by everyone. "The Hidden Mist Village is not the Hidden Stone Village, nor the Hidden Sand Village. Their ninjas are not afraid to die. Those who are afraid to die cannot be Hidden Mist Village."

—The land of blood mist, renowned throughout the world.

The tent fell silent again.

"The massacre in Horikoshi Village wasn't a tactical necessity," the Nara advisor said, putting down his pen. "It was a clearing operation. Eliminate all the spies in the rear to ensure troop movements aren't detected. They're about to make their move on the eastern front."

"The final battle," a Jonin whispered.

No one responded.

Orochimaru stood up and walked to the map. His finger traced a long, straight line from the Hidden Mist control zone to the Leaf Village defense line, as if it had been cut by a knife.

A deep, husky voice, uniquely Orochimaru's, rang out.

"If Kirigakure wants to fight, we'll fight them. We'll consolidate our frontline troops, abandon outposts on the perimeter, and concentrate our forces along the coastline."

His finger pointed to several locations on the map. "Here, here, and here. Three high points, controlling the entire coastline. Whoever controls these wins."

"What about supplies?" a staff officer asked. "Once the forces are concentrated, the supply lines will be stretched out."

"We'll resupply at night, rest during the day, and transport supplies at night. The fog in the Hidden Mist is thick during the day and thins at night. Traveling at night is safer than during the day." Orochimaru turned around and looked at the people present.

"Any more questions?"

No one speaks.

"Then go and prepare." Orochimaru's voice was flat. "All troops must be in place within three days."

The staff officers stood up and walked out of the tent one after another.

Shuoge stood still, without moving.

Orochimaru glanced at him. "Is there anything else?"

"No." Shuoge turned around, lifted the curtain, and went out.

Outside, Kai and Hong were still waiting.

Kai came forward, opened his mouth as if to ask something, but seeing Shuoge's expression, he swallowed his words back.

Shuoge didn't stop and walked past him.

"Prepare for Kirigakure's fiercest attack..." Sakugo's voice was calm. "Three days later."

"The final battle!"

Kai clenched his fist.

Hong didn't say anything and followed behind him.

Three people, three pairs of footsteps, trudging through the sand. In the distance, a thick fog covered the sea, like a wall connecting the sky and the sea.

I can't tell where the water is or where the shore is.

Shuoge walked at the front, with his knife behind him and his hands at his sides.

The image of Horikoshi Village flashed through his mind again and again.

Old people, women, and children.

He had seen too many dead people; they were everywhere on the battlefield.

But those dead people wore armor and held kunai; at least they knew why they died before they died.

The villagers are different.

They died without knowing anything or doing anything.

This is war.

No reason is needed, no justice is needed, all that's needed is for you to live there.

Uchiha Sakugo walked silently toward the camp without looking back. Behind him, Guy's footsteps were heavy, while Kurenai's were light. Three people, three different footsteps, treading the same path.

……

……

……

The decisive battle on the Eastern Front began on a calm, early morning.

The sea was as smooth as a mirror; the fog had dissipated, and visibility was excellent.

Konoha's troops were arrayed on the high ground along the coastline, a dark mass stretching from the reefs in the east to the grove of low trees in the west.

The Hidden Mist's forces emerged from the sea—not by boat, but by walking on water. Water Release ninjas used chakra to create a waterway, and the large army traversed the waves, like an army rising from the seabed.

Orochimaru stood at the highest point of the hill, the wind blowing through his black hair, his pale face expressionless.

Sakumo Hatake was not there—he had been assigned to the flank, responsible for cutting off Kirigakure's retreat.

The command of the front line was handed over to Orochimaru and several Jonin advisors.

Yagura Karatachi stood at the forefront of the Kirigakure forces. He was short and childlike, but had a scar across his nose. He held a coral staff in his hand, and two ANBU followed behind him.

He was the Fourth Mizukage, but at this time he was not yet the Jinchūriki of the Three-Tails—the tailed beast was still sealed in a container in Kirigakure, waiting for the right moment to be thrown onto the chessboard.

"Kill." Orochimaru's voice was soft, but everyone heard it.

"Kill." Yagura's voice was also very soft, but everyone heard it.

Both units moved at the same time.

Orochimaru slid down the high ground like a snake, moving so fast that the air seemed to be torn apart.

His hands formed a hand seal, and ninjutsu gathered in his palms.

Yagura charged forward, his coral staff sweeping across, creating a gust of wind. The two figures collided, and the explosion of chakra illuminated half the sky.

"Lord Orochimaru is facing off against the Mizukage!" someone shouted.

"Ignore them, kill your own!" a Jonin roared.

The battlefield exploded.

Kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags intertwined in the air, forming a web of death.

Water Release and Fire Release clashed, steam billowed, obscuring faces.

Some were shouting for retreat, some were shouting for a charge, and some were pinned to the ground by kunai before they could even utter a sound.

A Konoha Jonin charged toward the Hidden Mist Village's position, unleashing a flurry of shuriken and taking down three Genin.

Before he could stop, a Kirigakure Jonin rushed out from the side and stabbed him in the ribs.

He looked down at the knife tip in his chest, blood gushed from his mouth, and he collapsed.

The Hidden Mist Jonin drew his sword, turned around, and another kunai flew from behind, embedding itself in the back of his head. He collapsed, face down, blood gushing from the wound, staining the sand red.

A Konoha Chunin was carrying a Genin and dragging him backward.

The genin's leg was blown off, revealing the white bone fragments.

The Chunin dragged the ninja along while shouting, "Medical team! Medical team!" But the medical team didn't come. Instead, a kunai flew out of the mist and pierced the Chunin's nape.

The two people lay together, their blood mixed together, making it impossible to tell whose was whose.

-

Kai's fist slammed into the face of a Hidden Mist ninja, sending him flying. He crashed into a rock, slid down, and lay motionless.

He didn't stop; he turned around and kicked another Mist Ninja.

The ninja used a kunai to block, but Kai's foot struck the kunai, breaking it. He continued forward, kicking the man in the chest.

The sound of ribs breaking was crisp. The person flew out, crashed to the ground, struggled a couple of times, and then lay still.

Hong stood behind Kai, her hands forming a mudra.

"Illusion Technique: Tree Binding Kill".

A ninja from the Hidden Mist Village burst out of the mist, his kunai aimed straight at the red throat.

Kurenai didn't dodge—the Chunin's body froze, and from his perspective, countless vines sprouted from the ground and entangled his hands and feet.

The red shuriken slit his throat.

The person fell down, and the illusion was broken.

Shuoge's knife weaved through the crowd.

It's not cutting, it's harvesting.

The three-tomoe Sharingan captures every enemy's movement and predicts the trajectory of every kunai.

His knife was so fast that before the enemy could react, a red line appeared on his throat.

He killed seven, eight, nine.

He didn't count; he just swung the knife.

One cut, one kill; clean and efficient.

A Kirigakure Jonin spotted him. The man circled around from the side, his kunai hidden in his sleeve, and his footsteps were very light.

Sakugo's Sharingan saw it—not the person, but the flow of chakra. Without turning around, he pierced the man's wrist through his armpit with his sword.

The kunai fell to the ground, and Sakugo's knife was already at his neck.

"You—" Before the man could finish speaking, the knife had already slashed across his face.

The tenth one.

-

In the distance, Orochimaru and Yagura's battle continued. Their coral staff and Kusanagi sword clashed, sparks flying.

Yagura was very powerful, but he never transformed into a tailed beast—he was not a Jinchūriki and had no tailed beast to draw power from.

Orochimaru gradually gained the upper hand, and Yagura was forced to retreat, with several cracks appearing on the coral staff.

The Hidden Mist troops began to retreat—not in defeat, but in retreat.

The formation was neat, the rearguard was orderly, and even the wounded were taken away.

Orochimaru did not pursue. He stood on the high ground, watching the Hidden Mist troops retreat into the mist, his golden eyes showing no triumph, only contemplation.

"They don't seem to care about winning or losing this battle." The Nara advisor stood behind him, his voice low and his expression serious. "Are they stalling for time? What are they trying to do?"

Orochimaru didn't turn around. "Go on."

"Their troop strength, tactics, and command—all were designed to delay. Yagura personally led the charge, forcing out our main force. But they didn't launch a general offensive; they were simply wasting our time and attention."

The Nara advisor paused. "They're buying time for something else."

Orochimaru paused for a moment. "Order all troops to take headcount and search the camps. Pay special attention to logistics, and—the medical units."

By the time the order was passed down, it was too late.

Lin was captured during the chaos of the postwar period.

The medical tent was packed with wounded soldiers. Lin worked for a whole day and night, barely getting any sleep. She stitched up the wounds, applied medicine, and wrapped bandages, her movements quick and her hands steady.

No one noticed that two "wounded" people had been lying there for a long time, neither making a sound nor crying out in pain.

Their wounds were fake; the skin beneath the bandages was perfectly intact.

As Lin carried the tray to one of the people, that person suddenly opened their eyes. One hand covered her mouth, and the other pressed down on her neck. Before she could even struggle, she lost consciousness.

The two men stood up from the stretcher, removed the wounded man's clothes, revealing the Mist Shadow Dark Guard uniforms underneath. They placed Lin into a sealing scroll—not to kill her, but to seal her alive.

The reel closed, and the two men disappeared into the fog behind the tent. No one saw them, no one heard them.

In the chaos of the post-war era, who would care where a medical ninja went?

Lin's disappearance was discovered the next morning.

The female medic from the medical unit came to hand over the shift and found that Lin's bed was cold, and the blankets were neatly folded, as if they hadn't been opened the night before. She asked around, but no one had seen Lin.

Some people remember that she was changing the dressings of the wounded last night, and then she disappeared.

When the news reached the command post, Orochimaru was reviewing the battle damage report.

"Nohara Rin has gone missing. Suspected of being captured by the Kirigakure Anbu."

The Nara advisor tapped a spot on the map. "Capture a medical ninja? What's Kirigakure up to?"

Orochimaru remained silent. He stared at the map, his fingers tapping lightly on the table. Was a medical ninja worth Kirigakure going to such lengths to capture? Something was fishy. But he had no time to dwell on it.

"Expand the search area." His voice was calm. "Eastern, northern, and southern lines—all teams, move out. Find Nohara Rin and bring her back."

Orochimaru's voice was flat. "I want to see him alive or dead."

—Whatever Kirigakure wants to do, just do it anyway.

……

……

……

When the order reached Shogo's tent, he was cleaning his knife. Kai and Red were also there. Kai's arm was bandaged, and Red had a new scar on her face. The only good news was that all three were alive.

The messenger lifted the curtain: "Uchiha Sakugo, urgent mission. Nohara Rin has gone missing, suspected of being captured by the Kirigakure ANBU. Your squad is responsible for searching the eastern coastline."

Shuoge's hand paused for a moment. His eyes were reflected in the blade, black and expressionless.

"understood."

The messenger left. Kai stood up, his fists clenched. "Lin's been captured? Those bastards from Kirigakure—"

"Let's go." Shuoge hung the knife on his back and stood up.

The three men left the camp and headed east.

The sea breeze was blowing from the east, the fog was light, and the visibility was excellent.

Sakugo walked at the front, his sword behind his back, his hand resting on the hilt. His mind was racing—Obito was "dead," Kakashi had returned to the village, and now Rin had been captured.

It's exactly the same as the original work.

The timing was just moved up, but the incident still happened.

He gripped the knife handle tightly, then loosened his grip.

I won't let you die.

They found traces on the coastline.

It wasn't a footprint, but the residue of chakra—a slight fluctuation after the sealing scroll was used. Sakugo's Sharingan could detect that subtle, almost invisible light slowly dissipating in the air.

"This way." He changed direction and headed inland.

Kai and Hong followed behind. Three people, three pairs of footsteps, crunching on the wet sand. Ahead lay fog, forests, the shadowy forces of the Fog Shadows, and people whose fate was uncertain.

Shuoge's eyes began to burn.

The three-tomoe Sharingan automatically activated, slowly rotating in the morning light.

It wasn't the Kaleidoscope Sharingan, just the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. But the heat was more intense than ever before. He ignored it, focusing instead on the lingering light of chakra in the air, and quickened his pace.

Behind us, the outline of the camp grew increasingly blurry, swallowed up by the fog.

Nothing could be seen ahead.