The world I hear is completely different from yours.

Might Guy's warning came too late. How could the fat ninja stop his attack because of the conversation between the father and son? This wasn't a turn-based game; any distraction during battle would come at a price!

"Foolish fellow! You dare to use a kunai to block my greatsword Samehada?" A sinister smile appeared on the fat ninja's chubby face. Then, with a gentle pull, the spiked Samehada was pulled back like a giant file, snapping the kunai in two and tearing open the ninja's hands, leaving them covered in blood!

After his kunai was knocked out of his hand by the enemy, Might Guy ignored the blood dripping from his hands and immediately prepared to draw chakra from his body, intending to use a quick taijutsu to escape the opponent's attack range. Only then did he realize the abnormality in his body: "What?! Why has my chakra disappeared?!"

The fat ninja kicked the chakra-depleted Might Guy away, looking at his enemy with disdain: "You dare to block our way without even knowing our signature weapon? My greatsword Samehada is a ninja sword that can absorb chakra! With your chakra level as a genin, Samehada can completely absorb it with just a light touch!"

For ninjas, chakra is the source of all superhuman power. Whether it's ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu, all require chakra. Without the support of chakra, even taijutsu specialists cannot unleash powerful techniques, only managing a few basic moves thanks to their strong physiques. Therefore, the power of a taijutsu ninja is closely related to their chakra reserves. This is why the Eight Gates, a technique that unlocks the limits of chakra within the body, allowing the body to unleash its maximum chakra, can significantly enhance the power of a ninja's taijutsu.

"Father!" Might Guy looked at Might Dai, who had been kicked to the ground and was now getting up in a disheveled state. A hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes, but it quickly turned into worry and anxiety. Even though his father was just a low-ranking ninja, his act of rushing out to protect him at a crucial moment, disregarding his own safety, still deeply moved Might Guy. "Father, you should run! You're just a low-ranking ninja, you're no match for them!"

Would you rather be a coward for the rest of your life, or a hero, even if only for a few seconds?

Now, it's Matt Day's turn to face this choice.

"What's there to hesitate about? I've trained for twenty years, all so that one day I could have enough power to protect what I value most!" Might Guy smiled and raised his fists. "This is the passion of youth! Watch closely! This is my ninja way!"

"All Eight Gates Open!!!"

Instantly, a large amount of fiery red chakra burst forth from Might Guy's body, illuminating the dense forest like a blazing torch!

"What's with this chakra?!" The fat ninja raised his greatsword Samehada with a solemn expression and shouted loudly to the other members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, "Stop watching and come help!"

"Of course you don't need to say that! Suigetsu Hozuki!" a voice replied. As strong individuals who had survived the Blood Mist Policy, these Seven Ninja Swordsmen naturally understood the terrifying power that Might Dai's massive chakra represented. Therefore, before Suigetsu Hozuki could even ask for help, they had already drawn their ninja swords and rushed towards Might Dai!

Then, Might Guy appeared beside the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist with lightning speed, unleashing a barrage of punches like a storm!

In an instant, screams and wails filled the air!

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Suigetsu Hozuki's mind: "It seems that the actions of Kusanagi Haruto and Ringo Ameyuri in leaving the team to take on black market missions and stay away from this battlefield were really wise."

............................

However, Tongkusa no Yato now had the exact opposite thought: "Damn it, it seems I really shouldn't have left the team to take on this damn black market quest!"

Scorpion stood amidst a group of puppets, coldly staring at the Kusanagi-no-Yaru: "Weren't you just saying you'd search the entire forest for me? Why are you silent now that you see me?"

Tongcao Yeren did not answer, but looked around at the huge, densely packed group of puppets that surrounded him, and felt a bitter feeling in his heart.

The forest is called a "forest" because it contains many trees, but now the number of puppets in the forest far exceeds the number of trees. So, should the so-called "forest" be renamed "Puppet Forest"?

"So I only said I was going to cross the woods, not the Puppet Forest!" Tongcao Yeren cursed inwardly.

Seeing that the man with the kusaka still remained silent, Sasori revealed a wicked smile, then took out a bar of soap and threw it on the ground.

Ever since Yekura casually mentioned the phrase "throwing soap," Sasori felt that giving orders by throwing soap was particularly impressive. Therefore, whenever he was confident of victory, he would throw a bar of soap to celebrate!

Then, countless puppets swarmed forward!

...........

PS: Bonus chapter, please add to your favorites and recommend!

Chapter 53 The Fate of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen

boom!!!

A loud crash echoed through the woods, startling a large flock of birds. Then, the woods returned to silence, and the sounds of fighting ceased.

"It seems my companion and your companion have already decided their match!" Yekura looked smugly at the panting Ringo Ameyuri opposite her. "Want to make a bet? Let's see whose companion has won!"

"Huff... Huff...!" Ringo Yuri gasped for breath. Already suffering from a serious illness, she had little strength or energy left to fight. If she couldn't quickly defeat her opponent, the physically weak Ringo Yuri would immediately fall into a disadvantageous position. But Ringo Yuri didn't give up. While trying to gather strength within her body, she replied, "Since you seem so confident, you must think your companion is the victor, right?"

"Of course, that red-haired pretty boy may not be good at anything else, but he's so-so when it comes to fighting!" Yekura said with great certainty. "Besides, even Kusanagi Yejin, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, couldn't create an explosion of that magnitude, could he?"

"She's making that certain judgment again!" Ringo Yuri narrowed her eyes, her mind racing through the series of events that had just transpired. From the moment they met, this female ninja named Yekura had displayed an unusual familiarity with the "Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist," as if she knew the names, abilities, and tactics of each member of this generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Initially, Ringo Ameyuri thought someone was deliberately targeting the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, so she leaked information about them to Yotsugu so Yotsugu could take advantage of the situation to deal with them. However, she quickly abandoned this idea.

Because Yokura's performance was so unexpected to Ringo Ameyuri, from the very beginning of the battle until now, Yokura had always been able to easily dodge Ringo Ameyuri's lightning attacks. Sometimes, before Ringo Ameyuri even had a chance to unleash her own moves, Yokura had already nimbly dodged into the gaps in her moves, leaving Ringo Ameyuri feeling extremely frustrated, unsure whether to attack or not.

Most importantly, after Ringo Ameyuri had been attacked a series of times and was exhausted, Yokura was still not in a hurry to launch a counterattack. Instead, she took the initiative to start a conversation, as if she wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with Ringo Ameyuri. Didn't she know that this was actually giving Ringo Ameyuri a chance to recover her strength and accumulate power?

Looking at Yekura in front of her, Ringo Ameyuri couldn't help but hesitate. Could this woman, who was so familiar with their intelligence and knew their weaknesses, yet who would let them off the hook from time to time, really be someone she knew from before? But she really didn't have any memory of this woman.

"Stop guessing." Yekura seemed to know what the other was thinking and directly stated the truth: "I only know you after you died. You said you really wanted to eat candied apples, so I got you some. After that, you suddenly recalled a lot of things about the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. I used your memories to deduce some information about you. As for why I'm so familiar with your fighting style, it's because we sparred together afterward. Anyway, after being resurrected, there's no limit to chakra and you won't die, so it's normal to exchange blows, right? Besides, your body can't even exert your original fighting power right now!"

Huh? What did she just say? Ringo Ameyuri felt her mind was a little slow. So, did she betray her companions for a few candied apples after she died? She did like candied apples, but was it really worth it? Did dying once make her see things in a new light? Come to think of it, is there really such a thing as the dead coming back to life?

"Consider this break a small gift, now it's time to end it." Yecang interrupted Ringo Ameyuri's question. "Originally, with your strength, I was no match for you. But now, with your seriously ill body, you can't exert much fighting power at all. I suppose you don't have much time left, right? Since you won't live much longer even if you go back, I might as well just give you a quick death."

"So you even know I'm terminally ill and don't have much time left?" Ringo Ameyuri raised her weapon with a bitter smile, preparing for a final, desperate struggle. Although dying in battle was a decent ending for a ninja, she still felt a bit indignant: "Just for a few candied apples? That's too cheap! If I could see my dead self, I'd definitely give her a good slap!"

Then, a flash of cold light appeared, and a figure fell to the ground.

"Is it over?" Sasori emerged from the woods, holding the blunt sword *Kurumi* that he had seized from Kusanagi no Yaijin. "Remember to collect all their weapons. We'll take them to the black market later. Kirigakure will definitely offer a high price for them!"

"Looks like you're going to make a fortune again today!" Ye Cang said, though she didn't seem very excited. She knew that the money she earned would probably go straight into Scorpion's pocket, making her feel like her own cabbage had been eaten by someone else's sow.

...............................

In the dense forests of the Land of Water, Might Guy's battle was over. After he unleashed the full power of the Eight Gates, the five-man Seven Ninja Swordsmen were routed, fleeing in disarray after leaving behind several corpses.

"Father!" Might Guy looked at the dying Might Dai and wept uncontrollably. Might Dai, who had opened the Gate of Death during the battle, wouldn't live much longer.

The Eight Gates is a forbidden technique that removes the limits of chakra within the human body, allowing the user to unleash power dozens of times greater than usual. In other words, it's a technique that instantly unlocks a ninja's full potential. Therefore, if a ninja's inherent potential isn't particularly high, even using the Eight Gates won't significantly increase their combat strength.

This explains why, in the original story, Might Guy nearly killed Madara Uchiha with a single kick after opening the Eight Gates, while Might Dai only managed to kill a few members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and allowed the others to escape. The ultimate power of the Eight Gates still depends on the user's potential.

Might Dai's physical potential wasn't particularly high; otherwise, he wouldn't have remained a genin after so many years of training, while Might Guy, who also relied on taijutsu, could reach jonin status. Therefore, when facing powerful opponents like the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Might Dai had no choice but to open all eight gates, knowing that merely opening a portion of the eight gates wouldn't be enough to defeat his enemies.

"Kai, the Mist Ninja reinforcements are coming soon, we should retreat!" his teammate reminded him.

Matthias wiped away his tears, nodded, carried his father's body, and left the battlefield.

.....

PS First Update

Chapter 54 Although you went first, the one who steps forward first dies first.

While Konoha's battles on the Land of Water were raging, Konoha's First Aircraft Carrier Squadron finally returned to their long-lost homeland: the Land of Fire. They carried with them a tremendous victory, having defeated the Land of Wind with overwhelming force, and awaited the flowers and applause of their homeland people with the glory and pride of victors.

At night, in the ever-brightly lit office building of Konoha's Intelligence Department, a Konoha ninja, holding a carrier pigeon that had just flown back from the front lines, ran into the core office of the Intelligence Department and excitedly shouted: "Just received news that the Third Hokage and her expeditionary force will return to the village the day after tomorrow morning. The Sand Ninja army has been completely defeated. We have won!!"

"Great!!" Upon hearing this good news, everyone in the office jumped up and shouted with joy. Although the battles on other battlefields in Konoha were still raging, the news of defeating the Sand Ninja gave them hope for a complete victory for Konoha. The return of the expeditionary force led by the Third Hokage, Tensei, also reassured them. They believed that as long as this army, equipped with new aerial weapons, rested and then set off to support other battlefields, Konoha would surely achieve a series of victories!

In a corner of the office, an Uchiha ninja stood quietly. The Uchiha clan, as the security force of Konoha Village, was responsible for the safety of all areas of the village; therefore, Uchiha ninjas were on duty in every department of Konoha. This Uchiha ninja, like everyone else, celebrated his victory with a beaming smile, but his eyes flickered as he looked outside, seemingly deep in thought. He quickly slipped out of the office under the pretext of changing shifts, taking the opportunity to pass on the information he had just obtained.

Under the cover of night, Uchiha clan ninjas, ostensibly working for the Konoha Police Force, appeared in secluded corners, passing on newly acquired intelligence. This Konoha Police Force, originally responsible only for maintaining order in the village, now functioned like a vast net covering the entire village, meticulously and continuously transmitting all intelligence gathered back to the Uchiha clan's territory.

"So, does this mean our Hokage will return with her army the day after tomorrow morning?" A voice murmured within the Uchiha shrine, its tone filled with apprehension towards the Third Hokage, Tensei. As a Hokage who led Konoha to victory in the Second Shinobi World War, and who, despite ruling Konoha for over twenty years, still appeared youthful, and who recently led her army to an unprecedented victory, even the notoriously arrogant Uchiha clan paid close attention to her movements.

"Ultimately, it's because we're not strong enough!" the Uchiha clan ninja muttered to himself. "If we had the power of Madara Uchiha, why would we need to constantly monitor the movements of these outsiders?"

Then, the Uchiha clan ninja turned his head and looked at himself in the mirror. Two long scars marred his pale face, each slicing across his eyes—marks left from a brutal eye transplant. Yet, his eyes still held the same pair of three-tomoe Sharingan, unchanged from before. The three small tomoe slowly rotated within their sockets, just like any other three-tomoe Sharingan.

"Damn it! Why are there still only three tomoe?! All of you, get moving!!" The Uchiha clan ninja slammed his fist into the ground, once again concentrating all his chakra into his Sharingan, causing the three tomoe in his eyes to spin rapidly, just like the hundreds of times he had tried in the past few days.

Driven by a large amount of chakra, the three tomoe in the Sharingan spun rapidly, faster and faster. The tails behind the tomoe began to unfold and intertwine, eventually merging into a faint pattern. Just as the pattern was about to take shape, the three tomoe separated again. No matter how much chakra was inputted, there was no response. It was as if a pervert who had just masturbated and entered a "post-coital slump" was unwilling but could not get an erection again. He could only coldly watch the works of the teachers in front of him who were posing and preening.

"Damn it!! We were so close! We were so close!"

Finally, having exhausted all his chakra, the Uchiha ninja stopped moving, panting as he looked at his increasingly pale face in the mirror.

"This is the 329th failure already. It seems your chances of reawakening your Sharingan are getting lower and lower, Vice Clan Chief Uchiha Matsu." Uchiha Fugaku, who had been sitting on the side observing everything, spoke calmly.

"Shut up!!" Uchiha Matsu turned around, looking at the calm Uchiha Fugaku with an extremely ferocious expression: "You think I wouldn't dare gouge out your eyes?"

Fugaku Uchiha remained silent, simply looking calmly at Matsu Uchiha.

Uchiha Matsu took a deep breath and called out to the door, "Someone, our clan leader is tired. Let him go back to his room to rest."

"Yes!" Two Uchiha ninjas responded and entered, escorting their clan leader to the back. However, their behavior showed no respect for Uchiha Fugaku as the clan leader.

After watching his subordinates leave, Uchiha Matsu smashed the mirror in front of him with a vicious punch: "Damn it!! Why? I was the first one, I was the first one! Whether it was awakening the Sharingan or evolving into the Mangekyou Sharingan, I was the first one! But why did you, Uchiha Fugaku, become the clan leader in the end!"

"You only have a three-tomoe Sharingan! It's one thing to lose in the power struggle, but I still managed to get the position of vice-clan leader thanks to the power of my Mangekyou Sharingan. But why can't you see clearly with my Mangekyou Sharingan now?! While Fugaku, who is still stuck at the three-tomoe level, can see so clearly and continue to be the clan leader!!"

Uchiha Matsu was panting heavily as he looked at a cylindrical glass container on the table next to him. Floating inside were a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan eyes that had lost their luster. These were the eyes that Uchiha Matsu had once been proud of, but now they had completely lost their light, looking like two ordinary glass balls.

"So if anyone's to blame, it's only because I don't have a brother who has awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan?" Uchiha Matsu said with a look of resentment. "Even though I've had other people's eyes, I can only awaken up to the three-tomoe level, and I still haven't been able to regain the power of my original Mangekyou Sharingan!!"

...........

P.S. A belated bonus chapter! Please continue to add to your favorites and recommend! O(∩_∩)O haha~

Chapter 55 The Hokage's magnanimity is truly remarkable!

The night grew deeper and deeper. If you were to look down from the aircraft carrier flying high in the sky, the entire land would be shrouded in darkness, with only a few scattered points of light, like fireflies in a deathly silence, ready to be swallowed by the darkness at any moment.

"Uchiha Shisui! Come with me right now, the Hokage wants to see you," said a ninja wearing an Anbu mask.

Uchiha Shisui silently put down what he was holding, stood up, and followed the ANBU member toward the aircraft carrier's command room.

When he pushed open the door to the command room, Uchiha Shisui was surprised to find that there were many Uchiha clan ninjas standing inside. It seemed that Uchiha Shisui was not the only one who had been summoned to the command room so late at night; basically, all the elite Uchiha clan ninjas in the expeditionary force had been called over.

Then, one of the Uchiha ninjas handed Shisui a stack of documents, looking at this rising star of the Uchiha clan, who was also one of the Uchiha clan's top candidates for the next Hokage, with a serious expression and a strange sadness in his eyes.

Uchiha Shisui took the documents and quickly glanced through them. He was shocked to discover that they were intelligence secretly sent from Konoha Village, and they were all reports on the abnormal behavior of the Uchiha clan, collected by the Hokage's Anbu.

Upon receiving the intelligence forwarded by Yekura, Tensei immediately realized a major gap in the information from the village. Therefore, Tensei activated another covert intelligence channel, bypassing Konoha's intelligence department and directly contacting the Hokage's direct ANBU, ordering them to secretly investigate the village's unusual activities during this period. Ultimately, all the ANBU's investigations pointed to Konoha's most powerful clan: the Uchiha clan.

Uchiha Shisui immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. His clan, taking advantage of the Hokage's absence from Konoha, had actually arbitrarily changed and filtered the intelligence sent from the village to the front lines, and had begun monitoring all departments of Konoha? Such rebellious behavior was something that no Hokage could tolerate. Could it be that the village was about to take action against the Uchiha clan?

"Hokage-sama! Please let me explain!" Uchiha Shisui anxiously raised his head, trying to ease the conflict between his village and his clan. As an Uchiha ninja who identified with Konoha, he felt extremely pained: "Could there be some misunderstanding here?!"

Looking at the Uchiha ninjas before her, whom she had carefully selected as highly skilled and prestigious members of the Uchiha clan—representing the intentions of all the Uchiha in the expeditionary force—Tianqing stated decisively, "The evidence is now quite clear: this is a conspiracy by a group of ambitious individuals to use the power of the Uchiha clan to oppose Konoha Village!"

Upon hearing Tianqing's definitive conclusion, the expressions of all the Uchiha clan ninjas present softened considerably. Indeed, Tianqing's meaning was clear: the anomalies in the village were the work of a small group of ambitious individuals, and the Uchiha clan were merely accomplices deceived by these ambitious individuals, being used and manipulated. Even if convicted, their punishment wouldn't be too severe.

"I believe in the Uchiha clan's loyalty to the village, and I also believe that everyone here will contribute to the village at this crucial moment. The village will never forget every ninja who has contributed to Konoha!" Tianqing continued.

Immediately, all the Uchiha ninjas' eyes lit up. They understood the meaning behind Tian Qing's words: the Hokage still believed in the Uchiha clan, but loyalty wasn't something that could be said lightly; it required the Uchiha to prove it with actions. Therefore, the Hokage would have the Uchiha ninjas present participate in the campaign against the ambitious individuals. The statement that "the village will not forget every ninja who has contributed to Konoha" clearly indicated that as long as the Uchiha ninjas present made contributions in the campaign, the Uchiha clan's punishment could be reduced or waived at the Hokage's discretion.

"Yes! We are willing to serve the village!!" the Uchiha ninjas shouted in unison.

That's how politics works: unite the majority and attack the minority. Once the village's focus shifted from the Uchiha clan to a small group of ambitious individuals—even though these ambitious individuals all shared the Uchiha surname—it successfully gained the support of many Uchiha ninjas.

With their support, the village's ruthless killing of the Uchiha clan would appear perfectly legitimate and would not cause any controversy or unease among the other ninja clans in the village. This would be because the village was not interfering in the internal affairs of the ninja clans, but rather assisting in eliminating the traitors hidden within the Uchiha clan at the request of these Uchiha ninjas!

.....................

After watching the Uchiha ninjas leave one by one, Orochimaru, who had been standing silently to the side, spoke up: "Tenqing, do you really believe what these Uchiha just said? Are they really completely unaware of what happened in the village?"

How could this be? As the saying goes, you can know a person's face but not their heart. How could Tian Qing believe someone just because of a few passionate vows? As a ninja, acting is a basic skill for them, especially when it comes to something as important as a rebellion. To believe someone's one-sided story so easily is not only foolish but also irresponsible to everyone involved in the operation.

However, no one expected that Tian Qing was a good listener.