Chapter 173 165: A Few Months Later

In the Land of Hot Springs, the war situation was much easier to adapt to than it had been in the Land of Rain.

The Land of Rain over the past few years had been the most brutal meat grinder in the Ninja World in the decades since the Ninja village system was established.

Although the intensity of the Kumogakure battlefield was high, it did not become a place for top-tier factions to clash like the Land of Rain, so the pace of the war was not as intense.

Back in the Land of Rain, it was fine when we were on the second-line battlefield, but once we were pulled to the front lines during those months of highest war intensity, there was truly a feeling of being fully engaged, a suffocating sense of urgency, and the constant possibility of facing danger.

Uchiha Gen had also had several narrow escapes in the Land of Rain; if not for the character cards provided by the system, he would have already died several times.

As for now, although the battlefield is still dangerous, the frequency of large-scale battles has decreased significantly compared to the Land of Rain. Instead, both sides frequently send out small-to-medium-sized teams to weave back and forth across this land, taking advantage of the complex terrain of the Land of Hot Springs, which is full of mountains and hills, to wage a struggle centered on intelligence and logistics.

As one of the top three combatants for Konoha on this battlefield, Uchiha Gen has also led elite teams on missions many times.

In the blink of an eye, the days progressed from early summer to late autumn.

"It can be confirmed that the intelligence provided by the Root spy is correct. Kumogakure has indeed set up a secret stronghold here to transfer some supplies and personnel, but it is not yet certain what the defensive strength is inside."

"They have a sealing barrier inside for vigilance. My parasitic insects cannot break through their blockade, and their personnel configuration is still unclear."

Behind the hillside, Aburame Shibi withdrew several parasitic insects into his cuffs and said to Uchiha Gen.

In a few months, Uchiha Gen's height seemed to have pressed a shortcut key, growing rapidly and suddenly shooting up by six or seven centimeters.

Approaching a height of 1.7 meters, he had already reached the standard for an adult. After this growth spurt passed, Uchiha Gen estimated that his height would not be short.

However, he did not hope to grow too tall; being between 1.78 and 1.85 meters was fine. If he grew any taller, his center of gravity would be too high, affecting his agility.

"They even used a sealing barrier. It seems this stronghold is very important!"

Uchiha Tekka gripped the top of the slope with his hands, his pair of triple tomoe Sharingan looking at the few people on sentry duty in the distance, his expression excited.

"Tekka-senpai, turn off your Sharingan. Do not reveal such obvious Chakra fluctuations. We are not yet sure if they have sensory Ninja inside."

Uchiha Gen retrieved a small gray-yellow snake from the ground and said to Uchiha Tekka.

The members of his small team were mostly elites requested from Orochimaru, such as Aburame Shibi. In the original timeline, this person could create nano-scale poisonous insects, and his son, Aburame Torune, was also a powerful Elite Jonin after inheriting his skills, which was enough to show that he possessed both strength and potential.

The others were either like Aburame Shibi, with good strength who wouldn't hold back the team, or functional Ninja with unique skills who could play an important role at many times.

Others were members of the Uchiha clan from the Great Elder's faction.

He was the publicly recognized successor of the Great Elder, so this power naturally gathered around him.

Uchiha Tekka was naturally one of them.

"What are you afraid of? Gen, with you here, given the strength of our team, we can completely break in directly. There is absolutely nothing to be afraid of!"

Another young Uchiha in the team spoke up.

This was also a Uchiha with a triple tomoe Sharingan, named Uchiha Kiyoshi. Ten years ago, just like Uchiha Gen when he first graduated, he was discovered by the Great Elder, and now he was also a squad leader in the Police Force.

In the past few months, Uchiha Gen had taken action on the battlefield many times, and his powerful strength had long been recognized by these young Uchiha.

"Shall we attack?"

Sarutobi Toriyama spread out a scroll and looked at Uchiha Gen, asking.

It wasn't just Aburame Shibi who had means of reconnaissance.

Uchiha Gen was not as good at sensing as Aburame Shibi, but through the snake swarm from Ryūchi Cave, he had his own unique strengths.

Snakes can perceive the outside world through smell and infrared. This species of small yellow-black snake had no other abilities, but its perception of smell was exceptionally prominent. Its forked snake tongue's ability to capture, sense, and distinguish odor factors was several times that of ordinary snakes.

It used this to avoid pursuit by powerful enemies and to hunt for small creatures like mice and rabbits.

With the help of this little snake, Uchiha Gen could know some simple information inside from such a long distance.

And what he needed, in itself, was not very complex information.

He only needed to know the number of people and whether there were any acquaintances.

"Judging from the smell, the number of people in this stronghold should be over fifty. According to experience, such a personnel configuration usually has more than one Jonin stationed. If this place is really important, there might be even more."

"It's a bit tough, but without those three guys, it's worth a try."

Uchiha Gen dispelled the summoning of the small gray-yellow snake, stood up, looked at the Kumogakure stronghold, and said.

Those three guys referred to the Third Raikage and his son, the Fourth Raikage A, and the Raikage's courtier Karai.

These three all had the strength to resist Uchiha Gen. If the aura of the Third Raikage appeared, Uchiha Gen would retreat with his team without hesitation.

More than a year ago, Orochimaru and the others, who had not yet reached Kage-level, needed the combined strength of the Sannin to barely contend with Hanzou at the peak of Kage-level. The Third Raikage's strength would not be inferior to Hanzou's. Three Uchiha Gens might not be able to tie with him. If this team encountered him, it was not impossible for the entire army to be wiped out. Even Uchiha Gen himself asked himself that if he met that guy, he could at most hope to retreat unscathed.

But as long as that guy was not there, their team was safe.

And with the Fourth Raikage A and Karai not there, it meant there was no one else in this stronghold who could stop Uchiha Gen.

The others in the team also had considerable strength, enough to destroy this stronghold.

"Then let's go. Formation One, attack!"

Uchiha Gen drew his Sengoku Ninja Sword and issued the order.

The next moment, flames soared into the sky.

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

Several flame dragons flew out and instantly bombarded the stronghold.

A barrier with a metallic iron-colored luster appeared, becoming fragmented under the attack of the Fire Release.

The three of them, Uchiha Gen, were all Uchiha Jonin who had mastered Fire Release Nature Transformation. When they attacked together, the power of the Fire Release was extremely impressive.