Konoha: I, Uchiha, Choose to Lie Down! Chapter 30 30: Ishikawa Itsuki, a Hero? You’ve Got to Be Kid

Three days later.

In the dense forests of the Land of Whirlpools, a small fire burned inside a hidden cave.

Around it sat Uchiha Kai and his two companions.

They chewed on ration pills to restore their stamina, while discussing their next move.

"Man, I really didn't expect Ishikawa Itsuki to die so miserably," Kudo Shin sighed again and again.

Nara Kazama, however, remained calm.

"The mont he chose to stay behind at the outpost instead of moving with us, his fate was already sealed.

Think about it—Mist had already launched a full-scale invasion. Four thousand of their shinobi were hidden throughout the Land of Whirlpools, and Konoha had no idea.

Could we afford to let one person—just Ishikawa Itsuki—delay such critical intelligence?

Even if Itsuki had survived, he would've agreed with us. Everything must be for the village.

His sacrifice was worthwhile. He will be etched onto the morial Stone, honored by Konoha forever.

Ishikawa Itsuki is a hero. He will live on in our hearts."

Kudo Shin: "…"

He stared at Kazama, dumbfounded, mouth slightly open, unable to believe what he just heard.

What the hell?!

So that was the "truth"?

His brain blanked for a mont, as if his mories had been tampered with.

No—he rembered clearly.

Everyone hated Itsuki. They had deliberately ignored him, even pushed him toward death.

And now with just a few words from Nara Kazama, the aning had completely flipped—

From pariah… to hero?

A hero everyone would mourn?

What kind of bullshit is this?!

If Itsuki were alive, he'd be cursing them to their faces right now. And if he beca a ghost, he'd swear to haunt these bastards for eternity.

Kudo Shin was speechless.

At the sa ti, he finally understood why the Nara clan—despite lacking overwhelming combat power—was still one of Konoha's great clans and trusted so much by the Hokage.

That silver tongue… unreal.

Turning the dead into saints with a few phrases. All Kudo could do was clap and mutter, damn, 666.

And it wasn't just him.

Even Uchiha Kai, who already knew Kazama well, had his head full of complaints he didn't know how to voice.

This guy… was a talent, no doubt about it.

Yes—

During these past three days, the three of them had evaded Mist's pursuit countless tis, moved across the Land of Whirlpools again and again, and managed to kill thirty-one Mist shinobi.

On the way, they'd naturally passed their old outpost—

and found Ishikawa Itsuki's corpse.

But bringing it back? That was risky. The Yamanaka clan could probe his mories.

Even if they destroyed Itsuki's brain, subtle traces might still reveal the truth.

So in the end, to keep things clean, they burned his body.

Kazama concluded firmly:

"Enough. There's no point in saying more.

Ishikawa Itsuki died with honor, giving his life for the village.

He's Konoha's hero and will live forever in our hearts.

From now on, let's not discuss him anymore.

What matters is our next course of action."

The other two quickly nodded.

Yes—better not to revisit the matter. The real story was too filthy, too far from the so-called "Will of Fire."

But when they shifted focus to the present situation, the three couldn't help but frown.

Mist's patrols were growing more frequent.

And that was only natural. For Mist, the Land of Whirlpools was their staging ground, the bridgehead for their invasion of Konoha. They could not allow any Konoha shinobi to ddle here.

"If only we had a Hyuga in the squad," Kudo Shin muttered.

Then he glanced nervously at Kai. "Ah—sorry, Kai-kun, I didn't an to slight the Uchiha."

"No need to explain. I understand," Kai replied evenly. "For wide-area reconnaissance, the Sharingan can't match the Byakugan."

He truly didn't mind.

In fact, he had little respect for the Uchiha as a whole.

And Kudo wasn't wrong.

Yes, the Sharingan was powerful. In one-on-one combat, Uchiha crushed Hyuga.

But in large-scale warfare, the Byakugan was the real strategic asset.

Why else would Hidden Cloud Village have attempted to abduct Hyuga bloodlines twice, while barely sparing a glance at the Uchiha?

Even that encounter years ago, when Kai ran into Cloud shinobi—it wasn't about the Sharingan. They were just fleeing and happened to stumble near him.

The truth was simple: the Sharingan was terrifying in individual duels, but offered little to an army. Unless soone was on the level of Sakumo Hatake or Minato Namikaze, individual strength hardly shifted the tide of war.

Suddenly—

Kai stiffened. A familiar summoning call brushed against his senses.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

He ford the seals, slamd his palm onto the ground—

Bang!

A black raven appeared, a small note tied to its leg.

Kai untied it, read it, and imdiately incinerated it with a Fire Style.

Then he looked up with a faint smile.

"Two more days.

The ANBU already inford the village of our situation.

The Konoha army has finished assembling, and this ti, our clan head—Uchiha Fugaku—will personally lead the force.

everyone, hold on just a little longer."

Yes—

The mont Kai realized the frontline camp had collapsed, he had secretly sent a ssage via his raven to Shisui, asking when Konoha's main force would arrive.

Of course, he wasn't stupid.

Knowing Shisui's personality, Kai feared he might report their contact to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

So he'd only asked about the army's timing—nothing more.

"This is great!" Kudo Shin shouted. "With the Uchiha leading, we're saved!"

His cheer echoed in the cave.

In this desperate situation, even with Kai's steady command, the constant threat of death had been crushing him. Relief flooded through him at last.

Even Kazama exhaled softly.

Yes. He knew exactly what this ant. If Fugaku himself was leading, the troops would be elites—

not the expendable fodder like them.

Kai felt the sa.

Though only a few days had passed, it felt like years—every mont of constant vigilance and endless calculations had been unbearable.

But now…

Once the Uchiha army arrived, they could finally breathe.

Smiling, Kai said:

"All right, everyone.

We've got good news, so let's take it easy for now.

Rest well.

In two hours, we will move out again."

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