Chapter 374: Side Story: The Travels of Fugaku and His Wife 1

Chapter 374: Side Story: The Travels of Fugaku and His Wife 1

The sun was setting in the west.

The sky gradually dimmed.

A squad of a dozen or so ninjas advanced in an orderly fashion.

A man and a woman in the middle of the group were dressed rather formally. The middle-aged man's expression was somewhat stern, his face naturally imposing, making it clear at a glance that he had long held a high position.

As for the woman beside him, she ought to be his wife. She wore a gentle smile, occasionally speaking to soothe her husband's somewhat anxious mood.

"Fugaku-kun, don't be anxious. The holiday is still long!"

The woman held her husband's arm, smiling with her eyes squinted as she comforted him. "It's just a little bit of a pity. On this trip to the Hidden Hot Water Village, both Itachi and Sasuke couldn't accompany us…"

"Itachi is the Fifth Hokage, after all. If he were to appear in the Hidden Hot Water, it would cause a panic in the nearby Land of Lightning. The Fourth Raikage would protest…"

Fugaku Uchiha sighed helplessly, his face full of disappointment. "That child Sasuke is still so worrisome! He was clearly given the mission to monitor Orochimaru, yet he didn't even know when Orochimaru completed that dangerous experiment!"

"Alright, alright. Isn't Sasuke already on his way to make up for his mistake?"

Mikoto Uchiha's eyes curved into crescents. She looked up at the evening glow, glanced at the surrounding guards, and said softly, "It's getting late. Why don't we travel again tomorrow and find a place to camp for the night first?"

The old father obediently nodded and called out, "Uchiha Shōwa, Uchiha Enkei, if I remember correctly, this place is very close to a former clan secret base, right?"

"Yes, Captain. It's about half an hour's journey."

"Then let's go there! We'll rest there for one night."

The two leaders of the ninja squad whispered to each other for a moment, then chose the nearest path toward their family's secret base.

As the sky was getting dark, the safety of Fugaku and Mikoto was paramount. They dispatched several more people, taking turns to activate Crow Sage Mode and fly into the sky, patrolling for any potential enemies in the surroundings.

A short while later, a clansman gathered natural energy, and a pair of pitch-black wings abruptly unfurled from his back as he soared into the night sky!

Fugaku Uchiha muttered and grumbled a few words, his voice so low that only the person right next to him could hear. His wife couldn't help but cover her mouth and stifle a laugh.

A short while later, that clansman flew back, reporting the situation with a smile. "Lord Itachi has already arranged everything. I just saw Lord Kisame Hoshigaki from the Hidden Mist Village and Lord Karin from our village near the secret base. They should be preparing to receive the Captain's family, right?"

"Haha, how filial!"

"Even Lord Karin is here?"

"It seems our Fifth Hokage still doesn't quite trust us guards from the Naka Shrine!"

"Hahaha… Actually, the Captain and his wife just need to bring the Great Sage Kitahara and it would be enough!"

"Hey, you think our 'upper organization' is having another meeting? I heard Lord Karin and Lord Kisame are very dissatisfied with that old geezer Tobirama!"

The group of Uchiha clansmen laughed and joked. They were used to the peace in the ninja world and understood Karin's and Kisame's identities, so no one took it too seriously.

After Fugaku heard this, his expression gradually turned serious. "Are you saying that Kisame and Karin are waiting for me? That can't be right! Itachi doesn't really want me involved in the Land of Waves' affairs. They shouldn't be doing this, right?"

"Captain, won't we know once we get there?"

Uchiha Shōwa explained, "Besides, if it wasn't Lord Itachi's arrangement, who would have the guts to leak the location of the clan's secret base?"

In the evening, the temperature dropped lower and lower.

The forests on both sides of the road gradually sank into darkness.

Perhaps because of the change in the environment, the originally noisy group quieted down.

Fugaku Uchiha took off his own cloak, draped it over his wife, and put his arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll be there soon…"

"It's alright…"

Mikoto Uchiha shook her head, smiling softly at her husband.

In a place of desolate, crumbling ruins.

Kisame Hoshigaki, draped in his black-and-red Akatsuki cloak, sat on the ground, monitoring the three members of Team Taka. He was responsible for providing an environment for a one-on-one battle between Mr. Itachi and Sasuke.

Kisame was dismissive of Sasuke. He firmly believed that Itachi Uchiha would be victorious, because that was his highly respected friend.

The three members of Team Taka beside him were clearly bored. Jugo was relatively quiet, but Suigetsu Hozuki was chattering away. Karin would refute him from time to time, occasionally giving him a slap, trying to get him to quiet down.

Just as Suigetsu was about to start a new topic, Karin's expression suddenly changed. She turned her head to look back at the path they had come from. "Someone is coming!"

"How is that possible? Who would come at this hour!"

Suigetsu waved his hand dismissively. A short moment later, his expression also changed, because the sound of footsteps had reached his ears.

Rustle…

Rustle, rustle, rustle…

"At least a dozen people. Judging from the footsteps, it seems to be a passing merchant caravan…" Karin's expression grew darker. She glanced at Jugo and said, "But the chakra signatures of some of them are very similar to Jugo's. It's a caravan with a very strong guard detail!"

"Looks like we've got some work to do!"

Kisame grinned, revealing a mouthful of shark teeth. He grabbed his Samehada and leaped down. "This waiting period has been so boring. It seems we can use these uninvited guests to pass the time…"

"I suggest it's best not to have a conflict with them. The ninjas in this team are very strong. Based on their auras alone, they are in no way inferior to us!"

A drop of sweat trickled down Karin's forehead. Her expression gradually became solemn, and her look grew heavier. "Be careful, they're here!"

One by one, figures appeared before them…

A squad of over a dozen ninja guards, perfectly in formation…

Without exception, these ninjas wore Konoha headbands. Every one of them was in a neat Jonin uniform, and they were all rather handsome…

"Didn't he say Lord Madara had already gone to stop the Konoha ninjas?" Kisame gripped his Samehada, gathering his chakra. "For so many Konoha Jonin to appear, does this mean Lord Madara was defeated?"

Suigetsu was wiping his sweat, stammering, "Hey, with so many people, we're no match for them…"

Jugo, however, threw off his cloak and said in a cold voice, "Even so, we must stop them! To protect Sasuke from being disturbed!"

Just as they were all entering their combat stances, the leader of the Konoha ninja squad spoke up, teasing, "Yo, Lord Kisame, you look quite convincing as a rogue ninja! The Fifth Mizukage must be on her way to find you, right?"

"Haha, why is Lord Karin here too! Were you sent by Lord Itachi? With all of us here, there's no need for guards or doctors!"

These Uchiha clansmen joked and greeted them. For a moment, the Kisame and Karin who had been called out were completely bewildered…

This group of Konoha ninjas, were they nuts?

Just as they were getting closer, Mikoto Uchiha suddenly shouted a warning, "Alert! That girl is definitely not Karin!"

"Everyone, be on guard!"

Fugaku Uchiha fixed his gaze on Kisame's movements and said in a deep voice, "Kisame would never be holding his Samehada like that when facing us!"