Uchiha Yu frowned deeply. Could this mission get any more ridiculous?
He sneered inwardly, but spoke earnestly on the surface:
"Get all these people off the ground and onto the wagons. We're moving out!"
As he spoke, he jumped down from the wagon bed, grabbed two of the fallen drivers, and casually tossed them into the second wagon's bed.
Kurenai and Nonoyu were the first to act. Izumi and Mikoto also stepped in to help.
Tamao didn't just stand there either—he quickly hoisted up the woman he'd brought back, intending to bury her by the roadside.
A burial only took a single Earth Release jutsu, after all.
Since Big Brother said to bury her, of course he couldn't leave the body to rot in the wild.
Hotaru sat weakly in the wagon bed, her jewel-like eyes watching as the Uchiha helped her clansmen. A strange conflict stirred inside her.
Maybe these Uchiha weren't as bad as she thought.
Especially that S-rank rogue ninja—Uchiha Yu. With just a word, he could have abandoned her entire clan.
Since most of the caravan members were already lying in the wagon beds, the Uchiha simply tossed the drivers in too, then tied all the wagons together with rope as Yu had ordered—task done with ease.
One by one, everyone boarded the wagons.
In the first wagon, Tamao eagerly fought to be the driver. He snatched the whip from another Uchiha who knew how to drive.
Tamao was driving for the first time and thrilled by it. He climbed up, sat down, and gave the two horses a hearty slap on the rear.
The two black horses neighed in fright, reared up, then galloped forward at full speed.
Everyone in the wagon was jostled and shaken.
From the back of the convoy came Minami's shout:
"I'm not on the wagon yet!!"
"I haven't gotten on yet!"
The wind howled, and the landscape rushed by in reverse.
"Wooohooo—!" Tamao let out a long yell, exhilarated by the feeling of freedom.
He didn't care about Minami. As long as Big Brother was in the wagon bed, he was good—even if Big Brother's face was dark as thunder right now.
With the first wagon racing ahead—
The entire caravan picked up speed, dragging up clouds of dust behind them like a linked-up steam train thundering across the land.
Kurenai and Izumi, seated on either side of Yu, occasionally brushed against him as the wagon bumped along.
Izumi accidentally toppled into Yu's arms—and once there, decided not to move. She immediately felt a deep sense of security… and earned a scornful glare from Kurenai.
MInami body-flickered into the driver's seat, snatched the reins from Tamao, and gradually slowed the caravan down to a safer pace.
"Hand over the whip too!"
Minami reached out angrily, but Tamayo's face darkened and, in a childish fit, raised the whip high out of reach with a "no way you're getting this" expression.
Minami's face turned dark with frustration.
He turned to look at Yu in the wagon.
Yu gently patted Izumi, who was still leaning against him, content. Blushing, she lifted her head and sat up.
Everyone turned their eyes to Yu in unison.
They all wanted to know—
How would Yu discipline Tamao?
The Uchiha had no way of dealing with this younger, slightly crazy teammate. Only Yu could rein him in.
Tamao sensed the shift in mood and suddenly broke into a bright, standard smile.
With that baby-faced look, he seemed completely harmless—like an innocent kid.
Before Big Brother could speak, Tamao quickly pulled something from his cloak and held it up with both hands:
"Look, Big Brother! While I was moving those caravan folks, I found this reading material—I bet you'll like it!"
Minami's expression grew even worse. This guy will really do anything to suck up to the captain…
Sure enough, Yu probably wouldn't scold Tamao now—but at least the guy had quieted down.
Everyone turned their eyes to the paper.
Yu's face remained calm as his gaze landed on the contents. He reached out and took the newspaper.
In truth, he hadn't planned to scold Tamao. The kid's nature needed an outlet.
Unfolding the paper with both hands, Yu read by the light of the surrounding torches.
The others leaned in. Mikoto also moved closer to Yu, while Izumi helpfully held up a torch for everyone to see.
They all urgently needed information from the outside world.
"Captain Yu… S-Rank Rogue Ninja, Bounty: 50 Million Ryo!!"
Izumi immediately noticed the photo of Yu, and her brows furrowed. She glanced at the captain with a hint of concern.
"Huh? We've got bounties now? Quick, read them out—what's everyone worth?"
Tamao beamed with excitement, tossed the whip to Minami, then turned to face the others.
The Uchiha in the other wagons perked up too, curious to know how their former villages had priced them now that they were rogues.
That Captain Yu's bounty had reached 50 million ryo left everyone amazed—many thought it was unfair.
"Uchiha Minami – bounty: 10 million ryo…"
Izumi read the names and bounties out loud. But near the end, she realized that Tamao and herself were at the bottom of the list, so she awkwardly read:
"Uchiha Tamayo – 1.5 million ryo… Uchiha Izumi – 1 million ryo."
Upon hearing that, Tamao was outraged:
"What? Izumi, are you sure you read that right? We're all three-tomoe Sharingan users—why is Nanami worth ten million while I'm only worth 1.5? Just because I look harmless and act like a lunatic?"
Izumi didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Minami, on the other hand, laughed heartily.
Which immediately drew a chorus of disdainful looks from the other Uchiha, who silently decided to steer clear of Minami in the future.
"Captain Minami, what are you laughing for? Your bounty clearly doesn't match your strength. Staying near you is dangerous!"
Meanwhile, Yu's expression grew serious. He ignored the team's bickering and focused entirely on deciphering the hidden implications behind the newspaper.
Konoha had successfully suppressed the news of the Uchiha massacre and Danzo's involvement. That meant the village was likely under tight control right now, and for the moment, the other major Hidden Villages wouldn't be aware of either event.
To prevent word of the Uchiha massacre from spreading too quickly across the ninja world—
Even if Yu hadn't killed Asuma, Hiruzen Sarutobi would likely still mobilize Konoha's strongest forces to wipe out their rogue Uchiha squad at the borders.
This calm was merely the prelude to a storm.
Yu was looking forward to it.
How much of its limited strength Konoha, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, would be willing to risk… for them.
After finishing the key parts of the newspaper, Yu handed it to Izumi so she could pass it on to the rest of the convoy.
"Konoha didn't put a bounty on me?"
Mikoto looked at Yu. There was a flicker of guilt in her eyes as she sought confirmation.
"No," Yu replied, then turned to Kurenai with a calm tone. "You aren't wanted either."
Kurenai nodded slightly to show she understood. She didn't really care. Besides a few ideals her father had entrusted to her, she had no attachments in Konoha. She could go anywhere.
Yu could more or less guess the reason behind the village's choices—Mikoto likely wasn't labeled a rogue ninja because Itachi had remained in Konoha.
As for Kurenai, it was probably because Konoha still hadn't confirmed the details of Asuma's death.
"Once we leave the Land of the Tsuchigumo…"
"Konoha will never let us reach the Valley of Judgment. That means they'll most likely launch a full-scale assault against us soon."
Yu's calm declaration hit like a thunderclap.
The Uchiha, who had just been arguing over unfair bounty amounts, all fell silent.
At that moment, the convoy arrived at the border of the Tsuchigumo Clan's territory.
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