Chapter Thirty-Four: The Thought of Returning to the Village

Eight months later.

Frontline battlefield, a certain plain.

As the final sounds of combat faded, Uchiha Rei finished off the last of the Cloud ninja before him and sheathed his kunai.

With the three-tomoe Sharingan, his crimson gaze swept across the battlefield, ensuring no remnants of Cloud shinobi remained.

It had been more than half a year since the village delivered its explanation and Danzo was forced to apologize. In that time, the Cloud ninja had launched two more large-scale offensives, but neither managed to break through Konoha’s defenses.

“Lord Rei, your strength now surely surpasses that of an elite jonin, doesn’t it? You dispatched another jonin with ease this time!”

Uchiha Miri, accompanied by several Uchiha subordinates, arrived after clearing the battlefield, admiration shining in her eyes as she spoke to Uchiha Rei.

During these months, Rei had repeatedly volunteered for combat missions, each executed with flawless precision. By Miri’s count, he had slain more than six jonin, over thirty chunin, and an uncountable number of genin. Such achievements were unparalleled on the entire front.

Admiration for strength was in the Uchiha’s very blood, all the more so for Rei, who had previously secured justice for their kin. The entire Uchiha contingent on the front lines now submitted to Rei wholeheartedly, even the proud Miri herself.

The only pity was that Rei was merely fourteen, while she was already twenty-five—a disparity that left Miri somewhat disheartened.

“With the aid of the Sharingan, slaying a jonin is hardly something to boast about,” Rei replied, his gaze suddenly drifting into the distance. He gestured forward, adding, “Besides, I didn’t do it alone, did I?”

Following his eyes, Miri and the others looked ahead, their expressions growing complicated.

For where Rei’s gaze landed stood a short-haired, round-nosed Uchiha—Uchiha Shisui, who was fulfilling his vow to keep watch on Rei at all times.

“Shisui has indeed taken down several Cloud ninja recently and made a name for himself,” Miri ventured cautiously, sensing some tension between Rei and Shisui. Both were prodigies of the Uchiha, and she dared not comment further.

Rei made no objection, saying coolly, “Enough. Since the battlefield is cleared, come with me to find him.”

“Ah!” Miri hesitated, trying to dissuade him. “Lord Rei, that kid Shisui is decent, but no match for you. There’s no need to lower yourself to his level.”

Miri’s tone grew anxious, fearing Rei was seeking trouble with Shisui. If a fight broke out between these two, should she and her comrades intervene or not? Whichever choice, it felt like a betrayal of her clan.

Noticing their expressions, Rei realized their misunderstanding and said irritably, “What are you thinking? Am I such a petty person?”

“Isn’t…?” one Uchiha muttered, only to clamp his mouth shut under Rei’s dangerous glare.

Miri sighed in relief and asked, “Then what do you intend to do?”

“I’m going to let him know I’m heading back. I’ll see if he wants to follow me back to the village and continue his surveillance,” Rei replied with a faint, meaningful smile.

“Heading back? Lord Rei, are you not going to continue fighting in the war?”

Initially, Miri didn’t grasp his meaning, then realized Rei meant a return to the village.

Rei nodded. “That’s right—I plan to request a return to the village.”

He had remained on the battlefield for a reason. On one hand, he was still familiarizing himself with and mastering the power of his Mangekyō; on the other, he aimed to achieve the notoriety he’d set his heart on.

Now, his control over the Mangekyō was nearly complete, even at a bottleneck. Amaterasu, he hadn’t yet found occasion to use, but its execution posed little difficulty. As for Susanoo, through his efforts, he had now reached the second stage—it was no longer a bare skeleton but was cloaked in muscle and armor. What’s more, his Susanoo possessed the Divine Wheel’s armament, making his strength even greater than imagined.

However, the cost to his eyesight was growing. With full power, Susanoo and the Divine Wheel could only be unleashed a few more times before blindness threatened. Until he acquired an Eternal Mangekyō or transplanted the First Hokage’s cells, he dared not risk further depletion developing the third stage of Susanoo.

Lastly, the most crucial thing for him—“Terra”—had reached a complete standstill. Nothing on the battlefield could advance its revival.

As for building his reputation, Rei had accomplished enough. Over these months, he’d used Cloud ninja as stepping stones and earned the moniker “Flame Demon.” This nickname arose because, after every kill, he incinerated the bodies with Fire Release, leaving nothing but ash.

To Rei, the title itself mattered little; what mattered was that his name was now known. With all these goals met, there was no reason to linger on the battlefield.

With his current strength, he could return to the village without fear and proceed with his plans.

“I see. Then it’s certainly worth informing Shisui,” Miri said, relieved that Rei wasn’t seeking conflict.

Rei said no more, leading his squad to Shisui’s position.

Seeing Shisui standing there alone, Rei tilted his head and asked directly, “Well? After all this time watching me, have you discovered anything?”

Shisui hadn’t expected Rei to be so blunt—or so unconcerned.

After a moment’s hesitation, Shisui replied, “I can’t quite read you. Some things are different from what I feared.”

Before coming to the front, the Third Hokage had spoken with him at length, instructing him to keep a close eye on Rei and report any unusual behavior.

But in all this time, Shisui had found nothing amiss. Rei threw himself into every mission, often volunteering for the most dangerous tasks.

What puzzled Shisui more was that, on the battlefield, the Uchiha and the rest of the village had grown surprisingly harmonious. Lately, he’d even heard many praise the Uchiha as reliable comrades—a thought that had once seemed impossible back in the village.

And all of it appeared to stem from Rei. His orders and actions always seemed, from unexpected angles, to have a positive effect.

Yet none of it resembled the Will of Fire or the guidance of the Third Hokage that Shisui knew.

This left Shisui more confused and conflicted than ever.

On the one hand, he believed the Third genuinely wished for peace between the Uchiha and the village.

On the other, it seemed Rei was doing quite well himself…