Naruto: I, Uchiha, Just Want to Die

Chapter 116: A Mission Doomed to Fail! Not Even Jesus Can Save Me Now!

The night was as still as water.

Stars filled the sky, and the Milky Way stretched down like a radiant ribbon.

Uchiha Ci lay sprawled on the bed of a guest room at a hot spring inn.

In front of him was a tall stack of papers, while crumpled paper balls littered the floor in disarray.

These papers were covered with analysis diagrams that only Uchiha Ci could understand.

After a grueling session of nerve-wracking labor, he had finally obtained the information he sought from Aburame Ryoma.

Now, Uchiha Ci had a general understanding of the current situation on the Rain Country battlefield.

Though the process had been unpleasant, Aburame Ryoma's information was extremely detailed.

The Sand Village

After wrapping up its long-standing skirmishes and small-scale conflicts with the Mist Village that had persisted since the eve of the Third Shinobi World War, two young and outstanding ninjas emerged as candidates for the Fourth Kazekage: Rasa and Pakura.

At this point, the Sand Village had already declared war on Konoha and was amassing forces to invade the Land of Fire. To prepare for this war, they were eager to end their conflict with the Mist Village and avoid fighting on two fronts.

Pakura, a hero of the Sand Village, was supposed to be sold out by Rasa and the Sand Village's upper echelons to the Mist Village as part of a peace agreement.

However, Orochimaru and Danzo interfered by leaking intel about the Iwa forces intending to exploit the situation to the Mist Village. As a result, the Mist Village's Council decided to unilaterally halt their conflict with the Sand Village the previous day.

On the same day, Rasa, failing to betray his comrade Pakura, took on a dangerous mission to gain favor. He volunteered as an envoy to unite with the Rock Village against Konoha.

This bold move secured his election as the Fourth Kazekage.

The Sand Village then announced plans for Rasa to personally travel to the Land of Earth in two weeks to negotiate an alliance with the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki.

This sequence of events laid the groundwork for the upcoming assassination mission.

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In the world of ninjas, information is the key to both battles and wars.

It was true for the Sand Village, true for Konoha, and no different for Uchiha Ci.

With this knowledge, Uchiha Ci finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although it seemed like his actions had significantly impacted the direction of the war, his all-night analysis had led him to conclude that, at least for now, the overarching storyline was not drastically altered.

Uchiha Ci had merely spared a few individuals doomed to die. The war's trajectory remained largely aligned with the original narrative.

The future would proceed as expected, except that the Mist Village—thanks to avoiding an ambush by the Rock Village—retained more combat power.

But it didn't matter.

Even if the Mist preserved additional forces, they would still fall prey to the true mastermind behind the scenes: Uchiha Madara.

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"Orochimaru joined the war because he failed to obtain the forbidden technique of Body Revival, and his current actions are still motivated by this pursuit," Uchiha Ci murmured thoughtfully, tapping his pen on the phrase Rain Country Decapitation Mission.

He connected his name and Orochimaru's to this mission with a few more strokes.

"Assassinating Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, may seem critical," he muttered with furrowed brows, "but in reality, this mission is utterly senseless!"

"It's a suicide mission," Uchiha Ci declared bluntly, entirely dismissing the mission's validity.

Killing Rasa served no special purpose. Even if they succeeded in framing another ninja village, the broader situation would remain unchanged.

The objectives of Orochimaru and Danzo had already been accomplished when they shared information with the Mist Village.

Whether or not the Rock Village agreed to an alliance, they would still be tied down at the Mist battlefield. Orochimaru had already bought Konoha precious time to adapt to the escalating intensity of the war.

Once the Rock Village was free to act, they would still attack Konoha from the directions of the Rain and Grass Countries.

The Third Shinobi World War was inevitable—a tacit agreement among the four great nations to invade the Land of Fire.

As for this mission?

To Uchiha Ci, it felt like an action born from a gambling mentality.

His dear mentor Orochimaru seemed eager for his corpse. Orochimaru had engineered this mission purely to send Uchiha Ci to the most dangerous battlefield, hoping he would die early, so his body could be retrieved for dissection and research.

Meanwhile, Danzo wanted to gamble on an outcome.

If successful, it would weaken the Sand Village's morale, forcing them to hastily appoint a Fifth Kazekage.

If unsuccessful, it wouldn't matter. After all, Uchiha Ci was just a disposable pawn, unrelated to Danzo's grand plans.

This mission was a death trap.

In front, Rasa—a bona fide Kage-level ninja.

Behind, Orochimaru—ready to betray him at any moment.

To his left, his superior Danzo, who had despised the Uchiha Clan for ages.

To his right, the battlefield of the Rain Country—a brutal meat grinder of war.

And in the middle was Uchiha Ci, who was ready to throw himself into death's embrace.

The thought made Uchiha Ci burst into a silly grin.

This time? This time, half his body was already in the morgue. Not even Jesus could save him now!

Excitement flashed in his eyes as he sprang from the bed, gathered the papers scattered across the room, and incinerated them with a Great Fireball Jutsu, reducing them to ash.

Then he climbed back into bed, eagerly anticipating tomorrow.

"Good night, you bastards!"

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The Next Morning

At seven sharp, Uchiha Ci woke to a gloomy sky, signaling impending rain.

The wind howled, slamming the windows open and chilling him to the bone.

To greet a day brimming with death and challenges, Uchiha Ci retrieved the scroll given to him earlier by Seijiro.

He unfurled it, formed a hand seal, and summoned a custom battle outfit crafted urgently by the Uchiha Clan.

First, he discarded the Konoha forehead protector into the trash.

Then, he donned chainmail-lined clothing, long pants with leg bindings, and a black vest bearing the Uchiha Clan emblem.

He draped himself in a high-collared indigo cloak unique to the Uchiha, tied a white sash, and strapped on six ninja tool pouches and a storage scroll.

Finally, he equipped a wrist guard capable of summoning a ninja sword on his right hand and a launcher device on his left capable of firing senbon needles.

Fully armed, Uchiha Ci vaulted from the window.

Aburame Ryoma was already waiting by the roadside.

Seeing Uchiha Ci leap down, Ryoma raised an eyebrow.

The tall, well-dressed boy before him looked strikingly handsome, even if his mind seemed a bit off.

"Not bad," Ryoma remarked. "Looks like you're ready."

"But don't forget—you're a Root ninja now."

He handed Uchiha Ci a pair of black gloves and the Kusanagi Sword.

Then, with a steely gaze, Ryoma stepped forward and announced, "Target: the Rain Country. Move out!"

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