"Fighting to protect the country?"

There's a blank look in Itachi's eyes.

I don't have a deep concept of Konoha, let alone the country of fire.

After all, since birth, the scope of his activities has probably been his home and training ground.

Now Artoria suddenly tells herself that she is the guardian of the Fire Nation, which makes Itachi have no ...... Get ready?

"Looks like someone is coming this way."

But before Itachi could think about the idea, Artoria's voice interrupted his thoughts, "Sounds ...... There are quite a few of them. ”

She turned slowly and looked in one direction in the forest.

On his body, the awe-inspiring aura that had risen because of the words just now was stained with a touch of coldness.

"Is it the enemy?"

Itachi asked in his mind.

Even the voice of the heart was unconsciously lowered.

Artoria shook her head and replied regretfully, "Due to the limitations of the current spirits, I can't use my magic, and I need to wait for them to appear before I can confirm my identity." ”

Itachi controlled his breathing, "yes......"

……

……

"Are these Uchiha monsters?"

"Obviously, there are three times the number of troops superior to the other party, why are they still scattered now!"

"Calm down, the Uchiha is called the strongest blood inheritance boundary group in the ninja world, and it's not for nothing."

Several Iwa ninja in dark red ninja vests galloped through the dense forest.

Among them, the leader of the Shinobi was carrying an unconscious boy on his shoulder, and the clothes worn by the young man were embroidered with the Uchiha's family crest, so that Artoria, who was a spirit, recognized his identity at a glance.

"I can't perceive the chakra, so I can only roughly judge from their clothes and forehead protection that they are an upper ninja and three middle ninjas." Artoria reminded, "Your people have been kidnapped, and it seems that they are there to study the Sharingan. ”

Reading Itachi's memories, she knew very well what the so-called blood inheritance boundary and the writing wheel eye were all about.

This kind of bloodline inheritance, which is like a treasure and can bring more powerful combat power to ninjas, often attracts the prying eyes of outsiders.

Hearing that some people had been captured, the weasel, who was curled up motionless in the hollow of the tree, replied calmly:

"If you can, please help me watch the direction they are leaving."

"When my father arrives, we can go in the right direction."

"From their words, the current situation of the war should be on our side."

Although he was trying to hide himself, he couldn't observe these people with his own eyes.

But I can hear their subtle conversations, and pick up some useful information from their words.

As for the ...... Rescue.

Itachi's heart didn't rise to the slightest thought.

A five-year-old kid who has only refined chakras and learned how to use them in simple ways wants to fight against four full-fledged ninjas? He's not so self-conscious yet.

"Obviously, I took advantage of their half-day rest to gather people, but I couldn't wipe them out? Damn it! ”

"It's already a blessing to be able to catch such a living Uchiha and leave, don't ask for too much!"

"If we can bring back this captive safely, can Lord Loess forgive us for our failure?"

The sound of conversation faded away, but its content made the originally calm Itachi unconsciously shake his body.

Whoosh –

Originally, Iwakushi, who was still talking to his teammates, suddenly paused and stopped in the shadow of a large tree.

He leaned back against the tree, and with the corner of his eye, he scanned the place he had just passed.

Through the faint moonlight, what appeared in the field of vision were the big trees, the stones that no one cared about, and the weeds all over the ground.

Other than that, there is no living thing at all.

"There's movement?"

Across a big tree, a rock hides and asked this shinobi silently with his eyes.

And the other two Iwa Shinobi were also at the moment when the upper shinobi instantaneously took out the kunai and hid in the shadows of different tree bodies, waiting for orders.

But their expressions were very puzzled.

"Just now...... I seemed to hear breathing except for us. ”

Silently typing the code with his fingers, Iwakure replied vigilantly, "When we left just now, maybe we should find a sentient ninja to bring it." ”

As he spoke, he casually threw the Uchiha boy he was carrying on his shoulder to the others beside him, "You guys wait here, I'll go over and confirm." ”

Although he didn't see anything in front of him, as a shinobi, his vigilance still made him want to go back and confirm.

"They've found you."

And under a large tree not far from where the Iwa ninja were, next to the tree hole, Artoria stared at Itachi and asked, "What are you going to do?" ”

She didn't understand.

In Artoria's eyes, Itachi has shown a maturity far beyond that of a child, and even in such a dangerous situation, he can still control his breathing and heartbeat.

But why did his breathing suddenly become heavy at that moment just now.

"Half a day."

Itachi also found his own mistakes.

The moment his breathing became heavy, the sound of conversation and footsteps in his ears was gone.

There was silence all around.

I was indeed discovered.

But Itachi was thinking not only about his own discovery, but also about the word "half a day", which represents time.

"They just said that they took advantage of the half-day rest we had to gather more than three times the number of people superior to us."

"And the time we took a break was because I asked to rest after I woke up in a coma."

That is to say...... The predicament I am in now is because of me! ”

This heavy heart, to be honest, the ferret is rising for the first time.

From the time he could remember, he had never felt heavy about the training he had asked for by his father when he was still in Konoha Village, or what he had seen and felt after he came to the battlefield.

But now just because of a word, my heart seems to be pressed against a big stone.

If it's just me, it's just me.

Whether it's death or survival, it's just a matter of oneself as a person like Uchiha Itachi.

But if it's because of me, other people's sacrifices......

Itachi's mind felt more disturbed than it had ever been,

They were ambushed because of me,

They died because of me,

Now that Uchiha man is being taken captive is also because of me......

Itachi's mind kept flashing the scenes of the fight when his father took him out of the ambush site.

One by one, the Uchiha clansmen fought under the enemy's blade,

The sound of explosions, the sound of collisions, the dull sound of flesh piercing into the bitter flesh, the sound of bones shattering,

Their blood splattered on their bodies like raindrops on their skin,

They......

"Enough!"

Suddenly, Artoria's cold voice interrupted his thoughts, "Shouldn't you be thinking about how to survive the current predicament?" ”

“…… I'll be fine. ”

But in the next moment, Itachi, who seemed to have fallen into self-doubt, responded to her in a heartfelt way.

"The insight of the writing wheel is very strong, it is absolutely impossible for these people to quietly take away a Uchiha from the battlefield, and someone will catch up soon."

"They've stopped here, maybe the next second......"

The words are not finished.

Phew-

A sound of breaking the sky rang out from a large tree near Itachi.

Then, another dull sound of "tuk" came from another big tree.

"You're right, the people of your clan are here."