Chapter 217: The Meaning of the Will of Fire
"Now, hand over Konohamaru," Uchiha Douhuan said, looking coldly at the other party, motioning for them to hand over the person.
"Do you take me for a fool?" the Cloud ninja holding Konohamaru shouted sternly, as if a louder voice could give him more courage. "Now, escort us to the border. After Lord Raikage has safely crossed the border line, I will naturally release this brat."
"Are you threatening me?" Uchiha Douhuan's eyes narrowed slightly. The sky, which had just dawned, darkened once again, and lightning flashed within the clouds.
"Don't move!" At this moment, the Cloud ninja holding Konohamaru raised his other hand, in which he clutched an already activated explosive tag. "This explosive tag is already in an activated state. As soon as my chakra disappears, this little brat will be blown to the sky along with me."
"Interesting," Uchiha Douhuan sheathed Swift Thunder, then nodded and said, "Then let's go."
At this time, the sealing squad stepped forward, intending to place chakra-sealing formulas on the remaining Cloud ninjas.
But these remaining Cloud Village ninjas did not want to be captured without a fight. However, just as one of them drew his weapon to resist, a bolt of lightning fell precisely from the sky, striking him into a piece of charcoal.
"What are you doing?" the man holding Konohamaru roared.
"You only said to exchange your Raikage for Konohamaru. It has nothing to do with these people," Uchiha Douhuan said. "I just dealt with a few prisoners who were unwilling to be captured properly."
"You..." the man holding Konohamaru was at a loss for words for a moment, but then said, flustered and exasperated, "Of course I meant including my comrades. If you don't want anything to happen to this brat, then escort them back to the Land of Lightning with us."
"Do you think I'm too easy to talk to?" Uchiha Douhuan said coldly. "At most, one for one. Otherwise, we'll just kill the hostage, and then our two countries can go to war."
"You... this brat is your Third Hokage's grandson," the other party said through gritted teeth.
At this moment, everyone on the scene turned their gaze to Sarutobi Hiruzen. Hiruzen wanted to say a few words, but considering that Uchiha Douhuan was the real decision-maker here, if he backed down at this time, it would instead put Uchiha Douhuan at a disadvantage in this negotiation. He simply took a deep breath and, gritting his teeth, said, "Konohamaru is my grandson and will be a ninja of Konoha in the future. Everyone in my Sarutobi clan is prepared to sacrifice themselves for the village."
At this time, Uchiha Douhuan slowly spoke, "The reason I am willing to exchange your Raikage for this child, Konohamaru, is not because he is the Third Hokage's grandson, but because our Will of Fire tells us that we, the leaves, can become flames to illuminate the village's tender sprouts when needed. But that does not mean you can make unreasonable demands on us without limit. Konoha has never feared war!"
The expression on the face of the person holding Konohamaru also changed. He had originally wanted to use Sarutobi Hiruzen to stir up internal conflicts in Konoha. But to his surprise, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had once turned a blind eye to their demands for the Hyuga clan to hand over their clan head because he didn't want the war to continue, was now acting tough when his own grandson was kidnapped.
At this moment, the morale of the Konoha crowd soared because of Uchiha Douhuan's words.
Making such a great sacrifice to save a child of Konoha and saving the grandson of the Third Hokage were two completely different concepts.
Uchiha Douhuan's words made some of the ninjas from ninja clans in the crowd, especially the Hyuga clan who had experienced similar treatment, unable to help but think: if their children were to encounter such a situation in the future, would Lord Hokage also protect the village's children at all costs?
Regarding this point, no Konoha ninja present held any doubt. After all, the series of policies Uchiha Douhuan had enacted since taking office, such as prohibiting ninja academy students from graduating early, and amending village rules to forcefully set the wartime conscription age at 12, all indicated one attitude: in the Konoha where he was present, there was no need for children to go to the battlefield.
"You will first take them all to the border. The issue of prisoner exchange can be negotiated after the Raikage has returned to the Land of Lightning! Before that, you must guarantee their safety," the person holding Konohamaru said, trying to sound tough but clearly lacking confidence.
"Fine. Then let's go," Uchiha Douhuan said.
After the Konoha members finished sealing the prisoners' chakra, they tied their hands and linked them in a line. Then, they followed Uchiha Douhuan and the Third Hokage towards the border.
But at this time, Sasuke and Neji found Uchiha Douhuan.
"Teacher, Neji and I will stay here," Sasuke said. "Naruto's condition seems a bit off."
"Naruto's condition is off?" Uchiha Douhuan looked in Naruto's direction upon hearing this. He saw the boy leaning against a large, burnt-out tree, his expression dazed and his eyes lifeless. Even Deidara waving his hand constantly in front of him couldn't wake him up.
"Is it because of the battlefield?" Uchiha Douhuan looked at Naruto and understood in his heart. After all, when he first went to the battlefield, his performance wasn't much better than Naruto's.
Sasuke and Neji, because of their family background, plus the fact that they received the most standard ninja education before becoming Uchiha Douhuan's disciples, and were naturally mentally stable, had a stronger adaptability to the battlefield.
But the kind-hearted Naruto, suddenly seeing this cruel battlefield, would naturally have his worldview greatly impacted. This was the same as Uchiha Douhuan, who, having received nine years of compulsory education in his previous life and having a moral standard far exceeding the insects of the ninja world, couldn't accept the cruelty of the battlefield.
At that time, Uchiha Douhuan, although he had directly awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan under this immense stimulation, had also spent nearly a month getting used to the battlefield with the companionship and guidance of his clan senior, Uchiha Kaito, who was both a teacher and a father to him.
Uchiha Douhuan, having had this experience, understood that at this time, lectures were actually meaningless. Letting Sasuke and Neji, his companions who grew up with him, stay with him and letting him figure it all out for himself might have a better effect.
Therefore, Uchiha Douhuan nodded and said to Sasuke, "Alright, then you and Neji will stay here. Also, I'll leave the task of cleaning up the battlefield to you. You must ensure that the bodies of all our sacrificed comrades are returned to the village as intact as possible."
"Understood!" Sasuke nodded forcefully.
...
Uchiha Douhuan led Konoha's large army and rushed towards the border.
At noon, Uchiha Douhuan led the army across the Land of Hot Water and arrived at the border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Lightning.
Kakashi had already led Konoha's border troops and was in a standoff with the Cloud forces amassed on the border line.
At this moment, the Cloud's two Jinchuriki had already arrived on the battlefield, but the pair of Mangekyo Sharingan in Kakashi's eyes also made them very wary.
After all, their intelligence only said that Uchiha Douhuan couldn't use genjutsu, but it didn't mean that other Mangekyo Sharingan wielders couldn't.
Although Killer Bee and Yugito were perfect Jinchuriki, the Mangekyo Sharingan was too special after all. They didn't dare to bet on whether a Mangekyo Sharingan-level genjutsu could work on a perfect Jinchuriki.
...
(End of chapter)