Step by Step

Chapter 236: Step by Step

"I didn’t think much of it at first, but why did they have to stir up trouble for me?"

Because of the unexpected rainy weather, the caravan was moving a little slower than expected.

However, Xu Yue had considered from the start that he only needed to participate symbolically. As long as he made his stance clear, Danzo could continue carrying out the plan and exchange his reputation for Wood Style.

In that case, a Wood Clone was more than enough. His main purpose had only been to show his face and say a few words to Obito.

Yet unexpectedly, the Reincarnators on both sides proved remarkably capable this time.

Both De Gaulle and Wang Zhaoming had surpassed the level of ordinary Kage-level experts, while the other two had already reached the Kage-level threshold.

For a time, four Kage-level experts had gathered in one place!

With such an unexpected outside force appearing, he naturally had to intervene. Otherwise, if they really found Itachi and had some understanding of his abilities, Tsukuyomi missing its target could genuinely lead to things going wrong.

At thirteen, Itachi’s main abilities still depended on the Mangekyo.

Sure enough, once his Wood Clone appeared, it got dragged in as well.

Huff~

He still had to hurry. What a nuisance…

Returning to his carriage, Xu Yue left behind a Wood Clone. The next instant, his true body vanished from within the carriage…

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

The remnants of the Uchiha Clan and the Reincarnators of the Holy Saints of Heaven charged into each other with bloodshot eyes, fighting like madmen.

Xu Yue appeared atop a rooftop amid a swirl of falling leaves. Looking at the chaotic battle before him, he calmly swept his gaze over the surroundings.

"They left? Their reaction was pretty quick."

At this point, only the other Holy Saints of Heaven Reincarnators who had been left behind and could not escape remained on the battlefield, along with the Uchiha Clan members desperately attacking them.

Wang Taoming, Qi Xieyuan, and that Japanese swordsman had already disappeared.

Although Qi Xieyuan possessed a strange recovery ability that allowed him to survive even after having his head cut off, that ability clearly came at a tremendous cost. After using it repeatedly, he should have lost the ability to continue fighting.

The Japanese swordsman had also been severely injured, while Wang Taoming seemed somewhat arrogant and unwilling to keep helping them.

Thus, all that remained was a group of pitiful souls who had lost their leaders, fallen into despair, and were desperately fighting the Uchiha Clan.

Since they had left, it did not matter.

Those few still had some value if they could preserve their lives against the Wood Clone.

One of the Wood Clone’s purposes was to probe and gather intelligence. He had already learned their general circumstances…

This time, De Gaulle would probably realize that he was a Reincarnator, but it did not matter. There was no significant conflict of interest between them to begin with. Besides, whether that "rebirth," after having its mind erased by him, could even remember how it had died was another question entirely. There was no need to care.

As for Qi Xieyuan, given that cold-blooded schemer’s personality, he would probably keep it bottled up and plot in secret. Before returning to China and conducting a thorough investigation, he would most likely suspect the higher-ups of the Beiyang Army—though Xu Yue did not know whether he suspected Zhang Yulin or Wu Pei.

He only needed to squeeze him dry before he returned home…

Xu Yue quickly made some slight adjustments to his plans. The remaining three belonged to three different powerful armies, and both their strength and status were quite considerable. They would be more than useful enough for him!

"Heh~ Since I’ve already come all this way, I might as well clear the field early."

Murmuring to himself, he looked toward Fugaku’s home. Over there, it should be about finished as well.

Snake scales gradually surfaced across his cheeks. With the Longevity Art supporting him, the violent Sage Chakra unleashed by opening all Four Gates was as docile as an infant.

Sage Art: Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence

Boom!

The entire Uchiha Clan compound was transformed into a dense primeval forest…

Inside a cave outside Konoha, Uchiha Shisui sat quietly before a campfire. He raised his head toward the sky outside the cave, and sorrow filled the depths of his remaining eye.

Tonight was the night, wasn’t it…

The next instant, a group of figures suddenly appeared outside the cave.

There was a figure wearing a Cat Face Mask, along with a group of sleeping or unconscious children. The oldest was no more than three years old.

"I used the Wood Realm as cover. For the drained corpses, children under three won’t leave much of a trace, so it should be enough to fool people."

Xu Yue looked up at Shisui, his voice holding little emotion.

"Heh, preserving even a small spark is already difficult enough. If they were older and could remember things, it would only bring them pain. Let the hatred fade away with this generation…"

Looking at those children, Shisui could not help but sigh.

Having fully understood the truth of the matter through Danzo’s attitude, he had come to realize that it was better to sever such hatred and pain outright.

"This time, it was all thanks to you. Thank you."

Thank me…

Kotoamatsukami truly would not change your personality.

Though he had saved them, Xu Yue’s heart remained utterly cold. He felt neither accomplishment nor joy, nor did his emotions stir in the slightest.

It was merely…

An unconscious obedience to his mask…

"Mr. Muto, I apologize again. I never expected his follow-up attack to be so powerful. After enduring the first wave, I really couldn’t hold on."

With a deathly pale face, Qi Xieyuan knelt on the ground and prostrated himself fully as he apologized to the Japanese swordsman, Muto.

Although Muto’s expression was unpleasant, he did not say anything more. Judging from the outcome, the other man’s choice seemed to have been the right one. Both of them were injured, but that was still better than having the other man die there.

For the Empire, this important chess piece could not be allowed to come to harm.

Even so, his expression remained ugly as he nearly gritted out the words, "It’s fine."

Hearing him, Qi Xieyuan, still lying on the ground, flashed a trace of mockery in his eyes before respectfully asking, "By the way, Mr. Muto, you mentioned information about that native before. Could you explain it in greater detail? His strength was simply too terrifying."

Muto hesitated at first. He had spoken freely before for two reasons: first, they had needed to face a common enemy; second, he had thought the information was inconsequential.

But now that he had discovered how powerful that man was, he was somewhat unwilling to reveal it.

Then he remembered that the person who had gained that man’s favor was from the Beiyang Army, was he not?

Perhaps he would need to rely on Qi Xieyuan to gather related information from the Beiyang Army in the future.

With that thought, his expression eased somewhat as he said, "Actually, if you return to your army and look for that newcomer, it should be easier to get a clear answer. Since the world we entered has someone like him, that newcomer may very well be here too."

"He really was among the same group of people who studied in France. I’ll find a way to get some information out of him. We already had a bit of a conflict to begin with."

Qi Xieyuan continued speaking with respectful sincerity, and Muto was quite satisfied with his attitude. But when he was about to speak again, he seemed to aggravate his wounds and broke into a violent coughing fit.

Blood stained the palm covering his mouth.

"Huff, that attack really wasn’t easy to take. Even after using a recovery scroll, there’s still lingering damage…"

He then began telling Qi Xieyuan everything he knew.

This only made Qi Xieyuan more convinced that Zhang Yulin was the one impersonating him!

After all, only Zhang Yulin’s bandit-like nature could commit such a frenzied deception.

Tsk tsk~

He had simply cheated them out of the highest reward they had painstakingly earned through the Shogunate Gate.

Still, Zhang Yulin truly was rough on the outside but meticulous within. If not for the system prompt, Qi Xieyuan would have been completely kept in the dark.

He wondered whether he could use this information to secure enough benefits for himself.

Zhang Yulin was powerful, his strength crushing Qi Xieyuan’s, but after failing to take him down with several consecutive attacks, Zhang Yulin should understand that if Qi Xieyuan truly wanted to escape, there was nothing he could do.

Using this as leverage, making sure they stayed out of each other’s way should not be difficult. Reincarnators valued profit, after all.

He might even occasionally make a few small demands and slowly test Zhang Yulin’s limits.

Qi Xieyuan still had some confidence in his ability to survive.

"Don’t be too optimistic. Earlier, he was probably suffering backlash after defeating De Gaulle, then took my attack as well, which is why he made a strategic retreat. To this day, we don’t know whether he has temporarily left Konoha."

Wang Taoming, who had been resting with his eyes closed at the side and had not participated in their conversation, finally opened his eyes and spoke calmly.

"I have already done what I promised. The rest has nothing to do with me."

"Brother Ji Xin, you can’t just leave your elder brother alone like this. Prince Su, he…"

Before Qi Xieyuan could finish, Wang Taoming interrupted him.

"That is why I have already acted twice. What else are you dissatisfied with?"

His cold attitude made Qi Xieyuan open his mouth, only to close it again.

However, Muto, who had been observing coldly from the side, spoke up at that moment.

"Mr. Wang, let’s not bring up Prince Su this time. We can make a proper transaction instead. As it happens, our army has a piece of information we have not been able to use, but it may be useful to you. Would you be interested? It concerns the final boss, Zewu Shen…"

There will still be two updates today.

Three updates tomorrow. Definitely three updates tomorrow…