Chapter 008 | Kaoru-san, I think …

Without a word, the two walked to where the Konoha cemetery was located.

Some bleak cemeteries were covered with withered and yellow leaves. During the war, the names on the memorial tablets were increasing, but their relatives and friends wouldn't always have time to come and pay their respects.

"Jiro, Yuki, even Aoki-sensei ..."

Manoshi rubbed his hands on the memorial tablet, and the sunken lines on the cold tablet were so heavy.

"Fighting Suna head-on is not at all the same as the pressure that the Kiri Shinobi put on us. " Oki Miyamoto stood behind Manoshi, caught up in memories, "Suna is too cunning. Puppets, poisons, everything. If not for the presence of Tsunade-sama, I'm afraid the front lines would have already collapsed. "

At this time, in Konoha, Sakumo Hatake committed suicide, Tsunade suffering from hemophobia and unable to fight, Jiraiya stationed on the battlefield of the Land of Rain, and Orochimaru fought head-on with Suna, while Hyuga and Uchiha took precautions against Kiri.

It's not that Konoha had no one, but the battlefronts were too spread out.

"Manoshi-sama, if you were still around, perhaps everyone wouldn't have been sacrificed. "

Under the blowing of autumn wind, Manoshi's clothes rustled. He was silent for a moment and slowly said, "I can't do it. "

Oki Miyamoto, however, fell to his knees. With only one arm left to support the side of his body and his forehead resting heavily on the ground, he shouted excitedly, "If I can sacrifice myself for the lives of my companions, then let me, a crippled man, make the last contribution to Konoha. Use my eyes to reproduce the light for you!"

"What nonsense are you talking about, you bastard!"

Manoshi turned around, knocked the defenseless Oki to the ground with his stick, and then pulled off the bandage tied around his eyes -- the hollow sockets "looked" into Oki's eyes.

"Just because you lost an arm, you want to avoid your responsibility? You've got plenty of opportunities to contribute to Konoha! Besides, I, Manoshi Uchiha, don't need charity from others!"

Hearing such self-destructive thoughts from his former colleague, Manoshi only felt the blood rush to his brain. The anger that had nowhere to vent was amplified by the increase in the power of the divine dragon.

"Snap -- bang!"

Right in front of Oki's eyes, Manoshi let out his anger and swept his walking stick at a big tree nearby. Half a meter thick in diameter, the tree was in its prime and had a "large waist"; it was cut off under the stick.

Oki, who had just been hit with the same walking stick, gulped and watched Manoshi leave.

　　...

As the saying goes, knowing wasn't difficult, but doing was.

Sometimes, it was challenging to put what you knew into practice.

After losing his eyes, Manoshi had been trying to adapt and become stronger. However, under the influence of his environment (especially Kaoru Uchiha), he subconsciously always took "I'm no longer a shinobi" as an excuse.

"Obviously, I said I wanted to become someone who dominates power, but I almost ended up ..."

'Losing the original intention to the so-called "saving strength", "having a useful body," and constantly retreating; once it becomes a habit, doesn't it mean living like Danzō?'

Manoshi sat at home, reflecting on what he had done over the past two months.

'Retiring to become an "ordinary person" was in the plan.'

'Exercise to adapt to new sensory ways was in the plan.'

'Proceeding to change the Konoha system and Uchiha prestige was in the plan.'

'The war with the Land of Wind was fierce, but he was unaware, so it was unplanned.'

'Then there was only one truth! Gentle and caring-san (Kaoru Uchiha) did a lot of harm!'

The sun would set on the mountainside at dusk, the curved crescent moon already hanging in the sky.

When Kaoru Uchiha came home after a busy day, she saw Manoshi sitting in the living room, facing the door with a straight face and saying nothing.

"Uh, what's wrong, Manoshi-kun? Are the bandages you changed to today uncomfortable?"

The girl stood in the doorway, gently put away her shoes, and asked carefully.

"You already knew, didn't you? So why didn't you tell me about the unfavorable battle situation at the front? " Instead of responding to the girl, Manoshi asked.

"It's not good news. What's the use of telling you, other than to upset you? "

Kaoru Uchiha took off her somewhat constricting ninja uniform, hung it up on a side hanger, and walked gingerly to the kitchen -- ever since she learned of Manoshi's increasingly sensitive hearing, she became more aware of the noises she made.

The light-footed Kaoru asked as she took the apron out of the high cupboard and tied it around her body.

"What would you like to eat tonight?"

"Kaoru-san, I want to go to the front. " Manoshi whispered, and so, Kaoru Uchiha, who was busy in the kitchen, couldn't hear him clearly.

"What did you say?" The girl who had just tied her apron stuck her head out of the kitchen, afraid she had heard correctly, and asked again, "What did you say you wanted to eat?"

"I'm needed on the front lines." Manoshi finally made up his mind, clutching the polished walking stick in his hand. "I'm leaving for the front-line tomorrow. "

"Manoshi-kun, how could you?!" Kaoru Uchiha rushed out of the kitchen angrily, knelt opposite Manoshi, and slapped the table. Fortunately, the table was solid enough; otherwise, it would have been "killed" on the spot. After all, the girl had made significant progress.

"You clearly said you wouldn't be worrying me anymore. Don't you know whether you can fight in a chaotic battlefield in your condition?"

"I'm sure I can defend myself. "

In Manoshi's view, with the blessing of the "Safeguard", he could completely ignore the threat of the greatest number of Genins on the battlefield. Thus, he wasn't even worried by a certain number of Jōnins, and there was no possibility of losing his life.

If he had backed out of doing his part on the front lines because of the slightest possibility, he would have a guilty conscience for his entire life.

Moreover, making a name for himself at the front line was also the best way to achieve fame during the war. Many things had to be done after he got a say in Konoha.

"Then I'll go with you!"

"It's not up to you to say whether you can go or not. It's up to Hokage-sama and the Clan Head. "

"Then, aren't you the same? "

Manoshi was stunned, but he was happy, "I'm different. I am a civilian now, and civilians can go wherever they want. Hokage-sama has no reason to stop me either. "

.....

Leaving aside how Kaoru Uchiha "pestered" Manoshi. On the other side of the village, in a hidden underground facility, two men were hiding in the dark shadows, one behind the other.

"My lord, Manoshi Uchiha has fallen into the trap. " The man who was half-kneeling behind the other man bowed his head and reported his mission without emotion.

"Oh. After all, it's just a 12-year-old kid, not enough to worry about. Go ahead. Wait for an opportunity to eradicate Manoshi Uchiha on the way to the front line." The figure standing in front touched the new bandage on his right eye and sadly said, "The wasted pair of Mangekyō Sharingan is a pity. "