In the following days, both sides, as if by prior agreement, began to mobilize their forces, directing them towards that town. However, the Konoha shinobi did not know that the Sand Hidden Village's shinobi troops' true target was not there. This intelligence gap was bound to cause them trouble.
The main combat forces would be deployed in the town, adopting a defensive strategy—a tactic they had always used against the Sand Hidden Village's shinobi troops with consistent success. The moment Uchiha Kagami's surprise attack team appeared from the rear would be their time to counterattack.
To facilitate travel through the mountain paths and increase speed, Uchiha Kagami only brought a hundred shinobi. Although it was only a hundred people, they were the elite of the forces, shinobi who had undergone numerous trials in the Second Shinobi World War. Their strength was not to be underestimated, and they were perfectly capable of undertaking the surprise attack mission.
Uchiha Setsuna had hoped to be given a support mission, which would allow him to intervene in time if Uchiha Kagami encountered a Sand Hidden Village ambush and miraculously survived. However, the outcome disappointed him; he was placed in the main combat position.
Nevertheless, Uchiha Setsuna did not get discouraged. Although he wasn't given a support mission, it didn't mean he couldn't infiltrate. There were many members of the Uchiha clan in this operation, some of whom were the hawkish members loyal to Uchiha Setsuna. Deep down, they supported Uchiha Setsuna and opposed the clan head, Uchiha Kagami.
Conveniently, some of these individuals were in the support team, giving Uchiha Setsuna an opportunity to blend in. By using the Transformation Jutsu, under the cover of his close associates, no one would surely discover anything amiss. As for his original position, a capable person would be needed to fill it.
In the camp, Uchiha Setsuna secretly contacted those individuals. He did not engage in any substantive discussions, as that would be too conspicuous. He merely slipped notes into their hands, trusting that they would destroy the evidence, and he just had to await their reply.
And as expected, these individuals had always followed Uchiha Setsuna. Deep down, what they desired was not the current "submissive" Uchiha Police Force, but the powerful and arrogant Uchiha clan of the past. Only that appearance truly belonged to the Uchiha.
—Good, your good days are numbered, Uchiha Kagami.
During the combat meeting, Uchiha Setsuna silently watched Uchiha Kagami eloquently speaking before everyone, a slight smirk playing on his lips. However, no one noticed this subtle smile, and even if they did, they couldn't possibly grasp its profound meaning.
"The primary focus of this operation is containment. We must delay the enemy's advance as much as possible, slowly stretching out their formation," Uchiha Kagami said. "As the commander, I am naturally their main target. You must make good use of this point."
One of the reasons Uchiha Kagami chose to personally lead the surprise attack team was to make the enemy misjudge and underestimate the strength of the defense forces. Therefore, someone would need to impersonate Uchiha Kagami, while the real Uchiha Kagami would launch a surprise attack from behind. With Uchiha Kagami's strength, he could pose a significant threat.
"However, it seems rather inappropriate for you, sir, to personally put yourself in danger," someone said at this point.
—Don't meddle!
Uchiha Setsuna's expression darkened, and he shot a glance at the speaker. He was not a forgiving person. If Uchiha Kagami were to escape this ordeal because of this, that person would need to be careful. He couldn't directly attack Uchiha Kagami, but couldn't he deal with just one person?
"Traveling through this area is quite troublesome, and not everyone can pass through. Considering the enemy's threat and the efficiency of the operation, it's better if I go personally," Uchiha Kagami replied.
Uchiha Kagami had always been at the forefront, leading by example, and he never lacked the courage to take risks. Therefore, he was highly respected by the shinobi. Even when someone tried to dissuade him, he did not abandon this operation. While it certainly carried some risk, Uchiha Kagami trusted his village's intelligence protection.
This point had been repeatedly confirmed.
In terms of intelligence gathering, the Sand Hidden Village was indeed no match for the Konoha Hidden Village. In direct combat, it might be different, but for activities in niche, secret locations, obtaining intelligence was very difficult. For this operation, Uchiha Kagami had the Anbu protect the intelligence meticulously and spread many false reports to mislead the opponent.
Theoretically, although there were risks, they were very low. However, Uchiha Kagami had not anticipated that a shadowy figure could move freely and secretly, and that there was also a traitor in his own camp. This led to the leakage of the operation plan.
However, it was also because of this that Zetsu was convinced that after this plan, he would no longer be able to move easily. In a situation where intelligence should not have been leaked, it was leaked anyway. Was there an internal spy, or did the enemy have some special means? Whichever it was, Konoha Hidden Village would surely take corresponding measures, and Zetsu would not be so impulsive as to run around with Uchiha Setsuna again.
If others noticed such a special existence wandering around outside, future actions would inevitably be restricted. So, it never entered places where it might expose itself, such as Konoha Hidden Village, which has a special barrier on its surface inherited by the Senju clan from Asura. After being perfected by the Uzumaki clan, Zetsu would risk exposure if it tried to sneak in. Therefore, no matter what, it never personally set foot in Konoha Hidden Village.
Seeing Uchiha Kagami's insistence, no one raised any objections. Uchiha Setsuna couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. If this plan were missed, there wouldn't be such a good opportunity in the future. The reason was the same as Zetsu's thought: after such meticulous arrangements, if the Sand Hidden Village's shinobi troops could still set an ambush, there must be a problem.
Perhaps due to nervousness, Uchiha Setsuna felt his heart beating very fast. The moment they set off, he felt it almost leap out of his chest. He knew that what followed would be a major operation, and if it failed, all their efforts would be in vain.
As the main forces headed to the town to garrison, Uchiha Setsuna personally led the surprise attack team towards the smuggling valley. The valley's terrain was complex, difficult for ordinary people to pass through. Even with the agility of a shinobi, getting through smoothly was not easy, and even if they did, they might not be able to preserve their stamina for a surprise attack.
Although they had heard of the treacherousness of the place, when the surprise attack team saw it with their own eyes, they were all astonished by the complexity of the valley. Uchiha Kagami's expression was calm; for him, it was no trouble. However, he was not alone; he had to lead others through it.
"Let's go. Everyone, be careful and follow my route," Uchiha Kagami said, turning to the others behind him, who quickly nodded.
Immediately, Uchiha Kagami led the group forward through the valley. The terrain here was treacherous; it would naturally be a chosen place for an ambush. However, precisely because it was too obvious, anyone with a bit of common sense would know not to go through here. Moreover, it didn't connect to any important locations. Unless intelligence was provided beforehand, no one would set an ambush here.
Precisely because of this, Uchiha Kagami's intelligence protection for passage through this area was watertight. He did not believe that the Sand Hidden Village could obtain intelligence about this place. However, the subsequent intelligence made Uchiha Kagami doubt his judgment, because just as he reached a relatively stable spot, the surrounding rock walls suddenly trembled, then rapidly collapsed, falling from above.
Although the members of the surprise attack team noticed, due to the terrain, some were unable to dodge in time and were hit by rocks. Even if they weren't killed, their bodies lost balance and fell. Fortunately, most of them managed to dodge.
Immediately after, people appeared on both sides of the valley. Among them were shinobi from the Sand Hidden Village and the Stone Hidden Village. The previous attack was carried out by shinobi from the Stone Hidden Village. Their numbers were not large, but in such treacherous terrain, they already constituted a formidable force.
"You—" Uchiha Kagami's mood was imaginable. He had never expected an ambush here. Despite going to such lengths, the enemy still obtained the intelligence. His first thought was that there was an internal spy in the camp.
The ambushing Sand Hidden shinobi also seemed somewhat surprised. They recognized the person in front as Uchiha Kagami, the commander of Konoha's Second Shinobi Force. Everyone had seen his portrait. Why would such a person appear in this place?
"How could this be—" The Sand Hidden shinobi immediately felt something was amiss. The intelligence never mentioned Uchiha Kagami personally leading a small team. In the secret intelligence Chiyo obtained, it only stated that there would be a surprise attack team led by elite jōnin. Although Uchiha Kagami was indeed a jōnin in terms of rank, this jōnin was not the jōnin the Sand Hidden shinobi imagined.
"Hey, what are you doing?" The Stone Hidden shinobi called over to assist asked, seeing the Sand Hidden shinobi as if they had seen a ghost.
And just at this moment, this Stone Hidden shinobi suddenly felt a sensation of emptiness under his feet. He looked down and found that he had somehow stepped off the ground, misstepping. In his inner shock, his body involuntarily lost balance. At this point, his head spun for a moment, and his body suddenly felt like it was falling.
"Wait, whoa!" He involuntarily swung his body, trying to get back on the ground, but he had completely left the ground and was plummeting into the valley.
The moment they met, Uchiha Kagami revealed his Sharingan, instantly trapping the opponents in a genjutsu. Although the abilities of the Sharingan can be divided into the Eye of Insight, the Copying Eye, and the Eye of Hypnotism, each Uchiha clan member will have areas of focus, which depends on both innate talent and acquired effort, with the former having a higher proportion.
For example, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke, the former is a typical Sharingan with a focus on genjutsu, while the latter focuses on other aspects. The result is that their fighting styles and even the abilities of their Mangekyo Sharingan differ. Itachi possesses the genjutsu Tsukuyomi, which drags people into a spiritual world, while Sasuke's abilities include the offensive Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi, which gives form changes to Amaterasu. Sasuke also cannot use genjutsu abilities comparable to Itachi's.
Uchiha Kagami's descendant would later be Uchiha Shisui, the strongest Uchiha shinobi before Itachi. At a young age, he earned the title "Shisui of the Body Flicker" during the Third Shinobi World War. In a battle against the Mist Hidden Village, he, with just a few others, forced an elite Mist Hidden shinobi squad to retreat, relying on his powerful genjutsu.
Uchiha Shisui's genjutsu talent was even superior to Itachi's. Not to mention the Mangekyo Sharingan-level genjutsu Kotoamatsukami, even with conventionally cast genjutsu, Uchiha Shisui could unleash genjutsu that surpassed Itachi's, not only in power but also in range.
As Uchiha Kagami was his ancestor, his talent also leaned towards genjutsu. Perhaps he didn't possess genjutsu talent as powerful as Uchiha Shisui's, but in terms of range, there wasn't much difference. At the distance where the Sand Hidden and Stone Hidden shinobi were, the genjutsu of ordinary Uchiha clan members wouldn't reach that far, but Uchiha Kagami could.
Therefore, when the enemy appeared, Uchiha Kagami first used genjutsu to catch them off guard, taking down three shinobi, including the falling Stone Hidden shinobi. At the same time, he loudly shouted to the others: "Find stable cover, counterattack."
Uchiha Kagami knew that at this moment, retreating was not an option. Once he showed his back, he would only die faster. Even if the enemy had the advantage of terrain, Uchiha Kagami had observed that no shinobi of Chiyo's caliber had appeared. As long as there were no shinobi of that level, he was confident he could force his way out.
Thus, the ambushing Sand Hidden and Stone Hidden shinobi clashed with the ambushed Konoha Hidden Village shinobi in the valley. Simultaneously, fighting also broke out among the Konoha support forces outside. Uchiha Setsuna, who had infiltrated using the Transformation Jutsu, estimated the time, believing that the surprise attack team might have already entered the ambush zone.
Seeing this, Uchiha Setsuna looked up and nodded to his five companions. The latter understood. As everyone waited, he and his companions slowly approached each other, as if by prior agreement. Then, they simultaneously revealed their Sharingan and launched an attack almost at the same time. With the mutual assistance of their Sharingan and the sudden advantage, the Konoha shinobi responsible for support were completely annihilated without any power to resist.
Ignoring the shock and anger of these so-called companions in their dying moments, Uchiha Setsuna released the Transformation Jutsu and exhaled deeply. The intensity of the battle seemed to reawaken the blood within him—a feeling entirely different from fighting shinobi from other countries.
The five Uchiha clan members stood behind Uchiha Setsuna. Now, only six people remained here, all of whom were Uchiha Kagami's enemies. Even if Uchiha Kagami could miraculously escape, he would surely be severely exhausted and wouldn't be able to survive against them.
However, at this moment, Uchiha Setsuna did not know that there were no high-ranking Sand Hidden shinobi in the ambush circle, as he had expected.