In an instant.
Fragments filled the sky.
The entire body of Edo Tensei Danzō was blown apart by Samehada, Kiba, and the Executioner's Blade.
Izumi, Minami, and Tamao naturally knew that Edo Tensei Danzō couldn't truly be killed, but their goal was to restrain this bastard!
"Lord Danzō!"
"Stop them!"
The shinobi of the Shimura clan roared, but they didn't lose their composure. Standing at a distance, they rapidly formed hand seals and unleashed their ninjutsu.
In a flash, the shelter was lit up by flames from Fire Release. The terrain shifted under Earth Release, and the ground trembled violently.
After a barrage of miscellaneous jutsu, the Shimura elite once again quickly formed seals with practiced coordination, unleashing their specialty—Wind Release.
In an instant, sharp gales tore forward like countless blades, carving deep scars into rock and soil alike.
An ordinary shinobi struck by such a collective Wind Release would surely be shredded instantly.
Down below, ordinary civilians in the shelter huddled together on the ground, trembling.
They could feel the violent winds roaring above, their hearts in their throats, not daring to breathe.
In truth, the main battlefield was at the higher levels of the inner wall, separate from the ruined lower-level shelter.
But before the hundred Shimura shinobi could even assess the destruction caused by their jutsu—
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Six more Uchiha, all wielding three-tomoe Sharingan, leapt from the skies with furious roars, unleashing a massive fire technique.
Naturally, they wouldn't foolishly unleash Fire Release directly against the wind. While chakra affinities dictated that fire overcomes wind, facing headwinds meant it would come down to a contest of raw chakra power.
Six against a hundred—chakra advantage or not, the Uchihas would be pushed back.
Boom!
Fireballs erupted, splitting apart midair into countless smaller ones, flickering like fiery phoenix tails.
When those fireballs clashed against the Wind Release chakra, the basketball-sized flames instantly doubled in diameter.
The flaming spheres rained down upon the Shimura troops, igniting the ground in a massive blaze.
Many Shimura shinobi were struck, engulfed in fire, and their agonized screams echoed.
"Scatter!"
A commander roared, and their formation split apart in both directions.
The six Uchiha landed with the fireballs, charging forward, hunting down any isolated Shimura shinobi.
Having endured multiple brushes with despair and extreme emotions during their escape, the nine Uchiha chosen by Uchiha Yu now all possessed ocular powers just beneath Mangekyō level—the very peak of three-tomoe strength.
"Captain…"
Nonoyu clenched her teeth, pushing up the round glasses on her nose, eager to strike.
She too wanted to fight, to give Danzō the beating he deserved for his schemes.
"You stay here. Be my eyes. Watch more, think more, and analyze the details that seem normal but are actually abnormal."
Uchiha Yu thought for a moment before reminding her calmly.
He carefully observed the battle, as though waiting for something.
"Yes—"
Yu's words calmed the agitation and unease within Nonoyu.
Though she didn't fully understand the meaning behind his last words—was it because he thought she couldn't yet fully control her Byakugan?
Nonoyu turned back to the main battlefield between Konoha and the Three Great Villages, her tone grave:
"Captain, just now Konoha had a small skirmish with Kumogakure and Sunagakure. But at this moment, they've all completely ceased fighting."
"Mm." Uchiha Yu's expression remained calm as he continued watching the Uchihas' battle.
At present, Konoha, the Three Great Villages, and the Uchiha formed a three-way standoff.
Yu wanted to use the Three Great Villages to further wear down Konoha's forces.
At the same time, the villages sought to use Yu to destroy Konoha's rear shelters.
Now Konoha's frontline was besieged, and their shelters devastated.
This triangular balance had subtly shifted.
Iwagakure was the first to withdraw from the battlefield, circling to the east behind Root's defenses.
Kumogakure and Sunagakure, unwilling to expend everything, refrained from pushing forward, not wishing to sacrifice too much to consume Konoha.
After all, the alliance of Iwa, Kumo, and Suna was never stable to begin with.
Winning against Konoha was one thing.
But after victory, they would still have to divide Konoha's spoils with whatever forces remained.
To Uchiha Yu, it didn't matter—he had already achieved his goal at this stage.
Now, lingering here…
He was simply finding amusement.
With that thought, Yu raised his head, glancing at Shikamaru and the others hiding by the railings.
The other Konoha rookies were also watching the battle atop the inner wall.
Only Shikamaru felt the weight of someone's gaze. After a brief pause, he glanced downward—
And locked eyes with Uchiha Yu.
Yu's gaze was calm as a lake, yet his crimson Mangekyō was enough to make one's blood run cold.
Shikamaru instinctively averted his eyes, a chill running down his spine, breath caught, body trembling.
"What's wrong, Shikamaru?"
Chōji asked.
"Run…"
Shikamaru's pupils suddenly lit up with the imprint of the Yasakani, a red glow flashing before disappearing.
"Running… there's no running away. The kikaichū told me that there are still many other shinobi from the other villages behind the passage," Shino sighed.
"Shikamaru… so you're also from the Uchiha clan!" Chōji stared at Shikamaru, seeing that imprint of the Sharingan, and sucked in a sharp breath.
"What are you talking about, don't spout nonsense, Chōji!" Shikamaru suddenly stood up.
He glanced at his companions in alarm, only to find that Chōji, Ino, Kiba, Shino, and Sakura all had the Yasakani imprint in their pupils.
"Hiss—" Shikamaru's scalp tingled.
He leaned against the rock wall, but his heart felt colder than the stone at his back.
In that moment, Shikamaru understood.
He now knew how the Third Hokage's death in front of the Hokage building had come to be.
Chōji and the others looked at each other, panic and fear spreading among them.
Meanwhile, the battle between the Uchiha and the Shimura clans quickly turned into a many-against-few situation.
Mikoto was protecting Sasuke, Uchiha Yu was overseeing the fight, and Nonō was observing the battlefield—meaning only nine Uchiha in total had joined the battle.
"Raaah—!"
One Uchiha's face twisted ferociously, the three tomoe of his Sharingan darting sharply across the battlefield.
His dynamic vision was pushed to the extreme.
With a roar, he dodged one ninjutsu after another, slipping past the close-quarters assaults of the Shimura shinobi.
Spotting an opening, he swung his blade in reverse, quick as lightning, cleaving a Shimura's face and Konoha forehead protector in one stroke.
Blood sprayed across his face, but it only ignited the boundless fighting spirit deep in his bones.
The Uchiha had long been treated as a dulled blade by Konoha. Yet, after the Night of the Massacre and years of fleeing, Uchiha Yu had personally wiped the rust from its edge, making it gleam coldly once more.
In the blink of an eye, Edo Tensei Danzo's body reformed. When he opened his eyes again, he was shocked to find that most of the Shimura shinobi he had brought were already dead or wounded.
"Danzo, you old dog!!"
Tamao cursed as he descended from above, his blade slicing toward Danzo's neck.
"It's you!"
Danzo whipped his head around, recalling who Tamao was—but it was too late. His neck was severed by the massive blade.
Danzo: "…"
As his head fell, Izumi struck it with Samehada, smashing it like a watermelon against the rock wall where it burst into scraps of paper.
Nanpū instantly appeared, grabbing Danzo's regenerating body, intending to carry him away.
But at that moment, space around Edo Tensei Danzo twisted strangely.
Unlike Kamui's distortion, several black shadows flickered into existence at high speed.
Immediately after, Genma Shiranui, Raido Namiashi, and Iwashi Tatami formed a triangle, raising their hands together in unison:
"Flying Thunder Formation Jutsu!"
And standing in the middle of the three, was a face everyone recognized: Hiruzen Sarutobi!
In the underground shelter—
"He's still alive…"
Nonō's pupils shrank.
When she turned to look at Uchiha Yu, she saw his expression remain calm and unchanged—it seemed he had already anticipated Hiruzen Sarutobi's revival through Edo Tensei.
Instead, Uchiha Yu seemed more interested in Genma's squad.
That team had once served as the Fourth Hokage's personal guard, which was why Minato Namikaze had taught them the Flying Thunder Formation.
Working together, they could transport someone to a marked location.
Uchiha Yu guessed that the mark must have been placed on one of the Shimura shinobi.
Otherwise, if Danzo's body were destroyed, the mark would have vanished with it.
As for Hiruzen Sarutobi being revived with Edo Tensei…
"Captain, the Third… wasn't Hiruzen Sarutobi already dead, his body reduced to nothing?" Nonō asked.
"The Edo Tensei requires the deceased's flesh and a sacrifice. Konoha never lacked sacrifices—but as for the flesh of the dead…"
"I understand!" Nonō's brows rose, then froze.
Uchiha Yu gave a faint nod.
She recalled what her Byakugan had seen earlier when the Sarutobi clan had arrived.
At that time, the Sarutobi—including Hiruzen himself—had their arms and forearms wrapped in white bandages.
Their arms bore small cuts hastily treated with medical ninjutsu.
Back then, Nonō hadn't thought much of it—she assumed they had just returned injured from the front lines. But now she realized—those wounds were from when they had extracted flesh for Edo Tensei.
"Captain, I'm sorry!"
Nonō's face showed shame.
She was supposed to be Uchiha Yu's eyes.
Yet she had failed to notice such an important detail, needing Yu to point it out.
But Uchiha Yu didn't mind.
Everyone needed training and growth.
Just like the weak Uchiha of the past—now they were at least somewhat useful.
Suddenly, an anomaly occurred. Minami, Tamao, and Izumi turned back in horror.
The Hiruzen Sarutobi who had just been obliterated by a forbidden jutsu with nothing left of him—had come back again.
"No… look—his body is covered in cracks. This too is Edo Tensei!"
Izumi's eyes widened at the sight of the Third Hokage.
She immediately noticed that the opponent's face was the same as Danzo's—cracks all over, utterly devoid of any sign of life.
The reanimated Sarutobi Hiruzen sensed the space stabilizing, and suddenly opened his eyes, sweeping across the battlefield.
In a deep voice, he said:
"Everyone, go carry out your missions. Leave this place to me!"
"Yes, sir—"
With that, Genma's squad vanished from sight, teleporting away again.
"This body… it really makes me feel like I've returned to my prime!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression darkened as he pressed in close against Tamao, Minamikaze, and Izumi.
His taijutsu was agile and unpredictable, easily evading the slashes from the three, moving like a nimble monkey.
By the time their blades struck where Hiruzen had stood moments before, he had already leapt to the top of the rocky outcrop.
Leaping up and down.
Moving with ease.
Sarutobi Hiruzen flitted about like a butterfly among flowers.
Using shadow clones and close-combat techniques, he played his opponents skillfully, easily snatching Danzo's body from Izumi and the others.
"So fast—"
Izumi gritted her teeth, her three tomoe spinning as they tried to track the black blur before her, but the more she looked, the harder it was to focus. She blocked a heavy punch with her blade and staggered back.
Minami and Tamao were in the same situation.
The three of them suddenly realized just how vast the gap was between them and a Kage-level shinobi.
The reanimated Danzo they had been pummeling before was nothing compared to the reanimated Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"This is… a modified Edo Tensei."
Uchiha Yu's lips curled slightly—he had already guessed who was currently stationed in Konoha.
"Captain, Izumi and the others aren't a match for Sarutobi Hiruzen!" Nono said in a low voice.
"Mm."
Uchiha Yu responded calmly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had likely recovered about sixty or seventy percent of his prime strength. Against a few young Uchiha, that was more than enough.
But to instantly kill three Sharingan users at once—even Hiruzen at this state would need time.
Suddenly—
Uchiha Yu's right hand trembled slightly as he summoned Dark Moon. A jet-black blade slowly appeared.
Its curved edge was smooth and seamless, merging perfectly with the surrounding space. Even the tiniest dust particles falling against it seemed as though they would be sliced clean in two.
Nono saw that Uchiha Yu was about to act.
She immediately let out a sigh of relief, the tension in her chest vanishing.
After all, their captain was simply too strong.
But when she looked back to the battlefield, she noticed Uchiha Yu wasn't rushing to aid Izumi and the others.
While Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo held everyone's attention at the front lines, a high-frequency spatial tremor suddenly rippled above the inner wall's railing, where no one was watching.
Genma's squad materialized out of thin air.
"Everyone, stand between us—we'll take you out of here!" Shiranui Genma said gravely.
He held a senbon between his teeth.
Their mission this time wasn't just to teleport the reanimated Sarutobi Hiruzen to the front lines—
They also had to rescue the children of the clan leaders from the shelter.
Originally, the Flying Thunder Formation could only carry one person, but with Tobirama's adjustments, it could now transport multiple people within a short range.
As Genma spoke, he suddenly noticed that Kurama Yakumo wasn't moving. She sat quietly in front of her drawing board.
"Hey, now isn't the time to be painting!" Genma barked.
He reached out to pull her away—
But froze.
On the canvas was a vivid depiction of him leaning against a stone wall, with Benfoot Raimu and Iwashi Tatami lying dead at his feet, bloodied and broken on the railing platform.
Lifelike.
Tragically real.
The only thing missing was the coloring of blood.
"Run… run! Don't save us!" Shikamaru suddenly widened his eyes, crying out hoarsely.
Kurama Yakumo's face darkened, her paintbrush stained with red pigment halting mid-stroke.
Then she raised her head to look behind the others, and a strange smile crept across her lips.
The other boys and girls opened their eyes wide.
The atmosphere froze into something eerily tense.
"…"
°°°
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