With Darui captured and C fleeing, these developments did not push the remaining Cloud ninja (Kumo-nin) to surrender or retreat. Quite the opposite, in fact. At the brink of defeat, these Cloud ninjas launched a desperate counterattack, throwing everything they had into it. However, this doesn't mean that the Cloud ninjas were indifferent to death.
More accurately, the education they received since childhood outweighed their fear of death.
In the ninja's mindset, death is not terrifying. What's truly terrifying is the shame of surviving without completing a mission. Besides, at this point, even if they tried to run, escape was unlikely. The Cloud ninjas' military training allowed them to accurately assess how dire their situation was.
The battle had raged for about ten minutes, with over 700 Cloud ninjas killed. Excluding the 20 or so who retreated with C, only around 400 Cloud ninjas remained. On the other hand, Konoha's casualties were fewer than 50.
In other words, the Cloud ninjas' numbers advantage had been reduced to the extreme.
The most devastating blow was the defeat of their commander, Darui, while Shisui was now free to unleash his [Shunshin] technique. On the battlefield, Shisui's speed in taking lives was approaching that of the Fourth Hokage, though he couldn't cover multiple battlefronts at once—only excelling in one area.
Whether they consciously realized they had become trapped or their instincts kicked in, the Cloud ninjas fought like madmen, risking their lives in the process.
But unfortunately,
They were neither Senju Hashirama nor Uchiha Madara. No matter how hard they fought, they couldn't shift the scales of victory.
"The Flying Thunder God Technique... I might get a chance to witness it firsthand after this battle ends, huh?"
As Shisui continued cutting down his foes, his thoughts turned to a conversation he had with Sougen after defeating the Mist ninjas. Regrettably, he hadn't had the opportunity to return to Konoha and learn the Flying Thunder God technique, since he had come directly to the front lines of the Land of Hot Water.
To outsiders, Shisui appeared polite, humble, and gentle—someone who exuded warmth and charm.
But deep down,
He still harbored the pride of the Uchiha.
He had never doubted his own talent. Even Sougen didn't seem more powerful than him in terms of training. The only peer he considered equal was Itachi, though this was only in terms of their ninja training. In other matters, Shisui was quite self-aware; for example, he knew he couldn't handle clan leadership like Sougen could.
Five more minutes passed, The last Cloud ninja fell as Shisui sliced open his throat, blood spraying as he collapsed to the ground. The battle with Darui's main Cloud ninja force was over. The Cloud ninjas had been utterly defeated: their commander captured, their vice commander fled, and over 1,000 Cloud ninjas lay dead.
Konoha, already at a numerical disadvantage, didn't have the manpower to handle a large number of prisoners. They only needed Darui, the big fish, while the rest would just be a burden.
Shisui flicked his empty sword.
The blood splattered on the blade scattered cleanly, leaving the sword looking as pristine as if it had just come out of its sheath, without a single scratch. In contrast, Darui's once-fine longsword had been nicked and damaged in several places after his capture.
The quality of one's ninja tools
Greatly impacts a ninja's combat performance.
"Fugaku-senpai, did you send them?"
Shisui sheathed his sword and turned to Uchiha Fugaku, who was approaching.
"I've already sent Itachi and Kimimaro. Though they're young, they travel quickly, and since the clan leader has already prepared for this, we shouldn't have to hold out too long," Fugaku replied carefully, explaining both what he had done and why.
"Taking the Kusatsu Highlands is just the beginning. This battle is far from over."
Shisui muttered to himself.
Regardless of whether C and his group managed to escape, as long as the Cloud ninjas weren't complete fools, they'd have sent word before the fight even began. It was likely that reinforcements would arrive soon, and perhaps the real Cloud ninja main force would be on its way.
"The real battle is still ahead."
Fugaku agreed, noting that defeating Darui's forces was only the start. The real fight would soon unfold.
"Tetsuka."
Shisui called out to Uchiha Tetsuka, who had four swords strapped to his waist like a walking armory. "Pass the word to everyone: don't bother cleaning up the battlefield too thoroughly. Gather our dead and let the others rest and recover their strength. We have a hard fight ahead, and everyone should save their chakra and stamina."
"Don't worry, Shisui! Everyone knows what to do. We're just checking to make sure no one's pretending to be dead."
Uchiha Tetsuka chuckled, no longer the stern figure he was when following his brother, Uchiha Inoka, in the clan. Covered in blood with a stiff smile, he looked terrifying enough to scare the younger members of the clan.
"Good. As long as you're aware. Also, find Meirei and have him step up the security."
"Got it."
"And make sure the injured, those who can't move, and those barely hanging on are moved to the rear. Get the medical-ninjas to help. Have Yashiro handle the arrangements; he's reliable and steady."
Uchiha Tetsuka nodded and left to find Uchiha Meirei and Yashiro.
Shisui stood among the dead,
Surveying the bodies scattered around him, he sighed, "The Cloud ninjas really are strong." Even though the Uchiha had committed nearly all of their elites, 17 had died in this battle, with 22 seriously injured. Many more had lighter wounds, proof that the Cloud ninjas were formidable opponents.
"Of the five great ninja villages, Cloud is the most aggressive," Fugaku remarked, finding a fallen tree to sit on and inviting Shisui to join him. "Unlike Konoha, Cloud Village is run by warmongers. From the Raikage down to the lowest-ranked ninjas, calling them battle-hungry is no exaggeration."
"But Cloud is most famous for its greed. Kekkei Genkai, secret techniques, tailed beasts—if it's valuable, they want it. Their Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai was stolen from the Sand Village, and they even attempted to kidnap members of the Hyuga clan to get their Byakugan."
"That incident... the Hyuga weren't at fault."
Shisui said softly.
"Indeed. The Hyuga clan leader only killed a kidnapper, yet back then..." Fugaku trailed off with a sigh. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was a complicated man. In his youth, he had been a great leader, but as he aged, he became increasingly narrow-minded, far from the magnanimity of the First and Second Hokage.
It was one thing that he couldn't tolerate the Uchiha, with their long-standing grudges, but the biggest regret was how he let the Uzumaki clan, Konoha's most loyal allies, fall. Sarutobi didn't think it was worth fighting for the Uzumaki, bringing back only Kushina Uzumaki and much of the Uzumaki clan's heritage.
"Ah, I digress. We were talking about the Cloud ninjas. Bottom line, they're little more than looters. You can't reason with bandits; you have to beat them so badly they regret crossing you."
Uchiha Fugaku didn't hide his disdain for the Cloud ninja in the slightest.
Although the relationship between the Hyuga and Uchiha clans wasn't close enough to join forces against a common enemy, both bloodline families despised anyone attempting to steal their kekkei genkai (bloodline limit). The Cloud ninja's thieving actions were truly detestable. Back in the Warring States period, if any organization had dared to make such a move against the bloodline limits of different clans, the various bloodline families would have united to eliminate them.
"The Cloud ninja... they're definitely nothing good."
Shisui thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
The previous attack from the Mist ninja had been orchestrated by that scoundrel claiming to be Uchiha Madara behind the scenes. However, the southward movement of the Cloud ninja was a decision agreed upon by the entire Hidden Cloud Village, not just one individual's arbitrary command. This had already been confirmed by the spies planted within the Hidden Cloud.
Time passed slowly.
The clouds in the sky grew darker, like a pool of ink, but the snow remained light. The small snowflakes didn't even reach the ground before being shattered by the wind, turning into a fine powder as they touched the earth. The snow drifted on, miserably.
On the way, Shi encountered the Fourth Raikage and the main forces of the Cloud ninja, who were hurrying over after receiving the message.
When they saw Shi and his group of battered and defeated soldiers, many, including the Fourth Raikage himself, realized immediately that they had arrived too late.
"Shi, what happened?"
The Fourth Raikage, A, a burly man who went shirtless even in the snow, looked down at Shi. He already had a bad feeling, and his brows furrowed tightly.
"We lost."
Shi's face was pale. "Konoha's attack was fierce. The Uchiha Clan must have gone all out. There were around 200 Uchiha clansmen, and Konoha deployed a total of only about 300 ninja. We had too few jōnin. In the first five minutes of the battle, we managed to hold on thanks to our numerical advantage, but as the battle wore on, our casualties mounted, and we were eventually defeated without any suspense."
"Konoha must have received reinforcements, and it seems they've changed their commander. Hiashi Hyuga doesn't have the resolve to commit so many Uchiha clansmen to the battlefield at once," Shi continued, rambling out all the information and speculations he had gathered.
"More than 200 Uchiha?"
A frowned and asked, "Where's Darui?"
"Darui was held up by that Uchiha Shisui. He tried several times, but couldn't..." Shi gritted his teeth before continuing, "I abandoned Darui and escaped. Raikage-sama, let me be the vanguard for the counterattack!"
Being the vanguard meant leading the charge in battle, a position with a high death rate. To volunteer for it was essentially asking for death.
"Stop talking nonsense."
Before A could speak, Dodai, one of his subordinates, scolded Shi.
"We lost, so what? There's no need to be so discouraged. Winning and losing are common on the battlefield. What, you lose one fight and now you're giving up?"
"..."
Shi's face grew even paler, almost devoid of color. He opened his mouth to speak but was too mentally disoriented to find the words.
"Enough with the pointless talk. Let's get to the real issue. You said Konoha changed commanders? How confident are you in this guess? No, wait—you're right. Over 200 Uchiha jōnin and chūnin? Hiashi Hyuga would never commit that many Uchiha to battle all at once. If anything went wrong, it would spark a huge grudge between the Hyuga and Uchiha clans."
"Raikage-sama, I'm certain the commander has changed. To deploy over 200 Uchiha clansmen like this... it's almost certain that Uchiha Sōgen, the 'Flame Demon,' has arrived. Even the Hokage wouldn't dare to command the Uchiha in such a way."
Dodai had recently been focused on gathering intelligence on the Uchiha Clan.
The dramatic changes with the Two-Tails Jinchūriki had left them all on edge, and they couldn't afford to be unprepared. Over this time, Dodai had mobilized every available resource to investigate the Uchiha, uncovering a wealth of information. Key figures like Uchiha Sōgen, known as the "Flame Demon," and Uchiha Shisui, nicknamed "Shunshin" (Body Flicker), were particular subjects of interest.
Based on the intel, Dodai deduced that Uchiha Sōgen had indeed arrived.
"Darui..."
A was still concerned about Darui, the promising junior he had high hopes for. But now it seemed like... it was a real shame. He took a deep breath, pushed aside his lingering thoughts, and gravely ordered, "Spread my command: All units must be ready to engage at any moment. Tell everyone to never face the Uchiha alone—always act in pairs, at the very least, to guard against their Sharingan's genjutsu."
"Raikage-sama, shall we try?" Dodai asked in a low voice.
With Darui's division wiped out, including Darui himself likely killed in action, there was no longer any point in providing reinforcements. But just because the rescue mission was meaningless didn't mean they couldn't make an attempt.
"It's inevitable that we'll face them sooner or later. If not today, then tomorrow, or the day after. Since it's going to happen eventually, we might as well seize the opportunity to experience the Uchiha's strength firsthand. Besides, didn't you hear what Shi said? Konoha only has a bit more than 300 troops, and over 200 of them are Uchiha. If we're lucky, we might get our hands on quite a few Sharingan."
In A's eyes, a faint glimmer of greed flashed.
While the Byakugan was highly coveted for its versatility, the Sharingan was equally desirable. The only downside was that even if someone obtained a Sharingan, most people couldn't use it due to the immense chakra consumption, which could literally drain a person dry.
But now, with the recent rise of Sōgen and Shisui, and the display of techniques like Susano'o, more people than ever were lusting after the Sharingan—Cloud ninja among them.
"...True. It's bound to happen eventually," Dodai sighed softly.
The current southward campaign wasn't going to stop just because of this setback.
Whether or not they reclaimed the Kusatsu Highlands wasn't important. What mattered was that this was the perfect opportunity to gauge the true strength of the Uchiha and see how many more hidden cards Konoha still had!