"Wood Release: Deep Forest Bloom!"
Hashirama suddenly roared. His raging Chakra seemed ready to scatter everything around him.
Uchiha Enka and the others, who had witnessed this technique more than once, shouted urgently, "Everyone retreat! Whatever you do, don't inhale the pollen!"
Once Hashirama used this technique, they had no choice but to retreat. If Deep Forest Emergence still allowed some elite ninja within their ranks to hold their ground and advance, Deep Forest Bloom—with its pollen that, once inhaled, slowed movement and paralyzed nerves, combined with the encroaching massive wood—was impossible to defend against.
However, just as Uchiha Enka was about to order a retreat, he heard Izuna curse, "Retreat my ass! Everyone prepare Fire Release!"
The armored Susanoo reverted to humanoid form and sprouted legs. Before the pollen could bloom, Izuna controlled Susanoo to leap nearly a hundred meters into the air.
No one knew what Izuna intended, but this was the Vice-Clan Head's order. They immediately formed seals, preparing the starting stance for Fire Release.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Flame Song!"
As countless Fire Release techniques roared forth, Izuna controlled Susanoo to form seals. In the next moment, tadpole-shaped curse mark patterns appeared across Susanoo's surface.
Tobirama's expression shifted below. "Susanoo has changed?"
Exactly—just like the Susanoo Sasuke had used against Obito during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Sage Art Susanoo!
Susanoo cast aside the Chakra blade in its hand and raised its right arm. A massive Rasenshuriken formed in Susanoo's right hand.
"Sage Art: Super Rasenshuriken!"
A Rasenshuriken five times larger than normal was launched, mingling with the overwhelming Fire Release techniques. Together they formed a disaster-level fire tornado that swept toward the Senju forces.
Under the tornado's wind pressure, the pollen was sucked in and incinerated the next instant.
Tobirama shouted urgently, "Prepare Water Release!"
"No," Hashirama called out. "On my command—army, retreat!"
"Uoooooh!!!" Just as the order was given, Hashirama roared, unleashing his remaining Chakra. This again shocked the Uchiha forces on the opposite side.
Monster! Damn monster! After using so many high-level techniques, his Chakra still isn't depleted!
"Wood Release: Super Deep Forest Emergence!!!"
Violent massive wood rose up, forming a barrier over a hundred meters tall to block the fire tornado's advance. For a time, flames and shattered wood flew in all directions.
Whether on the Uchiha side or the Senju side, everyone raised their hands against the aftershock, stunned speechless by this terrifying clash of disaster-level techniques.
Is this something humans can do?
The stalemate lasted about twenty seconds. Countless vines fell from above with heavy thuds. Looking ahead, the Senju army had already shrunk to the size of sesame seeds in the distance.
"Pursue!" For the first time in half a year, forcing the Senju army to retreat excited Uchiha Enka and the others so much they got goosebumps. Without hesitation, they prepared to give chase.
"Stop!" However, Izuna's words were like cold water poured over the fervent group.
"Vice, Vice-Clan Head, why?" Uchiha Enka looked at Izuna in bewilderment.
Izuna stood atop a massive wooden vine. "Don't pursue a desperate enemy. Before we fully confirm their defeat, don't venture deep into enemy territory."
"Ah... yes, sir," Enka and the others responded sheepishly, lowering their heads.
"Everyone return to camp. By my order, tonight we advance the camp twenty li toward the Senju!"
Izuna waved his hand in command.
"Yes!!!!" Everyone shouted with extreme excitement.
That night, after completing the camp's advance, even Madara—upon hearing the battle report—couldn't help but be in high spirits. He ordered the stored meat and wine brought out, allowing the entire army to celebrate briefly and rest for the night.
In such wartime, being able to eat meat and drink hot wine was already supreme happiness.
The Uchiha ninja gathered around the campfires—especially those who had participated in the earlier battle—enthusiastically recounted Izuna's prowess on the battlefield to the camp guards.
Susanoo holding off Hashirama's Wood Release. Deep Forest Bloom was nothing to fear; the Vice-Clan Head countered it with overwhelming Fire Release.
Hashirama had beaten them down quite a bit recently, so now that Izuna had helped them turn the tables, the ecstatic Uchiha had to boast properly.
After a few drinks with the high-ranking ninja of the Mount Congyun camp, Izuna brought Madara to a small hill behind the Uchiha camp.
Madara now sat cross-legged on an open patch of ground, fingers interlaced, gathering Chakra. Izuna sat about ten meters away, his index and middle fingers raised on both hands, pressed tightly together one above the other.
This scene was nearly identical to when Izuna had trained in Sage techniques with Uzumaki Mito assisting from the side.
Whenever Madara's body showed signs of natural energy running wild and mutating, Izuna would immediately employ the sealing technique Mito had taught him to suppress the rampaging natural energy.
Only when placed in Mito's position did Izuna realize how troublesome it was to assist someone else in training natural energy—especially restraining Sage Chakra that could go berserk at any moment.
He had to suppress it without over-suppressing. If his control slipped even slightly, the results could be unpredictable.
She must have returned to Uzushiogakure by now. I wonder how she's doing. Izuna found himself thinking of her.
It wasn't until deep into the night that the two finished their day's training.
Madara wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "It doesn't seem to be improving."
"This only prevents your vision from deteriorating further. It's not a restoration," Izuna explained from the side, helpless.
"Is there another way?" Madara asked somewhat unwillingly.
Being protected by his younger brother—the feeling was truly unpleasant.
"There is, but you'll have to wait a little while."
Three months passed in a flash. Since that battle, the Senju had gradually entered defensive mode. But Izuna didn't seize this opportunity to attack relentlessly. Instead, he began making arrangements, forming a standoff with the Senju.
Using this hard-won recovery time, Izuna mainly assisted Madara in completing his Sage Mode training while honing his own Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
He had originally thought that activating the Eternal Mangekyo would allow him to immediately master Susanoo. Turns out it wasn't like that at all.
Though he spent considerable time on Madara, Izuna was equally uncompromising about his own matters.
Compared to the prodigy Uchiha Sasuke—who went from obtaining the Eternal Mangekyo to awakening the perfect Susanoo, then awakening the Rinnegan and gaining power rivaling the Sage of Six Paths, all in just three days—Izuna truly felt his progress was pathetically slow.
Was it because he wasn't a reincarnation of Asura or Indra?
Though Izuna's arrival allowed the Uchiha to turn things around, the Senju still held superior overall strength and could absolutely continue attacking actively. Yet they held back for three consecutive months, which made Izuna curious about what they were up to.
Even when he dispatched the Shadow Investigation Department led by Uchiha Zuoxiu to investigate, they were detected by the Uzumaki clan ninja—allied with the Senju and possessing godlike sensing abilities.
So over these months, the Uchiha hadn't obtained any meaningful intelligence. On the other hand, the conflict between the Hyuga to the south and the Sarutobi-Shimura alliance to the north had ended.
-----
Read up to 20 advanced chapters on my P@treon.
[email protected]/fanfictionsimp