Besides the abnormalities on Uchiha Kokuya's body and his Mangekyo Sharingan, there was another point that greatly concerned Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others: Uchiha Kokuya's bizarre secret technique, which acted like a mirror.
From what they could see, Uchiha Kokuya could use it to repeatedly evade fatal attacks, which was truly terrifying.
Just from its appearance, Uchiha Kagami couldn't help but recall the legendary secret technique that had long been circulated within the Uchiha clan—Izanagi.
By using Izanagi, at the cost of one Sharingan, one could rewrite reality within a certain period, turning unfavorable situations in reality into a dream, and even avoiding death.
And upon reaching the realm of the Mangekyo Sharingan, not only did the duration of its effect become longer, but the technique could also be sealed within it, with activation conditions set.
Even if one did nothing, as long as the conditions were met, the Mangekyo Sharingan would activate on its own.
This was the Transcription Seal, a technique that could only be used with the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Back then, Uchiha Madara had prepared for his defeat against Hashirama Senju, embedding Izanagi into his Mangekyo Sharingan and setting a time-delayed resurrection.
He had originally thought that Tobirama Senju would preserve his body no matter what, and as long as the Mangekyo Sharingan remained, he could rewrite reality and resurrect.
However, due to Fumori Masaki's intervention, Tobirama couldn't replace Madara's body in front of his brother and sister-in-law, so he had to let others cremate it.
And after the Mangekyo Sharingan disappeared, the Izanagi embedded within it no longer had the conditions to activate.
However, the use of Izanagi required the sacrifice of a Sharingan.
A single person's Sharingan could at most save their life in desperate situations and couldn't be used continuously, unless they had a large number of Sharingan.
In the history of the Uchiha clan, those who abused Izanagi in the past constantly used the Sharingan of their own kin as a reserve.
Uchiha Kokuya's Sharingan, however, did not show signs of blindness, indicating that although similar in appearance, it was a completely different technique.
In terms of power, it should not be comparable to Izanagi, which could rewrite reality.
One must remember that Izanagi was a technique that required one Sharingan to completely lose its light as a price for activation.
If someone could use a comparable technique without any cost, wouldn't that be a joke?
Uchiha Kagami believed that the technique Uchiha Kokuya was using was definitely not as powerful as Izanagi, and its principle was certainly not as unbreakable as Izanagi's.
According to Uchiha clan records, the only way to break Izanagi was Izanami, which also required the sacrifice of a Sharingan's light.
It was called the "Technique of Deciding Destiny," and only this technique could nullify Izanagi, which denied the reality of fate.
In his eyes, the crimson Mangekyo spun rapidly, and faintly, he seemed to see some illusory things surrounding Uchiha Kokuya.
His heart skipped a beat; these things looked somewhat familiar.
At this moment,
Uchiha Kokuya glanced towards the town and said to everyone, "It won't be easy to take you down, and I don't intend to get entangled with you here.
See you later."
As he spoke, one of Uchiha Kokuya's Mangekyo Sharingan rotated, and blood involuntarily seeped out, making his already gradually abnormal face appear even more terrifying.
"It's Amaterasu!" Uchiha Kagami shouted this, then summoned Susanoo's chakra to protect everyone.
At the focal point where his pupil power gathered, black flames silently ignited, but due to the obstruction of Susanoo's chakra, they couldn't reach the others.
Without Kagutsuchi to transform Amaterasu's shape, Amaterasu could only burn, and when facing a defense of powerful chakra, although it could continuously erode, its speed would be greatly reduced.
Uchiha Kokuya released a large amount of Amaterasu in one go, then twisted his head, and the Amaterasu spread in other directions, including towards the Konoha ninjas in the positions.
Although Hiruzen Sarutobi had Susanoo to block, his vision was obstructed by Amaterasu.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately realized what Uchiha Kokuya might be planning and quickly clapped his hands on the ground, using Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall to protect all the Konoha ninjas in the positions.
Just as Uchiha Kokuya turned his head, the Earth-Style Wall had already risen from the ground, and Amaterasu only impacted the surface of the wall.
If Uchiha Kokuya continuously released Amaterasu, he could burn through the Earth-Style Wall in a short time, but he had no intention of wasting time and chakra here.
Uchiha Kokuya took a breath, and his figure flickered, disappearing from the spot.
Akamichi Torifu roared, and butterfly-shaped chakra wings enveloped everyone.
This was also materialized chakra, and the flames of Amaterasu would stick to it.
He controlled the chakra wings and flapped them vigorously, sweeping the Amaterasu flames aside.
By then, they could no longer see Uchiha Kokuya's figure, knowing he had escaped, and immediately felt a wave of discouragement.
"Damn it!" Danzo Shimura said bitterly, "He got away!"
"I never thought this guy would be so powerful, and he even obtained a Mangekyo Sharingan comparable to Uchiha Madara's." Akamichi Torifu's body rapidly shrunk, becoming gaunt due to the large consumption of chakra, and he panted slightly.
"Was Uchiha Kokuya just coming out to test us this time, or was it something else?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the Earth-Style Wall, and seeing no breach, he knew the Earth-Style Wall hadn't been burned through, and he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Then he looked towards the town and saw a large number of chakra samurai rushing out, some on horseback, some on foot.
They didn't charge towards the Konoha positions, but dispersed in all directions.
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly, feeling a bad premonition in his heart, but now was not the time to deal with the chakra samurai.
He needed to settle things here first.
Uchiha Ken and others participated in this civil war; they were essential personnel for dealing with Uchiha Kokuya.
Although their main role was to lure him, facing a master like Uchiha Kokuya, being able to act as bait was already a good outcome.
Those weaker than them didn't even qualify to be bait!
Uchiha Ken witnessed the Susanoo used by the opponent throughout, and was greatly surprised.
Uchiha Kokuya was now much stronger than he was in the capital.
Although he could still use Susanoo now, with one Mangekyo Sharingan missing, he couldn't possibly deal with Uchiha Kokuya, who had both eyes intact and even greater strength.
"He's become so powerful.
I hope we can lure him to the ambush location.
Before that, let's not get caught and killed by him." Fujimura Yuuki stood beside Uchiha Ken, saying with a wry smile.
"With our strength, it's impossible to defeat Uchiha Kokuya.
We can only rely on Lord Hokage and the others.
Right now, we can only act as bait and lead him to the ambush location.
Although Uchiha Kokuya is very powerful, since he doesn't intend to take our lives, we can definitely complete the mission," Uchiha Ken said calmly.
Fujimura Yuuki understood why he said that.
According to Lord Hokage, if a reincarnator dies, their power will also leave this world.
Therefore, Uchiha Kokuya could never harm the two of them.
At most, he would defeat and capture them.
This would force Uchiha Kokuya to hold back in combat, and with Uchiha Ken and Fujimura Yuuki's strength, they should be able to lead Uchiha Kokuya to the ambush location.
Although they felt a bit frustrated about not being able to personally defeat Uchiha Kokuya, they were all self-aware people who understood their roles.
In the ninja profession, knowing how to be bait was sometimes particularly important.
"Before that, I'll retrieve Amaterasu." When he said this, Uchiha Ken gritted his teeth slightly.
This technique was his Mangekyo Sharingan!
That bastard Uchiha Kokuya actually used his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Fortunately, the hosted dōjutsu, Kagutsuchi, in his other Mangekyo Sharingan, could be used to counter Amaterasu.
Kagutsuchi, named after the fire god, was a dōjutsu that could control Amaterasu.
If Uchiha Kokuya continuously used Amaterasu, it might be a bit troublesome for Uchiha Ken to control it, but now that Amaterasu was masterless, his Kagutsuchi could naturally subdue and control it.
Uchiha Ken leaped above the Earth-Style Wall, his eyes transforming into the Mangekyo Sharingan, and he looked at the Amaterasu flames.
In an instant, a large amount of Amaterasu flames disappeared.
Uchiha Ken smiled slightly.
During the process of subduing the Amaterasu flames, he used the Transcription Seal, which only the Mangekyo Sharingan could use, to seal Amaterasu into his own Mangekyo Sharingan.
This way, although he lost the Mangekyo Sharingan that hosted Amaterasu, he could now use the combined technique of Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi.
Of course, because it was Amaterasu subdued by the Transcription Seal, its quantity was limited, but having lost one Mangekyo Sharingan, it was better than nothing.
Seeing the Amaterasu flames disappear, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others knew that Uchiha Ken had acted.
Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately withdrew the chakra from the Earth-Style Wall, and the Earth-Style Wall slowly collapsed, revealing the Konoha positions behind it, where everyone else looked shaken.
The recent battle made them all realize the immense power of high-level ninjas.
Although new ninja tools had increased the strength of ordinary ninjas, there was still a gap with high-level ninjas, and it might not be bridged in a short time.
This battle also made those who were somewhat complacent about using new ninja tools rein in their arrogance.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others rushed over, looking at Uchiha Ken, who was constantly panting from using Kagutsuchi to subdue a large amount of Amaterasu, and expressed their gratitude.
"It's nothing, but Uchiha Kokuya has escaped now, and finding him might be a bit troublesome," Uchiha Ken said.
"Hmph, he won't get away.
Hiruzen, I'll take an elite unit and pursue him.
I've basically figured out his moves in this battle.
Even without you all, I have a way to ensure the safety of the team," Danzo Shimura said.
"Danzo, you can go after him, but never confront him directly.
Focus on determining his location and gathering intelligence," Uchiha Kagami said.
"I suspect he has other means he hasn't used yet.
In the recent battle, my Mangekyo Sharingan caught some hints, but I haven't confirmed them yet.
To ensure this person is eliminated, we must combine everyone's strength."
"...Alright." Danzo Shimura pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly.
He knew Uchiha Kagami was always cautious and never spoke rashly.
Uchiha Kagami, with his Mangekyo Sharingan, might know things he couldn't see.
As a former Anbu and current head of the Intelligence Division, he understood the importance of caution.
Next, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to command the Konoha combat units to reorganize their positions, then ordered people to go to the town.
Although, in the eyes of the four, Uchiha Kokuya had summoned Susanoo within the city, causing such a huge commotion, the people in the town might...
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others entered the town and saw a heartbreaking scene.
There were dead bodies everywhere, whether commoners or samurai of the Daimyo's army.
The ground seemed to be stained red with blood, and the Konoha ninjas who entered felt a wave of sorrow in their hearts.
"Inhuman beast!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's beard trembled slightly, showing his inner rage.
"Quickly go and see if there are any survivors in the town!"
The Konoha ninjas immediately began to act.
Excluding Danzo Shimura, who had already arranged personnel to pursue, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Uchiha Kagami, and Akamichi Torifu were now here.
They were discussing why Uchiha Kokuya would do such a thing to the entire town.
If he only wanted to abandon the Daimyo's forces, he didn't necessarily have to do something like this.
"Seeing the state of this place, I suddenly feel that Uchiha Kokuya appearing to fight us might have been a tactic to buy time?" Akamichi Torifu said with a solemn expression.
"But why would he do that, going so far as to appear in person, just to let the chakra samurai slaughter the town?
That makes no sense at all," Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned.
"There must be some secret in this." Uchiha Kagami recalled the faint things he had seen earlier, and his heart sank slightly.
He felt like he had grasped something, but the lack of information prevented him from fully connecting it.
In the time that followed, the Konoha ninjas searched the entire town.
Perhaps because the battle with Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others didn't give Uchiha Kokuya much time to waste, although the town had suffered from Susanoo's rampage and the chakra samurai's slaughter, there were still people alive, but they were mostly terrified.
All the local lords of the Daimyo's army and a large number of samurai officers died in these two upheavals.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others looked at each other, shaking their heads and sighing.
Although the deaths of these people were beneficial for the Konoha Hidden Village to stabilize the town and the remaining samurai army, and there were no longer any obstacles to going to the Daimyo's palace, seeing so many innocent people die made them feel very bad.
"Tell Masaki about the situation here.
It's about time he made an appearance," Uchiha Kagami said after a moment of silence.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Akamichi Torifu both agreed and began to write a mission report, clearly detailing the situation here.
While sending it to the Konoha Hidden Village, they also had to continue their advance to the Daimyo's palace to stabilize the situation, and leave people behind to connect the towns from these days, to facilitate reconnaissance of Uchiha Kokuya's location and receive information from Danzo Shimura.