Barrier techniques were a wonderful thing.
If Shin claimed to be the number one barrier master in the shinobi world, probably no one would disagree.
After setting up multiple barriers that concealed their presence, he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport people over in groups.
Not long after everyone was in position, many floating shadows appeared in the distance.
Ninjas from Ame were quickly approaching.
"Yoshida-sama, everything ahead is normal," a sensory ninja from the hundred-man squad reported routinely to the commander.
"Very good!" Yoshida nodded with satisfaction and then sped up.
The ninjas behind him instantly understood and followed closely.
Yoshida was the commander of the coalition of small ninja villages that had previously attacked the Land of Whirlpools.
Originally, after fleeing in defeat from that battle, he had been living in fear, certain that Hanzō would kill him in a fit of rage upon his return to Ame. But to his surprise, not only was he not blamed, Hanzō even praised him and entrusted him with another important task.
After all, even many elite ninjas from the Four Great Ninja Villages had met their end in the Land of Whirlpools. But thanks to his wise and decisive retreat, Yoshida had lost fewer than a hundred men, preserving Ame's strength.
To this, he humbly credited "the incompetence of his peers making him look good."
Still, deep down, he regarded the battle in the Land of Whirlpools as a personal disgrace.
Even though the blame didn't lie entirely with him, the other small village ninjas were so useless that they fled upon contact, forcing him to order a retreat, the feeling of being chased like a rabbit by a pack of wolves still gnawed at him.
So this time, he swore to achieve a great victory and rid himself of that inner shame once and for all.
After marching forward for about two hundred meters, he suddenly had a bad feeling.
It was a strange sensation, he didn't know why he felt it, but it made him alert.
"Stop!" he quickly ordered.
The ninjas behind him stopped immediately and became vigilant. The nearby sensory ninja activated his perception ability, scanning the surroundings.
Just as he was about to report that there was nothing unusual, boom!
A kunai with an explosive tag tied to it flew toward them and detonated within the group.
Before he could even issue a temporary retreat order, countless explosive tags began raining down from all directions.
"Holy crap!" he was nearly ready to drop dead on the spot.
He had experienced battles before and knew how brutal war could be, but he had never experienced being completely surrounded and bombarded by this many explosive tags.
What kind of resources were they dealing with here? Who could afford to use so many explosive tags like this?
You have to understand, explosive tags were very difficult to produce. They were not only expensive, but also low in supply.
He had never heard of anyone using them so lavishly.
Wait!
He suddenly realized something.
Back when Tsunade led Uzushio into battle, it was said that the first wave of the attack was a massive bombardment of explosive tags.
Could it be… her?
He felt his soul leave his body in terror.
Wasn't she supposed to be on the Suna front? Why would she be here?
To this day, he could not forget the sight of Tsunade single-handedly charging into their army and slaughtering without mercy.
That woman wasn't even human, she had become his lifelong nightmare.
If he had known she was involved in this battlefield, he never would have been so confident and would definitely have adjusted his battle plan.
But reality allowed no time for regret. A second wave of explosive tags came raining down.
Then a third. A fourth. A fifth...
The surrounding ninjas all activated their defensive techniques, but ninja are typically better at offense than defense.
The explosive tags were devastating. Some ninjas weren't skilled at defense at all. After ten waves, of the hundred-plus Ame ninjas, only about thirty remained.
And they were all injured.
Yet those ten waves weren't the end of the nightmare, only the beginning. Because now, countless figures were charging at them from all directions.
At the front was a man wielding a short blade, wearing a white mask and a black cloak, moving at an astonishing speed.
Especially striking were his blood-red eyes with three tomoe. They seemed to possess a special kind of magic. Anyone who made eye contact with those eyes instantly froze in place, standing dumbfounded and completely immobilized.
In the blink of an eye, the white-masked man plunged into the remaining Ame ninjas, his blade rising and falling, taking life after life with each strike.
Other Uchiha clan members weren't about to be left behind. The first group to arrive seemed to have coordinated in advance, as they all simultaneously performed the Great Fireball Technique.
A massive surge of flames instantly engulfed the center of the battlefield.
The fire incinerated some enemies and injured others. More importantly, under such intense heat, no one could keep their eyes open, only a few quick-reacting ninjas managed to use defensive jutsu to protect themselves.
Yet the deadly white-masked man seemed completely unfazed by the fire. Not only did he not retreat a single step, but he moved fluidly within the flames and enemy ranks, dealing fatal blows without pause.
By the time the flames subsided, not a single one of Ame's ninjas remained alive.
As for the Uchiha ninjas? Not a single casualty.
Such an overwhelming victory was unheard of, yet they had pulled it off.
The scene before their eyes felt surreal to everyone present.
At that moment, many finally understood the words Fukuyama had once said, "Expelling Shin from the clan was the stupidest decision in the history of the Uchiha."
And it was a stain on Kagami's legacy, one that couldn't be erased even in death.
That statement… was absolutely, damnably true.
Just recalling that awe-inspiring moment when Shin had unleashed the power of Susanoo in his fury, even his fellow Uchiha had been overcome with envy.
That was the ultimate dream of every Uchiha!
Fortunately, their clan leader had the foresight to reconcile with Shin in time, forming an alliance with him.
And that's how they now had the luxury of winning effortlessly.
"Alright, you all go back to the cave and rest. There's no battle mission for now," Shin said. "I need to go support the other side."
Fukuyama quickly replied, "Won't it be dangerous for you over there? This is a perfect opportunity to weaken Hiruzen's power."
Shin merely shook his head slightly. "It's not his power, it's Tsunade's. And besides, I'm only providing support. I won't reveal my true identity."
Fukuyama was stunned by his words.
That… makes so much sense. I'm speechless.
What's with the whole "yours, mine, ours" anyway? In the end, it's all ours, isn't it?
Many people were actually loyal to Konoha and the position of Hokage, not necessarily to Hiruzen himself.
Once Tsunade became Hokage, she would immediately gain the loyalty of many.
As for the small number of brainwashed loyalists… Shin had already come to a conclusion: "Those guys are a blight while alive. Just kill them all when the time comes."
Meanwhile, on the other battlefield, Konoha ninjas had already engaged Ame's vanguard forces in combat.
Though the traps and kunai they had set up caused some casualties and forced the Ame ninjas into a passive position at first...
The Ame ninjas were elite after all. They quickly recovered and began to fight back.
The battlefield was soon split into several chaotic zones, where the ninjas from both sides began fierce close combat.
Ninjutsu and various techniques were being unleashed one after another. Ninjas fell constantly, some struck by jutsu, kunai, or shuriken.
Others, who attacked shadow clones or substitution jutsu by mistake, found themselves caught off guard and counterattacked.
Some even acted like cunning lone wolves, roaming the battlefield, ambushing enemies, or helping teammates in critical moments.
When Shin arrived, he saw all of this, and couldn't help but think to himself, Now this... this is what a real ninja war is supposed to look like.