"Argh!"
A cry of pain came from the soil as the two wind-infused kunai pinned the ninja's hands to the ground.
"Haaah!"
A Fuma ninja swung a massive shuriken at Izuna—similar to the one the later Uchiha Sasuke used against Zabuza—in a wide, sweeping arc.
*Stare!*
Izuna snapped his head up. The demonic, three-pronged tomoe of his Mangekyo Sharingan, like a ghastly eye staring from the depths of night, locked onto the Fuma ninja. A single glance was enough to freeze the elite chunin in place.
When the ninja focused his eyes again, the battlefield before him had dissolved into a void. His body was bound to the spot by giant golden nails.
*A... a Sharingan genjutsu!*
*Slash!*
Just as the realization dawned on him, a blade—he didn't know whose—pierced his heart from behind. His vision went black, and he collapsed, never to rise again.
"Terrifying... the Vice-Clan Head of the Uchiha..."
Watching Izuna move freely through the battlefield of thousands, Hagoromo Masanari, perched on a cliff above, couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
A tiger was still a tiger, even with its teeth pulled. A common man would still lack the courage to face it.
The Uchiha's morale was indeed low, and it was obvious that their overall condition was poor due to the lack of food.
But even so, the Uchiha were not to be taken lightly.
"Clan Head Fuma, Clan Head Saito, join me in dealing with Uchiha Izuna. Clan Head Kikawa and Clan Head Watanabe, please handle Uchiha Kong."
Hagoromo Masanari quickly assigned targets to the five clan heads.
The other four had no objections. The moment he finished speaking, they vanished into blurs of motion, speeding toward their targets.
"Uchiha Style: Sword Flame Leap!"
Izuna summoned a tachi from a scroll. He held the sword with his index and middle fingers extended, and in the next second, the blade was engulfed in flames.
*Fwoosh!*
He swung the blade rapidly, the flames creating crescent-shaped arcs that devoured the surrounding enemies in a torrential storm.
"Uchiha Izuna, die!"
Izuna spun around, his sword clashing with that of the Saito clan head.
The impact sent sparks flying from the opposing blade, forcing the Saito head back ten steps. "What?" he exclaimed in shock. "You blocked my attack without even looking."
"Those eyes are an ill omen."
The Fuma clan head and Hagoromo Masanari appeared to the Saito head's left and right.
Hagoromo Masanari shouted, "All units, press the attack! We must take Stonecastle today!"
The three clan heads would team up to suppress the most troublesome combatant on the field, Uchiha Izuna, while the main army pushed forward to breach Stonecastle's defenses.
"Let's move!"
The instant Hagoromo Masanari spoke, he became a blur, the first to charge Izuna.
"Hagoromo Style: Three Flashes in an Instant!"
"You dare engage me in close combat before my Sharingan? Who gave you the courage?" Izuna scoffed, activating the power of his left Mangekyo: future sight!
*Hagoromo Masanari's A-rank sword technique involves forming a single-handed sign in an instant. Just before the attack lands, he creates two clones to confuse the enemy, making it seem like three blades are striking three different parts of the body.*
*In reality, it's all a feint for a single strike to the throat.*
*Not bad, but against a Mangekyo Sharingan, especially an observation type like mine, it's child's play.*
Izuna tilted his head, dodging the fatal blow. A tear of blood streamed from his right eye.
"Amaterasu!"
At that same moment, however, a massive wall of earth shot up from the ground, separating Izuna from Hagoromo Masanari and blocking the black flames.
In the distance, the Saito clan head had both hands pressed to the ground. "Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
*Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!*
In the air, countless kunai, sickles, and shuriken rained down like a storm of blossoms.
At the center of it all was the Fuma clan head, continuously releasing weapons from two scrolls.
*Is Tenten actually from the Fuma clan?*
The scene couldn't help but remind Izuna of Might Guy's weapon-wielding, bun-haired subordinate.
*A ferocious-looking jutsu, but far too naive!*
His pupils constricted. Tangible chakra ignited around his body like silver-white flames, eventually forming a skeletal ribcage.
*The shield of Susanoo!*
*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*
All the kunai launched by the Fuma clan head were deflected by the Susanoo.
"What is that thing!?"
Hagoromo Masanari and the others started in surprise. They watched as a giant skeletal arm grew from the left side of the ribcage protecting Izuna's body.
A white magatama, identical in shape to a Sharingan tomoe, began to spin wildly in the skeleton's palm before shooting out, carving an arc through the air as it sped toward the Fuma clan head.
"Clan Head Hagoromo, save him!" the Saito clan head yelled urgently while rapidly forming hand seals. "Wind Release: Feathered Arrow!"
Hagoromo Masanari frowned slightly. He wished these four "turncoats" would die alongside the Uchiha.
But they were still in the middle of a battle, and he needed their strength.
"Water Release: Explosive Stream!"
Wind was arguably the most versatile element for jutsu combination, capable of merging with almost any other element except earth.
The wind-formed arrow and the water-style jutsu, which spiraled like a tornado, fused together and shot toward the airborne magatama.
*Using this... can they change its trajectory?*
*Boom!*
About ten meters from the Fuma clan head, the jutsu of Hagoromo Masanari and the Saito clan head collided with the magatama.
The explosive splash of water momentarily obscured everyone's vision.
A second later, a damaged magatama burst out of the spray!
It shot through the mist and pierced the Fuma clan head's left shoulder.
In the blink of an eye, the man's left arm was severed from his body.
"Argh!"
Excruciating pain shot from his shoulder, and the Fuma clan head began to fall from the sky.
"Save the Clan Head!" shouted the Fuma clansmen below.
"Don't even think about it."
Izuna's hands formed a new seal, his cheeks puffing out slightly. "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A wall of fire more than ten meters wide spewed from his mouth, aimed to incinerate the Fuma clan head.
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