"Water Formation Wall!"
The Saito clan head across the field quickly formed seals, attempting to counter Izuna's flames with a water jutsu.
As fire and water met, scalding steam filled the battlefield.
A Fuma jonin seized the opportunity, charging into the steam. Risking severe burns, he managed to pull his clan leader to safety.
***
Meanwhile, Uchiha Kong, currently the second-in-command on the Uchiha's northwestern front, was fighting the Watanabe clan head, a peak jonin, and the Kikawa clan head, an elite jonin.
It might have seemed comical on such a grim battlefield, but after a hundred exchanges, Uchiha Kong's stomach let out an audible protest.
Kong clutched his stomach, his brows tightly knitted.
He was only human, after all. The gnawing hunger was a constant distraction, no matter how hard he tried to focus.
It wasn't just Kong; every Uchiha fighting was in the same state.
The tide of battle could turn in an instant. A moment's lapse could lead to total collapse, and by now, their bodies had been protesting for some time.
That they could hold on this long was a testament to the Uchiha's innate power.
The Watanabe clan head laughed. "Fighting on an empty stomach must be painful, right?"
He reversed his grip on his twin-bladed sword. "In that case, let me help you. I'll send you to the next world a little sooner."
Sword qi solidified and shot toward Kong. He took a deep breath, and his tachi burst into flame.
"Uchiha Style: Blazing Flame Dance!"
The clash of flames scattered sparks across the battlefield.
*Grrrrumble...*
The rumbling in their stomachs and the crushing fatigue weighed on every Uchiha, body and soul.
Just then, the Kikawa clan head waved his hand. "Reserve unit, move out!"
At his command, a hundred-man unit that had been held back, fresh and waiting, shot forward like a loosed arrow.
They pierced the Uchiha's defensive shield wall and charged straight for the city gate.
Uchiha Kong was startled. He turned his head and shouted through gritted teeth, "Fall back! Defend the gate! Don't let them near it!"
"You have time to worry about others?" the Watanabe clan head sneered.
In terms of overall strength, he was slightly weaker than Kong, but with Kong in such a poor state, the Watanabe head was fighting with ease.
"Water Release: Water Explosion!"
Uchiha Kong's right hand shot up, forming the same seals as his opponent—the predictive and copying power of the Sharingan!
"Water Release..."
*The rushing water is already here! It's too late!*
Even though his Sharingan had seen through and copied the technique, his heavily injured and exhausted body couldn't keep up.
The torrent of water struck Kong first, then clung to his skin and detonated like a bomb.
Blood and water exploded outwards, leaving his flesh mangled. The Watanabe clan head roared in excitement, "This is our chance! Breach the Uchiha city! Wipe out the Uchiha clan!"
In an instant, the morale of the Five-Clan Alliance surged to its peak.
Ten minutes later, with a deafening crash, the gate of Stonecastle—which Izuna and his men had defended for half a year—crumbled.
"Hahaha! We did it!"
"Charge! Get in there!"
"This place is ours! It's ours!"
After half a year of hard fighting, they were finally seeing results. How could the ninja of the Five-Clan Alliance not be ecstatic?
In the history of the Warring States period, this had to be the first time the Uchiha had suffered such a major defeat at the hands of anyone other than the Senju.
"Vice-Clan Head!" a grievously wounded Uchiha Kong yelled to Izuna from his knees.
A flicker of "panic" crossed Izuna's face. Feigning an expression of pure fury, his chakra erupted like a mountain flood. "You will not take another step!"
In the eyes of everyone present, the violent chakra seemed to form a monstrous beast, stunning the ninja preparing to enter the city.
The Susanoo's inner skeleton, which had only been covering his body, grew arms, a neck, and a skull at a visible rate, connected by newly formed chakra sinews into a complete humanoid shape.
"Wh-what is that jutsu!?"
"Such... such terrifying chakra..."
"Is this the power of the Uchiha's Vice-Clan Head?"
Not just the enemy, but even his own men were dumbfounded.
"Scorch Release: Yasaka Magatama!"
The half-humanoid Susanoo formed a massive, silver-white magatama, each as large as a man's palm, in both hands. Infused with Amaterasu, they burned with ominous black flames.
The next moment, the Susanoo flung them both, and the two Yasaka Magatama flew toward the Five-Clan Alliance forces gathered before the gate.
*Fwhoooom!*
A violent explosion rocked the area, its aftershock laced with raging black fire.
*Crack... rumble...*
Then, the stone wall, over fifty meters high and specially reinforced with earth jutsu, collapsed under the force of that single attack.
This was the fortress that had withstood countless enemy assaults, the strongest Uchiha bastion in the northwest!
And the hundred-man elite unit that had just breached the gate? Not a single one survived. They were all dead.
"Ha... hahaha!"
Suddenly, one of the stunned Uchiha jonin burst into laughter. "As expected of the Vice-Clan Head! To think he was hiding a technique like this! Everyone, charge! Victory belongs to the Uchiha!"
For a moment, the Uchiha's morale seemed to rally.
However, just as the situation seemed to be turning, Izuna's Susanoo, the focus of everyone's attention, regressed from its humanoid form back to a skeleton, then to a ribcage, and finally vanished completely.
"Hah... hah..."
Izuna was bent over, panting heavily. The right side of his face was completely covered in bloody tears streaming from his eye, a gruesome sight.
"Vice... Vice-Clan Head?"
The Uchiha ninja, who had just been caught up in excitement, stared blankly at Izuna's condition.
Hagoromo Masanari snapped out of his shock, a look of delighted surprise on his face. "Hahaha! How could such a powerful ninjutsu not come with a price? Don't worry, everyone! Uchiha Izuna can't use that technique again! Attack without fear!"
His words instantly revived the spirits of the five clans who had just been plunged into despair.
Looking at Izuna's exhausted state, they understood.
*That's right! A jutsu that terrifying is on the level of a forbidden technique. Of course it has a cost!*
But no one could be certain that Izuna couldn't use it a second time, so even though they felt reassured, the Five-Clan Alliance advanced with some hesitation.
"Re... treat!" Izuna spat out the two words, clutching his aching right eye.
Uchiha Ise, standing nearby, was shocked. "Vice-Clan Head, but—"
"Retreat! Abandon Stonecastle!" Izuna commanded again.
-----
Read up to 20 advanced chapters on my P@treon.
[email protected]/fanfictionsimp