The sound of an alarm rang out, and one Cloud Village Ninja after another emerged from the stronghold, moving with swiftness.
This was the frontline battlefield, and it was also a relatively important stronghold for Kumogakure. The Cloud Village Ninja stationed here were naturally not the type of second-line troops placed in logistics bases behind the lines; every one of them was a veteran of many battles.
"Enemy attack!"
"Southeast direction!"
"Watch out for dangerous targets!"
"Counterattack with Ninjutsu!"
In just a few seconds, these Cloud Village Ninja steadied their footing and began to organize a counterattack.
Meanwhile, the other Konoha Ninja on Uchiha Gen's side also immediately unleashed Ninjutsu, attacking and defending in an orderly fashion.
"Water Release: Water Fall Basin Technique!"
"Secret Technique: Insect Sphere."
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall."
Under the cover of his teammates' Ninjutsu, Uchiha Gen activated his Sharingan, created seven or eight clones, and took the lead, charging to the very front.
"So many clones!"
"They all have the Sharingan; it's Uchiha Gen! Don't fight him head-on! Prepare to retreat!"
Before the words had even faded, Uchiha Gen had already charged into the enemy ranks. He glared with both eyes and cast a Genjutsu.
"Genjutsu: Sharingan!"
The Cloud Village Ninja who had spoken froze instantly, falling into a hypnotic state. His eyes were affected by the ocular power, taking on the appearance of the Sharingan.
The long sword descended, only to be blocked by a nearby Cloud Village Ninja Jonin wielding a Kunai. However, the next instant, another Uchiha Gen flashed into view, and with a swift stroke of his blade, he severed that Ninja's head.
Poor fellow; having just disrupted his own Chakra with the help of that Cloud Village Ninja Jonin to break free from the Genjutsu, the first thing he saw was death coming right at him.
"Dying while drowning in the Genjutsu of the Sharingan is the best release for him."
Uchiha Gen flicked the blood off his blade and pressed forward toward the Cloud Village Ninja Jonin.
"For you, it will be the same."
Killing experts at the Jonin level was not so easy.
Every Ninja village had a limited number of Jonin. Even if Uchiha Gen's strength were a step higher, he couldn't achieve an instant kill. Even against a standard Jonin, they could at least hold out for a few moves under his hand. If multiple Jonin worked together, or if two or more Elite Jonin joined forces, they would truly have the strength to contend with him.
If Jonin were really that easy to kill, they wouldn't be called Jonin. Back then, it hadn't been easy for Uchiha Gen to escape from the hands of Chiyo and Kakuzu.
Fortunately, Uchiha Gen was not fighting alone.
The squad he brought only had ten people in total, but half of them were Jonin, enough to share the pressure for him in the short term and provide him with a good combat environment.
Unless someone was strong enough to break through this blockade, this Cloud Village Ninja Jonin would die at Uchiha Gen's hands within half a minute.
To Uchiha Gen's surprise, there was actually a Cloud Village Ninja inside this stronghold who almost managed to do it!
"Lava Release: Rubber Ball!"
A small yellow rubber ball bounced over from a distance, blocking Uchiha Gen's blade at the critical moment.
"Lava Release? Without Karai, how could Lava Release appear here?"
Although the thought crumbled at a touch, being cut in half by the sharp blade, it still caused a slight delay for an instant.
Just as that Cloud Village Ninja Jonin retreated two steps, thinking he was safe, Uchiha Gen instantly switched to a Phantom Clone and pressed a Rasengan down.
Instant-cast Ninjutsu was just so broken at times like this; as an opening move, it was extremely fast, and as a follow-up pursuit, it left enemies with no time to block.
Although the Cloud Village Ninja Jonin reacted in time and held his blade horizontally in front of him to block, he still couldn't stop the power of the Rasengan.
The ninja sword and his body were blown away by the Rasengan. After landing, both his hands and arms were gone, his chest was a blur of gore, and his breath was gone completely.
Uchiha Gen withdrew his hand and looked in the direction of the person who had attacked.
It was a young Cloud Village Ninja with a calm expression and a rather powerful Chakra aura. After seeing his companion die, his face was filled with regret.
"As expected of the formidable enemy spoken of by Teacher Karai, Uchiha Gen."
A line of information flashed rapidly through Uchiha Gen's mind.
Dotai, a young Jonin of Kumogakure from the same generation as Orochimaru, only one year younger than the Sannin, the mantle-inheriting disciple of the Raikage's court official Karai, and also a renowned Elite Jonin of Kumogakure.
However, compared to the Sannin, Dotai was clearly a notch weaker, and previous intelligence reports had not indicated that he could use Lava Release.
Although Uchiha Gen knew the plot of the original timeline and knew that he could cultivate Lava Release, so much time had passed, and he hadn't seen this guy appear on the battlefield.
Perhaps, during this time, Dotai had been hiding away to synthesize Lava Release.
Uchiha Tekka looked at this Cloud Village Ninja with a gloomy expression and said, "Gen! This guy is a bit tricky. Sorry, I couldn't stop him."
"It's fine."
Uchiha Gen's originally furrowed brows smoothed out slightly.
He was well aware of Tekka's strength.
Two years ago, he unlocked the triple tomoe Sharingan. His Genjutsu and Fire Release were quite good, and his overall strength was not inferior to those veteran Jonin, ranking in the upper-middle tier among all Jonin, but he couldn't yet be called an Elite Jonin.
He himself had already taken out that Cloud Village Ninja Jonin, while Dotai had only pushed back Tekka.
Even if his strength differed from what was recorded by Konoha, it shouldn't be stronger than his own; at most, he was on the same level as Karai.
With the strength of Uchiha Gen and their squad, they had absolutely nothing to fear from the enemy. At worst, they could fight their way out under Uchiha Gen's leadership and retreat unscathed.
"Let me see how much of your teacher's skill you possess. If you die at my hands and that old geezer Karai is left without a successor, don't blame me."
On the Sengoku Ninja Sword, the elegant and agile flames dissipated, replaced by a layer of dancing lightning.
Hatake Style Swordsmanship!
Uchiha Gen, who had experience fighting Karai, knew that to deal with this kind of rubber-type Lava Release with extremely strong defense and resilience, the most suitable response was an attack with strong piercing and cutting power.
And what Uchiha Gen had that corresponded to this was Lightning Release and Wind Release.
Hatake Style Swordsmanship focused on using Lightning Release to strengthen one's own burst in attack and speed, which was more suitable for the current scenario than Uchiha Style Swordsmanship.
"Clang!"
A crisp sound of the blade rang out. Seven or eight Uchiha Gen clones instantly surrounded Dotai, and accompanied by brilliant lightning, they attacked him in unison.
"Lava Release: Rubber Wall!"
A large amount of rubber liquid spewed from Dotai's mouth, continuously condensing into walls and rubber balls, only to be destroyed by the lightning on the blades.
"What a fast attack rhythm!"
Even though he had interacted with Karai and was prepared, knowing Uchiha Gen's combat style, once they clashed, Dotai still felt a strong sense of oppression.