The aftermath of Jin's "Heaven and Earth Burn Together" was devastating.
If not for the barrier of flames he had raised earlier, the shockwave alone might have wiped Kikyo Mountain Fortress off the map.
Now that most of the Cloud forces had already broken through the fire wall, there was no reason to keep it burning.
With a light flick of his blade, Uchiha Jin extinguished the towering curtain of fire.
What lay beyond was a slaughterhouse.
The Cost of Holding the Line
Cloud shinobi had already breached the fortress walls.
Inside the stronghold—
Lightning clashed with flame.
Wind blades tore through stone.
Water torrents collided with earth walls.
Limbs and blood painted the ground.
The battlefield had collapsed into close-quarters chaos.
Cloud forces had taken horrific losses.
Of the original two thousand, barely over a thousand remained.
But Konoha's losses were just as severe.
Nearly one-third of the Uchiha and Hyūga elites Jin had brought were down.
Of the original hundred-plus garrison defenders—
Only a handful were still standing.
And this was no trivial exchange.
The Uchiha and Hyūga here were all at least chūnin level.
Most Cloud shinobi were genin.
The quality gap was enormous.
Which made these casualties hurt all the more.
Jin's jaw tightened.
He had fought Mist forces along the border for months and lost only a few dozen Uchiha.
There, battles were small-scale skirmishes.
Retreat was possible.
Wounds could be treated.
Here—
There was no retreat.
No fallback.
Only hold.
This was the cruelty of siege warfare.
The Strain
Jin exhaled slowly and plunged back into the fray.
Cloud forces had already noticed the annihilation of their Raikage and several hundred elites.
Shock had lasted seconds.
Then discipline returned.
Several hundred shinobi immediately detached from the main assault to contain him.
The rest accelerated their push to wipe out the fortress defenders before turning on Jin together.
Their logic was sound.
He was powerful.
But he was still human.
And chakra ran out.
Even the legendary Third Raikage—who fought tailed beasts bare-handed—had ultimately fallen to sheer numbers.
No shinobi was infinite.
And the truth?
Jin's reserves were running low.
Mangekyō strain.
Mass-scale Fire Release.
Devil Fruit stamina burn.
Everything was stacking.
If this dragged on much longer—
He would be forced to use that.
The card he had prepared for years.
The foundation of his Six Paths ambition.
If used prematurely, it would ruin years of planning.
That option did not exist unless absolutely necessary.
"Reinforcements!"
"Hold on! Reinforcements are here!"
A Hyūga scout suddenly shouted, Byakugan veins flaring.
Konoha morale spiked instantly.
Several Cloud shinobi visibly faltered.
More Hyūga confirmed:
"Three kilometers out!"
"Prepare to counterattack!"
"Don't let them escape!"
Momentum shifted.
Cloud morale dipped.
But Jin's eyes narrowed.
Something was wrong.
The timing made sense.
But the direction didn't.
The approaching force was coming from the direction of the Takigakure–Kusagakure border line.
That wasn't where the first wave of reinforcements should be.
He said nothing.
Because morale mattered more than suspicion.
The Black Tide
Moments later—
A mass of dark figures burst from the distant forest.
From their uniforms—
They were unmistakably Konoha shinobi.
Cloud commanders didn't hesitate.
"Retreat! Retreat!"
Nearly a thousand Cloud shinobi began disengaging immediately.
If reinforcements truly arrived—
They would be trapped.
Better to survive and regroup.
Jin did not pursue.
Instead, he flashed back inside the fortress and physically stopped several Uchiha who tried to chase.
Hyūga Hiashi's brother—Hyuga Hizashi—mirrored the decision, recalling nearby forces and regrouping beside Jin.
His expression was grim.
"Jin. Something's wrong."
Jin nodded.
"Their direction."
Hizashi shook his head.
"Not that."
His Byakugan remained active.
"Their formation is chaotic."
"No structured advance."
"Many are wounded."
"Some are barely holding formation."
He paused.
Then said quietly—
"They don't look like reinforcements."
"They look like a routed army."
The wind across Kikyo Mountain suddenly felt much colder.
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