"Lord Raikage! An unknown Uchiha powerhouse has appeared on Hill C. Captain Ippan and the others can't hold on any longer—they're requesting reinforcements!"
In the rear of the Allied Shinobi Forces, the injured Fourth Raikage, A, who was unable to fight personally, had been left here to oversee the overall battle.
The report from the Iwagakure shinobi in front of him immediately startled him.
"What do you mean an unknown Uchiha powerhouse?" A frowned.
"Fifteen hundred against a thousand and they still need reinforcements? What is that Captain Ippan doing? Does he even know how to fight a battle?"
From A's perspective, all the well-known elite shinobi of Konoha had already been pinned down by their side.
Even if there were other capable ninja, none of them should have been powerful enough to influence the outcome of the entire war.
Before launching the full-scale attack, the allied forces had already conducted probing assaults to investigate Konoha's defenses.
Hill A — defended by Namikaze MinatoHill B — defended by Uchiha RenHill C — guarded mainly by Uchiha clan elitesHill D — defended by Hyūga Clan Head Hiashi and Hyūga elites
Among them:
Hills A and B were the hardest to break through.Hill D came next.Hill C was believed to be the weakest point in Konoha's defense.
However, because Hill C was too close to Hills A and B, the allied command ultimately chose Hill D as the breakthrough point, allowing their strike force to infiltrate from there.
Up until just moments ago, everything had been progressing smoothly.
The three-thousand-man strike force had already broken through Konoha's defensive line.
As long as they could push forward and break through the five hundred defenders at Kikyō Mountain Fortress, they could march directly toward Konoha Village, crushing the morale of Konoha's forces in one decisive blow.
Yet now—
the hill they believed to be Konoha's weakest defense had become the problem.
How could A accept that?
The Iwa shinobi who delivered the message spoke anxiously:
"A hidden powerhouse has appeared among the Uchiha on Hill C! Earlier he was ignoring our attacks entirely while slaughtering our ninja!"
"And now he's used some unknown technique to create a chakra giant dozens of meters tall. It's rampaging through our formation—no one can even last a single exchange against him!"
"In less than a few minutes he's already killed several hundred of our men, and he's leading the Konoha forces all the way down the mountain!"
"If this continues, he may soon lead the shinobi from Hill C to flank our rear through Hill D or Hill B. Lord Raikage, please make a decision quickly!"
"A chakra giant…?"
"Susanoo…? The Mangekyō Sharingan?"
A's pupils shrank.
Now he understood why the allied troops on Hill C had collapsed so quickly.
He immediately issued an order.
"Send five hundred from the remaining one thousand reserves to reinforce Hill C immediately!"
"They must hold them back at all costs!"
As the Fourth Raikage, A knew many secrets of the shinobi world that ordinary people never encountered.
Once the terms 'chakra giant' and 'Uchiha clan' were connected—
the first thing that came to mind was Susanoo, the Mangekyō Sharingan's ultimate ability of the Uchiha.
And Susanoo required the Sharingan to evolve into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Any Uchiha capable of wielding such power would undoubtedly be a Kage-level shinobi once they mastered it.
Against such a figure leading a charge, it was no surprise that the allied troops on Hill C—without an equal opponent—were collapsing.
"Yes!"
The Iwa ninja immediately turned and rushed away, leading five hundred allied reserves toward Hill C.
"Tch… damn it!"
"Konoha… the Uchiha… they really produce endless geniuses."
After the reserves departed, A clenched his teeth.
For the first time, he felt genuine envy toward Konoha.
Not only did the village occupy the most fertile lands in the shinobi world, but it also seemed to produce countless prodigies.
At the same time, A felt restless.
He wanted nothing more than to charge into the battlefield himself.
But his injuries made that impossible.
Before he could calm himself—
another Iwagakure shinobi, scorched black and clearly battered from battle, came running toward him.
From a distance he shouted:
"Lord Raikage! Lord Kitsuchi and the Four-Tails jinchūriki have been defeated!"
"The situation on Hill B is critical! Please send reinforcements immediately!"
"Hill B… Uchiha Ren!"
A's expression twisted.
"I knew it! I told you from the start that you needed to take Uchiha Ren seriously!"
In truth, A wasn't surprised.
He had already anticipated this possibility.
Having fought Ren personally, A knew full well that Ren's strength was far from ordinary.
He needed special countermeasures.
Unfortunately, in this alliance Kumogakure did not hold command authority.
Few people had listened to his warnings.
"Send all remaining forces to Hill B immediately!"
"Do not fight Uchiha Ren head-on. Just hold them back!"
Although countless thoughts ran through A's mind, he didn't hesitate when issuing orders.
Under the current circumstances—
the battles on Hills A, B, C, and D were no longer the most important factor.
As long as the allied army could pin down Konoha's main forces on those four hills—
and allow the three-thousand strike force to break through Kikyō Mountain Fortress—
the final victory would still belong to the Three-Village Alliance.
But now both Hill B, where Uchiha Ren stood, and Hill C, where the mysterious Uchiha powerhouse had appeared, were already collapsing.
All A could do now was buy time with lives, delaying their advance as much as possible.
A frowned deeply as he gazed toward Hill B.
An uneasy feeling slowly rose in his heart.
Although he had expected Kitsuchi and Rōshi to eventually lose against Ren, their combination had actually countered Ren's abilities fairly well.
Even so—
he had never imagined they would lose so quickly.
From the moment they confirmed Ren was defending Hill B…
To when Kitsuchi and Rōshi arrived to confront him…
To the moment news of their defeat returned—
less than half an hour had passed.
Subtracting travel time—
their actual battle might not have lasted even ten minutes.
Both Kitsuchi and Rōshi were battle-hardened Kage-level fighters who had survived the Third Shinobi World War.
Even A himself wouldn't dare guarantee that he could defeat either of them within ten minutes.
So how had Uchiha Ren done it?
Unless…
When Ren fought him, he had still been holding back.
A's brow furrowed even tighter.
The thought made him even more restless.
If Uchiha Ren had truly been hiding his strength—
just how powerful was he?
And could the reinforcements rushing there really hold him back?
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