Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

"Haha, that's great! Absolutely great!!!"

Uchiha Naruto couldn't help but burst into laughter.

He was one of the best in his clan, and as one of only three captains in the police department, he was not lacking in strength or skill. However, day after day, month after month, year after year, he spent his days dealing with trivial matters such as theft and robbery in the village, leaving him with a lot of strength but no way to use it. Sometimes he even missed the Third Shinobi World War and the exhilarating time when he could move freely on the battlefield!

And now,

He truly experienced this indescribable joy once again!

Uchiha Inahisa was covered in blood, wielding two swords, one tucked under his left armpit and the other behind his right knee. His family was a four-sword style passed down through generations, and at this moment, he had transformed into a walking killing machine. Any Cloud Ninja who stood in his way was immediately frozen in place with genjutsu, and the next second, all four swords struck at once, tearing the person to pieces.

Even the other Uchiha clan members, who were known for their ferocity, rarely approached them.

Only his younger brother, Uchiha Tetsuka, followed closely behind him, and the two brothers joined forces to rampage through the enemy ranks!

"So strong!"

Watching the Uchiha's fierce offensive, Kimimaro, who had just stabbed a Cloud Ninja with a bone-piercing weapon, was stunned as he carried the corpse. Having witnessed the battles of Uchiha Shisui and Orochimaru, he had a high level of understanding and was not surprised by the performance of any one person. What shocked him was the madness and fighting spirit of the Uchiha clan!

For a moment, he seemed to see the Kaguya clan being wiped out by the Kirigakure.

However, unlike those arrogant and ignorant clansmen, the Uchiha clan is far, far stronger!

This group of Cloud Ninja was almost instantly defeated by the Uchiha clan's offensive, annihilating all the Cloud Ninja in the vicinity in a very short time, perfectly executing Shisui's order to leave no survivors.

As for the losses on Konoha's side,

Insignificant

No one from the Uchiha clan died; only two very young chuunibyou suffered minor injuries. As for the non-Uchiha ninjas... not a single one could be found wounded. Their momentum was nowhere near as terrifying as that of the Uchiha clan. They were a step behind in their actions, and by the time they joined the battle, they found themselves only there to clean up the battlefield!

Only Might Guy was fast enough to take down seven or eight Cloud Ninja and snatch the kill from the Uchiha.

This also made many Uchiha take notice and acknowledge Might Guy's strength!

Oh, and strictly speaking, there's also Kimimaro. As expected of a descendant of the Kaguya clan, he inherited the Kaguya clan's belligerence. While he was amazed by the Uchiha clan's madness and power, his movements were more agile than many adults. Flying white bones reaped the lives of the Cloud Ninja, and he and Itachi Uchiha charged through the Cloud Ninja formation as if they were nothing.

"Shisui, the Cloud Ninja have lit a signal to send a message. What's next for us..." Uchiha Fugaku walked over, stepping on the blood-soaked ground.

"keep going."

Shisui tossed aside the lifeless Cloud Ninja in his hand and confirmed the location of the Cloud Ninja's main camp in the Kusatsu Mountains once again from the other's mind. It was consistent with the previous intelligence, so there was no need to worry about going to the wrong place. He could just charge straight there!

He didn't even use Susanoo. He relied entirely on his incredibly fast Body Flicker Technique and his unpredictable Uchiha-style swordsmanship to overwhelm these Cloud Ninja. He didn't consume much chakra, and when he looked around, he could tell that his clansmen weren't exhausted and didn't need to stop to rest.

"Let's take down the Kumo ninja of Kusatsu Mountain in one fell swoop and teach them a lesson in pain."

"Then let's continue."

This time,

Fugaku Uchiha didn't utter a single word of advice or prudent advice. Blood was still dripping from the katana in his hand, his muscles, which he had finally loosened up, were still craving more exercise, and his emotions were still in a state of high excitement. It seemed that it would take a long time for him to cool down.

Shisui's order was quickly relayed down.

There was no time to thoroughly clean up the battlefield.

After a cursory inspection, they collected the bodies of the Cloud Ninja's Jonin and a Chunin with the Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, leaving the rest of the bodies behind. The group continued their advance, heading towards the Cloud Ninja's main camp in the Kusatsu Mountains under Shisui's leadership.

The terrifying killing intent that soared into the sky startled the birds and frightened the beasts away.

now,

Darui, who was in charge of guarding the Kusatsu Mountains, also received news of Konoha's attack. He made a decisive move, sending someone to deliver a message to the Raikage who was still in the rear, while gathering his men and charging out of the camp without hesitation, heading in the direction from which the smoke signals were rising.

[Chapter 185. Engagement]

It was just past noon. The miso soup was so hot it was hard to eat, but the golden-brown rice balls smelled delicious. With canned meat and dried vegetables, everyone was even given cigarettes and tea. The female ninjas didn't have cigarettes, but instead had candy. It was quite a lavish lunch.

As the saying goes, "one leaf falling tells us that autumn is here." The food provided by the Cloud Ninjas demonstrates the strength of the Land of Lightning. It is indeed the second strongest country after the Land of Fire. The Sand Ninjas, Rock Ninjas, and even the Mist Ninjas do not have such good food. Only the Leaf Village can surpass them in this respect.

Just as the Cloud Ninja were about to enjoy their meal, the rising smoke signals forced them to put down their bowls, chopsticks, and rice balls.

Look in the direction the smoke signals are rising.

It was obvious to anyone with a brain that the Konoha ninjas were launching a counterattack. However, these Cloud ninjas showed no fear or panic. Their glorious record of consecutive victories and the Konoha ninjas' humiliating retreat had boosted their morale to new heights. At this moment, they were only angry at the Konoha ninjas for interrupting their meal.

Without even waiting for their boss to urge them,

The Cloud Ninja had already assembled and were just waiting for the order to attack together, beat the Leaf Ninja to a pulp, and then continue eating.

"set off!"

Darui frowned and gave the order.

Unlike his subordinates, who were full of fighting spirit, Darui had not forgotten what happened to the two Yugitos. Even now, the two Yugitos still looked like they hated war and went around trying to persuade people to end the war with Konoha. Then, the Raikage directly issued a confinement order. It was because of the two Yugitos that the Cloud Ninjas' southward march was delayed.

The changes in the two Yugitos were truly terrifying. The longer one observed them, the more one could appreciate how drastic their transformation had become. What was most frightening was that the two Yugitos themselves didn't feel that anything was wrong with them. Instead, they were genuinely remorseful for their past violence.

Whenever I think of the two Yugito's heartbroken expressions,

A chill ran down Darui's spine.

"Uchiha Shisui".

Darui muttered to himself.

The fact that the Cloud Ninja haven't launched any more attacks during this period doesn't mean they haven't done anything. Under Tsuchikage's control, the Cloud Ninja's intelligence system has been fully activated, gathering as much information as possible about the Uchiha clan. At the very least, they know that the person who fought against the two Yugitos that day was Uchiha Shisui, the "Shock Technique," and they even obtained a photograph.

"Darui, a large amount of chakra is approaching from ahead."

The one speaking is 'hope'.

As Darui's second-in-command, the two of them were responsible for building the defenses of the Kusatsu mountain area.

"They came so fast!"

Upon hearing this, Darui stopped in his tracks. He stood on the grass, gazing at the lush, dense forest in the distance, his heart heavy. The speed at which the Konoha ninjas were advancing was truly astonishing. He believed that from the moment the smoke signals rose, the patrolling Cloud Ninjas would rush over to intercept the Konoha ninjas' advance.

however,

The Konoha ninja still managed to advance here in such a short time.

It was as if they had been running at full speed all the way, and the Cloud Ninjas blocking their way couldn't even delay them for a few minutes.

"Pass down the order to prepare for battle."

Darui forcibly cleared the chaotic thoughts from his mind and gave orders for his subordinates to form a battle formation to prepare to meet the attack of the Konoha ninjas. At the same time, he also prepared himself, forming a 'Ren Seal' with his hands and using the [Shadow Clone Technique], where two shadow clones appeared around him.

"hope, be careful, don't fall into that Uchiha Shisui's trap."

Darui turned to his friend and gave him a word of advice.

"I will be careful."

hope nodded, maintaining his hand seals and using sensory ninjutsu to monitor the Konoha ninja charging towards him. Suddenly, he widened his eyes and shouted, "They're here!"

"Go! Throw!"

At the same time, Darui waved his hand and shouted the order.

next second,

Kunai with explosive tags hanging from them swept towards the forest in front of the Cloud Ninja like a storm. One explosion after another echoed in the surrounding area. A series of explosions and flames resembled a long, winding orange-red snake twisting its body in the forest, blasting a large area of ​​trees into flat ground.

only--

"damn it!"

Darui's face was grim.

Without even asking hope, the sensory ninja, about the outcome of the attack, he could tell from the sight of the emerald green giant with its upper body only, standing on the ground with its arms outstretched, that the previous attack had most likely yielded nothing of note.

"Special Operations Team, advance."

Darui couldn't bother talking to hope anymore. As the supreme commander, it was his job to direct the battle at hand. Of course, one shadow clone was enough to direct the battle. As the strongest among the thousand-plus Cloud Ninja, he couldn't possibly stand behind and remotely command the battle.

Commanders charging ahead is a long-standing tradition of the Cloud Ninja.

Darui left one shadow clone behind to command the battle with Hii, while he and another shadow clone, along with the 'Special Operations Squad,' charged toward the emerald green giant whose true name was 'Susanoo.' This 'Special Operations Squad' was a group that Darui had carefully established after witnessing the battle between Uchiha Shisui and the two Yugito.

Their outpost in the Kusatsu Mountains had no henchmen.

What should I do if I encounter 'Susanoo'?

Based on this consideration, Darui selected elites from among the thousands of Cloud Ninja who were proficient in Earth Release or Water Release techniques, as well as those who were extremely skilled in powerful offensive ninjutsu, and formed this casually named 'Special Operations Squad'.

This isn't exactly an innovation. Cloud Village had previously established a sealing team specifically for tailed beasts. However, it's clear that Susanoo isn't a tailed beast. After consulting with Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Darui abandoned the idea of ​​gathering experts skilled in sealing techniques and instead recruited many elites skilled in offensive ninjutsu.

According to the information relayed by Killer Bee from the Eight-Tails, Darui learned that the Uchiha clan's 'Susanoo' is not a tailed beast, a chakra aggregate with independent will that can be sealed. The essence of Susanoo is still a flesh-and-blood 'human,' and sealing techniques targeting tailed beasts have no effect on humans.

As for curse seals on people, there are fewer people skilled in this than those who have mastered sealing techniques. At least none of Darui's more than a thousand subordinates have mastered curse seals.

Simultaneously,

He also knew that Susanoo's defensive power was astonishing, and that ordinary attacks could not break through Susanoo, which is why he gathered Cloud Ninjas who were skilled in offensive ninjutsu.

"First wave of Earth Release, second wave of Water Release, attack in order."

Darui gave the order urgently.

【Earth Release: Earth Flow】

The Cloud Ninja, who had mastered the Earth Release technique, used it after several days of intensive practice. After completing the hand seals, more than ten of them simultaneously punched the ground, causing the earth to tremble and the once solid land to shatter into fine sand-like particles of dust.

then,

The one who made the move was a Cloud Ninja who had mastered Water Release techniques.

They joined forces and unleashed [Water Release: Water Chaos Wave], the surging water and the shattered dust particles mixing together to instantly form a large swamp with incredible suction power. It seemed the Cloud Ninja were preparing to use this swamp to restrict Susanoo's mobility.

It's also because the Cloud Ninja lacks Earth Release masters; otherwise, they could simply unleash a [Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld] and be done with it. However, the Cloud Ninja are mostly skilled in Lightning Release techniques, and due to the Cloud Village's unique emphasis on swordsmanship and taijutsu, even the Jonin rarely delve into other chakra nature transformations, often specializing in Lightning Release taijutsu and swordsmanship.

It must have taken a lot of effort for Darui to find so many ninjas who mastered Earth Release and Water Release techniques.

"Now's the time. Join me in this attack."

Seeing Susanoo sink into the swamp, Darui swiftly formed hand seals and unleashed one of his strongest techniques.

【Storm Escape: Resilience and Resilience】

Water vapor swirled around his clasped hands, from which beams of dazzling laser light shot out, instantly bridging the distance between him and Susanoo, striking Susanoo heavily in the abdomen—a location known from previous observations as the source of Susanoo's chakra in its half-body form.

[Lightning Release: False Darkness]

[Lightning Release: Raging Thunder Tiger]