Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

"At this time... huff... at this time, don't think too much, Lord Xi. Anything is better than total annihilation. To put it bluntly, Lord Darui is the commander-in-chief, he can't retreat. You, Lord Xi, are the adjutant, so you don't have so many concerns. I know you and Lord Darui have a good relationship, but the village, huff, the village, the village is the most important."

After saying that,

Unable to hold on any longer, crimson blood gushed from the hastily bandaged wounds on his body. This old Yun ninja did not live out his days in peace and die in his bed, but fell on the battlefield like his comrades who had passed away long ago.

"Retreat! Retreat immediately!"

hope hardened his heart and issued the order to retreat.

However, he was clearly quite sensible and did not spread the order widely. Instead, he led his group of people to retreat slowly. How to retreat is also an art. If the order to retreat were spread widely, the already disadvantageous situation would probably collapse immediately.

If we have to withdraw, we can only do so quietly and discreetly.

As for the fact that doing so means abandoning so many comrades, that was a helpless situation. How could they possibly retreat from under the noses of the Konoha ninjas without paying a sufficient price?

And there's Darui...

hope gritted his teeth, refusing to look at Darui, who was surrounded by layers upon layers of Uchiha ninjas. As an excellent sensory ninja, he knew that Darui was in big trouble, but he couldn't help Darui solve the problem. Instead, he could only run away!

To be honest, the unusual movements of the Cloud Ninja did not escape the notice of the Konoha Ninja.

There are people watching hope and his group!

However, Shisui was still locked in a fierce battle with Darui. When the news reached Fugaku Uchiha, who had just dispatched two more Cloud Ninja with a single stroke, Fugaku pondered for a moment before saying, "Let them go! The clan head once said that the Uchiha's reputation needs the corpses of the dead to build its foundation, but it also needs the words of the living to spread its word..."

Thus, the Konoha ninjas ignored the retreating Hii and devoted all their energy to the battle to wipe out the remaining Cloud Ninjas.

"Surrender!"

Shisui looked at the stubborn Darui and said, "You have already lost. If you are willing to surrender and let your men give up resistance, I can guarantee that they will live..." Before he could finish speaking, Darui suddenly became fierce and fought back fiercely despite his injuries, proving his attitude.

Surrender is absolutely out of the question!

With Shisui's deliberate relaxation, Darui was able to focus his attention on the current battle situation. The Cloud Ninja's crushing defeat was an open fact. He hadn't seen Xi's retreat, but not finding Xi's shadow itself meant that he was either dead or had retreated.

I hope it's the latter!

Realizing the current situation, Darui was not persuaded to surrender by Shisui's tempting words. It was true that he valued the lives of his subordinates, but he was also a Cloud Ninja, and surrender was absolutely out of the question. Rather than surrender, he would rather die here with his subordinates.

then,

The lightning emanating from his entire body intensified.

The violent lightning increased his movement speed again, although at the cost of physical damage from the lightning. The Hidden Cloud Village's ninjutsu is based on lightning release, which uses lightning to stimulate the body and continuously improve physical qualities, thereby enhancing one's combat power.

However, this improvement needs to be done gradually.

Otherwise, using excessively strong lightning to stimulate oneself might result in a significant improvement in the short term, but in the long run, it would inevitably lead to a backlash. Darui could clearly feel his muscles and meridians screaming in agony.

only--

He's no longer thinking about the future!

With his movement speed greatly increased, Darui finally managed to distance himself from Shisui. He formed a hand seal, and black lightning erupted from his body, condensing into a black lightning leopard that pounced on Shisui. This was the 'Black Lightning' technique he inherited from the Third Raikage.

But this is not the end.

Darui didn't think he could defeat Shisui with just this one move. He continued to retreat, trying to create distance. Suddenly, he felt a chill under his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the ground beneath his feet had turned into a pool of water. Fortunately, his body reacted quickly, releasing chakra the moment his feet touched the water, and he stood firmly on the surface.

This caused ripples to spread across the water, and the reflection of a pair of scarlet eyes on the surface also trembled...

"Oops!"

Darui looked terrified.

His rapidly working brain had already sensed something was wrong, but before his body could catch up, his consciousness suddenly became a little hazy. His upper eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds and kept drooping down, while his lower eyelids seemed to be hanging up like hydrogen balloons, and a drowsy feeling forcibly filled his mind.

【Magic - Dragon's Sleep Technique】

Shisui blinked.

Seeing Darui lying on the ground, he shouted, "A few men, restrain this guy! He's a big prey; he's to be delivered alive to the clan leader." As soon as he finished speaking, Uchiha Naruto and Uchiha Yasuo rushed over from either side.

As high-ranking members of the Konoha Police Department, they all possessed the Cursed Seal Technique for sealing chakra. Their scrolls also contained specialized ninja tools for sealing chakra. Working together, the two of them quickly and easily bound Darui tightly.

[Chapter 187. A Group of Robbers with a Habitual Nature]

The capture of Darui and the escape of hope did not lead the remaining Cloud Ninjas to surrender or flee. On the contrary, when faced with this desperate situation, the Cloud Ninjas launched a frantic counterattack at all costs. Of course, this does not mean that the Cloud Ninjas disregarded life and death.

Precisely,

It was the education they received from childhood that overwhelmed their fear of death.

In the ninjas' educational philosophy, death is not terrible; what is terrible is the humiliation of surviving without completing a mission. Moreover, at this point, escape is not guaranteed. The Cloud Ninjas' military training allowed them to accurately assess just how dire the situation was.

The battle has been going on for about ten minutes now. The Cloud Ninja have suffered more than 700 casualties. If we exclude the more than 20 people who retreated with hope, there are less than 400 Cloud Ninja left. On the other hand, the number of casualties in Konoha is less than 50.

That is,

The Cloud Ninja's numerical advantage has been reduced to the extreme.

The most critical point is that Darui, the commander of the Cloud Ninja, was defeated, which freed up Shisui's hands. With his Body Flicker Technique, Shisui's speed in reaping lives on the battlefield was not much slower than that of the Fourth Hokage. At most, he could not attend to multiple battlefields at the same time and could only show his skills on one battlefield.

Whether they were clearly aware that they had become trapped beasts, or whether their subconscious intuition was at play, the Cloud Ninjas fought desperately for their lives.

unfortunately,

They are neither Hashirama Senju nor Madara Uchiha; even if they perform at an exceptional level, they cannot reverse the tilt of the scales of victory.

"The Flying Thunder God Technique... I should have a chance to witness it after this great battle, right?"

While killing, Shisui recalled his conversation with Sogen when he defeated the Mist Ninja. It was a pity that he didn't have the chance to return to Konoha when he left the Land of Water, but went directly to the front line of the Land of Hot Springs. Otherwise, he might have already learned the Flying Thunder God Technique!

To outsiders, Zhi Shui appears so humble, polite, simple, and kind, making one feel as if they are in a warm and welcoming place.

but,

Deep down, he still harbors the pride of the Uchiha clan.

He never doubted his own talent and ability. In the path of cultivation, even Zongxian did not think he was better than him. And his close friend Itachi, despite their age difference, was no less capable than him. Of course, this only refers to cultivation. In other aspects, he was very self-aware. For example, in the position of clan leader, he could not do what Zongxian had done, even if he followed his example.

Five more minutes passed.

The last Cloud Ninja was slit in the throat by Shisui, collapsing to the ground spraying blood. With that, the battle against the main force of the Cloud Ninja army led by Darui came to an end. The Cloud Ninja side suffered a great defeat, their commander was captured, their deputy commander retreated, and more than a thousand Cloud Ninja were wiped out.

Konoha, already at a disadvantage in terms of troop strength, did not have the extra resources to divide its forces to guard a large number of prisoners. With one big fish like Darui, it was enough to have these uncertain and unusable prisoners; any more would only be a burden!

Shisui flicked his Sky Blade.

The blood droplets clinging to the blade were quickly wiped away, and the smooth, snow-white blade looked brand new, as if it had just been unsheathed, without even a scratch. In contrast, Darui's high-quality longsword already had dozens of small nicks when he was captured.

The quality of ninja tools

This still has a significant impact on the battles of the ninjas.

"Elder Fugaku, have the men been sent out?"

Shisui sheathed the Sky Blade and turned to look at Uchiha Fugaku who was walking towards him.

"I've already sent Itachi and Kimimaro on their way. They're young, but they travel quite fast. Plus, the clan leader was prepared, so we shouldn't have to hold out for too long." Fugaku Uchiha answered carefully, explaining not only what he had done but also why he did it.

"Taking Kusatsu Mountain is just the beginning; this battle is far from over."

"That's what Shi Shui murmured."

Regardless of whether hope or his group evacuated, as long as the Cloud Ninja weren't stupid, they would definitely have sent someone to inform them before the battle began. If nothing unexpected happened, the Cloud Ninja's reinforcements would arrive soon, and perhaps even their main force would come.

"The main event is yet to come."

Fugaku Uchiha agreed, saying that defeating Darui's forces was just the beginning; the real show was about to begin.

"Iron Fire".

Shisui saw Uchiha Tekka, who had four swords hanging from his waist and looked like a walking human weapon rack, and called him over, instructing him: "Go and tell everyone that the battlefield cleanup doesn't need to be too thorough. Just collect the bodies of our own people and let everyone rest and recover their strength. There will probably be tough battles to fight next, so don't waste your chakra and stamina."

"Don't worry, Brother Zhishui, everyone knows what's going on! We're just checking to see if anyone's faking death."

Uchiha Tetsuka chuckled, completely losing the seriousness he had when he was with his older brother Uchiha Inahisa in the clan. Half of his face was covered in blood, and combined with his stiff smile, he looked terrifying no matter how you looked at him. If he were in the clan, he would definitely scare a lot of the kids.

"You all know what to do. Also... go find Ming Lei and ask him to take better care of the sentry duty."

"Okay, I'll go right away."

"As for the wounded, those who can't move, and those who are still breathing, try to send them to the back. If a fight breaks out later, they won't get in the way. Have those who know medical ninjutsu go and help take care of them too... Let Senior Yatsushiro arrange this matter. He is mature and prudent, and we can trust him with this."

Uchiha Tetsuka stood still, glanced at Shisui for two seconds, and after confirming that nothing was wrong, he got up and left to find Uchiha Naruto and Uchiha Hachiho to deliver a message.

Shisui stood amidst this pile of dead bodies.

He surveyed the corpses lying around him and sighed softly, "The Cloud Ninja are still very strong!" Almost all of their Uchiha clan's elite forces had been deployed, yet they still lost seventeen men, were seriously injured twenty-two, and suffered even more minor injuries. From this perspective, the Cloud Ninja were indeed a formidable opponent.

"Of the five great ninja villages, Kumogakure is the most warlike!" Fugaku Uchiha looked around, found a fallen tree trunk, blew off the dust and dirt, and invited Shisui to sit down and rest. "Unlike our Konoha, Kumogakure is truly ruled by the martial arts faction. From the Raikage down to the ordinary genin, it's no exaggeration to say they're warlike by nature."

"However, the Cloud Ninja are most famous for their greed. Bloodline limits, secret techniques, tailed beasts, there is nothing they don't want as long as it is good. The Cloud Ninja's Magnet Release Bloodline Limit was stolen from the Sand Ninja. They even dared to kidnap people in Konoha for the sake of the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan."

"That matter...the fault wasn't Hinata's."

Shisui slowly uttered this.

"Yes! It wasn't Hyuga who was wrong. The Hyuga clan leader only killed a kidnapper. It's a pity that at that time..." Uchiha Fugaku sighed repeatedly. The Third Hokage was truly a complicated person. He was really talented when he was young, but later he became more and more narrow-minded, far less magnanimous than the First and Second Hokage.

It's one thing to not tolerate the Uchiha clan, but the long-standing grievances are impossible to unravel. The most regrettable thing is abandoning the Uzumaki clan, a staunch ally. Don't try to justify it by saying Konoha was already in dire straits at the time; it wasn't that badly off! Back then, the Third Hokage was in his prime, White Fang was still alive, the Sannin had risen to power, and the Uchiha and Hyuga clans had deep-rooted resources…

Unfortunately, in Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, Konoha didn't need to risk their lives for the Uzumaki clan; they only brought back Kushina Uzumaki and most of the Uzumaki clan's legacy.

"Hey! We've gone off-topic. We were talking about the Cloud Ninja! How did we get so far off track? Anyway, if you ask me, there aren't many good people in the Cloud Ninja from top to bottom. They're just a bunch of bandits who are addicted to plundering. There's no use reasoning with them. You can't expect to reason with a bunch of bandits. You have to beat them so badly that they'll know what regret is..."

Fugaku Uchiha made no attempt to hide his disgust for the Cloud Ninja.

The relationship between the Hyuga and Uchiha clans wasn't close enough to be united against a common enemy. However, as fellow bloodline clans, they both loathed anyone stealing their bloodline limits. The Cloud Ninja's banditry was truly despicable. If this had happened during the Warring States period, any organization that dared to attack the bloodline limits of various clans would have been condemned by all the clans with bloodline limits.

"The Cloud Ninja... are indeed not good people."

Shisui thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

The previous invasion by the Mist Ninja was caused by that bastard who claimed to be Uchiha Madara, but the southward march of the Cloud Ninja has been confirmed by the spies planted in the Cloud Village.

Time passed by minute by minute,

The dark clouds in the sky grew even darker, like an inkwell, but the snow never fell heavily. The tiny snowflakes were blown apart by the wind before they even hit the ground, and as soon as they did, they turned into snow flakes. The snowflakes drifted down in a stinging, unpleasant manner.

On the way, hope Shi encountered the Fourth Raikage and a large force of Cloud Ninja who had rushed over after receiving the letter.

Upon seeing Hijiri and his remaining troops, starting from the Fourth Raikage and down, many immediately realized they were too late.

"hope, what happened?"