Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

A purplish-red light emanated from his body.

A gigantic arm reached out to grab the Fourth Raikage, who was moving like lightning. Ai rammed headfirst into the skeletal arm and shattered the fingers wreathed in purplish-red illusory flames with his terrifying wrist strength, enough to shatter steel.

"That is?"

"Susanoo?"

"How could this be? Elder Fugaku is also...?"

The Uchiha Jonin had no time to grieve for Uchiha Toshikazu's death; they were stunned by the methods displayed by their clan leader. Apart from a few people like Uchiha Hachika, most of them were dumbfounded by what they saw.

"really!"

Uchiha Hachimoku muttered to himself, "You've awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan too!"

"The Mangekyou Sharingan... It's amazing!!!" Uchiha Naruto stared at the purplish-red Susanoo, which only revealed its upper body, with an unprecedented burning desire rising in his heart. If only the clan leader had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, he felt only awe. But when he discovered that Shisui had also awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, he was tempted.

Then,

Seeing that Fugaku Uchiha, the former clan head, has also awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan only intensifies the longing in one's heart!

Not only Uchiha Naruto, but also Uchiha Inahisa, Uchiha Tekka, Uchiha Hokuto... At this moment, many Uchiha Jonin showed an uncontrollable desire. The Uchiha, who admired strength and power, had an unyielding persistence in becoming stronger.

"Damn it! Absolutely despicable!"

At this moment, Fugaku Uchiha was in an extremely bad mood.

He once again deeply resented his conservative nature, always thinking of holding back, even knowing that he was about to face a powerful enemy several times his size, and even though he had made up his mind to dedicate all his strength to the family, he still failed to make a move at the first moment.

The disastrous consequence was the death of Uchiha Toshikazu!

No, it wasn't just Uchiha Toshikazu. Including Uchiha Toshikazu, four Uchiha Jonin died at A's hands. It was all his fault. His concealment of his abilities caused the deaths of these clansmen who had a chance to live, or at least not to die such a miserable and worthless death!

Guilt, regret, self-blame, anger, tyranny... a jumble of emotions swirled in his chest, making him stubbornly stare at the Fourth Raikage, adopting a stance as if he were determined to fight the Fourth Raikage to the death.

Fortunately,

His rationality had not yet been overwhelmed by those complex emotions.

Susanoo was maintained in the first stage, with ribs wrapped in purplish-red flames encircling his body. The huge hole in his body almost completely protected Fugaku Uchiha. The reason it wasn't completely protected was because there was still a gap under his feet.

But this form is sufficient.

While ensuring sufficient defense, it also prevents his eye power from being quickly depleted. Unlike Shisui, who has Samehada, he has to use his limited eye power sparingly. Unfortunately, his Mangekyou Sharingan's eye techniques are not physical attack types, but illusion types, which require contact with the eye to be used.

The Fourth Raikage was clearly wary of the Uchiha's genjutsu, keeping his eyes lowered and fighting by observing their hands, feet, and bodies, completely avoiding eye contact with the Uchiha. This made it difficult for Fugaku Uchiha to use his eye techniques, forcing him to fight using Susanoo.

"I'll deal with the Fourth Raikage. You all go and deal with the other Cloud Ninja. Kill them all! Slaughter these bandits!!!"

The orders from the former clan leader and current elder reached the ears of the nearby Uchiha clan Jonin. Without uttering a word, the Uchiha Jonin immediately dispersed, extricating themselves from the battlefield between Uchiha Fugaku and A, and turned to meet the Cloud Ninja elites who had bypassed the sea of ​​fire and were charging towards them.

The fierce and bloody battle erupted completely in that instant.

More than two hundred Cloud Ninja Jonin faced off against more than sixty Leaf Ninja Jonin.

It may seem like they are facing an enemy four times their size, but Konoha is used to this. Konoha ninjas, who have always fought on all sides, have always been able to fight against the many and win with the few. Even though Konoha's military strength can surpass that of any other village, the problem is that Konoha has basically never fought any village one-on-one.

Even if it seems like Konoha is only fighting against one village for a period of time, at the same time a large number of troops must be deployed on the border to guard against sneak attacks from other villages. Other villages do not have the same concerns as Konoha, and at most they will guard against one or two villages, or even not at all.

At least before the Iwa ninja attacked the Kumo ninja, the villages always went all out when fighting against Konoha. Otherwise, the Kumo ninja wouldn't have been in such a sorry state because of the Iwa ninja's surprise attack, and they wouldn't have lost their Third Raikage.

Sixty-odd Konoha Jonin, mainly composed of Uchiha Jonin, withstood the attack of more than two hundred Kumo Ninja Jonin. The Uchiha Jonin were basically fighting two against one. The Sharingan's genjutsu was so formidable that unless one was a genius with great self-confidence, few dared to engage in one-on-one combat with the Uchiha Jonin.

but,

Aside from the Jonin of the Uchiha clan.

Among the small number of non-Uchiha Jonin, Konoha's Blue Beast once again shone brightly. Might Guy directly opened the [Eight Gates Released Formation - Sixth Gate - Gate of View], surpassing the speed of the Cloud Ninja who used Lightning Release Chakra Mode. At the beginning of the battle, he used [True Lotus] to kill two Cloud Jonin in succession. It wasn't until his third attack that he was temporarily entangled by the combined efforts of three Cloud Jonin.

When the Leaf Village and the Cloud Ninja were locked in a fierce battle...

The battle between Fugaku Uchiha and A directly entered a white-hot stage. One used his ultimate technique, Susanoo, while the other pushed his Lightning Release Chakra Mode to its peak. Both of them were determined to fight each other.

As for the reasons,

Very simple,

Fugaku Uchiha wanted to avenge the deaths of Uchiha Toshiwa and others who died because of his mistakes (in his own opinion), but he also had to stop the Fourth Raikage and prevent him from using his incredible speed, which even Fugaku couldn't catch, to indiscriminately kill his own people.

A stared intently at Fugaku Uchiha because he hadn't expected that there was another Uchiha who possessed such an unreasonable skill as Susanoo. He worried that if Fugaku Uchiha was left unattended, and Fugaku Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha joined forces, his younger brother Killer Bee might not be able to stop the two Susanoo on his own.

At that time, wouldn't the six thousand Cloud Ninja troops he brought become like wheat in a wheat field, waiting to be harvested?

Both men, for different reasons, considered it their responsibility to defeat the other. With the determination to kill each other, they used their trump cards and launched their strongest attacks, exchanging blows hundreds of times in just a few minutes.

Susanoo was shattered many times.

However, Fugaku Uchiha was different from his second son. Although he couldn't keep up with A's speed due to his extensive combat experience, he used his small-scale footwork and position changes to narrowly avoid A's attack when Susanoo was shattered. He then quickly released his eye power to make Susanoo reappear and kept looking for an opportunity to use his Mangekyou Sharingan eye techniques.

[Chapter 190 Orochimaru's Attempt to Pick Up a Bargain]

Orochimaru felt as if an unprecedented grand performance was unfolding in his brain, with countless cheers exploding in his mind. Every brain cell was cheering and jumping for joy, and everyone was shouting out their yearning!

Sharingan!

What a beautiful and powerful force!

"Hahahaha!!! The Uchiha clan... truly the perfect vessel!" His golden vertical pupils burned with intense flames. He so desperately craved the Sharingan. His battle with Uchiha Shisui made him realize that he had been searching for the perfect vessel all along. The most perfect vessel was right there in Konoha, yet he had traveled to the Land of Water, the Land of Lightning, the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind... practically traversing every corner of the continent in search of a suitable vessel that could help him achieve true immortality.

The technique of resurrection is not perfect.

His crushing defeat against Uchiha Shisui made him realize the flaws in the Reanimation Jutsu. The path to immortality was indeed long and arduous. His current achievements could only be described as a glimpse into the basics. There was still a long way to go before he could conquer the perfect immortality he envisioned!

to this end,

He needs a better, more outstanding container.

If the path to immortality is a vast ocean, then in Orochimaru's view, the physical vessel is the ship to cross the sea. Some vessels are nothing more than bamboo rafts or small boats, which can only circle around the shore at most. If the wind and waves are a little too strong, both the person and the boat will capsize in the sea. The superior vessel is a giant ocean liner. As long as you're not out of your mind, you know which one can go further!

After examining countless different vessels, Orochimaru discovered that the most ideal vessel was Konoha, which he had left. Without exception, all members of the Uchiha clan who had awakened their Sharingan were excellent vessels, and those who were near-perfect vessels, such as Uchiha Sogen and Uchiha Shisui, were even more exciting and irresistible.

He left the Land of Water and came to the Land of Hot Water, carefully infiltrating the battlefield between Konoha and Kumogakure, looking for an opportunity to scavenge. Unfortunately, he hasn't found anything of value yet. Orochimaru knows very well that he won't be well received by either Konoha or Kumogakure.

Once exposed,

He was sure to be hunted down by two villages.

Therefore, he could only hide his whereabouts and dared not appear in public openly.

Tilt your head back.

He took a deep breath of the cold air, forcibly cooling his overheated brain and suppressing all those overly radical ideas. Uchiha Shisui was indeed a near-perfect vessel, but the problem he faced was that such a vessel was a bit too strong.

Gazing at the emerald green Susanoo locked in combat with the Eight-Tails...

The two colossal creatures were locked in a fierce battle, constantly altering the surrounding terrain. Whether it was the Tailed Beast Ball or the Yasakani no Magatama, even Orochimaru couldn't withstand such terrifying attacks head-on!

The container is good,

But we can't beat them!

This is the predicament Orochimaru faced.

As for settling for second best... there's still plenty of time before the container is replaced. His greed makes him reluctant to give up the best option, and he's still hoping for a chance to acquire the best container. And given the current situation, it's not like there's no chance.

Go ahead and fight!

Go ahead and fight!

The more intense the fight, the better! Ideally, it should end in mutual destruction.

Although he wasn't that interested in Jinchuriki, he didn't mind having more research material!

At this moment,

He heard faint footsteps behind him. The snow that had accumulated was crunching underfoot. It had to be said that the snowstorm was getting stronger and stronger. In the blink of an eye, the nearby mountains and forests were covered with a thick layer of snow.

"Bai, have you found anything?"

"Lord Orochimaru, Konoha's reinforcements will arrive soon."

Bai, with her long ponytail tied in white, strode over, her pure white clothes fluttering in the cold wind.

"They still came? What a pity!!!"

Orochimaru wasn't surprised, but he sighed with great regret.

"Have you gotten a clear picture of the Konoha reinforcements?"

“I saw the shadow clone. If I’m not mistaken, the leader seems to be Uchiha Munen, the one you showed me the portrait of.”

"Uchiha Sogen..."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.

He had heard about this many times, but had never actually seen the real person. Back when he was still in Konoha, he didn't know much about the Uchiha clan, which was a self-contained group. He only knew the clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku, and a few other Jonin who were somewhat famous.

He had never personally met rising stars like Uchiha Sogen. He had met Uchiha Shisui a few times in the Anbu, but that was all; he didn't know much about him.

It was only after leaving Konoha that he learned through various channels what these names represented. He had personally experienced the power of Uchiha Shisui, so how powerful was Uchiha Sogen, the "Flame Demon" who was on par with "Body Flicker" Uchiha Shisui?

Moreover, according to his understanding

It seems that Uchiha Mugen is even slightly more powerful than Uchiha Shisui.

perhaps,

Today I have the opportunity to see Uchiha Sogen's power in person?

"Orochimaru is all the rage, what should we do next?" Haku asked, looking at the man who stood motionless like a statue, letting the snowflakes fall on him.

"Next... well, let's just keep watching! It's not our time to get involved yet." Orochimaru seemed to snap out of his daze, brushing the snowflakes off his shoulder and turning back to watch the fierce battle between the two behemoths in the distance. "Haku, don't worry, we don't need to do anything right now, just watch!"

"But... Lord Orochimaru, my shadow clones have very likely already been discovered by the Konoha ninjas! You told me how terrifying the Byakugan's reconnaissance ability is, and my shadow clones are unlikely to escape the Byakugan's detection. If we continue to stay here, won't we attract Konoha's pursuit?"

Bai asked with some concern.

"Don't worry! They don't know you or who you are. Believe me, they'll just think you're a spy sent out by the Cloud Ninja. Neither Konoha nor the Cloud Ninja knows we exist, so they can't possibly find us. We can just stay here and play the fisherman. Even if they manage to follow the trail you left behind, they'll never send a large force. Supporting the front lines is their mission. At most, they'll send one or two squads."

Orochimaru calmly comforted Haku.

The intelligent boy instantly understood Orochimaru's words, and after thinking about it, nodded in complete agreement.

Indeed!

His shadow clones used the Transformation Technique to infiltrate and gather intelligence on Konoha's reinforcements. It was difficult to avoid being discovered by the Konoha ninjas, but even the Konoha ninjas couldn't discern Lord Orochimaru's presence from his shadow clones.