Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

He had absolutely no will to fight!

What's the point of fighting in such a terrible situation? Even a Pyrrhic victory is out of the question now. He kept praying that Tu Tai would be quick-witted and not let this great battle end in a crushing defeat!

"Everyone, Plan B!"

A dodged Fugaku Uchiha and Troy with a series of quick movements. He ran across the battlefield, shouting orders at the top of his lungs to every Cloud Ninja.

The so-called Plan B refers to retreat!

However, explicitly issuing a retreat order felt somewhat disheartening and might even invite enemy pursuit. Therefore, the so-called Plan B emerged. Even though the actions appeared to be a retreat, it would give the impression of a possible ambush, potentially preventing further pursuit...

That is indeed the case.

The Cloud Ninja began to disperse from the battle in twos and threes. The Konoha ninja did not pursue them easily, but instead joined up with their remaining comrades. In local battles, they used their numerical advantage to overwhelm the Cloud Ninja. A subtle and indescribable tacit understanding was subtly revealed between the two sides.

The Konoha ninjas still had a disadvantage in terms of the number of Jonin, and it was unrealistic to try to keep all of the Cloud Ninjas here. The Cloud Ninjas also understood that it was impossible for everyone to retreat safely, and they would have to pay a price to avoid being torn apart by the Konoha ninjas.

then,

A small group of Cloud Ninja stayed behind to cover their retreat.

The Konoha ninjas didn't hesitate to devour this small group of Cloud Ninjas!

Less than a minute after Zongxian and the others arrived at the battlefield, the situation changed dramatically. The main force of the Cloud Ninja retreated under the command of Raikage's assistant, Tsuchidai, and the elite force of Jonin led by the Fourth Raikage, A, also began to retreat... Zongxian saw all of this.

Seeing this scene,

Zongxian made a decision.

After slicing the Eight-Tails twice, the two tentacle-like tails that were cut off were jumping around on the ground. The deep crimson Susanoo sheathed its sword and did not continue to attack the Eight-Tails together with Shisui. Instead, it opened its left hand, and deep crimson tomoe appeared in its palm. The three tomoe were like swimming fish, chasing each other head to tail, circulating in its palm.

This is [Yasaka Magatama]

It is a long-range throwing technique mastered by all Susanoo. The destructive power can be freely adjusted according to the number of magatama, making it an extremely practical and useful divine technique.

With a thought, Zongxian raised his left arm, about to throw the three deep crimson magatama at the sparse formation of nearly six thousand retreating Cloud Ninja.

next second,

"Roar!!!"

The Eight-Tails, unleashing a deafening roar, took a thrust from the emerald green Susanoo's spiraling sword. Like an enraged bull, it charged forward and crashed headfirst into the deep crimson Susanoo. Just as it was about to throw its magatama, its left hand trembled slightly. True to the saying "a miss is as good as a mile," the magatama, its aim off course, landed in a snow-covered forest and exploded in a massive explosion.

"madness!"

Zongxian muttered to himself, but he didn't feel any mockery in his heart.

No matter how foolish it may seem, Zongxian doesn't dislike enemies with such a spirit, because it allows him to bring this war to a quicker end.

The emerald green Susanoo, wielding a spiral sword, launched a series of fierce attacks on the Eight-Tails.

Because it hadn't adjusted its posture after colliding with the deep red Susanoo, the Eight-Tails was unable to counterattack, and even dodging was extremely difficult. It took only five or six seconds for it to be hit by three more spiral swords before it regained its footing.

only--

The greatsword, wreathed in blazing flames, slashed down diagonally.

Two more of the eight-tailed creature's tentacle-like tails were severed off, and the terrifyingly hot flames caused the eight-tailed creature's body to tremble violently. Zongxian pressed his advantage, and Susanoo swung the greatsword in its hand, launching a series of slashes. The greatsword, wreathed in flames, released astonishing heat, and the snowflakes falling nearby were completely evaporated long before they reached the blade!

Zongxian's Fire Release technique has long since broken free from conventional methods.

Although it was the first time he had combined Fire Release and Susanoo, his skill and fluidity made it impossible to tell that it was his first time. The two complemented each other, making Zongxian's attacks even more terrifying and difficult to defend against.

Shisui, not missing his chance either, endured the pain in his eyes and charged forward with his spiral sword, which was wrapped in a whirlwind. He launched a series of dazzling thrusting attacks at lightning speed towards the Eight-Tails!

"Bi, you can't hold on much longer!"

"No, we can't give up like this. Our elder brother and the others haven't gone far yet! At the very least, we must hold out until they retreat..."

"Bi, your chakra is almost depleted. Even I need time to recover, at most half a minute. If you don't retreat now, you won't be able to maintain this position in half a minute. You should know better than me what will happen then!"

"Half a minute? Thank you so much, Hachi!!"

"No need for thanks. To be honest, I'd rather be beaten to death than fall into the hands of the Uchiha!"

The Eight-Tails muttered to itself in its spiritual world, being killed by humans was no different than taking a nap. But the feeling of being controlled by the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan was something it would never want to experience again, no matter what. It was just too disgusting! That dazed, nauseating feeling was simply unbearable for the tailed beasts!

Killer Bee didn't have time to think about what the Eight-Tails had said.

He is now focusing 99% of his energy on resisting the combined attack of Sogen and Shisui. His severed tail is rapidly regenerating by consuming a large amount of chakra, and the wounds on his body are also being filled with chakra and quickly healed.

Tailed beasts are such a type of life.

As special life forms composed of pure chakra, they do not possess any vital points or fatal wounds.

Tailed beasts in their wild state are extremely difficult to kill. In the past, almost all cases of tailed beast deaths occurred while they were sealed, as they perished along with their jinchūriki. There are no known examples of killing wild tailed beasts. Whenever a tailed beast is discovered in its wild state, the first choice is always to seal it; killing it is practically never considered—that would be a waste…

Killer Bee, as the perfect Jinchūriki, perfectly borrowed the power of the Eight-Tails.

In his fully transformed Tailed Beast form, he also fully inherited the characteristics of the Tailed Beast, such as his immortality, which is extremely difficult to kill. Killer Bee demonstrated this to the fullest at this moment, turning the Eight-Tails' massive body into a lump of meat that could not be completely crushed. Relying on this superb ability to take a beating, he withstood the combined attack of two Susanoo.

but,

Rather than saying Killer Bee held back Sogen and Shisui, it would be more accurate to say that Sogen entangled the Eight-Tails!

To be precise, Sogen's target was the Eight-Tails from the very beginning. His previous attack with the Yasaka Magatama was just a probe to find a way to force Killer Bee to choose between retreating immediately or staying behind to cover his comrades' retreat.

Kirabi ultimately chose to stay and keep Sogen and Shisui occupied.

This is exactly what Zongxian was hoping for.

Killing thousands of Cloud Ninja who were merely chuunibyou (lower-middle-ranking ninja) was of little significance to Sogen, except for making King Yama work a little longer. It was far less valuable than the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, who was a perfect Jinchuriki. Such a perfect Jinchuriki would be of considerable value to both Sogen personally and to Konoha.

"Since you've chosen to protect your comrades, then you'd better stay here obediently!"

The greatsword, wreathed in flames, slashed down once more.

The Eight-Tails let out a painful roar. The deep, charred wound writhed, but instead of healing as quickly as before, it showed signs of collapse with each writhing. The next second, the signs came true, and the Eight-Tails completely collapsed!

The massive, tattered body rapidly disintegrated and vanished in the blink of an eye.

All that remained on the ground was Killer Bee, bleeding from his mouth and nose, and unconscious!

[Chapter 193 Request for Support]

Aren't you going to pursue it?

"What are you chasing?"

"Those Cloud Ninja..."

"No need."

"Unnecessary?"

Shisui scratched his head, a little confused. Shouldn't they be pressing their advantage now? What was the reason for this? Zongxian's thoughts were as unpredictable as ever. He couldn't understand what Zongxian was trying to do this time!

"Just say what's wrong. Don't keep it to yourself and overthink it."

Sogen kicked Killer Bee, but the unconscious Eight-Tails Jinchuriki remained motionless.

This is not a disguise.

Instead, she actually fainted.

Not only Killer Bee, but even the Eight-Tails lost its ability to resist due to excessive chakra consumption and needs some time to recover.

"Why not take this opportunity to weaken the Cloud Ninja's strength?" Shisui paused for two seconds before voicing his doubts. "If the two of us join forces, we can take this opportunity to annihilate a large number of the Cloud Ninja's forces and reverse our disadvantage of insufficient manpower. Why stop?"

After defeating the Eight-Tails,

Instead of pursuing the retreating Cloud Ninja, Zongxian issued an order to consolidate the defenses and have everyone clean up the battlefield and build camps.

"I already said it's because it's unnecessary!"

Zongxian repeated his previous answer.

Shisui's eyelids twitched, but luckily he had a good temper and held back from punching Zongxian.

"Sigh! Look at what's lying here!" Sogen looked at Shisui, who was staring at him blankly with a puzzled expression, and kicked Killer Bee lightly twice more, sighing repeatedly. "Look closely, this is the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. Without a Jinchuriki, what kind of resistance do you think the Cloud Ninja have against us? If I remember correctly, you said you used... Kotoamatsukami on the Two-Tails Jinchuriki?"

The last sentence was spoken very softly.

Moreover, it also contains a sense of disappointment and frustration at the students' lack of progress.

Having already used Kotoamatsukami, instead of simply modifying Yugito Nii's will to make her believe she was a spy planted in Kumogakure by Konoha, they turned Yugito Nii into a genuine pacifist who hated war.

simply--

What a waste!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but glare fiercely at Shisui again.

Shisui shrank his neck and remained silent. He had already been scolded by Sogen when they met before because of the Two-Tails Jinchuriki. Although he still firmly believed that it would be better to just kill the two Yugitos instead of doing that!

Death is never the most terrifying thing.

There are many things more terrifying than death, such as having your will altered and turning against your own family and friends... That's too tragic; it's better to die quickly!

"Look at you."

Zongxian sighed helplessly, "Let's not talk about that. In short, the Cloud Ninja have lost two Jinchūriki. Without two perfect Jinchūriki, relying only on the Fourth Raikage... do you think he can withstand the combined forces of you, me, and... Elder Fugaku?"

"They can't stop them."

Before Shisui could answer, Zongxian answered himself.

"With the three Susanoo joining forces, even the Fourth Raikage, no matter how powerful he is, could not possibly be our match. Although our forces are far inferior to those of the Cloud Ninja, ninja wars have never been decided by the number of people. The principle of having more people does not apply to wars between us ninjas."

"There's no point in massacring Cloud Ninja! It's useless except for creating a lot of death and hatred. Of course, I'm not afraid that the Cloud Ninja will harbor hatred towards us. I just feel there's no need for pointless killing. Anyway, according to my battle plan, the Genin are destined to be of little use in the upcoming war. Their lives or deaths are irrelevant to the overall situation."

"Shisui, do you have any other questions? Or do you think we should eliminate the threat completely to prevent the Cloud Ninja from rising in power in the future?"

"No, no, I didn't think that way!"

Zhi Shui shook his head vigorously.

The phrase "cut off the weeds and eliminate the roots" is too terrifying. To protect Konoha, his family, and his friends and comrades, he can fight without hesitation on the battlefield. However, he has never liked killing, especially the kind of massacre that involves cutting off the weeds and eliminating the roots, which is the kind of situation he hates the most!

Three consecutive Shinobi World Wars,

This has subtly created the perception that the Five Great Ninja Villages are unshakeable. It seems that no matter how badly they lose in the Fourth Shinobi World War, the status of the Five Great Ninja Villages remains as stable as Mount Tai. Even the most impoverished Sand Village is only facing the subtle threat of the Daimyo's government reducing its funding, rather than being openly and directly abolished.

Regardless of whether the one-country-one-village system is good or bad,

Currently, in terms of stability alone, it seems to be quite good!