First Battle

That evening, the Second Elder returned from the Hyuga Clan as well.

"They refused? ...I understand." The Clan Head sighed softly. As expected, it hadn't gone so smoothly.

"It seems the Hyuga really were badly weakened by the Uchiha a few years ago," Masahiko said.

"That must be it. Otherwise, they wouldn't have given up such a good opportunity." The Clan Head felt helpless. "It seems our plan to reduce casualties this time won't work..."

"It's fine. With Second Uncle here, I'll protect our clansmen," Masahiko reassured them.

The Second Elder and the Clan Head both rolled their eyes at him, making Masahiko blush in embarrassment.

After leaving the Clan Head's Main Hall, Masahiko muttered to himself, I'm not who I used to be... This war will definitely leave everyone stunned.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Masahiko packed his things and arrived outside the Clan Head's Main Hall.

Many clansmen had already gathered there, while more were still arriving.

About an hour later, the clan's Second Elder and Third Elder arrived behind the Clan Head.

The Clan Head swept his gaze over the crowd and said, "Everyone is more or less here. I won't say much else. I only hope you all return safely."

"I'll leave the rest to the two Elders." The Clan Head looked toward them.

"Rest assured, Clan Head," the two Elders replied in unison.

"Move out!" After exchanging a few words with the Clan Head, the Second Elder immediately turned around, faced the assembled Ninja Force, and gave the order.

"Yes!" After the crisp reply, the Ninja Force set out for the Eastern Plains Battlefield, with Masahiko traveling alongside them.

Within the ranks, Masahiko carefully examined the ninja in the force and discovered more than a dozen Elite Jonin, along with two Peak Jonin and several hundred Elite Chunin and Genin.

That's nearly half our clan's strength. It seems the clan has truly decided to teach the Kaguya a lesson, Masahiko thought.

They traveled for an entire day and did not reach the Senju Clan's camp on the battlefield until evening.

Along the way, they encountered quite a few Senju and Kaguya Clan scouts, but paid them no attention. A force of this size could not possibly cross the border unnoticed, so they might as well let both sides know.

Thus, when they neared the Senju camp, Hashirama and Tobirama came out to greet them in person.

"Thank you to the Uzumaki Clan for coming to our aid. You must be exhausted after the journey. Set up camp nearby and rest first. After dinner, we can discuss matters in detail with our Elders," Hashirama said, clearly delighted by the Uzumaki Clan's arrival.

After setting up camp and eating, the Second Elder and Third Elder followed Hashirama to meet the Senju Clan's Eastern Battlefield Elder. Masahiko followed after them with a grin, and though the two Elders glared at him, they did not stop him.

To their surprise, they found the Eastern Elder lying in bed.

"Please forgive this old man for making a spectacle of himself. These old bones of mine are becoming more and more useless," the Eastern Elder said weakly.

It turned out that the Senju Clan had already engaged the Kaguya in a tentative battle that morning. They had nearly been routed. The Kaguya First Elder and Second Elder had both arrived on the battlefield. Hashirama and Tobirama had held off the Second Elder of the Kaguya, while the Eastern Elder had been defeated head-on by the Kaguya First Elder within ten minutes.

"I was simply inferior. Damn Kaguya Take! If Hashirama hadn't made a breakthrough in the heat of battle today, I probably wouldn't have made it back." As the Eastern Elder spoke, a faint smile appeared on his face. Clearly, Hashirama's talent brought him great comfort.

"Now that you two have arrived, I can finally rest easy. I've been worried this whole time that the Kaguya would launch a surprise attack..." He completely ignored Masahiko standing nearby, but Masahiko did not mind.

Tobirama, however, seemed thoughtful. After fighting Uchiha Madara alongside Masahiko and developing the Flying Thunder God with him, he no longer believed this Second Grandfather was the useless fool rumored to be.

This battle will be a tough one, Masahiko thought. He had believed they would hold an absolute advantage after arriving as reinforcements, but the Senju Eastern Elder was injured this badly. This was going to be troublesome.

At that moment, the two Uzumaki Elders finished speaking with the Eastern Elder and walked out. Masahiko followed them.

After a full day of travel, the Uzumaki clansmen were exhausted, and everyone went to sleep early.

Early the next morning, while Masahiko was still half asleep, he heard someone outside shouting, "All personnel, stay alert! The Kaguya are attacking!"

Masahiko flipped over and sat straight up. He knew the Kaguya must have learned that the Senju Clan had received reinforcements. Yet they still dared to attack, which meant they must have confidence he did not know about.

When he stepped out of the tent, he saw the two Elders already gathering the clansmen. The Eastern Elder had also emerged, supported by his clansmen.

Before long, the Kaguya forces arrived before the camp, but the person standing at the very front of their formation was not Kaguya Take.

"Damn it, Kaguya Jyorai! You actually dared to come to the battlefield in person? Aren't you afraid your clan lands will be left undefended?" the Eastern Elder shouted.

The Kaguya Clan Head had come personally, which was why they had launched the attack so quickly.

"Hmph. Once I wipe you all out here, I'll still have plenty of time to return!" Kaguya Jyorai said.

The Eastern Elder's expression darkened. Indeed, on this battlefield, no one could stop Kaguya Jyorai. Even if he were uninjured, he could probably only hold out for five minutes.

The two Uzumaki Elders exchanged glances, their faces equally grim. "That damned Kaguya lunatic. Their clan lands are so empty now that any medium-sized clan could probably wipe them out!"

"Hashirama, restrict the Kaguya Clan Head's movements for a moment, then leave him to us!" the Second Elder said as he turned to Hashirama.

"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!" Hashirama did not answer and simply acted. Wood Style truly was a battlefield weapon. Though its primary purpose was to restrain Kaguya Jyorai, many Kaguya Genin and Chunin were still injured by the technique.

At that moment, the two Uzumaki Elders and the two Peak Jonin who had come with the Uzumaki Clan simultaneously used the Body Flicker Technique, appearing around Kaguya Jyorai.

"Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames Formation!" Two layers of barriers sealed Kaguya Jyorai and the four of them away from the battlefield.

"Good!" the Eastern Elder shouted. He pushed away the clansmen supporting him. "Then, Hashirama and Tobirama, stop Kaguya Take! As for the Second Elder of the Kaguya, even if I have to risk this old life of mine, I'll hold him here. Everyone else, kill them all!"

"Wait, Elder!" Tobirama called out. He turned toward Masahiko. "Second Grandfather, can you hold off the Second Elder of the Kaguya?"

Masahiko slowly nodded. "Leave Kaguya Xuan Xuan to me."

The Eastern Elder looked utterly confused, but as he watched Masahiko clash with the Second Elder of the Kaguya, he saw that although Masahiko was in constant danger, his elusive Substitution Technique, masterful Shuriken throwing, and the occasional instant Rasengan kept the Second Elder of the Kaguya from defeating him for the time being.

Though he had no idea what was going on, the Eastern Elder reacted at once and commanded the other ninja of both clans to attack the enemy.

With their advantage in numbers, they quickly inflicted heavy losses on the opposing side.

"Damn it! You think a mere formation can trap me? Dance of the Fern!" Seeing his clansmen suffer devastating losses, Kaguya Jyorai used a forbidden Shikotsumyaku technique that he could not easily use due to his Bloodline Disease.

Countless bones sprang from the ground and stabbed toward the four Uzumaki Clan members. Left with no choice, they could only undo the formation and evade separately.

After breaking free of the formation, Kaguya Seirai charged madly toward the battlefield, only to hear Kaguya Take shout, "Clan Head, our clansmen have suffered too many losses. Let us retreat for now and reorganize!"

"Fine... Retreat!" Kaguya Seirai shouted unwillingly.

Once the Kaguya Clan had completely withdrawn, the Senju and Uzumaki clansmen present all breathed a sigh of relief. The Kaguya Clan Head had put immense pressure on them.

"Today's battle is over." Masahiko sighed and looked up at the sun, which had risen halfway into the sky.

"I wonder how many more Uzumaki clansmen we lost..."

War...