Desperate Kaguya

The next day, as both sides quietly awaited reinforcements, news that shocked the entire battlefield arrived.

Kaguya's Iron Ore Mine had changed hands. Though "changed hands" was not quite right—it would be more accurate to say it had returned to its rightful owner.

Without any warning, the Uchiha launched an attack on the Mine. The Kaguya Clan member in charge there was merely an Elite Jonin, utterly incapable of resisting Madara, who led the assault. In less than half an hour, the Iron Ore Mine had completely changed hands.

When Kaguya Jyorai received the news, he was so furious he nearly spat blood, cursing the Uchiha Clan aloud.

However, though Kaguya Jyorai had a bad feeling at the time, he did not think too deeply about it. He was merely enraged that the Uchiha Clan had taken advantage of the chaos to reclaim the Iron Ore Mine.

It was not until dusk that Kaguya Jyorai failed to receive Uchiha reinforcements, instead receiving Kaguya Third Elder, who had lost an arm, along with over a dozen bedraggled Jonin.

Before Kaguya Jyorai could ask anything, Kaguya Third Elder's tearful words made his vision go dark.

"Clan Head, our Kaguya... are finished!"

The ominous feeling in his heart was confirmed, and Kaguya Jyorai collapsed weakly into his chair.

"Who did this?" Seeing that the Clan Head had no mind to question him, Kaguya Take spoke up.

"It was the Uchiha..." Kaguya Third Elder said.

"So it was them after all. I should have guarded against them. After news came that they had seized the Iron Ore Mine, I should have gone back to defend our territory," Kaguya Jyorai said weakly.

After taking the Iron Ore Mine, the Uchiha had not stopped. Instead, they advanced straight toward Kaguya territory, destroying large swathes of the Kaguya Clan's strongholds and incorporating their lands into Uchiha territory.

Kaguya Jyorai closed his eyes in agony. He could imagine the Uchiha Clan pillaging his Kaguya Clan's territory without restraint.

"Pass down the order! Assemble immediately and counterattack the Uchiha!" Kaguya Jyorai immediately commanded, no longer able to spare any attention for the Senju and Uzumaki Clan allied forces they had been fighting.

On the allied side, no one knew that Kaguya territory had been seized by the Uchiha Clan. However, they had received word that their reinforcements were not far away and would likely arrive in another hour or two.

Seeing that the Kaguya intended to withdraw, how could they possibly allow it? They took the initiative and launched an attack.

After a month of fighting, the allied forces had become thoroughly familiar with their combat strategy, each of them taking on their respective opponents.

However, only five minutes after the battle began, Masahiko sensed that something was wrong.

"You old bastard, are you insane? Trading injuries for lives—what grudge do we even have?" Masahiko barely dodged a bone blade from his opponent and cursed loudly.

His opponent did not answer, but his eyes conveyed only one thing: he was ready to die.

Damn it, something is definitely wrong... Masahiko cursed inwardly.

It was not just Masahiko. Everyone in the allied forces sensed that something was off. The Kaguya side was clearly fighting far more desperately.

Fortunately, no one in the Kaguya Clan possessed protagonist plot armor. Even if they erupted in strength, they still could not immediately crush the allied forces.

As the battle once again became a war of attrition, Kaguya Take, whom Hashirama and Tobirama had been holding back, revealed a smile.

Thinking he had some kind of scheme, Hashirama and Tobirama retreated far away.

Yet Kaguya Take used the Body Flicker Technique to arrive beside Kaguya Jyorai, forcing back the people besieging him.

"Clan Head, this old man is already over fifty. In these chaotic times, that is truly a long life... If this battle continues in a stalemate, our Kaguya Clan may truly be exterminated! Clan Head, take the others back and save the clansmen being slaughtered by the Uchiha. Leave the enemy here to me," Kaguya Take said calmly.

"First Elder, you..." Kaguya Jyorai was about to dissuade him, but he could see that the First Elder had already made up his mind to die.

Kaguya Jyorai slowly closed his eyes, then immediately opened them again. He had clearly made his decision.

"All personnel, withdraw!"

Kaguya Take smiled with slight relief. "Shikotsumyaku—Bone Prison Technique!" Before the eyes of the allied forces, the Kaguya First Elder seemed to weather away like decaying wood, scattering into the heavens and earth.

The ground trembled as a massive bone prison slowly rose from beneath the earth, enveloping everyone in the allied forces.

Kaguya Jyorai, who had already gone some distance away, turned back to look at the enormous bone prison. Facing the remaining clansmen with fear in their eyes, he said, "Shikotsumyaku—Bone Prison Technique. Many clansmen can use it. It uses the bones within one's body to create a bone prison that traps enemies inside, similar in function to Water Style—Water Prison Technique."

"In the clan's forbidden jutsu records, there is a method for expanding the Bone Prison Technique's range. It uses the life force within one's Cells to accelerate the growth of bones inside the body for a short period, creating a larger bone prison."

"With such a massive bone prison, the First Elder has likely exhausted all of his life force." Kaguya Jyorai muttered.

"All personnel, continue onward! Wipe out the Uchiha and reclaim our clan territory! We cannot let the First Elder's sacrifice be in vain!" Kaguya Jyorai immediately composed himself and gave the order.

Inside the bone prison, the allied forces had tried every possible method, yet none could break it. The earth-style ninjas attempted to break through from underground, but a layer of bone blocked the way below as well. Hashirama's Wood Style was somewhat fragile against bone, leaving him without any good options.

Ten minutes passed. Everyone was at a loss, with only Tobirama managing to escape using his still-unfamiliar Flying Thunder God Technique. He had intended to attack from both inside and outside to break the bone prison, but ultimately failed.

Masahiko suddenly found it a little difficult to breathe. It seems the air inside the bone prison is limited. We can't slowly wait for reinforcements like this... Masahiko thought. I never expected my new ninjutsu to be used here for the first time.

"Everyone, get back!" Masahiko shouted. "Wind Style—Rasenshuriken!" Astonishing Chakra fluctuations surged from Masahiko's body as Naruto's signature ninjutsu, belonging to the future protagonist, made its first appearance in the Warring States.

When the smoke dispersed, a passage wide enough for two people had been blasted open where Masahiko had attacked, through the bone prison that the allied forces had been unable to break despite exhausting every method.

"Second Grandfather, I never knew you had such a powerful ninjutsu!" Hashirama said to Masahiko with shock on his face.

"Yes, neither did I." Masahiko wore a bitter expression. "I never expected the side effects of this ninjutsu to be even greater than I imagined."

Masahiko looked utterly miserable at the moment. Not only was he covered in dust, but blood streamed down his right arm, which hung weakly before his chest.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to participate in the battles afterward..." Masahiko said.

Only then did Hashirama notice Masahiko's condition. He hurriedly said, "It's fine, Second Grandfather. Go rest. Leave the rest to us!"

Half an hour later, Kaguya Jyorai led his people to the outskirts of Kaguya territory. From afar, they saw flames soaring into the sky within the clan grounds, with the corpses of clansmen scattered everywhere.

"Damn Uchiha! I will never rest until one of us is dead!" Kaguya Jyorai said through grief and rage.

At the same time, Senju reinforcements arrived for the allied forces...