War of Attrition

They had thought the struggle over the mine would continue smoothly, but they had not expected a battle to be unavoidable just as they were about to leave.

Half an hour later, the Six Clans Allied Army arrived at the foot of the mine.

The six Clan Heads stood before their forces. The Nara Clan Head called out to Hashirama from afar, "Senju Clan Head, thank you for mining on our behalf. As thanks, we can give you twenty percent of the Chakra Conducting Metal."

Hashirama ignored him and glanced at Masahiko. Masahiko slowly nodded.

Hashirama stepped forward several paces. "Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!" Same old formula, same familiar result. The terrain around the mine was completely transformed by Hashirama, becoming a lush forest.

"Everyone, attack! Big Brother's Wood Style won't harm our own people!" Tobirama shouted as he charged out, with Senju Tenyu following close behind.

Rather than charging at the enemy army alongside Tobirama, Masahiko retreated dozens of steps and sat down.

The six Clan Heads exchanged looks. The Nara Clan Head shouted, "Meet the enemy!"

Other than the Hatake Clan Head, the remaining five flickered forward, surrounding Hashirama and confronting him.

The Hatake Clan Head, meanwhile, approached Masahiko.

Masahiko smiled and waved a hand. "Are you the Hatake Clan Head? Neither of us can determine a winner anytime soon, and there's no need for you to put in too much effort for the other clans. How about we sit here and watch the battle instead?"

The Hatake Clan Head gave Masahiko a cold look, then slowly nodded and sat down with his sword in his arms. After a while, he finally said, "If we fought, the victor would be decided in an instant... but I truly have no reason to risk my life for them."

Masahiko's mouth twitched. He nearly could not resist jumping up to fight him.

The Inuzuka Clan Head saw what was happening and wanted to question the Hatake Clan Head, but the Nara Clan Head stopped him.

"Ignore him. As long as he can tie down that Uzumaki Clan member, that's enough. Our opponent is Hashirama Senju. As long as we hold him back, we will win!"

Yet in the face of this situation, Hashirama was not anxious in the slightest. He showed no intention of attacking the five Clan Heads. Although the five felt that something was amiss, they did not make a move either. They outnumbered their opponents three to one, so a prolonged stalemate favored them.

However, half an hour later, the battle on the other side exceeded the expectations of the Six Clans' leaders.

First was Tobirama. He was unimaginably strong. Even while facing the combined assault of six Peak Jonin from the six clans, he did not fall behind. Next was Senju Tenyu, who single-handedly held back most of the Elite Jonin. Most outrageous of all were the many Senju Clan Chunin and Genin. Facing enemies three times their number, they actually held a faint advantage.

Those Chunin and Genin possessed astonishing recovery abilities. Minor wounds healed in the blink of an eye, so after half an hour, aside from those who had suffered fatal injuries, everyone remained in the same condition as when the battle had begun.

"Something's not right," the Nara Clan Head muttered. "If the Senju had such recovery abilities, they should have unified the Land of Fire long ago..."

The Nara Clan Head failed to spot the issue at first, until he saw a small Slug slide out from the arms of a Senju Clan Chunin.

"A Slug? A medical-type Summoning Beast? Then..." The Nara Clan Head turned around. "Aburame Clan Head, keep an eye on that Uzumaki Clan member!"

"His Chakra is somewhat off. It seems to be half what it was before," the Aburame Clan Head replied.

"So that's it..." The Nara Clan Head's face darkened. "Hatake Clan Head, move now! The Uzumaki Clan member across from you is using Summoning Beasts to heal the Senju Clan members!"

"So I was discovered after all..." Masahiko sighed and stood up. Across from him, the Hatake Clan Head also drew his sword.

A terrifying Chakra fluctuation emanated from the Hatake Clan Head's blade. Its edge gleamed brilliantly, as though it could cleave everything in two.

"Hatake Sword Style?" Masahiko murmured. "The White Fang Sword Style, so famous in the Naruto World, had always been a mystery in my previous life. In this life, during the Warring States, I get to experience it early."

The Hatake Clan Head slashed. In a blur, the blade was already descending toward Masahiko's head.

Yet when the slash came down, Masahiko, who should have been split in half, transformed into a wooden post.

"Substitution Technique?" The Hatake Clan Head frowned slightly.

The Hatake Sword Style infused Chakra into the blade and used the flow of Chakra within it to lock onto the enemy. Ever since the Hatake Clan Head had mastered the Hatake Sword Style, no opponent had ever evaded his blade in battle. At most, they could only take it head-on.

Masahiko had also felt himself being locked onto just now, but a Level 10 Substitution Technique was not something the Hatake Clan Head could interfere with.

"Whew, that was close..." Masahiko let out a soft breath and said with a smile, "No wonder you dared to say you could defeat me in an instant. The Hatake Sword Style is truly terrifying."

Masahiko imitated Kizaru's tone from One Piece, wearing an utterly convincing smug expression. Even the usually aloof Hatake Clan Head was thoroughly enraged.

He said nothing and slashed at Masahiko again. This slash was ordinary swordsmanship; coating his blade in Chakra consumed a great deal of both Chakra and mental energy.

Masahiko did not use the Substitution Technique again. He was still continuously sending Chakra to the Slugs, so he had to conserve as much Chakra as he could.

Ever since adding points at Shikkotsu Forest, Masahiko's taijutsu ability had surpassed 300 points. In terms of pure taijutsu, he was already no weaker than a Peak Jonin specializing in taijutsu.

After blocking the Hatake Clan Head's slash, the two began exchanging blows. Though Masahiko was not a match for the Hatake Clan Head, a Clan Head-level expert who specialized purely in taijutsu, he relied on his Shuriken techniques and Three Body Jutsu to avoid falling behind for the time being.

The battle continued for half an hour. Masahiko's Chakra was nearly depleted, and he gradually fell into a disadvantage. Fortunately, the Hatake Clan did not possess much Chakra to begin with, and the Hatake Clan Head was gradually reaching his limit as well.

By then, the situation in the battle on the other side had become clear. With the aid of Masahiko's Slug summons, the Senju Clan had gained an absolute advantage.

The Nara Clan Head shook his head. "One wrong move, and the entire game is lost... Senju Clan Head, have your clansmen stop. There is no need to increase the casualties further."

"As for the ownership of the Chakra Conducting Metal, let the few of us decide it. You seem quite confident that you can defeat all five of us alone, so let's settle victory and defeat in one match..."

As he spoke, the Nara Clan Head slowly turned to the other four. "You have no objections to my decision, do you?"

The other four could also see that the situation on the field was unfavorable to them, and they no longer objected.

Seeing that they had reached an agreement, Hashirama nodded and called out, "Tobirama, lead the clansmen away from here! Leave the rest to me!"

Tobirama answered and led the clansmen back. The allied army members were also brought back one by one by the Jonin of their respective clans. The Hatake Clan Head shook his head as well and left with them.

Masahiko withdrew the Slug summons and followed Tobirama away from the battlefield. He had even more faith in Hashirama than Tobirama did.

At that moment, only Hashirama and the five Clan Heads remained at the center of the battlefield.

The battle was about to begin!