The Southern Battlefield, in the Gobi Desert south of the border.
Having intercepted enough intelligence, the Uchiha immediately launched a massive campaign to encircle and purge the enemy.
Anyone connected to the Three Clans-kill them!
Anyone trading with the Three Clans-kill them!
Any criminal sheltering the Three Clans-kill them!
Better to kill a thousand innocents than let a single enemy escape. The terrible slaughter left everyone on the Land of Fire's Southern Border in fear.
In the blink of an eye, over a month had passed since the all-out campaign began.
From beginning to end, the Three Clans had never intended to fight head-on. No matter how hard the Uchiha pressed them, the enemy strictly adhered to one principle...
Stall.
Stall until the Uchiha were finished.
On the main front, no one knew what trump card Butsuma Senju had played, but the Uzumaki Clan, who could have stayed out of the conflict entirely, had resolutely joined the war.
As fellow descendants of Asura, the Uzumaki were no less powerful than the Senju or the Uchiha.
With their astonishing physiques and sealing jutsu unmatched in the Shinobi World, the moment they entered the battlefield, the Uchiha began losing ground.
Nara Tohiko's plan was simple. Once the Uchiha could no longer hold out, they would inevitably send ninja from the Southern Army to reinforce the main front.
Then the Three Clans could seize the opportunity to reclaim their territory and rebuild a solid defensive network.
Unless he was left with no other choice, Nara Tohiko had absolutely no desire to flee to the Land of Lightning or take his entire clan to serve as the Senju Clan's dogs.
Aware of the enemy's intentions, the Uchiha intensified their purges even further.
After relentless pressure, a medium-sized force of over eighty men had now been cornered in the Gobi Desert.
Three unit commanders watched them like predators from the surrounding area, Uchiha Kyosuke among them.
"Those bastards are slippery. We can't let them get away this time," someone said bitterly.
Kyosuke nodded in silent agreement.
He suddenly realized that he might have overestimated the Three Clans' potential in war.
There was nothing wrong with being clever, but you could not let your own cleverness become your undoing.
Battles in the Shinobi World ultimately came down to strength and capabilities. Relying solely on schemes would only drag you deeper into a terrible predicament.
This was the end of the Warring States Period, when the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans were at their strongest.
Had they massed their fighting forces, the Southern Army would actually have been at a considerable numerical disadvantage.
Yet Nara Tohiko, who considered himself supremely intelligent, had chosen to engage the enemy through guerrilla warfare.
One side threw everything into the war, determined to wipe out the other.
The other had no desire to fight, avoiding battle whenever possible and sacrificing a small number of men for safety whenever escape was impossible.
Just as they were now: a force of over eighty men from the Three Clans was being chased like stray dogs by three Uchiha units.
And aside from Kyosuke's unit, which was at full strength, neither of the other two commanders had a full complement of men.
They numbered sixty-seven in total, nearly twenty fewer than the enemy.
"That's the curse of the clever." Kyosuke shook his head with a sigh, but his eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Looking at the two sighing commanders, he suddenly proposed, "In a moment, I'll find a way to punch through the enemy formation."
"When I do, rush them together and wipe out as much of their force as possible."
Both commanders immediately frowned.
One of them hesitated before replying, "Kyosuke, you intend to break through their main force with thirty men?"
"Yes." He nodded without offering much explanation, merely adding, "Trust me. Be ready to finish them off."
"...All right, let's do it!" Neither commander was ordinary, and both understood how fleeting an opportunity in battle could be.
As for whether the operation would succeed...
Had the boy standing before them worked any shortage of miracles over the years?
Trust in their comrades was one of the Uchiha's few admirable qualities.
Soon, Kyosuke's unit appeared in the Gobi Desert.
The resting enemy force immediately went on alert at the sight of them, looking ready to turn tail the instant things went wrong.
Moving to the front of his unit, Kyosuke stared fearlessly at the enemy and barked coldly, "Everyone, get ready..."
"What is he trying to do?" The commander summoned his Akimichi Clan subordinates, preparing to defend against whatever army-scale ninjutsu the enemy might use.
Then he realized that things were not quite unfolding as he had imagined.
Violent air currents rose steadily, breaking through the dark clouds gathered ten thousand meters overhead.
Sand and stones flew, chakra surged, and raging lightning struck fear into friend and foe alike.
When one person activated the ninjutsu, it sounded as though a thousand birds were crying.
When all thirty unleashed the same technique, it was as though tens of thousands of birds had descended upon the Gobi Desert.
"Spread out and coordinate by unit. Break through the enemy defenses in a single strike."
"Yes!!!"
After their thunderous reply, the terrifying torrent of lightning finally began to move.
"My god..." The other two units were utterly dumbstruck.
They had never imagined that this group could unleash such a terrifying collective ninjutsu.
Everyone knew about Chidori, the lightning release ninjutsu created by the Uchiha prodigy.
But...
Why had he taught it to others without holding anything back?!
Whatever they thought of Kyosuke's actions, the spectacle before them was enough to leave anyone in awe.
Lightning release chakra stimulated the body, greatly increasing cellular activity. As a result, all thirty men possessed speeds far beyond those of ordinary ninja.
Defend?
By the time the Akimichi ninja reacted, the dazzling lightning had already slammed into their ranks.
"Kill!!!"
From forming hand seals to charging across the distance and piercing the enemy formation, the Kyosuke Legion took only seven seconds.
Twelve enemies killed, countless wounded, and not a single injury among their own ranks.
"Form up!" At Kyosuke's command, the thirty chunin instantly adjusted their formation.
After a simple sequence of hand seals, that terrifying chirping once again rang in everyone's ears.
"Kill!" With two subordinates at his side, he led the charge toward the already terrified enemy.
"Kill!!!" The thirty ninja behind him roared, launching their second full-force charge.
This time, the Nara commander finally reacted.
Countless dark shadows spread like a vast net, descending over the oncoming torrent of lightning.
They might not kill the enemy, but they could at least halt the fierce charge.
His response was undeniably wise, but he still seemed to have failed to grasp Chidori's true nature.
Why was Chidori considered the ninjutsu best suited to the Uchiha?
The answer was about to be revealed.
Faced with attacks coming from every direction, the seemingly unwieldy Kyosuke Legion instantly dodged in perfect unison.
Their commander did not even need to give an order. What each of them perceived through the Sharingan was essentially the same.
If one man could dodge, then all thirty could evade the attack.
With less than three seconds to spare, the enemy had no chance to launch a second round of attacks.
The Chidori Phalanx plunged into the enemy ranks once again.
After two charges, more than half of the enemy force of over eighty men were dead or wounded.
Most importantly, their courage had been utterly shattered.
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