Great Victory

Uchiha Tokimitsu's plan was simple: based on intelligence, seize opportunities to overwhelm the enemy with superior numbers. After careful planning, gather elite forces and unleash explosive firepower in a short period, crushing the enemy's resistance in one stroke.

Yet this seemingly simple raid plan had several demanding requirements. First, the intelligence had to be accurate, or they would be walking into a trap. Second, the raiding force had to be strong enough, or it could not defeat the enemy quickly. Third, the information blockade had to be airtight, leaving the enemy no chance to send word and call for reinforcements.

Just like now.

The prepared struck the unprepared; the many crushed the few.

The Net Void Barrier sealed off the skies, while the Konoha Ninja Army launched fierce assaults from the east, south, and west. Before the Iwagakure forces could gain a foothold or even catch their breath, the sudden attack left them utterly dazed.

Three Sides Surrounded, One Side Open gave the disoriented Iwagakure forces an instinctive direction in which to flee, invisibly weakening their resolve to fight to the death.

Thus, the Iwagakure Vanguard suffered a crushing defeat.

Uchiha Tokimitsu stood atop the Castle Keep, the highest point in the mountain city, watching the ferocious ninja of the Konoha Northwest Border Defense Force capture and kill the panicked Iwagakure forces one by one.

Dark clouds blanketed the sky. Inside the city, explosions from Ninjutsu and Explosive Tags rose and fell without pause. From his high vantage point, the clouds seemed to be brewing a thunderstorm, and the gloomy peals of thunder sounded like the low, venomous wails of the dead.

Boom!

To the north, Explosive Tags raised an orange-red mushroom cloud.

A group of Iwagakure ninja attempting to escape northward was intercepted by the Uchiha clan members. As the opening of the battle, the Uchiha clan members greeted them with Cluster Explosive Tags.

The Uchiha clan members hurled Explosive Tags at the Iwagakure forces as though they cost nothing. These powerful and convenient ninja tools ignited clusters of blazing, brilliant sparks amid the Iwagakure formation. The formation they had painstakingly assembled was thrown into chaos. They instinctively used the Body Flicker Technique to evade the Explosive Tags, forgetting that the Uchiha clan members beside them were watching like tigers eyeing prey. The result was that the moment they dodged the Explosive Tags, nearby Uchiha ninja closed in and beheaded them with a single slash.

The Iwagakure forces' cries and curses were gradually drowned out by the unending explosions of Explosive Tags.

Earth Style: Mud River!

Earth Style: Earth Spear!

These were the Ninjutsu attacks of two Stone Village Jonin. They first transformed the ground within the city into an extremely viscous swamp, then summoned a vast field of earthen spears to attack the Konoha ninja trapped within it. Some Konoha ninja who failed to escape with the Body Flicker Technique before the technique was cast were skewered into bloody gourds.

This was likely Iwagakure's first counterattack since the raid began.

"As expected of Iwagakure, which specializes in Earth Style. Their combination Ninjutsu is truly proficient, and they've even altered the terrain with Ninjutsu to create a battlefield better suited to Earth Style."

Uchiha Tokimitsu praised the power of Iwagakure's combination Ninjutsu attack.

"One can only say that they truly deserve to be Iwagakure ninja, supported by the Will of Stone and reputed to be the most united and best at coordination."

The corner of Uchiha Tokimitsu's mouth seemed to curl into a smile as he spoke in a seemingly admiring tone to the Jonin beside him, Hyuga Toshiki.

Yet though his words carried a trace of amusement, the Three-Tomoe in his eyes spun faster and faster, as though he could no longer suppress his anger and killing intent.

"It's the Border First Detachment."

Hyuga Toshiki observed with his Byakugan and replied with what seemed like a completely unrelated remark.

Oh, so it wasn't the Uchiha Clan.

Uchiha Tokimitsu nodded in understanding.

"Commander Tokimitsu, should we go provide support?" Another middle-aged ninja cautiously offered his opinion.

He was a member of the Border First Detachment. As a veteran Konoha border ninja, the unfavorable situation of his subordinates made him feel deeply ashamed.

Uchiha Tokimitsu glanced at him without committing himself.

For a moment, the distant Konoha ninja and Iwagakure forces were once again locked in fierce combat.

"Jonin Qianjie." Uchiha Tokimitsu called to Uchiha Kensuke, the Jonin of the Guard Squad. "Lead your men over there and provide support."

"Don't let a single one escape!"

"Understood."

The three ninja of Qianjie's squad silently nodded and formed a hand seal before their chests with their right hands.

Body Flicker Technique!

The next moment, the three members of Uchiha Kensuke's squad appeared on the battlefield simultaneously. Without needing a word of command, they naturally formed a charging formation with Uchiha Kensuke at its core and his two Chunin subordinates as the flanks.

The Iwagakure ninja, who had been locked in an even fight with the Konoha ninja, were shocked at the sight and hurriedly tried to use the Body Flicker Technique to widen the distance.

After dodging a wave of ninja tool attacks, they had no time to catch their breath and hurriedly formed hand seals, preparing to cast Ninjutsu.

"Earth Style: Rock..."

Before the Ninjutsu could take shape, two Uchihas' longswords pierced through his chest.

Illusion Technique: Binding!

Uchiha Kensuke, his hands still locked in a seal, wore a scornful expression. Enemies who did not even realize they had fallen under the Sharingan's illusion were simply too weak.

"An Iwagakure Jonin... that's all..."

With disdain on his face, Uchiha Kensuke slowly drew the longsword at his waist.

Since Iwagakure was so weak, he might as well use them to practice his swordsmanship.

The one-sided situation of the Iwagakure Vanguard did not improve. Though there were occasional fierce pockets of resistance, Uchiha Tokimitsu, standing above, spotted them in time and swiftly dispatched reinforcements to kill them.

"Twenty-six minutes."

Uchiha Tokimitsu took out a pocket watch, glanced at it, and spoke.

"Twenty-six minutes have passed since the assault began."

Uchiha Tokimitsu's words still carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

Judging from the battlefield performance, although Iwagakure had collapsed, that was mainly because the sudden attack had caught them off guard. Moreover, under Konoha's numerical advantage, they could not display their tradition of united, coordinated combat.

However, this battle also exposed several problems within the Konoha Ninja Army.

Although conventional ninja units formed from Civilian Ninja possessed considerable resilience and strong combat awareness, they clearly lacked offensive methods, resulting in insufficient striking power. They found it difficult to establish Ninjutsu suppression in a short time, as could be seen from the Border First Detachment's assault on the western city wall.

The Clan Ninja Army formed from Uchiha Clan ninja was certainly powerful, but it still had shortcomings in large-scale tactical coordination. Uchiha Jonin tended toward fighting alone, emphasizing victory through individual strength. They preferred using flashy Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, combined with excellent taijutsu and swordsmanship, to defeat their enemies. Their tactical coordination was also limited to three-man squads. Looking across the entire battlefield, there was not a single example of more than two Jonin working together to kill an enemy. Although the Uchiha ninja ultimately won every encounter, it was still something of an imperfection.

"Jonin Xinyan, our clan members still prefer fighting alone." Uchiha Tokimitsu spoke to Uchiha Nobuhiko with a faint sigh.

Uchiha Nobuhiko silently nodded. Though he understood what Uchiha Tokimitsu meant, he did not actually think there was anything wrong with it.

Making Uchiha clan members cooperate—wouldn't that mean competing for kills, or making people think they lacked individual strength?

For proud Uchiha ninja, that was intolerable.

Still, Uchiha Nobuhiko would not foolishly refute Uchiha Tokimitsu's words.

"...Perhaps the clan members are accustomed to the squad combat style of the Konoha Military Police Force and haven't adjusted their combat mindset in time for ninja army warfare."

Uchiha Nobuhiko offered a brief defense.

The surrounding Civilian Ninja felt somewhat powerless upon hearing this.

Though each of them regarded himself as a battle-hardened veteran Jonin or Chunin, when facing Uchiha ninja of the same rank and seeing those pairs of scarlet Sharingan filled with killing intent, they always felt like helpless, pitiful Genin again.

And even with that, Commander Uchiha Tokimitsu was still dissatisfied.

The Civilian Ninja grumbled inwardly.

"You should go down and clear the battlefield as well." Uchiha Tokimitsu turned and addressed the ninja beside him.

"You may capture a few alive and take them back, but leave no wounded Iwagakure ninja alive."

His calm tone carried boundless bloody killing intent.

"Yes!"

The ninja atop the Castle Keep felt as though they had been granted amnesty. After saluting, they left the rooftop and charged toward the fighting still underway throughout the city.

"What a boring battle..."

Konoha already possessed a numerical advantage as the attacking side, and its number of Jonin far exceeded that of the Iwagakure Vanguard. Thus, the battle to take the city did not last long. After killing three Iwagakure ninja, Uchiha Tokimitsu had nothing left to do.

"It should be almost over..."

Hyuga Toshiki, who continued scanning the battles throughout the city with his Byakugan, understood Uchiha Tokimitsu's intentions and reported to him.

Uchiha Tokimitsu silently nodded.

As expected of the prestigious Hyuga Clan. They knew how to read the situation.

Though he personally felt the battle had been somewhat lacking, the results were still highly fruitful. Once reported back to the village as a great victory, regardless of what the Hokage Faction had intended with its initial imperial decree of "Do not provoke border incidents," they would have to hold their nose and acknowledge the success of this raid, awarding appropriate rewards.

Otherwise, not only the Uchiha Clan, but the village's other ninja clans and Civilian Ninja would refuse to accept it.

The proud Konoha ninja had long grown accustomed to the glory of being the First Ninja Village. Who could tolerate being constrained by "Do not provoke border incidents"?

The dust settled, and the battle was over.

"...The Uchiha First Detachment killed seventy-seven enemies and captured six. Sixteen members of the entire detachment were wounded..."

After the battle, the detachment leaders inspected their respective units and returned to the Castle Keep to report their results to Uchiha Tokimitsu.

"The Uchiha Second Detachment killed sixty-one enemies and captured three. Nine members of the entire detachment were wounded..."

"The Border First Detachment killed sixty-nine enemies and captured twelve. Eleven members of the entire detachment were killed, and twenty-two were wounded..."

Sure enough, the Border First Detachment, composed of ordinary ninja, had suffered the heaviest losses.

Uchiha Tokimitsu sighed inwardly. The strength of the various units was still severely unbalanced.

"How are our wounded comrades?" Uchiha Tokimitsu asked.

"They have all been sent by the battlefield relief team to the field hospital for emergency treatment. None of them are in life-threatening condition," said Doi Taizo, the Detachment Leader of the Logistics Detachment and an elderly Medical Ninja.

"Very good."

Though the outcome was not perfect, giving himself a score of ninety-five was no problem.

Uchiha Tokimitsu was satisfied with the reported results.

"It would only be better if the Sealing Squad were strengthened. Quite a few Iwagakure ninja probably escaped through escape techniques similar to the Earth Submergence Technique. That is somewhat regrettable..."

Uchiha Tokimitsu commented with faint self-satisfaction before changing the subject.

"However, no one can deny that this was still a glorious victory!"

"Complete victory!" the ninja present cheered.

"Complete victory!" Hearing the cries, the Konoha ninja clearing the battlefield within the city cheered along with them.