The Five-Clan Alliance

To ordinary ninja clans, this was already an extremely formidable force. But from the way Sora Uchiha spoke, he didn't seem all that concerned.

More importantly, the Uchiha were very weak right now. Otherwise, they would have gone out and shown everyone just how powerful the Uchiha were.

"With the Uchiha's current strength, we can't afford to underestimate this alliance of five clans. Lord Sora, did you make any other discoveries while we were on our way here?"

One of the elite jonin Izuna had brought with him asked.

"We intercepted a message last night. Masashige Hagoromo seems unsatisfied with just the five clans. He wants to drag Ino-Shika-Cho into this and form an alliance of eight clans, so they can swallow up our northwestern territory."

At those words, the expressions of every clan member changed.

Ino-Shika-Cho naturally referred to the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi Clans.

In terms of individual strength, they could barely even be considered second-rate ninja clans. Yet, strangely enough, when they joined forces, they could wield the strength of a first-rate clan.

These three ninja clans had been allied for decades, banding together to survive.

Their territories lay in the far west, and they rarely took part in battles. As a result, they had little presence among the ninja clans of the Sengoku era.

"Then, have Ino-Shika-Cho agreed?"

Izuna asked.

"Based on the intelligence we intercepted, they're still hesitant," Sora Uchiha replied.

"Prepare to attack!" Izuna said without hesitation.

Everyone was taken aback. Someone immediately asked, "Vice Clan Leader, didn't you say we should avoid battle?"

"The situation has changed."

The alliance of five clans was already troublesome. If Ino-Shika-Cho joined in, things would become even more complicated.

Their most urgent task now was to stop Ino-Shika-Cho from joining the alliance.

When all was said and done, they were only afraid of getting involved in a battle they couldn't win.

In that case, the Uchiha would take the initiative and show them that even a lean camel was bigger than a horse.

They would scare Ino-Shika-Cho into staying out of it.

"We have to make a name for the Uchiha in this battle and scare those bastards into keeping still!"

Sora Uchiha roared as well. At last, he could vent the anger he'd been bottling up.

Around thirty miles from the Uchiha's Northwest Stone City.

At the Five Allied Clans Army's encampment.

Masashige Hagoromo had proposed attacking the Uchiha. And since the Hagoromo Clan was the strongest, he had naturally become the alliance's leader.

In the main tent, Masashige Hagoromo sat in the seat of honor. Seated in two rows below him were Setsuna Fuma, leader of the Fuma Clan; No Watanabe, leader of the Watanabe Clan; Oki Saito, leader of the Saito Clan; and Kōkawa Yokōichi, leader of the Onikawa Clan.

At that moment, they were gathered to drink—not for pleasure, but to entertain an honored guest: Enkaku Nara.

He was an envoy sent by Ino-Shika-Cho, and naturally one of the people Masashige Hagoromo and the others hoped to win over.

Although the Hagoromo Clan was powerful, Masashige Hagoromo usually paid little attention to Ino-Shika-Cho.

But now that he was going up against the Uchiha, he hoped to bolster his forces as much as possible.

"Clan Leader Hagoromo, I'm afraid I can't drink any more. I'll stop here."

Like Shikamaru Nara of the future, Enkaku Nara wore his hair in a spiky ponytail. He stopped Masashige Hagoromo from pouring him another drink and replied with a wry smile.

Masashige Hagoromo put down his cup and smiled. "Very well, I won't press you. But when you return, be sure to tell the three Ino-Shika-Cho clan leaders that this is the best chance they'll ever get to swallow up the Uchiha. An opportunity like this comes once in a hundred years."

"Of course, of course. I'll be sure to pass that along."

Enkaku Nara nodded repeatedly on the surface, but his thoughts were entirely different.

The situation might look dire, but the Uchiha were one of the great clans of the Sengoku era. They were hardly easy to wipe out.

Dong~ Dong~ Dong~

The heavy toll of a bell rang out. The five clan leaders, their faces flushed from drinking, sobered up at once.

Everyone grew solemn. They knew what the bells meant.

An enemy attack!

Sure enough, a Fuma Clan ninja entered the tent and dropped to one knee. "Report! Around two hundred Uchiha have assembled and are heading this way!"

Enkaku Nara's pupils contracted. Two hundred? That must be nearly half the Uchiha's strength in the northwest.

Masashige Hagoromo sobered up in an instant as well. He rose and sneered. "The Uchiha really are a bunch of lunatics. They've actually launched an attack themselves."

Ordinary ninja clans would have chosen to defend their stronghold and recover at a time like this. But the Uchiha weren't ordinary. They were a bunch of lunatics.

"Clan Leader Hagoromo, let the Onikawa Clan go out and meet them!"

Kōkawa Yokōichi, leader of the Onikawa Clan, who was an elite jonin, spoke up.

He was the weakest of the five clan leaders. But the enormous strength of the Five Allied Clans Army filled him with confidence.

With such a hothead willing to lead the charge, Masashige Hagoromo had no reason to object. "Good. Let Clan Leader Onikawa strike the first blow in our campaign to take down the Uchiha. Lead six hundred ninja into battle."

He was sending out three times the Uchiha's numbers in one go.

Like Izuna, Masashige Hagoromo wanted to get a good start in the first battle.

He also wanted to show Enkaku Nara, their envoy, the strength of the Five Allied Clans Army.

The western region was nothing like the eastern battlefield, where they had fought the Senju amid mountains on all sides.

Here, the battlefield was a vast, open plain. That meant there was little room for strategy; it would mostly be a clash of strength against strength.

The side with more people had the advantage.

In other words, the odds were against the Uchiha!

Unlike Masashige Hagoromo and the others, who watched from a lookout in the rear, Izuna stood at the very front of the two hundred Uchiha, clad in red armor.

"Hm? The one leading them isn't Sora Uchiha..."

The Saito Clan Leader stood at the center of the ninja formation, frowning as he used Sensory Ninjutsu to survey the battlefield.

"That's right. It's the newly appointed Vice Clan Leader of the Uchiha Clan, Izuna Uchiha."

A scout from the Hagoromo Clan explained.

"Has Uchiha Gakugyo stepped down?"

The Saito Clan Leader opened his eyes. The corner of his mouth curled up like a fox's. "Good. Let's see what he can do. Our forces are three times their size."

"Vice Clan Leader, the enemy has approximately six hundred men."

An Uchiha scout appeared beside Izuna's right shoulder with the Body Flicker Technique and reported, "The man at the front is Kōkawa Yokōichi, leader of the Onikawa Clan."

"Kōkawa Yokōichi..."

Izuna's eyelid twitched.

From Sora Uchiha's report earlier, this guy was no more than an elite jonin. He actually dared to lead the charge. Did he really think the Uchiha were easy prey?

At that thought, Izuna raised his right hand high.

In an instant, the Uchiha behind him all activated their Sharingan.

On the opposite lookout, Masashige Hagoromo and the others suddenly felt as if a sinister crimson star had lit up on the battlefield before them.

Whoosh!

The next moment, Izuna abruptly lowered his right hand. The motion stirred up a gust of wind and set the first flames of battle sweeping across the plain.