"I'm Kōkawa Yokōichi, clan leader of the Onigawa Clan! You're the Uchiha leader over there..."
Kōkawa Yokōichi, leading the Five Clans Alliance's army of six hundred ninja, had only just started introducing himself when Izuna suddenly raised his right hand.
"Hyaaah!!"
The two hundred Uchiha ninja across from them roared in unison. Their black uniforms surged into motion, and from a distance, the pitch-black army charged forward with unstoppable force.
"Hmph! The Uchiha Clan really are a bunch of lunatics!"
Kōkawa Yokōichi barked coldly. He'd been planning to make a good show of himself in front of the allied forces.
After all, he was the weakest of the five clan leaders. Even if they divided up the Uchiha lands, his clan would probably get the smallest share.
That was why he'd proposed taking the vanguard and earning battle merits.
"Water Release: Water Flow Rip!"
"Lightning Style: Gratitude Wave!"
"Spiral Swirl!"
Izuna formed a Wind Release: Rasengan in each hand. Combined with his clan members' Water Release and Lightning Release on either side, they fused into an S-Rank Ninjutsu with three intertwined chakra natures and a vast area of destruction.
It looked like a calamity bent on swallowing everything in its path.
"Defend!"
At Kōkawa Yokōichi's low command, the front line fell back more than ten meters. The second line of ninja moved up, and dozens of pairs of hands pressed against the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
Dozens of earthen walls, powerful enough to reshape the terrain, shot up in an instant, forming a barrier before the Five Allied Clans Army.
RUMBLE!!
After pressing against the Earth Flow Walls for about five seconds, the Uchiha's combined three-nature ninjutsu fused with them and shattered them to pieces.
Though the walls had absorbed most of its power, the resulting blast of air still swept over Kōkawa Yokōichi and the others like a tornado, stinging their skin.
"Don't look those guys in the eyes! Keep your distance and fight from range!"
Kōkawa Yokōichi wasn't strong, but he was good at analyzing a situation. Besides, the power of the Uchiha's Sharingan was common knowledge throughout Sengoku.
At his order, around two hundred members of the Five Allied Clans Army who had finished forming Hand Seals charged in from the flanks, ready to unleash their ninjutsu.
Clearly, they'd planned this before the battle.
The Earth Release ninja formed the central defensive line. Once their defense held and an opening appeared, the two flanking units would launch their own ninjutsu barrage.
"Fire Style: Headhunter!"
"Wind Style: Gale Force!"
"Water Style: Water Gathering Blade!"
The five clans each had their own specialties, and the different ninjutsu they unleashed made the sky above the battlefield look as though it had burst into a shower of colorful fireworks.
At first glance, it was dazzling. At second glance, the threat of death was unmistakable.
BOOM!!
Ninjutsu rained down from the sky, shaking the very earth.
Smoke spread across the plains, making it hard for Kōkawa Yokōichi and the others to see how the battle was going.
"Next unit, move in! Don't let the Uchiha get close!"
Kōkawa Yokōichi continued issuing orders. He wasn't stupid enough to give the Uchiha a chance to catch their breath.
Even though they had only a third as many men as his side, the Uchiha weren't to be underestimated for a moment.
Whoooosh—
Countless Uchiha ninja burst out of the smoke.
The allied forces' second barrage of ninjutsu was already ready to fire.
"Charge—"
BOOM!
Kōkawa Yokōichi was just about to wave his hand again when a crash behind him shook the ground.
Something had dropped from the sky.
Startled, Kōkawa Yokōichi turned around and saw Izuna descending from above, landing behind him.
Masashige Hagoromo and the others, watching from the rear, were equally shocked.
From where they stood, they could see that Izuna had used the Uchiha Clan's Summoning Beast, a Ninja Hawk, to fly in from the flank and drop behind Kōkawa Yokōichi.
But hadn't Uchiha Izuna been at the front of the Uchiha army the whole time?
How had he suddenly taken control of a Ninja Hawk and appeared in midair?
"Amaterasu!"
Blood streamed from Izuna's right eye as black flames of destruction devoured everything in his gaze—including Kōkawa Yokōichi, one of the five clan leaders!
"Aaaah!"
"H-help! We need help!"
"Use Water Release, quick!"
"Use Water Release to help him!"
As the Five Allied Clans Army began to panic, Izuna gave a cold laugh. He shut his right eye and spread his hands. The instant he formed a Wind Release: Rasengan, he opened his right eye again.
Amaterasu's flames cloaked the Rasengan.
"It's not perfect, but it's more than enough to deal with you."
Izuna hurled one Amaterasu Rasengan to the left and another to the right, striking the enemy ninja on both flanks.
"Scorch Release: Amaterasu Rasengan!"
RUMBLE!!
The unquestionable power of an S-Rank Ninjutsu tore a path of destruction through the middle of the six hundred ninja.
First, he'd used the Shadow Clone Technique to catch his opponents off guard, then ambushed them with a Summoning Beast, and finally carved a path through them with his ultimate combination of Amaterasu and the Rasengan. That was Izuna's plan!
Using a move like this against a clan leader who was an elite jōnin was like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken.
But right now, he had to intimidate the Five Allied Clans Army. This sledgehammer was coming out whether he liked it or not!
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Fire Style: Burning Ash!"
The next moment, the Uchiha army had broken through into the center of the Five Allied Clans Army.
With the Uchiha's signature Fire Release leading the charge, the entire battlefield turned into a sea of flames in less than half a minute.
"Follow the Vice Clan Leader and charge!"
Seeing the overwhelming power Izuna had displayed, the Uchiha's morale soared. They charged forward fearlessly, every eye fixed on the enemy heads they meant to claim.
To tell the truth, Izuna wanted to cover his right eye and get a medic to treat it.
It hurt like hell!
No wonder Sasuke had been nearly blind after just one day at the Five Kage Summit in the future.
But he couldn't do that—not now. He absolutely couldn't reveal the Mangekyo's weakness.
Instead, he had to make it look as though the Mangekyo caused him no side effects and that he could keep using this technique without pause.
Izuna opened his right eye again and recalled the Amaterasu flames burning across Kōkawa Yokōichi's corpse.
He crouched and used a kunai to cut off Kōkawa Yokōichi's head, its flesh more than eighty percent charred away by Amaterasu.
"The Five Clans Alliance is nothing special! I have the head of the Onigawa Clan leader!"
Izuna raised the burned head high. The sight sent a shiver through the allied forces behind him.
Seizing the moment, Sora Uchiha raised his hand and shouted, "Vice Clan Leader, lead us onward! We'll follow you to the death!"
"Yeah!!"
The entire Uchiha army raised their arms and roared.
Cold sweat trickled down Masashige Hagoromo's face. Beside him, the Fūma Clan leader narrowed his eyes. "Hagoromo Clan Leader, the Uchiha's morale is high. There's no need to add to our casualties for nothing."
Masashige Hagoromo hadn't expected Izuna to leave them in such a sorry state in their very first battle.
Looking at the young man in the distance, tears of blood running down his face, Masashige Hagoromo felt a pressure heavier than anything he'd experienced when facing Tajima Uchiha.
"Retreat!"
Through gritted teeth, he shouted the word, and the Five Allied Clans Army turned and fled without hesitation.
"Advance! Kill as many as you can!"
Izuna roared like a madman.
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