39 Scorch Release: Yasakani no Magatama

The magatama that shot out of the spray pierced the left arm of the Fuma Clan Leader as he hung in midair.

In the blink of an eye, his left arm separated from his body.

"Ugh!!!!"

Pain from the severed arm surged through his shoulder, and the agony sent the Fuma Clan Leader plummeting from the sky.

"Save the clan leader!!!"

The Fuma Clan members below shouted.

"Not so fast."

Izuna formed Hand Seals, his cheeks puffing slightly. "Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"

A wall of flame more than ten meters long spewed from his mouth, intending to finish off the Fuma Clan Leader in one blow.

"Water Style: Water Wall!"

Across from him, the Saito Clan Leader quickly formed Hand Seals, trying to counter Izuna's flames with Water Release.

As water and fire collided, scalding steam boiled across the battlefield.

A Fuma jōnin seized his chance and rushed into the steam, risking severe burns to his skin as he forcibly rescued the Fuma Clan Leader.

On the other side, Sora Uchiha, now the second most important figure on the Uchiha's northwestern battlefield, was fighting the Watanabe Clan Leader, a peak jōnin, and the Onikawa Clan Leader, an elite jōnin.

In the midst of such a serious battle, this might have seemed a little funny.

After exchanging over a hundred blows, Sora Uchiha's stomach suddenly protested.

Sora clutched his stomach, his brows knitted.

No matter what, he was still human. Hunger gnawed at him, and no matter how hard he concentrated, his body's protests kept distracting him.

Sora wasn't the only one; the other Uchiha fighting there were the same.

The battle could change in an instant. A moment's lapse could bring everything crashing down, especially since their bodies had protested countless times already.

They had managed to hold on this long thanks to the Uchiha's formidable abilities.

"Fighting on an empty stomach must be painful, huh?" the Watanabe Clan Leader said with a smile.

With that, the Watanabe Clan Leader reversed his grip on his double-edged rapier. "In that case, let me do you a favor and send you to the other world sooner."

A blade of condensed chakra came slashing toward him. Sora Uchiha drew a deep breath as flames ignited along the sword in his hand.

"Uchiha Style: Flame Dance!"

The colliding flames burst into sparks that scattered across the battlefield.

Grrr...

The protests of their stomachs and the exhaustion creeping into their minds left every Uchiha physically and mentally drained.

Just then, the Onikawa Clan Leader swept his hand through the air. "Reserve troops, move out!"

At his command, a hundred-man unit that had been held in reserve at the rear—their strength still at its peak—surged forward like an arrow long readied for its target.

At the Onikawa Clan Leader's order, they charged out, pierced through the shield wall defending the Uchiha, and rushed straight toward the city gate.

Sora Uchiha jolted. He turned his head and shouted through gritted teeth, "Fall back and defend! Don't let them get near the city gate!"

"You still have time to worry about other people?!"

The Watanabe Clan Leader sneered.

In terms of overall strength, he had originally been a little weaker than Sora Uchiha. But now Sora was in terrible shape, and in their fight, the Watanabe Clan Leader had the upper hand.

"Water Release: Water Explosion!"

Sora Uchiha raised his right hand and formed the same seal as the Watanabe Clan Leader—using the Sharingan's ability to predict and copy!

"Water Release..."

The explosive torrent was already upon him. No—there wasn't enough time!

Even though the Sharingan had seen through and copied the technique, Sora's badly injured and exhausted body couldn't keep up.

The water struck Sora Uchiha, then clung to his skin before bursting like a bomb.

Blood erupted with the spray, his flesh torn and mangled. The Watanabe Clan Leader shouted excitedly, "Here's our chance! Invade Uchiha City! Wipe out the Uchiha Clan!"

In an instant, the Five Allied Clans Army's morale surged to its peak.

Ten minutes later, a thunderous crash rang out as the gate of Uchiha Stone City, which Izuna and the others had defended for half a year, came crashing down.

"Hahaha! We did it!!!"

"Charge in!!!"

"This place is ours! It's ours!"

After working hard for half a year, they had finally seen the fruits of their efforts. How could the shinobi of the Five Allied Clans Army not be thrilled?

In the history of the Sengoku era, was this the first time the Uchiha had suffered such a crushing defeat at the hands of anyone other than the Senju?

"Vice Clan Leader!!!"

Sora Uchiha, gravely wounded, dropped to one knee and called out to Izuna.

A flicker of "panic" crossed Izuna's face. He put on an expression of blazing fury, and his chakra erupted like a flash flood. "You won't take another step!!!"

In everyone's eyes, the raging chakra seemed to form a primordial beast. The shinobi preparing to enter the city stood rooted to the spot, stunned.

The Susanoo's inner skeleton, which had previously covered only his body, sprouted arms, a neck, and a skull at a speed visible to the naked eye. Newly formed chakra tendons connected them into a complete humanoid figure.

"W-what kind of jutsu is that?!"

"S-so much chakra..."

"Is this the strength of the Uchiha Clan's Vice Clan Leader?"

The enemy forces weren't the only ones stunned. Even their allies stared in shock.

"Scorch Release: Yasakani no Magatama!"

The half-bodied humanoid Susanoo grew a massive silver-white magatama, each as large as a palm, from each hand. With Amaterasu's power behind them, they burned with ominous black flames.

The next moment, Susanoo swung both arms, sending two Yasakani no Magatama flying toward the Five Allied Clans Army massed before the city gate.

Whoosh—BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

The explosions were violent, and black flames blazed amid the shock waves.

Crack, crack—KABOOM!

Then the stone wall, more than fifty meters tall and specially reinforced with Earth Release, collapsed under the force of that single attack!

This was the most heavily fortified stronghold in the Uchiha's northwest, one that had withstood countless enemy attacks!

And the hundred-man elite unit that had just stormed the city gate had been wiped out. Not a single one survived!

"Ha... hahaha!!!"

Suddenly, a Uchiha jōnin snapped out of his daze and burst into laughter. "As expected of the Vice Clan Leader! He'd been hiding such an incredible trump card! Everyone, attack! Victory belongs to the Uchiha!"

For a moment, the Uchiha's morale seemed to rally.

However, just as the situation appeared to be turning around, Izuna's Susanoo—the sight that had drawn every shinobi's gaze—shrank from its humanoid form back to a skeleton, then to a rib cage, before vanishing completely.

"Huff, huff..."

Izuna hunched over, panting softly. Blood and tears streamed from his eyes, completely covering the right side of his face and making him look horrifying.

"V-Vice Clan Leader?"

The Uchiha shinobi, who had just been caught up in the excitement, stared at Izuna in stunned disbelief.

Masashige Hagoromo recovered from his shock and cried out in delight, "Hahaha! How could a jutsu that powerful not come at a cost? Don't worry, everyone! Izuna Uchiha can't use that move again. Attack without hesitation!"