Masashige Hagoromo's words immediately revived the spirits of the Five Allied Clans, who had just fallen into despair.
They looked at Izuna's exhausted state and suddenly understood.
That's right!
A Ninjutsu that terrifying was practically a Forbidden Jutsu. How could it not come at a cost?
But no one dared claim Izuna couldn't use that technique a second time. So even after their spirits lifted, the Five Allied Clans Army still moved with trepidation.
"Re...treat!"
Clutching his aching right eye, Izuna spat out the words coldly.
Nearby, Ise Uchiha was startled. "Vice Clan Leader, this—"
"Retreat! Abandon Stone City!"
Izuna ordered again.
Masashige Hagoromo and the others heard him too, and were overjoyed. They'd been right: Uchiha Izuna couldn't use that technique again.
Ise Uchiha clenched his teeth and shouted, channeling Chakra to carry his voice across the entire battlefield. "The Vice Clan Leader orders us to abandon the city and retreat!"
It was like falling from heaven straight into hell.
A minute ago, every Uchiha had thought Izuna's power could turn the tide. A minute later, they received the order to retreat.
As for the Five Clans on the other side, their feelings could only be described as unbridled delight.
The Onikawa Clan Leader threw back his head and laughed. "Don't let them get away! Kill every last one of those Uchiha!"
"Right! Don't let them get away!"
Strike while they're down!
The Five Clans needed no discussion to agree on that.
"Wind Release: Reifū Shockwave!"
The Saito Clan Leader struck first. His clan specialized in Wind Release and Water Release, and he unleashed the strongest Wind Release Ninjutsu he knew.
"I'll help too!"
At some point, the Fuma Clan Leader, who had lost an arm, had managed to bandage the wound. A strip of cloth was tied around it. He pulled out a fresh scroll with his one remaining hand. "Fūma: Senbon Barrage!"
Poof!
The scroll unrolled dozens of meters in an instant. With a series of pops and clouds of white smoke, tens of thousands of poison-coated Senbon rained down in a dense storm.
"Everyone, use Fire Release to hold them back!"
Uchiha Sora, covered in blood, shouted through gritted teeth. He raised his hands, ready to form seals.
"Stand down!"
Izuna's quiet command made Uchiha Sora and the others turn toward him in shock. "Vice Clan Leader."
Facing the Ninjutsu hurtling toward them from ahead and above, Izuna sneered in disdain. "In every era, there are fools who think too highly of themselves."
Chakra once again became tangible flames, blazing into existence as the humanoid upper body of Susanoo rose around him.
"He can still use it?"
Masashige Hagoromo's pupils contracted sharply. He'd just declared that Izuna couldn't use Susanoo again—and now he could almost hear a few slaps ringing in his ears.
The twisted sword in Susanoo's right hand burst into blazing black flames. Facing the incoming ninjutsu, he swept it to the left, then whipped it fiercely to the right.
The rampaging black flames, far beyond an ordinary S-Rank Ninjutsu, mixed with Susanoo's sword energy and tore through every incoming technique.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A Chakra sword formed in Susanoo's left hand as well. With a blade in each hand, the giant rampaged like a monster in a crowd of ordinary people.
The Five Allied Clans Army's shinobi could only scream. They were like pork laid out on a chopping board, helpless before the slaughter.
"Retreat!"
Izuna stood within Susanoo, his back to Uchiha Sora and the others.
Uchiha Sora raised a hand and shouted, "Retreat! Fall back!"
The roughly three hundred members of the Uchiha northwest contingent began a rapid withdrawal.
"After them!" the Watanabe Clan Leader shouted instinctively.
But the moment the words left his mouth, Susanoo's great sword was already raised above his head—and came crashing down.
A powerful sense of death washed over him. The Watanabe Clan Leader used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge.
Rumble!!!
The sword struck the ground. He escaped unharmed, but several shinobi from nearby clans were killed by the blow.
"Monster..." The Onikawa Clan Leader was drenched in cold sweat as he stared at Susanoo.
Was there no technique that could break through that defense?
Then Izuna raised Susanoo's two swords overhead, crossing them into an "X" before slamming them down.
The entire battlefield trembled. The last remaining section of the wall around Uchiha Stone City collapsed as well.
"If you're not afraid to die, come after me."
After delivering the challenge in a tone that brooked no opposition, Izuna dispelled Susanoo and swiftly withdrew.
The nearly two thousand shinobi of the Five Allied Clans Army stared at the deep, X-shaped gash left in the ground. Not one dared suggest pursuing the enemy.
"What are you all standing around for?"
After a long moment, someone finally spoke. Everyone turned toward the voice. It was Masashige Hagoromo.
He walked to the city gate—or rather, where the gate had been.
Stepping into the city, Masashige raised his right hand and shouted, "The Uchiha have fled! We've won this war!"
"We'll hold a feast tonight! Drink your fill and celebrate our victory!"
Masashige shouted again.
The fear that had gripped the allied forces after Izuna's display turned to elation, spurred on by Masashige.
One by one, they raised their hands and cheered, proclaiming their victory.
At that moment, more than ten miles from Uchiha Stone City.
"Vice Clan Leader!"
"Vice Clan Leader!"
"Vice Clan Leader, are you all right?"
The Uchiha were retreating. Seeing Izuna return, they finally let out the breath they'd been holding.
His face was still smeared with blood. Izuna raised a hand to stop those approaching to check on him. "You all did well this time. First, return to the temporary base that Sora established a few days ago. There's plenty of food there. Eat well and rest up. Then get ready for the counterattack at midnight!"
"Counterattack? Vice Clan Leader, our forces are no match for theirs."
A jonin asked in disbelief.
In their current state, attacking the Five Clans would be like throwing an egg against a rock.
Izuna gave a mysterious, crooked smile. "Just wait and see."
At the temporary base fifty miles from Uchiha Stone City, Uchiha Sora opened the storehouses containing enough provisions for three days.
Exhausted and famished, the clan members wolfed down food like beasts.
Izuna chewed on a ration bar and drank from the spring. After washing the blood from his face by the river, he glanced at his reflection in the water.
Damn it, my vision's already getting blurry.
He'd used Susanoo twice, after all.
Izuna opened the system skill tree—
[Player: Uchiha Izuna Rank: Kage Level Chakra Affinities: Fire, Wind, Lightning Kekkei Genkai: Mangekyō Sharingan Skills: Left Eye: Future Prediction Right Eye: Amaterasu Flying Thunder God Second Stage Wind Release: Rasengan Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame ... Skill Points: 78]
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