Desperate Counterattack

Several days earlier, Izuna, under the identity of Kite, had joined forces with Masashige Hagoromo and the others to ambush Satoshi Ri's group at the inn.

"How could this have happened?"

The lead ninja crouched beside the inn, which had long since been blasted to pieces, his face full of disbelief.

Besides him, three other ninja stared at the corpses scattered across the ground, equally unable to believe what they were seeing.

The Shimura Clan emblem was printed on their clothing.

That was right. The Shimura ninja crouching on the ground was named Goen Shimura, a Special Jonin under Keizou Shimura who was mainly responsible for intelligence investigations.

Like the other ninja clans, Satoshi Ri, as the Shimura Clan's envoy for the negotiations with the Four Clans, should have contacted the clan daily through a Summoning Beast so that the clan could receive firsthand intelligence at any time.

Yet several days had passed, and they had received no message from Satoshi Ri.

Growing increasingly uneasy, Keizou Shimura finally could not sit still any longer. He dispatched an investigation team to follow this transport route.

But when they arrived at the inn, they found the corpses of Satoshi Ri and his group.

Satoshi Ri, the Shimura Clan's second-strongest expert, had actually had his head cut off!

His head and body had been separated!

Domoto Sarutobi, a high-ranking figure of the Sarutobi Clan, had also died from exhaustion. The twenty Jonin who had been dispatched were completely wiped out!

As for the enemy, their identity was unknown.

Clearly, after their victory, the enemy had cleaned up the scene and left behind no clues.

A force made up of twenty Jonin!

Looking across the entire Sengoku Ninja World, how many ninja clans had the ability to wipe them all out?

"Captain, what do we do now?"

Another Shimura ninja from the investigation team behind him asked Goen Shimura.

Goen Shimura gritted his teeth and stood. "These bodies need to be transported back to the clan. The four of us can't manage it alone. Notify the Clan Leader and request reinforcements."

Before the three subordinates could respond, more than a dozen black shadows abruptly descended, and a voice rang out at the same time. "There's no need."

The four swiftly turned around. The crimson tomoe in those people's eyes slowly spun, as though they would swallow everything whole.

Uchiha Soshu, who stood at the front, sneered. "You'll become part of these corpses too."

"The Uchiha Clan?"

Goen Shimura was astonished. He then forced himself to calm down. "You did this?"

To be honest, Uchiha Soshu did not know the exact situation either. He only knew that Clan Leader Madara Uchiha had received a letter from Izuna.

Then he had been ordered to organize a twelve-man squad, rush here, and kill any Sarutobi or Shimura ninja who might appear.

"Ask the King of Hell."

The corner of Uchiha Soshu's lips curled up. "Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"

"Rooooar!!!"

At Uchiha Stone City's eastern gate, Susanoo let out a thunderous roar and cleaved the city gate in half with a single slash.

Sora Uchiha beside him said worriedly, "Vice Clan Leader, that technique consumes too much chakra. It would be better not to use it until we encounter an enemy as strong as a Clan Leader."

Izuna smiled calmly and dismissed Susanoo. "I was merely excited because the war is about to end."

Excitement and killing intent burst forth from Izuna's eyes. "Attack! Don't let a single one escape!"

More than two hundred Uchiha swept around Izuna from both sides and charged straight through the city gate.

At that moment, most of the Five Allied Clans Army's ninja had been transferred into the city by their Clan Leaders to engage in internal conflict. The number of ninja guarding the gate had also dropped to its lowest point.

Moreover, these gate guards were nearly all the weakest members of the five clans. How could they possibly be a match for the Uchiha?

After less than fifteen minutes of resistance, the gate's defensive line completely collapsed, and the Uchiha army charged straight into the city.

At that moment, in the center of the city.

With Izuna's residence as the very center, a large-scale battle had erupted among the five clans within a five-mile radius.

More accurately, it was the Hagoromo Clan versus the Watanabe, Saito, Fūma, and Onikawa Clans.

The ninja on both sides had heard of the other side's "betrayal" from their respective Clan Leaders. Each was filled with righteous indignation and burning rage, striking even more viciously than they had against the Uchiha.

Bang!!!

Masashige Hagoromo blocked a slash from the Watanabe Clan Leader. After being forced back several steps, he slammed into the stone wall behind him.

With a rumble, the stone wall cracked into a web of fractures, and he immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

However, the Watanabe Clan Leader and the others across from him were not doing much better. The Saito Clan Leader had deep blade wounds on his left shoulder, abdomen, and right foot, while the others were in no better condition.

Driving a Kage-level Ninja into a corner was an extremely dangerous thing.

But no matter what, the Hagoromo side was clearly at a disadvantage, whether in terms of their Clan Leader or their overall combat strength.

Masashige Hagoromo clenched his teeth. He knew that pitting his clan against four clans carried enormous risks, but since he had learned that they would make their move tonight, he truly had no other choice.

"Cough, cough!"

After coughing twice more and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, Masashige Hagoromo turned his back to one of his subordinates and asked in a low voice, "Has Kite's reinforcements not arrived yet?"

"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"

"Wind Release: Rasengan!"

Suddenly, the windmill-shaped Rasengan spinning overhead merged with the massive arrow of condensed flames.

The next instant, it formed a gigantic wheel of wind and fire that crashed down from the sky.

The dozens of people below sensed the deadly danger descending from above and hastily retreated.

The estate was reduced entirely to ashes. A small number of people failed to escape in time and were swept into it, turning to ash as well.

More than a dozen figures descended from the sky. Without exception, every one of them possessed Three-Tomoe Sharingan!

"Hehmm~~"

Izuna swept his gaze around. Very good, very good—they had all suffered serious injuries.

"Uchiha!?"

The members of the five clans were aghast. Why had the Uchiha, who had only suffered defeat and withdrawn that morning, launched a surprise attack in the middle of the night?

It made no sense!

Who ever lost a battle during the day, only to counterattack that very night?

"W-What the hell is going on!?"

Masashige Hagoromo wanted nothing more than to curse. Kite's reinforcements had yet to arrive, while this bunch of Uchiha lunatics had shown up instead.

Izuna ordered the jōnin squad that had infiltrated deep into enemy territory, "Attack."

Uchiha Shuriken Jutsu!

Fire Style: Dragon Flame Song Technique!

Fire Style: Plain Incineration Technique!

Wind Style: Suppression!

Compared to the five clans, who had already been fighting for quite some time, the Uchiha were practically bursting with energy.

On top of that, they were well-fed and well-rested, and upon seeing that the five clans had somehow descended into nonstop internal conflict and mutually wounded one another, they were overjoyed.

Sora Uchiha was equally thrilled. After unleashing a high-level Fire Style technique, he asked Izuna, "Vice Clan Leader, now that those two sides are fighting each other, should we treat them differently?"

"When the snipe and clam are fighting, would the fisherman choose to treat them separately?"

Izuna replied blandly.

Sora Uchiha gave an embarrassed smile, realizing he had asked a stupid question. He hurriedly gathered Chakra, then drew a kunai and charged toward the enemy, disregarding his own serious injuries.

Izuna, meanwhile, leaped before Masashige Hagoromo. A strange smile appeared on his face. "We meet again so soon, Hagoromo Clan Leader."