The southern battlefield, the Gobi Desert south of the border.
Having intercepted enough intelligence, the Uchiha immediately began a massive campaign of encirclement and sweeps.
Anyone with ties to the Three Clans was to be killed!
Anyone who traded with the Three Clans was to be killed!
Any criminal sheltering the Three Clans was to be killed!
Better to kill a thousand by mistake than let one slip by. The brutal slaughter left the people of the Land of Fire's southern border in a state of panic.
In the blink of an eye, more than a month passed as they devoted themselves to the campaign.
From beginning to end, the Three Clans had never intended to fight a head-on battle. No matter how hard the Uchiha pressed them, the enemy stuck to one principle.
Drag things out until the Uchiha were completely finished.
On the main battlefield, no one knew what trump card Senju Butsuma had played, but the Uzumaki Clan, which could have stayed out of the conflict entirely, had resolutely joined the fray.
As descendants of Asura, the Uzumaki were no less powerful than the Senju or the Uchiha.
With their astonishing constitutions and the Shinobi World's one-of-a-kind Sealing Jutsu, the moment they set foot on the battlefield, the Uchiha began to suffer one defeat after another.
Naruto Higashihiko's plan was simple: once the Uchiha couldn't hold out any longer, they would inevitably send ninjas from the Southern Legion to reinforce them.
Then the Three Clans could seize the opportunity to retake their territory and rebuild a solid defensive network.
Until they were truly at the end of their rope, Naruto Higashihiko absolutely didn't want to flee to the Land of Lightning or lead his entire clan to become the Senju Clan's lapdogs.
The Uchiha knew what the enemy was planning, and began an even more ruthless campaign of extermination.
After being pressed from all sides, a medium-sized force of more than eighty men had been cornered in the Gobi Desert.
Three Unit Captains watched them like hawks from the surrounding area, including Uchiha Kyosuke.
"These bastards are slippery. We can't let them get away this time." One man's voice was full of resentment.
Kyosuke nodded, silently agreeing.
He suddenly realized that perhaps he had overestimated the Three Clans' potential for war.
There was nothing wrong with being clever, but cleverness could backfire.
In the end, battles in the Shinobi World came down to each side's strength and methods. Relying on schemes alone would only lead you deeper into a terrible predicament.
This was the end of the Warring States period, when the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi Clans were at the height of their power.
If they assembled their forces on a large scale, the Southern Legion would actually be at a disadvantage in terms of numbers.
Yet Naruto Higashihiko, who considered himself exceptionally clever, had chosen to use guerrilla tactics to wear down his enemies.
One side was bent on war, doing everything in its power to wipe out the other.
The other had no desire to fight, and followed the principle of avoiding battle whenever possible. When there was no way to avoid it, they sacrificed a few to keep the rest safe.
Just like now, a force of more than eighty from the Three Clans had been hounded by three Uchiha units until they were like dogs fleeing their homes.
And that was with Kyosuke's unit at full strength. The other two captains didn't even have their full numbers.
Together, they had only sixty-seven men, nearly twenty fewer than the enemy.
"This is the curse of the clever," Kyosuke said with a shake of his head, though his eyes were full of murderous intent.
He looked at the two captains, who were sighing in frustration, then suddenly proposed, "In a moment, I'll find a way to break through the enemy's formation."
"When I do, you two charge in and make the most of the opening to devour their forces."
At his words, both captains frowned.
One of them hesitated before replying, "Kyosuke, are you planning to punch through their main force with just thirty men?"
"Yes." He nodded, offering no further explanation. "Trust me. Be ready to pick them off."
"...All right. Let's do it!" The two captains were no ordinary men. They knew that a chance in battle could vanish in an instant.
As for whether the plan would succeed—
Just look at the boy before them. How many miracles had he pulled off over the years?
Trusting their comrades was one of the Uchiha's few virtues.
Soon, Kyosuke's unit appeared in the Gobi Desert.
The enemy unit, which had been resting, immediately grew wary. They looked ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble.
Kyosuke moved to the front of his unit, fearlessly staring down the enemy. Then he shouted, his voice cold and commanding, "Everyone, get ready..."
"What is he planning?" The commander called over a subordinate from the Akimichi Clan, preparing to defend against a possible Legion-level Ninjutsu.
But then he realized that things seemed to be unfolding rather differently than he had imagined.
Violent currents of air surged upward, tearing through the clouds gathered ten thousand meters above.
Sand and stones flew, Chakra surged, and the raging arcs of lightning filled both sides with dread.
If one person activated the technique, it was as if a thousand birds were chirping at once.
But when all thirty used the same technique, it was as though tens of thousands of birds had descended upon the Gobi Desert.
"Units, spread out and coordinate! Break through the enemy's defenses in one strike!"
"Yes!!!"
After their unified shout, the terrifying torrent of lightning finally began to move.
"My god..." The other two units stared in shock.
They had never imagined this group could unleash such a terrifying group technique.
Everyone knew Chidori, the Lightning Release Ninjutsu created by a Uchiha genius.
Why had he taught it to others without holding anything back?!
Whatever they thought of Kyosuke's decision, the sight before them was enough to amaze anyone.
Lightning Release Chakra stimulated the body, greatly increasing the activity of its cells. As a result, all thirty men moved at speeds far beyond those of ordinary ninjas.
Defend?
By the time the Akimichi ninjas reacted, the dazzling lightning had already crashed into their ranks.
"Kill!!!"
From forming the Hand Seals to charging across the field and breaking through the enemy lines, Kyosuke's Legion had taken only seven seconds.
They killed twelve enemies and wounded countless others, while every member of their unit escaped unharmed.
"Form up!" At Kyosuke's command, the thirty Chunin instantly adjusted their formation.
After a quick set of Hand Seals, the terrifying chirping once again echoed in everyone's ears.
"Kill!" With two subordinates at his side, Kyosuke led the charge against the already terrified enemy.
"Kill!!!" The thirty ninjas behind him roared as they launched their second full-force charge.
This time, the Nara commander finally reacted.
A web of shadows spread overhead, swooping down to cover the charging torrent of lightning.
They couldn't kill the enemy, but they could stop its furious advance.
His response was undeniably clever. He simply hadn't seen through the true nature of Chidori.
Why was Chidori the technique best suited to the Uchiha?
The answer was about to be revealed.
Facing a barrage of attacks from all directions, Kyosuke's Legion seemed unable to maneuver, but in an instant, they completed a perfectly synchronized evasive maneuver.
The commander didn't even need to give an order. The scenes they perceived with their Sharingan were almost identical.
If one person could dodge, then all thirty could dodge.
There wasn't even enough time for the enemy to launch a second attack before they were through.
The Chidori formation charged into the enemy ranks once more.
After two charges, more than half of the enemy force of over eighty men had been killed or wounded.
Most importantly, their fighting spirit had been utterly crushed.
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