Uchiha Flame Formation

"Success!"

Reflecting the tomoe of the Sharingan in his snake-like pupils, Shinsuke Uchiha felt a wave of relief wash over him.

Using genjutsu to launch an attack was a dangerous gamble. If they hadn't managed to restrain the giant snake, they would have had almost no means of evasion while suspended in mid-air.

"This is the price for looking down on us Uchiha."

Shinsuke Uchiha spat lightly. Although Orochimaru was clearly holding back, only the clan's Sharingan could have restrained him so quickly.

On the night of the Nine-Tails, it was the Third and the others who were wrong; they should have let the Uchiha Police Force take the lead.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."

The sound of a snake flicking its tongue suddenly echoed in his ears. Shinsuke Uchiha snapped out of his wandering thoughts, horrified to find the tomoe in the snake's eyes rapidly fading. A massive maw opened to an impossible degree, snapping toward him with lightning speed.

How could he have broken the genjutsu so quickly? Did someone else make a mistake?

A foul, fishy wind roared as it rushed toward him. In the blink of an eye, Shinsuke Uchiha drew a short blade from his back and slashed fiercely at the giant snake's fangs.

"Clang!"

The short blade failed to sever the fangs, but Shinsuke Uchiha used the recoil to dodge the giant snake's bite.

At that moment, a clan member in the police force who had regained his senses hurriedly fired a kunai attached to a thin wire.

Shinsuke Uchiha offered no resistance, allowing the wire to wrap around his waist twice as he was pulled back by his teammate.

After regaining his footing on the ground, Shinsuke Uchiha was drenched in a cold sweat.

The other squad leaders who had cast the genjutsu were not as lucky as him. Either they failed to think quickly and were defeated during the snake's first round of biting, or they dodged once only for their teammates' support to arrive too late, leaving them to be swallowed without further resistance.

The battlefield fell silent, with only the sound of the giant snake swallowing echoing in their ears.

"They weren't actually eaten, were they?"

Cannibalism—even for the Uchiha, the thought was terrifying.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft!"

One human-shaped object after another was spat out by the giant snake. At the same time, a figure leaped into the air, splitting into eight, and in the blink of an eye, carried those squad leaders to the edge of the battlefield.

After a brief check, Shisui breathed a sigh of relief. They were only unconscious; aside from being covered in saliva, they appeared to have suffered no major injuries.

The central head of the Yamata no Orochi slowly opened, and Orochimaru emerged from within, a sinister smile plastered on his face.

"This is a lesson for you."

"A Jinchuriki who has achieved Tailed Beast transformation is different from a normal Tailed Beast. To control them with genjutsu, your ocular power must be able to control both the Jinchuriki and the beast simultaneously."

"Heh, you lot aren't qualified to do that yet."

It was unclear if this warning had reached the hearts of the Uchiha elite, but they realized that the Yamata no Orochi before them could not be solved with genjutsu.

The eight snake heads were merely an external manifestation; the true body was Orochimaru, who was hidden deep within the giant snake.

And to attack the main body, they needed to deal with the Yamata no Orochi first.

But before this, they had chosen to take the risk and attempt to use the Sharingan's genjutsu precisely because they couldn't find a way to defeat the Yamata no Orochi.

The Uchiha elite present deeply realized that their combat objective needed to change: they could no longer think of winning through force, but rather had to stabilize the situation and hold out until Orochimaru's chakra ran dry.

Such a tactic was instinctively disliked by the Uchiha; they were more accustomed to resolving enemies in a crisp, sharp, elegant, and swift manner.

How could a clumsy method like stalling for time demonstrate the superiority of the Uchiha? Only those untalented, ordinary ninja needed to rely on that.

But at this moment, no Uchiha raised an objection or tried to slack off.

Compared to winning in a pathetic manner, they hated losing even more.

Orochimaru possessed rich combat experience and easily detected the Uchiha's intentions from the shifting situation.

"Hiss... thinking of holding out until I run out of steam? Not a bad plan."

"However, have you forgotten one thing... from the beginning until now, I haven't even started attacking yet."

A mocking, human-like expression appeared on the snake's face. "If you want to hold out, you have to be able to block me first!!!"

With a roar, the Yamata no Orochi abandoned its defensive stance. Ignoring the onslaught of flames, it began to charge toward the formation of the Uchiha elite.

For a time, the earth shook and the mountains swayed. Wherever the Yamata no Orochi passed, large trees collapsed and earthen walls crumbled. The Uchiha elite retreated again and again, failing to form any meaningful resistance.

The battlefield was thrown into chaos by the giant snake's massive body, and the formation of the Uchiha Police Force was scattered once more.

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

Shinsuke Uchiha formed hand seals, unleashing the most powerful ninjutsu he could master, but the giant snake swung its tail, easily crushing the fire dragon.

Shinsuke Uchiha leaped away, dodging the splashing sparks and flying debris of wood and stone.

He landed on the trunk of a large tree, his Sharingan locked onto the giant snake as he panted slightly.

The ninjutsu was having an effect; under wave after wave of attacks, the Yamata no Orochi's movement speed had slowed, and its attack power was not what it had been before.

But compared to that, the combat strength of the police force had declined even more severely.

Even though the opponent was still holding back and his intent was merely to scatter their formation, the aftermath of the battle continued to cause injuries to his clansmen.

If it weren't for Shisui leading them out of the battlefield, this exercise would have caused the Konoha Military Police Force to suffer heavy losses.

"What should I do? If this continues, the clan will be utterly humiliated."

Though he thought this, Shinsuke Uchiha was helpless against the situation; if genjutsu was ineffective, the sheer size of the Yamata no Orochi was a nightmare for any ninja.

At this moment, a figure leaped out from the forest, seizing a gap in the Yamata no Orochi's attacks to land nearby.

After seeing the figure clearly, Shinsuke Uchiha was slightly startled, "It's the clan head. What is he trying to do?"

With the formation disrupted again, command had become ineffective and the battlefield was in chaos; he had assumed the clan head had already retreated.

"Could it be that the clan head has a good plan?"

As this thought flashed through Shinsuke Uchiha's mind, he saw Fugaku form hand seals and slam his palms onto the ground, "Uchiha Flame Formation!"

Instantly, flames ignited from his fingertips, and crimson formation patterns spread across the ground as a translucent wall suddenly rose, completely enclosing the Yamata no Orochi.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The massive snake tail struck repeatedly, yet the barrier not only held firm but began to burn the tail in return.

Shinsuke Uchiha was filled with surprise and doubt, "He succeeded? I never expected the clan head to have learned such an obscure barrier ninjutsu."

Barrier ninjutsu and sealing jutsu were notoriously difficult to learn, and the Uchiha Flame Formation was one of the most difficult among them.

It was not merely a fire-style barrier; it simultaneously drew upon the earth-style properties of the ground itself, further reinforcing the barrier's defensive power.

Compared to ordinary ninjutsu, it was more akin to a Kekkei Genkai, representing the external fusion of two types of chakra.

"Regardless, it worked." Shinsuke Uchiha breathed a sigh of relief.

If the entire Konoha Military Police Force were to surround a single ninja and still end up in total defeat, the Uchiha clan's reputation would be completely ruined.

However, just at this moment, the sound of glass shattering suddenly rang out.

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