Uchiha Sou pushed the Body Flicker Technique to its limit, his Two-Tomoe Sharingan fixed on the high-speed blur ahead, nearly blending into the night, and the scorching Chakra trail it left in the air.
Fast! Too fast!
Even with the Sharingan's dynamic vision, he could barely make out a vague white ghostly figure darting through the woods ahead. Each flash carried it an astonishing distance, as though trees and terrain posed no obstacle at all. This speed was far beyond anything he had ever thought possible with the "Body Flicker Technique."
It had to be Tobirama Senju! Only he could wield the Senju Clan's monstrous physique and mastery over Chakra with such terrifying skill!
What was his target? Reconnaissance? Or... an assassination attempt on someone important?
Sou's heart leaped into his throat. He chased with all his might, but could only watch helplessly as the white figure drew farther and farther away. The gap in their strength had never been clearer.
But just as the white figure was about to vanish from his range of perception—
"Hmph! You dare, you rat!"
A thunderous roar erupted from the heart of the compound! A vast surge of Chakra, brimming with the savage aura of flames, shot into the sky!
It was Clan Head Uchiha Tajima!
Almost at the same time, another mass of Chakra erupted from a different direction, steady as a mountain yet brimming with explosive force, and met the first without yielding!
"Uchiha Tajima! So you really were still holding back!" a deep, murderous voice roared.
Senju Butsuma!
Sou's pupils contracted. The Senju Clan Head had come in person too?! This wasn't a simple reconnaissance or assassination attempt. It was a meticulously planned, full-scale raid led by two top fighters, aimed straight at the heart of the Uchiha!
The white blur ahead (Tobirama) didn't slow down at all. Instead, he used the shock and chaos from the two clan heads' terrifying Chakra collision to accelerate again. Like a ghost, he skirted around the main battlefield and raced toward another area—the residence of important members of the Uchiha Clan!
"Stop him!" Uchiha Tajima's roar rang out, but he was already locked in combat with Senju Butsuma. The two legendary clan heads collided once more, as though bound by fate. Fire Style clashed fiercely with Earth Style and Water Style, lighting up the night sky in an instant. Thunderous booms and shock waves swept outward!
Alarms blared throughout the Uchiha Clan Compound. Countless Uchiha shinobi were jolted into action, rushing toward the main battlefield and the rampaging white flash.
Sou clenched his teeth and charged after Tobirama without hesitation. He knew he was no match for him, but he had to do something! At the very least, he had to use these eyes to see his movements clearly!
Amid the chaos, he spotted Izuna. Izuna had evidently realized the threat Tobirama posed as well. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan was fully activated, and he held a Kunai as he tried to intercept the white-haired figure.
"Brother Izuna, watch out! He's much faster than normal!" Sou shouted, urgently relaying fragments of Tobirama's movements, picked up by his Sharingan, to Izuna through Chakra pulses.
Izuna's expression was grave. His Sharingan could see Tobirama's movements, but his body could barely keep up with that pure, overwhelming speed! Every clash left him teetering on the brink of danger. If Sou hadn't been there to disrupt Tobirama with precisely thrown Shuriken and timely warnings, Izuna would likely have been injured already!
"Annoying fly!" Tobirama's cold, impatient voice came from within the white blur. He seemed irritated by Sou's precise interference, which posed no real threat.
After a violent collision, Tobirama drove Izuna back several paces with a powerful kick. Using the recoil, he drifted backward as lightly as if he had no weight, passing just in front of Uchiha Sou.
For an instant, Tobirama's gaze seemed to sweep casually over Sou's wildly spinning Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
Sou's heart lurched. A deadly sense of danger pierced his mind like an icicle! He had no time to think. Relying entirely on his Sharingan's prediction and his instinct to survive, he poured Chakra into his legs and dodged sideways with all his might!
Almost at the same moment, a razor-sharp Vacuum Blade skimmed past his neck, slicing off a few strands of hair and leaving a faint cut on his cheek!
Fast! Ruthless! Precise! Without warning!
If not for the foresight granted by his Two-Tomoe Sharingan and his near-instinctive sense of danger, he would have been decapitated on the spot!
A trace of surprise flickered in Tobirama's eyes. He apparently hadn't expected a brat with only Two Tomoe to dodge his casual strike. But he didn't linger. His goal was clearly more important. The white figure accelerated again, broke free of Izuna's pursuit, and raced deeper into the compound.
"Sou!" Izuna cried out in shock and fury. Seeing Sou nearly killed, he was consumed by rage and chased after Tobirama again without a thought for his own safety.
Meanwhile, the battle on the main battlefield had reached its peak. Uchiha Tajima and Senju Butsuma had both lost themselves to the fight, holding nothing back. Every clash shook the earth. They were both old and no longer had the stamina of their prime, but their experience and bloodlust had only made them more ruthless.
"Butsuma! I'll take your head today!" Tajima roared as Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique surged forth. "In your dreams! The Uchiha era is over!" Butsuma shouted. Earth Style: Earth Flow River blocked the fire dragon by force, while he launched himself toward Tajima like a cannonball.
Close-quarters combat! It was the most dangerous approach, but also the one most likely to decide the outcome quickly!
The two clan heads fought like aging but still ferocious lions, locked in a final struggle. Sparks flew as Kunai clashed; Taijutsu blows landed with dull thuds; suppressed roars and ragged breaths mingled into a cruel final verse.
Every Uchiha and Senju shinobi who witnessed the scene understood that this battle would likely decide the future of both clans. It would also be the final stage for two clan heads who had spent their lives fighting one another.
Uchiha Sou pressed a hand to the burning wound on his cheek, still shaken. The sensation of brushing past death had been all too vivid. He looked toward the suffocatingly fierce battle in the distance, then toward the direction where Izuna and Tobirama had disappeared. A crushing sense of helplessness welled up inside him.
Faced with a battle of this caliber, his strength was utterly insignificant.
Just then, the main battlefield changed in an instant!
Senju Butsuma deliberately left an opening and took one of Tajima's heavy blows head-on. As blood sprayed from his mouth, he clamped his muscles around Tajima's arm! "Now!" Butsuma's eyes blazed red as he let out one final roar!
A figure shot out of the shadows like a hidden viper! It was another Senju Clan elite! Seizing the fleeting opportunity, he thrust a poisoned Kunai straight toward Tajima's unguarded back!
"Father!" Izuna, who was locked in combat with Tobirama at a distance, caught sight of the scene from the corner of his eye and screamed in anguish!
Uchiha Tajima's pupils contracted. He tried to break free, but Butsuma held him fast, willing to pay with his life!
At that critical moment—
"Get away!"
A roar like that of a wounded beast shook the battlefield!
A black figure tore through the air at a speed far beyond his usual pace, almost frenzied, and appeared behind Tajima in an instant!
It was Uchiha Madara!
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun so violently with fury and panic that it seemed ready to tear through his eye sockets! He had no time to use a Ninjutsu. All he could do was slam his body into the Senju elite who had launched the surprise attack!
Thud!
The poisoned Kunai failed to pierce Tajima's back, but sank deep into Madara's shoulder instead! Pain flared, but Madara didn't hesitate for an instant. His other hand, brimming with savage Chakra, drove a vicious punch into the attacker's chest and crushed it!
But at the same moment that Madara took the fatal blow for his father, the massive opening created by his desperate rescue left him exposed to his enemies.
Senju Tobirama, who had been waiting for an opportunity, was like a white hawk that had patiently bided its time. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
That Body Flicker Technique, faster than the eye could follow, struck again!
This time, he didn't circle around. He went straight for Uchiha Madara, who had left himself open while saving his father!
"Madara!" Tajima, who had just broken free of Butsuma's hold, stared in horror.
Izuna's cry was drowned out by an explosion.
Uchiha Sou's Sharingan saw only a flash of white death, moving faster than he could comprehend, stabbing straight toward Madara's heart!
The shadow of death fell over Uchiha Madara in an instant.
And at that very moment, the Three Tomoe spinning wildly in Madara's eyes—stirred by the rage of seeing his father in danger, the resolve to take the blow for him, and the overwhelming shock of facing death himself—were consumed by three extreme emotions colliding and burning together!
The shape of the three Tomoe began to twist, stretch, and merge in a bizarre transformation...
A cold, powerful Chakra, filled with hatred, burst forth from Uchiha Madara like a bottomless abyss!
The final verse of the old-era heroes was about to be played. And amid this overwhelming despair and hatred, the Mangekyou of the new era was quietly taking shape.
This brutal surprise attack was heading toward its end in a way no one could have predicted, sowing the seeds of even deeper hatred and upheaval in the future.
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