The Pain of Life

Chapter 38: The Pain of Life

Looking at the Great Canyon, which had already turned into a chaotic mess before his eyes...

Uchiha Tajima frowned in thought. The Hagoromo Clan had to be rescued; otherwise, once their ninjas were wiped out by the enemy, the Uchiha Clan would face a pincer attack from both front and rear.

"Goichi, take five squads immediately and secure our retreat route to the rear!"

"Remember, you must ensure that my path of retreat is not cut off by the enemy."

Uchiha Tajima observed the battle situation in the Great Canyon for a moment before issuing orders to Uchiha Goichi beside him with full confidence.

"Yes!"

"Clan Leader!"

Upon receiving the order, Uchiha Goichi immediately turned around to rally his men, preparing to secure the retreat route.

"Oh, and take Shin, Hana, and the others with you."

Uchiha Tajima added as an afterthought.

"Yes!"

"Lord Shin, Hana, please come with me!"

Uchiha Goichi gathered five ninja squads and turned to call out to Uchiha Shin and Hana.

Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Hana, and Uchiha Sarina—the genin among them—followed behind Uchiha Goichi, running toward the exit of the Great Canyon alongside the five Uchiha ninja squads.

"Attack!"

Uchiha Tajima led the remaining Uchiha ninjas, charging at the forefront toward the position of the Hagoromo Clan.

"Hmph!"

"I've arrived, old friend!"

Uchiha Tajima lowered his center of gravity, instantly pushing his forward speed to the limit!

There was no need to guess; the enemies hiding halfway up the cliff, raining attacks down upon the Hagoromo Clan, were undoubtedly the men of the Senju Clan.

This familiar style of assault and the relentless rhythm of the attacks were things Uchiha Tajima knew all too well.

"All Uchiha ninjas, target the hidden caves halfway up the cliffs on both sides with Fire Style ninjutsu!"

"Clear the aerial attacks first, and force the enemy out!"

The Uchiha Clan was truly worthy of being the top ninja clan in the Land of Fire.

Unlike the ninjas of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, the elite Uchiha ninjas quickly locked onto the specific locations of the enemy's hidden caves along the cliffside by tracking the trajectories of shuriken, kunai, and ninjutsu.

Fire Style ninjutsu was the Uchiha Clan's greatest specialty!

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!" ×0

Under Uchiha Tajima's command, the elite Uchiha ninjas formed hand seals at lightning speed. Dozens of massive dragons formed from searing flames roared toward the areas above the hidden caves on both sides of the canyon.

These dozens of soaring fire dragons not only cleared the attacks raining down on the Hagoromo Clan, granting them a moment to breathe, but also carried an unstoppable momentum as they slammed into the rock faces above the Senju Clan's cave entrances.

"Quick, use Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique to intercept!"

Senju Butsuma saw through Uchiha Tajima's intentions in an instant.

He wants to use Fire Style to blast the rocks above the caves, triggering a collapse to bury all our Senju ninjas alive in these tunnels.

Senju Butsuma hurriedly ordered his subordinates to intercept with the Water Dragon Bullet Technique.

So what if he saw through it?

Strike first!

Uchiha Tajima looked up at the dozens of blue water dragons emerging from the cliffside, a cold sneer appearing on his face.

"All Uchiha ninjas, another wave of explosive tags, then prepare for close-quarters combat!"

Uchiha Tajima kept his eyes locked on the activity halfway up the cliff, shouting to the ninjas around him.

"Yes!"

Just as Uchiha Tajima had predicted, the "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique" released by the Senju ninjas failed to intercept the "Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique" unleashed by the Uchiha elites!

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Dozens of massive dragons made of searing heat broke through the blue water dragon formation and slammed violently into the massive rock walls above the hidden caves.

"Clan Leader, move! The ceiling is collapsing!"

Senju Gen looked up at the area directly above the cave with a terrified expression, watching as the massive rock wall began to shatter and crumble under the bombardment and scorching heat of the flames.

"Stop them! Do not let them escape!"

The hostile ninjas hidden atop the cliff on the left side of the Great Canyon entrance saw that a portion of the Uchiha Clan ninjas in the canyon were actually attempting to flee.

Led by their squad leader, they launched an immediate attack directly at Uchiha Goichi, Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Hana, and their group below.

This team of ninjas, concealed within the caves carved into the upper left cliff face, was in fact the Ninja Guard under the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

The leader of this ninja squad was one of the Daimyo's own direct-subordinate elite jonin.

This leader understood that if the Uchiha Clan ninjas managed to escape back home, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire would undoubtedly face the most frenzied retaliation from the Uchiha Clan.

To eradicate the Uchiha Clan, the top ninja clan of the Land of Fire, the Daimyo had spared no expense this time.

He had not only joined forces with the Senju Clan and the monks of the Fire Temple but had also invested a massive quantity of standardized weaponry and equipment.

The goal was to annihilate the elite of the Uchiha Clan in one fell swoop.

Although the world was different and the era was different...

It seemed that this Daimyo of the Land of Fire clearly understood the principle that "the warrior uses martial arts to defy the law."

Armed forces that could not be controlled by one's own hands were better off destroyed.

"Hmph!"

"Finally lured you out!"

Uchiha Goichi, currently on the move, let out a cold sneer.

"Attack!"

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!" ×10

Under Uchiha Goichi's command, the elite ninjas from the five squads he led released, almost in perfect synchronization, giant dragons formed from high-heat flames.

Dozens of giant dragons made of scorching fire surged directly into the sky.

The shuriken, kunai, and explosive tags thrown by the hostile ninjas atop the left cliff were instantly incinerated by this onslaught of high-heat fire dragons.

The target of this attack, composed of these massive fire dragons, remained the sheer cliff face above the hidden caves.

That's right, this very attack strategy was the one Uchiha Tajima had devised just last night.

Otherwise, when facing an enemy with the advantage of high ground, ordinary ninjas would truly have no way to respond.

Since we cannot climb up, we shall force the enemy to come down—this was the combat strategy formulated by Uchiha Tajima.

The only difficulty with this attack strategy was that it had to trigger a cliff collapse in a single wave!

For ninjas of other clans, this might be difficult, but for the Uchiha Clan, who excelled in Fire Style, it was not an issue at all.

The giant dragons of high-heat flame released by the "Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique" could crystallize rock in an instant, burning through it and subsequently causing the massive boulders on the cliff face to collapse.

And so, the leader of the Daimyo's Ninja Guard, currently inside the caves on the left cliff, now faced the exact same situation as the Senju Clan had moments before.

Could one call this digging one's own grave?

"Hana, prepare for close-quarters combat!"

Uchiha Shin drew his short blade, watching the dozens of fire dragons soaring into the sky, and immediately predicted the enemy's next move.

"Understood! Lord Shin!"

Hearing Uchiha Shin's order, Uchiha Hana simultaneously drew her short blade with her right hand, while her left hand gripped three kunai attached to explosive tags.

Seeing the actions of Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Hana, Uchiha Sarina also hurriedly pulled a kunai from her ninja tool pouch, her eyes scanning the cliff above to the left with vigilance.