Watching the Great Canyon, where the battle had already descended into chaos...
Uchiha Tajima furrowed his brow as he thought. The Hagoromo Clan definitely needed help. Otherwise, once the enemy wiped out the Hagoromo Clan's ninjas, the Uchiha Clan would be caught between them.
"Goichi, take five squads at once and secure our retreat!"
"Remember, you must make sure the enemy can't cut off our way back."
Uchiha Tajima surveyed the fighting in the Great Canyon, then confidently ordered Uchiha Goichi, who stood beside him.
"Yes!"
"Understood, Clan Head!"
At the order, Uchiha Goichi immediately turned to gather his men, preparing to secure their retreat.
"Right, take Shin, Hana, and the others with you."
Uchiha Tajima added another instruction.
"Yes!"
"Lord Shin, Hana, please come with me!"
Uchiha Goichi quickly gathered five squads of ninjas, then turned to Uchiha Shin and Hana beside him.
Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Hana, Uchiha Sarina, and the other Genin followed Uchiha Goichi, running alongside five Uchiha Clan ninja squads toward the Great Canyon's exit.
"Attack!"
Leading the Uchiha Clan's remaining ninjas, Uchiha Tajima charged straight toward the Hagoromo Clan's position.
"Hmph!"
"Here I come, old friend!"
Uchiha Tajima lowered his center of gravity and instantly accelerated to his limit!
There was no need to guess. The enemies hiding halfway up the cliffs and attacking the Hagoromo Clan's ninjas from above were definitely members of the Senju Clan.
Uchiha Tajima knew this familiar style of attack and unrelenting rhythm all too well.
"All Uchiha Clan ninjas, attack the enemy's hiding spots halfway up both cliffs with Fire Release Ninjutsu!"
"First, stop the attacks from above, then force the enemy down!"
The Uchiha Clan truly lived up to its reputation as one of the Land of Fire's foremost ninja clans.
Unlike the ninjas of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, the Uchiha Clan's elite quickly pinpointed the enemy hideouts halfway up the cliffs by tracing the paths of the Shuriken, Kunai, and ninjutsu attacks.
The Uchiha Clan excelled at Fire Release Ninjutsu!
"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!" ×0
Under Uchiha Tajima's command, the Uchiha Clan's elite ninjas formed Hand Seals at lightning speed. Dozens of massive dragons made of searing flames roared toward the entrances of the hideouts on both cliffs.
The sudden appearance of the fiery dragons cleared away every attack above the Hagoromo Clan's ninjas, giving them a chance to catch their breath.
Then, with unstoppable force, the dragons blasted the rock above the Senju Clan's hideout entrances.
"Use Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet to intercept them!"
Senju Butsuma immediately saw through Uchiha Tajima's plan.
He intended to blast apart the rock above the hideouts with Fire Release Ninjutsu, trigger a rockslide, and bury every Senju Clan ninja inside.
Senju Butsuma hurriedly ordered his men to intercept the attack with Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet.
So what if he saw through the plan?
The first to strike had the advantage!
Uchiha Tajima looked up at the dozens of blue water dragons rushing out from halfway up the cliffs and gave a cold smile.
"All Uchiha Clan ninjas, throw another wave of Explosive Tags, then prepare for close-quarters combat!"
Uchiha Tajima kept his eyes fixed on the activity halfway up the cliffs and shouted to the ninjas around him.
"Yes!"
Just as Uchiha Tajima had predicted, the "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique" unleashed by the Senju Clan ninjas failed to stop the "Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique" launched by the Uchiha Clan's elite!
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
The dozens of searing flame dragons broke through the formation of blue water dragons and slammed into the massive rock face above the hideouts.
"Clan Head, hurry! The ceiling's collapsing!"
Senju Gen stared up at the rock above the hideout in terror. Under the scorching flames' assault, the massive rock face overhead had already started breaking apart in chunks.
"Stop them! Don't let them escape!"
Hidden above the left cliff at the Great Canyon's entrance, the enemy ninjas saw that some of the Uchiha Clan ninjas in the canyon were trying to flee.
Led by their squad captain, they immediately attacked Uchiha Goichi, Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Hana, and the others below.
The ninja squad hidden in the hideout above the left cliff was, in fact, the Ninja Guard serving the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
Their leader was one of the Daimyo's personal elite guards.
He knew that if the Uchiha Clan ninjas escaped, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire would face the Uchiha Clan's most vicious retaliation.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire had paid a steep price to wipe out the Uchiha Clan, one of the Land of Fire's top ninja clans.
He had not only allied with the Senju Clan and the monks of the Fire Temple, but had also supplied an enormous quantity of standard-issue weapons and equipment.
All to annihilate the Uchiha Clan's elite in one fell swoop.
Though the world and the era were different...
It seemed this Daimyo of the Land of Fire understood all too well that armed fighters could defy the law.
If an armed force couldn't be brought under your control, it was better to destroy it.
"Hmph!"
"Finally got you to show yourselves!"
Uchiha Goichi sneered as he ran.
"Attack!"
"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!" ×10
Under Uchiha Goichi's command, elite ninjas from the five squads he led immediately unleashed massive dragons of searing flame in near-perfect unison.
Dozens of fiery dragons shot into the air.
The Shuriken, Kunai, and Explosive Tags hurled by the enemy ninjas on the left cliff were instantly destroyed by the attack of searing flame dragons.
And the dragons were once again aimed at the massive rock face above the hideout.
That's right. It was the same strategy Uchiha Tajima had come up with the night before.
Otherwise, ordinary ninjas had no real way to deal with enemies attacking from above.
If we can't get up there, we'll force them down. That was the strategy Uchiha Tajima had devised.
The only challenge was making sure a single volley could bring down the cliff face.
That might have been difficult for ninjas from other clans, but for the Uchiha Clan, which specialized in Fire Release, it was no problem at all.
The searing flames of the "Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique" could crystallize and burn through rock in an instant, causing the boulders on the cliff to collapse.
So now, the Ninja Guard of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, led by its captain in the hideout above the left cliff, faced the same predicament as the Senju Clan had moments earlier.
Had they brought this on themselves?
"Hana, prepare for close-quarters combat!"
Uchiha Shin drew his short sword and watched the dozens of fiery dragons surge into the air, immediately predicting the enemy's next move.
"Yes, Lord Shin!"
At Uchiha Shin's command, Uchiha Hana also drew her short sword with her right hand while gripping three Kunai fitted with Explosive Tags in her left.
Seeing Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Hana's movements, Uchiha Sarina quickly took a Kunai from her ninja pouch and warily watched the cliffside above on the left.
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