Chapter 39: The Pain of Life ()
Feeling the violent tremors in the rock wall above the hidden armory cave, caused by the barrage of Fire Release Ninjutsu, Masai Shoichi, the team captain, immediately looked grim.
They had been hiding halfway up the cliff, giving them an overwhelming advantage from their elevated position.
Who could have guessed that their opponents would seize on the fact that they were concealed halfway up the cliff, where their limited room to maneuver made it impossible to dodge, and use Fire Release Ninjutsu to bombard the massive rock wall above the hidden armory cave?
In an instant, the tables had turned.
How despicable...
"Captain, the ceiling's coming down!"
"Crack!"
"Crack!"
At that moment, under the Uchiha Clan's sustained barrage of Fire Release Ninjutsu, the massive, once-solid rock wall above the hidden armory cave had begun to crack.
The powerful tremors caused by the Fire Release Ninjutsu...
Countless boulders the size of soccer balls had begun tumbling down toward the platform at the cave entrance.
The constant whistling of rocks overhead made Vice-Captain Okune Daisan's face go pale.
"Crack!"
Before Okune Daisan could even think of a way to respond, a rock fell from the wall above and came straight down toward his head!
Sensing the danger, Okune Daisan immediately stepped back.
In the blink of an eye, the rapidly falling rock grazed the tip of his nose and slammed into the ground right in front of his feet.
"Captain!"
Okune Daisan looked anxiously at Masai Shoichi.
Captain Masai Shoichi understood, too. If they stayed here, the massive rocks about to break loose from the wall above would bury them alive in the hidden armory cave.
"Get down there! We'll attack them head-on!"
"We outnumber them!"
Captain Masai Shoichi clenched his teeth and charged down the cliff face, leading the way.
"Kill them!"
"Charge!"
Although plenty of falling rocks flew out past the cave entrance and crashed toward Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Hana, and the others in the gorge,
Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Hana, and the others dodged with such agility that not a single one of them was hit.
"They're coming!"
"Attack!"
Uchiha Goichi looked up at the enemy ninja charging down from halfway up the cliff on the left and immediately ordered the ninja squad to attack!
"Release the shuriken!"
"Throw the Explosive Tags!"
Following Uchiha Goichi's commands, Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Hana, and Uchiha Sarina first hurled several shuriken at the charging enemies.
Before they could even tell whether the shuriken had hit, the three quickly pulled several kunai with Explosive Tags tied to their ends from their ninja tool pouches and hurled those at the enemy as well.
Large-scale combat between ninja units was nothing like one-on-one fights between ninja.
When ninja units fought, coordination was key.
At first, Uchiha Shin had assumed that clans simply fought each other individually.
It wasn't until just now that he realized anime had been lying to him.
Even in the Warring States Period, ninja had plenty of brains, all right!
Under Uchiha Goichi's command, Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Hana, Uchiha Sarina, and the Uchiha Clan's ninja squad launched three waves of attacks against the enemies charging down from halfway up the cliff!
The three waves of attacks took out some of the enemy, but several Uchiha ninja were also gravely wounded by the shuriken, kunai, and ninjutsu the enemy threw at them.
"Anyone who's injured, get to the back of the formation!"
Uchiha Goichi shouted at the few gravely wounded ninja, who could no longer attack, as the enemy was about to reach the ground.
As long as they were alive, there was still hope. But if the enemy took advantage of the chaos to finish them off, that would be a real loss in fighting strength.
Setting aside inheritance and talent, it was extremely difficult for an ordinary person to become a ninja. Simply learning to refine and control Chakra kept countless people from ever becoming ninja.
The total number of ninja who took part in the Fourth Shinobi World War in the original Naruto showed just how many ordinary people it took to produce a single ninja.
That was why every ninja, every combatant, was precious to their clan.
"Quick! Get into the enemy's ranks!"
"Engage them in close combat!"
"That way, the Uchiha Clan's ninja won't dare use ninjutsu!"
"We have the advantage in Taijutsu!"
Shouting as he charged, Masai Shoichi led the way straight into the Uchiha Clan's formation.
"Kill!"
The gorge immediately erupted with cries of battle.
Masai Shoichi and Okune Daisan worked together, going straight for the Uchiha Clan's commander, Uchiha Goichi.
The other members of the Land of Fire Ninja Guard also found targets of their own.
With both sides locked in combat, neither ninja unit had anything resembling a formation anymore.
The whole scene descended into a brawl.
Uchiha Shin activated his One-Tomoe Sharingan. With the boost to his dynamic vision, he easily knocked away five shuriken flying toward him.
Uchiha Hana remembered Uchiha Shin's instructions and did everything she could to fend off attacks coming at him from behind.
Standing back-to-back, the two worked together and easily killed three enemy Genin who tried to attack them at close range.
But Uchiha Sarina, not far away, was in trouble.
Caught between two enemy Genin attacking from the front and behind, Uchiha Sarina was struggling to hold them off.
After fighting for only a short while, the seven-year-old Uchiha Sarina was already covered in sweat.
"Hah...!"
The intense exertion was making it hard for her to keep going.
As a girl, she was already at a disadvantage when it came to stamina.
After deflecting a kunai aimed at her throat, she tried to jump backward and escape the enemies surrounding her.
But the other Genin attacking her immediately moved in to fill the gap, lowering his stance and pressing close as he thrust his kunai upward toward her throat.
He wasn't giving her a chance to get away!
This is bad!
Uchiha Sarina was frantic. She knew that if this continued, she would be killed in fewer than ten moves.
I don't want to die yet. I still have to protect my younger brother!
I have to think of a way to get out of this.
By the narrowest of margins, Uchiha Sarina once again thwarted the two enemy Genin's lethal attacks.
I'm going for it!
Once she had made up her mind, Uchiha Sarina changed her fighting style.
Instead of dodging the Genin attacking her from the front, Uchiha Sarina rushed straight at him, pressing herself tightly against him.
Her eyes flashed with a murderous glint as she thrust her kunai straight at his throat. She was clearly prepared to die with him.
That was right. Uchiha Sarina was gambling that he would retreat to save himself.
Sure enough, when the ninja attacking Uchiha Sarina from the front saw that she intended to die with him,
he panicked for a moment.
So he had no choice but to step back, evading Uchiha Sarina's lethal strike.
Now!
Seeing the Genin attacking from the front flinch and retreat a step, Uchiha Sarina sneered inwardly, bent her knees, and thrust backward with both feet.
She exploded into motion, catching the Genin behind her off guard and knocking him away with her back.
How could she let you get away?
A murderous glint flashed in Uchiha Sarina's eyes. She used her momentum to pick up speed, then performed a backflip.
She wrapped both legs around the neck of the Genin she had knocked away and tightened them with all her strength.
A sharp CRACK!
The Genin whose neck she had trapped went limp, lifeless.
"Damn it!"
"You bastard! You killed Ryumei!"
"I'll kill you!"
When the Genin who had attacked Uchiha Sarina from the front saw that his attempt to dodge had led to his teammate's death,
his eyes instantly reddened.
In a desperate burst of speed, he thrust the kunai in his hand fiercely toward Uchiha Sarina's face!
"Oh no!"
Uchiha Sarina's mind went blank.
She hadn't expected his counterattack to be just a little faster than she had estimated.
She had no time to defend herself or counterattack.
Am I going to die?
Is this where my journey ends?
Uchiha Sarina looked at the kunai thrusting toward her and gave a bitter smile.
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