Support Squad

In the crowd, Li Yu spotted a small child, looking only four or five years old, standing behind Uchiha Fugaku and hidden by his small stature.

"Uchiha Fugaku, why did you bring such a young child along? Who is he?"

"He is my son, Uchiha Itachi. His strength is quite impressive; he will be an excellent ninja in the future."

Having confirmed his identity, Li Yu took a few extra looks at Uchiha Itachi. He's quite good-looking. To have such a stern face at such a young age, he must look somewhat similar to the future Sasuke.

"I heard your Uchiha clan has another genius ninja. Where is Uchiha Shisui?"

"I left Uchiha Shisui behind in Konoha Village; he is not participating in this operation in the Land of Lightning."

"Oh, never mind then. Since everyone is here, let's move out."

So Uchiha Shisui didn't come? I wanted to see how Shisui of the Body Flicker actually flickers. And Uchiha Itachi is being brought to the battlefield at such a young age—he should only be four, right?

Li Yu led the elite ninjas of the Senju Clan as they departed first. Behind them, Uchiha Fugaku watched Li Yu's retreating back, feeling a bit puzzled. He wondered what the head of the Senju Clan intended by showing such interest in Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui.

Beside him, Uchiha Itachi tugged on the corner of Uchiha Fugaku's robe.

"Father, it is time to move out."

Coming back to his senses, Uchiha Fugaku immediately signaled his clansmen to follow quickly.

One day later.

They saw noisy sounds and constant explosions ahead, with smoke and dust rising into the air.

"This is bad. The Konoha defense force has already engaged in a fierce battle with the Cloud Village of the Land of Lightning. Everyone, pick up the pace and go provide support!"

The closer they got, the louder the noise became, and the sound of clashing metal could even be heard.

"Clang! Clatter!"

Reaching the edge of the battlefield, they saw that the Cloud Village ninjas held a numerical advantage and had more jonin, forcing the Konoha ninjas into a steady retreat. Finally, more than fifty Konoha ninjas were surrounded in the center, struggling to hold their ground.

There were at least two hundred ninjas from the Land of Lightning, encircling the Konoha ninjas tightly, with no intention of letting a single one escape.

"Captain, are we really doomed?"

"I don't want to die."

"There's nowhere left to retreat. We can only fight to the death."

"That's right. The ninjas of Konoha will avenge us."

Dozens of specially made kunai shot into the crowd of Cloud Village ninjas. Li Yu took the lead, activating the Flying Raijin Jutsu to quickly join the fray.

In a single encounter, three Cloud Village jonin fell rapidly, and the nearby chunin and genin were dealt with casually. People fell in rows, just like wheat being harvested.

"Clan Leader, is this the Flying Raijin Jutsu of the Second Hokage, Tobirama? It's so incredibly fast!"

"We haven't even reached the enemy yet, and the Clan Leader has already started a massacre."

Uchiha Fugaku, still running, had a grave expression on his face.

"Flying Raijin Jutsu... it truly lives up to its name as a forbidden technique."

However, the Uchiha clan was a group with a proud nature; they wouldn't give in so easily. Each of them widened their eyes, many activating their Sharingan—some with two tomoe, others with three—and began weaving hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

A wave of Fire Release jutsu cleared the path from the side, slamming into the crowd of Cloud ninjas. "Boom! Boom!" The fire, accompanied by shuriken, struck a large group of Cloud ninjas.

The Uchiha clan excelled at Fire Release and shuriken throwing. Their angles were tricky, and the shuriken could even curve in mid-air, leaving the Cloud ninjas with nowhere to hide.

"Charge! Kill these Konoha ninjas!"

"There are quite a few from Konoha! Kill them! Kill them all!"

The members of the Senju Clan were not to be outdone; they wove hand seals as well.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Utilizing the wind to enhance the power of their shots, a massive barrage of water and earth bullets, each as large as a howitzer shell, exploded and sent many Cloud Village ninjas flying.

Then, the Senju Clan unleashed another wave of ninjutsu bombardment, totaling three rounds.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

The Uchiha clansmen nearby remarked with emotion:

"The Senju Clan has so much chakra. They make a few C-rank ninjutsu look like B-rank ones, covering such a wide area."

The Cloud ninjas were not having such an easy time; many didn't even have the chance to cast their own ninjutsu before being engulfed by the barrage.

"Scatter! Quickly!"

"Use defensive ninjutsu!"

The ninjas capable of Earth Release quickly formed hand seals, preparing to cast Earth Style Wall to block the incoming attack. Before they could finish, Li Yu charged into the crowd of Cloud Ninja, precisely striking down those who were in the middle of weaving seals.

He gave the enemy no opportunity to use their ninjutsu, killing and moving on instantly, leaving the remaining Cloud Ninja to be pummeled by the ninjutsu and shuriken attacks of the Konoha ninjas.

The Cloud Village ninjas, who relied on Lightning Release to stimulate their cells and excelled in close-quarters taijutsu, suffered heavy casualties before they could even get close to the support team, being ambushed and killed while attempting to cast their own techniques.

Li Yu was using the Flying Thunder God to slaughter the high-ranking Cloud Village ninjas; none could withstand a single blow. He didn't even need to use the Rasengan. The ninja swords he had looted were all chipped from overuse, forcing him to snatch new ones as he fought.

The pressure on the Konoha ninjas in the center eased significantly as the Cloud Village ninjas fell in droves. Even the formidable jonin and chunin barely had a chance to strike before they were cut down, all of them meeting their end together.

Before long, seeing that the situation had turned against them, the Cloud Village ninjas immediately retreated, leaving behind over a hundred corpses and fleeing without a single glance back.

The surviving Konoha defense force ninjas couldn't help but embrace and cheer.

"I survived!"

"I survived, I didn't die!"

"Thank goodness!"

Watching these Konoha ninjas who had been lucky enough to survive the battlefield, Li Yu instructed the ninjas he had brought with him to clear the field, finish off any Cloud Village ninjas who weren't quite dead, and provide medical aid to the surviving Konoha ninjas.

Li Yu stood alone in the middle of the battlefield, sensing his surroundings carefully. He discovered White Zetsu hiding in the nearby trees and underground—and there were quite a few of them. "Uchiha Madara's infiltration of the ninja world is truly pervasive. I found quite a few in the Land of Wind last time, but there are even more this time."

At this moment, Rika Senju and Uchiha Fugaku came to Li Yu's side to report on the battlefield situation.

"Of our fifty support ninjas, five are seriously injured, twelve have minor injuries, and there are no deaths."

"Of the Konoha defense force's one hundred and fifty ninjas, one hundred and fifteen are dead, twenty-two are seriously injured, and thirteen have minor injuries."

"The Cloud Village left behind two hundred and thirty-two corpses, and roughly sixty or seventy Cloud Ninja managed to escape."

He hadn't expected that even with him working so hard to kill the Cloud Ninja jonin and chunin, the losses would still be this significant.

"Have the medical ninjas from the Senju Clan put in the extra effort to stabilize the critically wounded."

"Gather all the corpses and use Fire Release to destroy them."

"Retreat the team ten miles back and wait for the main force to arrive."

"Understood."

Li Yu hadn't encountered a true opponent in this battle; the strongest were merely jonin, which allowed him to weave through the battlefield with ease and move as he pleased.

He wondered when the Third Raikage's son and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer Bee would arrive; Li Yu couldn't wait to test his skills against the two brothers.

In the original plot, Namikaze Minato was transferred to the Land of Lightning battlefield to provide support, where he used the Flying Thunder God to duel the AB Brothers. Since there was no specific timeline, he could only wait.