Coordination on the Battlefield

Land of Fire border forest, afternoon.

Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, scattering mottled light and shadow. The air was filled with the smell of earth and rotting leaves. Everything seemed calm, but to a ninja with sharp senses, deadly killing intent lurked within the silence.

"Zzz..."

An extremely faint crackle of electricity broke the quiet.

"Enemy attack! Above!"

The Hyuga Clan ninja in charge of reconnaissance on the accompanying squad shouted a warning.

Before his voice had even faded, dozens of dazzling bolts of lightning came crashing down from above the canopy like heavenly punishment.

They were dozens of Cloud Village ninja, their bodies wreathed in Lightning Release chakra. Using the extreme speed brought by Lightning Release to activate their cells, they slammed toward Konoha's marching column like cannonballs.

"Hahaha! It's the Uchiha!"

The leading Cloud Village jonin spotted that conspicuous fan clan crest at a glance, and his arrogant laughter echoed through the forest.

"Don't look into their eyes! Crush them with speed! These red-eyed freaks only know how to fight alone. One charge and they'll scatter!"

According to past experience, when faced with this kind of surprise attack, the proud Uchiha would usually draw their blades and fight on their own, trying to resolve the battle through individual valor. But in the face of the extreme speed of Lightning Release ninjutsu-taijutsu, fighting separately like that often meant being picked off one by one.

However, this time, the Cloud Village was wrong.

Dead wrong.

"Form up! Tactic Three!"

Yashiro Uchiha roared, his voice steady as bedrock.

There was no panic, and no one drew their blades on their own.

The fifty Uchiha elites, the instant they heard the order, moved like precisely calculated gears, swiftly forming groups of three and creating a circular defensive formation back to back.

"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"

A dozen or so clan members on the outer perimeter formed seals at the same time and slapped the ground.

Rumble!

Thick earthen walls rose from the ground one after another, forming a sturdy ring of fortifications that forcefully blocked the first wave of Lightning Release kunai bombardment.

"What?" The Cloud Village jonin froze. Since when did the Uchiha use this kind of clumsy Earth Release defense?

In the very instant he was stunned, more than a dozen pairs of scarlet Sharingan lit up at the same time through the gaps in the earthen walls.

"Genjutsu: Shiranui!"

Although the Cloud Village ninja deliberately avoided looking directly into their eyes, Sharingan genjutsu did not necessarily require eye contact. Through interference with chakra flow, even a sweep of the peripheral vision would be affected.

The figures of the few Cloud Village ninja charging at the very front suddenly stalled, and their originally fluid movements showed an extremely tiny hitch.

And in a clash between experts, that single hitch was the difference between life and death.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The Uchiha clan members in the inner ring had long since finished forming their seals.

Whoosh—!!!

More than a dozen enormous fireballs roared out, precisely covering the Cloud Village ninja whose movements had stalled.

"Ahhhh—!!"

Screams rang through the forest.

The Cloud Village vanguard, which had just been surging forward with aggressive momentum, was sent tumbling in disarray in a single exchange.

"What's going on? How are these guys coordinating like they're one person?" The Cloud Village jonin stared at the scene in terror. How was this a pack of arrogant lone wolves? This was clearly a wolf pack with seamless teamwork!

On a tree trunk high above.

Minato Namikaze was in no hurry to act. His arms were folded across his chest, and his azure eyes were filled with surprise.

"This kind of discipline..." Minato murmured. "How did Fugaku train them? He actually got those proud and arrogant Uchiha to give up on showing off individually and willingly take on defensive and support roles?"

This level of tactical quality was even more refined than the Anbu's.

On the other side of the battlefield.

A silver figure was shuttling through the enemy formation.

Kakashi Hatake.

At this time, he had only recently lost Obito and Rin, and his heart was filled with darkness and self-reproach. On the battlefield, he always acted with extreme recklessness, as if seeking death, or using slaughter to numb himself.

"Lightning Cutter!"

A piercing birdsong rang out. Kakashi's hand pierced through the chest of a Cloud Village chunin.

But he had rushed in too deep.

"Grab that silver-haired brat!"

Three Cloud Village jonin instantly surrounded him.

"Die! Konoha's technician!"

Three long blades wrapped in lightning stabbed toward Kakashi at the same time from three blind spots.

Kakashi had just released Lightning Cutter, and his chakra was in a brief vacuum. The Sharingan in his left eye spun wildly, seeing the enemy's trajectories clearly, but his body could not keep up with his reaction.

He could not dodge.

Kakashi's pupils contracted, and a surge of despair rose in his heart, along with even a trace of release.

Obito, Rin... am I coming to find you?

Just as the blade edges were about to touch his skin.

Clang—!!!

A crisp sound of metal clashing exploded.

Sparks flew in all directions.

Kakashi did not feel any pain. He opened his eyes and saw a back that was not particularly broad, but exceptionally straight, blocking in front of him.

That person wore the Uchiha's combat uniform, and the ninja sword in his hand, at an extremely tricky angle, had blocked all three lightning blades at once.

Uchiha Xuanshi.

Xuanshi's feet were sunk deep into the mud, clearly bearing a tremendous impact. But the hand with which he gripped his blade did not move in the slightest, as steady as Mount Tai.

"Body Flicker Technique... so fast..." one Cloud Village jonin said in horror.

Xuanshi ignored the enemy.

He turned his head slightly and glanced at Kakashi behind him out of the corner of his eye.

"Don't charge too far ahead, Kakashi."

Xuanshi's voice was very calm, but it struck Kakashi's heart like a heavy hammer.

"Obito gave you his eye so you could use it to see the road ahead, not so you could use it to get yourself killed."

Kakashi trembled all over.

The Sharingan that he had always regarded as a curse and a burden actually felt a little hot at that moment.

Before Kakashi could react, the three tomoe in Xuanshi's eyes spun fiercely.

"Genjutsu: Shackling Stakes!"

The three Cloud Village jonin only felt their vision go black, and their bodies were instantly pinned in place by invisible nails, unable to move.

Swish, swish, swish!

The ninja sword in Xuanshi's hand turned into three cold flashes.

Blood sprayed.

Three corpses collapsed to the ground.

The battle ended very quickly.

Under the Uchiha Clan's suffocating tactical coordination, the Cloud Village vanguard was almost completely wiped out, with only a scant few fleeing in miserable panic.

On Konoha's side, aside from a few Uchiha clan members suffering light injuries, there were zero deaths.

"Clean the battlefield! Recover ninja tools! Treat the wounded!"

Yashiro Uchiha gave orders methodically.

Kakashi stood blankly in place, watching Xuanshi wipe the blood from his blade.

What he had just said...

Obito gave you his eye...

Kakashi clenched his fists, and the block of ice in his heart seemed to crack open by a sliver. Toward this Uchiha squad captain who usually kept a low profile, he felt an inexplicable closeness and respect.

Whoosh.

A golden flash appeared in the field.

Minato Namikaze looked at the Cloud Village corpses covering the ground, then looked at the Uchiha clan members cleaning up the battlefield in orderly fashion, and the admiration in his eyes was undisguised.

He walked up to Xuanshi.

Xuanshi immediately sheathed his blade and bowed slightly. "Lord Hokage. I have fulfilled my mission."

Minato did not put on airs as Hokage. Instead, he reached out and patted Xuanshi on the shoulder. The gesture was filled with warmth and approval.

"Splendid coordination, Xuanshi," Minato said sincerely. "You've broken my fixed impression of the Uchiha. This wasn't just a display of strength, but also trust in your comrades."

"This is what we should do," Xuanshi answered modestly. "For the village."

"Come to my tent tonight."

Minato looked into Xuanshi's eyes and issued an invitation.

"Regarding the Cloud Village's next movements, and... some applications of the Sharingan on the battlefield, I'd like to hear your thoughts."

The surrounding Anbu and Uchiha clan members all cast envious looks over.

To be summoned alone by the Hokage was an enormous honor, and meant entering the Hokage's core decision-making circle.

Xuanshi lowered his head, hiding the calculating smile at the corner of his mouth.

The first step had succeeded.

Not only had he displayed his strength, he had also saved Kakashi. More importantly, he had obtained a chance to speak privately with Minato.

"As you command, Lord Hokage."

Xuanshi raised his head, his gaze clear and firm.

Tonight's fireside talk was the best opportunity to plant the "Obito threat theory" in this "Golden Flash." It was time to plant that seed about the "Masked Man."