Massacre

"Hoo—"

A crosswind swept over the ridge, carrying a heavy stench of blood. The vast wilderness was deathly silent.

After a brief moment of shock, Shemu Xin gradually came to his senses. Realizing that his beloved son had died on the spot, his eyes immediately turned bloodshot. His fists clenched tightly as he stopped concealing himself and flashed onto the hilltop, looking down at his son's killer.

"Who exactly are you?!"

Madara's brow furrowed slightly, and his tone grew colder. "No one has ever dared to speak to me from above."

"..."

Shemu Xin's eyelid twitched. It was his first time seeing such an arrogant reconnaissance ninja. Shouldn't someone who had been discovered immediately retreat and report the information? Yet this man actually dared to provoke him here?

But the last remnants of his reason told him that the man before him was no ordinary opponent. Though his son had not been among the very strongest, he had still been above average throughout the Land of Waterfalls. Yet he had been defeated in a single exchange, and even Shemu Xin had failed to see how the man had struck.

"Hoo." Knowing he had no confidence in winning a one-on-one battle, Shemu Xin drew his blade and pointed it forward. "Kill!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

The moment he spoke, countless figures streamed out from their hiding places, charging at Madara with all manner of weapons. It was as though people were raining down across the wilderness!

Shemu Xin took the lead, charging at Uchiha Madara dozens of paces away with a blade in one hand. As the strongest man in the Land of Waterfalls, Shemu Xin moved like a soaring swan, his robes snapping in the wind as he ran. In the blink of an eye, he had reached Madara!

Facing the encirclement of nearly a hundred men, Madara's expression did not change. Red light flashed in his eyes as he shifted slightly to evade Shemu Xin's thrust, then seized his wrist with lightning speed and twisted. With a crisp crack, the entire wrist bent at a grotesque angle, and the long blade fell from his hand!

"Argh!"

Before the scream had fully left his mouth, Madara spun and delivered a side kick. Shemu Xin instantly flew backward like a cannonball, crashing into the ninjas charging behind him. He did not stop until he had knocked down five or six men before finally hitting the ground!

With a flick of his foot, Madara sent the falling blade flying into his hand. He stomped heavily on the ground, and amid a thunderous boom, he shot forward like a mighty dragon emerging from the sea, crashing straight into the attacking ninja force!

"Kill!"

"Aah!"

The ambushers charging at full speed were thrown into chaos in an instant. Blood and flesh flew everywhere, and wails filled the mountains!

The single blade in Madara's hand flashed up and down, and almost no one could withstand even one exchange. Like a sharp blade piercing the enemy formation, he tore a gap straight through their ranks, splitting the entire force in two. Wreckage littered his path as he carved a bloody road across the wilderness in an instant!

Within the crowd, Shemu Xin struggled to rise from the ground. He stared blankly at Madara's figure, watching him slaughter people as though cutting grass, his face filled with terror!

"Who exactly is this guy?"

As though recalling something, Shemu Xin reached into his robes and pulled out a transparent bottle. It contained more than half a bottle of clear liquid, reflecting rippling light under the sun.

This was the Hero's Water that the Shemu Clan treasured above all else. Drinking it could increase a ninja's chakra by more than tenfold, but its side effect was equally obvious—it consumed a great deal of the user's lifespan.

The Shemu Clan had relied on this treasure to reverse the situation within the Land of Waterfalls and establish themselves as the victors in one stroke.

"You forced me to do this." A vicious glint flashed through Shemu Xin's eyes. He opened the bottle and tipped all the Hero's Water into his mouth.

Boom—

An enormous surge of chakra shot into the sky, making even Madara, who was fighting amid the field, glance over!

Splash—

Shemu Xin's black hair stood upright, veins bulging across his forehead. His skin instantly became engorged beneath the immense chakra, flushing with an unhealthy red, while his eyes filled with the frenzy of newfound power!

"So this is absolute power!" Feeling the chakra continuously pouring from within him, Shemu Xin snatched a katana from someone beside him and said viciously, "Die!"

Boom—

The ground beneath Shemu Xin shattered in an instant. The shockwave from his sudden burst of speed hurled every nearby ninja away. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from his original spot, leaving a white afterimage behind him. His katana swept out like a returning wild goose, producing a piercing howl through the air!

This strike was as swift as lightning, flawless in every shift and turn. Empowered by chakra, it was undoubtedly the greatest strike of Shemu Xin's life!

Whoosh—

The airflow lifted the long hair before Madara's forehead, revealing his expressionless, cold face and a pair of scarlet Sharingan!

Shemu Xin's pupils abruptly contracted as an unbelievable thought flashed through his mind. Those eyes are—

The thought had barely arisen when Madara stepped forward, gripped the hilt with one hand, and delivered a simple yet fluid horizontal slash!

Slash—

The cold gleam vanished in an instant, and the two had already passed one another!

Madara took two steps forward and raised a hand to inspect his sleeve. A gash several inches long had appeared at the cuff, making him remark, "Not bad."

After passing by him, a ruthless look flashed through Shemu Xin's eyes. Just as he was about to reverse his blade and stab Madara in the back, he suddenly realized that his body could no longer turn. The chakra within him, like a spring whose flow had been cut off, became abnormally sluggish. His lower body seemed to have lost all feeling, overtaken by numbness!

"Gurgle."

Blood foam spilled from the corner of Shemu Xin's mouth. He lowered his head and saw that, at some unknown moment, a line of blood had appeared along the left side of his waist, extending all the way beneath his right ribs!

"Why would the Uchiha Clan appear here..."

His vision began to tilt as his entire upper body gradually separated, crashing to the ground with a thud.

Blood spread outward, gradually seeping into the earth. Together with the severed limbs scattered everywhere, the scene resembled an Asura hell!

The group that had been so imposing moments before suddenly came to their senses. They stopped in unison, surrounding Madara with weapons in hand, their eyes full of fear. None of them dared to step forward again.

Madara raised his head and swept his gaze around. Everyone retreated a step in unison. A trace of boredom flashed through his eyes as an enormous surge of chakra, far surpassing Shemu Xin's, suddenly erupted from his body!

Looking at the ever-expanding shadow beneath their feet, everyone's will to fight completely collapsed. As the first person cried out and fled, all the others immediately scattered in every direction, scrambling to escape as though they wished they could fly!

Boom—

Hearing the distant commotion, Enkō shook his head helplessly. Then he heard the sound of wings flapping overhead. Looking up, he saw a messenger hawk circling through the air.

Enkō raised a hand and caught the hawk, removing a secret letter from its leg. After reading it, the corner of his mouth lifted into a smile. He turned to face the clansmen behind him and declared, "Let's go, everyone. We're moving into the Land of Waterfalls!"