Uchiha Madara Arrives and Sweeps the Battlefield

Uchiha Madara arrived in force and swept the battlefield.

"Charge! Anyone who retreats gets turned into a living bomb!"

"Damn it! Stop pushing me! I'm your uncle, for fuck's sake! I'll kill you!"

"Hah! On the battlefield, I don't care if you're my uncle or my father. If you retreat, I'll kill you!"

"Stay sharp, boys! Take out the Hagoromo Clan first. Their abilities are a nightmare, and they counter our Ketsuryūgan!"

"If the Hagoromo Clan weren't here, the Uchiha wouldn't stand a chance against the Chinoike Clan!"

So many of their people had been killed that many Chinoike Clan shinobi had grown afraid and wanted to retreat.

But they were already on the battlefield, fighting a war with no way back. For the Chinoike shinobi, retreat meant giving up any hope of survival.

Even if a few escaped the Uchiha Clan shinobi, the enraged nobles of the Land of Lightning would hire shinobi to hunt them down afterward.

The Land of Lightning itself even kept a sizable force of capable shinobi.

As a major nation, the Land of Lightning surpassed other countries in both wealth and military strength. From the Warring States Era through the dawn of the Shinobi Village Era, it remained one of the undisputed powers of the Ninja World.

And when a country like that grew angry, its wrath struck like thunder.

"Damn it! Fine, we're fighting to the death? Then let's go!"

"Heh, so what if I die? As long as I kill enough of them first, I can live with that!"

"You bastards of the Hagoromo Clan! I'll remember you! Die!"

"The Ketsuryūgan is the strongest!"

The Chinoike shinobi who faced reality were no fools. They all knew retreat was the stupidest way to die.

In truth, they had no choice.

Outside the battlefield, a pair of intricately patterned Sharingan watched the flames and explosions. Contempt crossed their owner's face.

But when he spotted Uchiha Jobu and Izuna Uchiha, appreciation and satisfaction gleamed in his eyes.

"This is Izuna and Jobu's first real mission. They've proven their strength and ability. They truly are geniuses of the Uchiha Clan!"

"Clan leader, it's time for us to act, isn't it? Otherwise, we'll have a hard time explaining ourselves to the Shinteng Family."

"Exactly. The Shinteng Family is one of the Land of Lightning's most powerful noble houses. Shinteng Zoi paid a hundred million ryō to hire Izuna and the others, and then his sister paid another hundred million to hire the Uchiha. This mission couldn't have worked out better. That's two hundred million ryō for the clan."

"Clan leader! Besides us, the Moonlit Clan, the Ruka Clan, and the Lightning Ray Clan have all reached the battlefield."

Uchiha Madara sneered. "They're underestimating us. The Uchiha alone would be enough, yet that woman hired other shinobi too."

The current leader of the Moonlit Clan said, "Those fools have a death wish, daring to set their sights on the daimyo."

"Clan leader, with us, the Ruka Clan, the Lightning Ray Clan, and the Uchiha Clan here, the Chinoike Clan can be wiped from the Ninja World this time, can't they?"

"Don't underestimate Chinoike Qianrou. He's ruthless. There's no way this is all he's prepared. Once the fighting starts, let the Uchiha charge in first."

"But then we won't get to show how powerful the Moonlit Clan is!"

"Idiot! We're in the Land of Lightning. The Moonlit Clan has already made its name here. We don't need to charge around the battlefield. We need to preserve our strength, then claim a big share of the reward once the Chinoike shinobi are wiped out!"

The Ruka Clan and the Lightning Ray Clan were still discussing how to destroy the Chinoike Clan when an enormous figure rose over the battlefield. Impossible to ignore, it looked like an invincible god of war descended to earth.

Susanoo!

The moment Uchiha Madara appeared, he became the one figure no one on the battlefield could ignore. His overwhelming strength swept aside everything before him. Inside his Susanoo, he folded his arms across his chest, his proud expression inspiring awe. He paid the dangers around him no mind at all.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Living bombs had rushed up and detonated themselves.

The flames leaping skyward were startling.

But they did nothing to the Susanoo. The blasts could not even crack its outermost layer.

Uchiha Madara said with disdain, "That's it? Is this all the Chinoike Clan shinobi can do?"

Too weak!

There was no thrill in it. It felt like bullying the helpless, and Madara found no enjoyment in it at all.

Izuna Uchiha exclaimed in delight, "Big brother, what are you doing here?"

Uchiha Jobu was delighted to see more Uchiha clan members joining the fight, but he was puzzled too. Why had Madara come? Was he worried about Izuna and secretly followed him?

Boom!

A ninjutsu attack suddenly came his way.

Jobu hurriedly used Shikotsumyaku to protect himself. Layers of white bone formed armor as tough as forged steel, easily blocking the attack. At most, the impact sent a brief shock through his body.

Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!

A roaring blaze surged up before his eyes. In an instant, it swallowed dozens of living bombs. Even Chinoike Clan leader Qianrou failed to escape and was burned to death.

Jobu stared in disbelief. "Is my chest gone?"

"My chest?!"

"The chest!"

"Where's the chest?!"

What a loss.

If he had known Madara would show up and unleash such a powerful Fire Release technique, he never would have chosen to fight Chinoike Qianrou alone. Now the treasure chest had gone up in flames. All that effort had been for nothing.

Jobu wanted to cry. If he had gone after the other Chinoike shinobi from the start, he might have opened a dozen or even twenty chests by now. Who knew what Kekkei Genkai he could have pieced together, or which ninjutsu of the five elements he might have obtained?

What a shame.

His heart ached, but Jobu still had to smile. He really wanted to cry. Still, the mission was over, and the Uchiha Clan had gained a great deal. For the next year or two, they would not have to worry about shortages.

That meant the Uchiha Clan could focus on growing stronger, surpass the Senju Clan as a whole, and become the true number one power in the Ninja World.

Jobu planned to defeat the Senju Clan first, then swiftly bring most of the shinobi clans in the Land of Fire under Uchiha rule. They would establish a Ninja Village led by the Uchiha, usher in a new age, and lead the way into the Shinobi Village Era.