Shikotsumyaku Was Rebellious to the Bone

Though he had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, Uchiha Gen felt no joy at all. After all, no one could be happy when they knew they only had three minutes left to live.

Yes, he was already overdrawing his life force.

The instant he had clashed with that Kaguya Clan leader, his bloodline had suddenly stirred. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan had spun and spun until it became the Mangekyō Sharingan. He had no idea what had happened. The only possibility was that something had changed on Madara's side.

But overthinking would change nothing. Using this broken body to protect the old and young of the Uchiha was already his final effort.

"I'm using your body anyway. One good turn deserves another, I suppose..."

It sounded like he was talking to himself, or perhaps to someone who did not exist. Although his Mangekyō Sharingan had awakened, he no longer had enough Chakra to activate its unique ability. Even using it to power this Incomplete Susanoo would only last three minutes at most.

Meanwhile, the Kaguya Clan leader dodged the blow from Susanoo's skeletal hand. Uchiha Gen's clone beside him immediately launched a sneak attack with a Rasengan. He raised a bone blade to block it, and the power of this novel, unfamiliar ninjutsu startled him.

"Who exactly is this Uchiha ninja who appeared out of nowhere? He has so many bizarre ninjutsu, one after another. How could there have been no word of him at all?"

Naturally, no one answered that question. Uchiha Gen was racing against time, and his attacks became increasingly relentless. After a full minute of fighting, the Kaguya Clan leader was sent flying by an enormous Rasengan.

"Pfft!"

The Kaguya Clan leader spat out blood. That spinning ball could actually be made that huge?! He had miscalculated!

"Clan leader!"

"Are you all right, Clan leader?!"

The Kaguya Clan leader looked at the crowd watching from behind him, then at the black-and-red giant. He sighed inwardly. The Uchiha truly were not fated to perish. Worse still, his own clansmen were all standing there watching the show!

Could they not see that their clan leader was at a disadvantage?!

Did they not know to come help?!

"Retreat!"

The Kaguya ninjas were unwilling to hear that their clan leader wanted to retreat. But when they looked at the massive giant that had moved before the Uchiha Shrine, their hearts skipped a beat, and they could only turn and flee.

Uchiha Gen did not stop them. Right now, all he could do was put on a show, acting as though he was too occupied protecting his clansmen to pursue.

Before leaving, the Kaguya Clan leader did not forget to throw out another Bracken Dance.

Boom!

Enormous Bone Spikes filled the open ground around the shrine. But under the protection of Uchiha Gen's Susanoo, none of the Uchiha clansmen were harmed.

Watching the Kaguya and the others flee into the distance, Uchiha Gen inherited the crafty mindset of a Warring States ninja and did not dismiss Susanoo immediately, even as his life began counting down...

"Thirty seconds... twenty-nine seconds."

Uchiha Gen's face was as pale as paper, his lips had lost all color, and parts of his skin had begun to carbonize and peel away.

Ninjas were all cunning creatures. No one could guarantee whether the Kaguya had truly retreated or were only pretending to. If he dismissed Susanoo now and they turned around to attack again, there would truly be nothing he could do.

One thought led to heaven; one thought led to hell.

The massive headless Susanoo slowly raised both hands and assumed the stance of drawing a bow and nocking an arrow.

"Ten... nine... eight..."

Whoosh!

A pitch-black arrow shot after the retreating Kaguya Clan, while Uchiha Gen had only three seconds left.

The arrow flew, Susanoo dispersed, and Uchiha Gen fell from the air. Having lost so much flesh and blood, his body descended very slowly. The clansmen on the ground rushed forward one after another, serving as human cushions to catch him.

The moment the clansmen touched Uchiha Gen's body and saw his condition, their eyes immediately reddened, and tears streamed down their faces.

The scene shifted.

Elsewhere, the retreating Kaguya Clan gradually slowed their pace. The Kaguya Clan leader pondered whether they should turn around and strike again now...

Hm?

A whistling sound tore through the air. The Kaguya Clan leader turned his head, and his eyes nearly split apart. He roared:

"Watch out!!"

Boom!

The Susanoo arrow collided with a Kaguya clansman and instantly triggered a massive energy explosion. More than a dozen Kaguya ninjas were blown to pieces on the spot, while many more suffered severe injuries.

The Kaguya Clan leader immediately fled with the wounded without looking back. The thought of returning for another attack had long been cast beyond the clouds. These Uchiha were simply too strange.

Looking at the wounded clansmen around him, he could not feel happy even though they had harvested a large amount of Frostbone Grass. He muttered:

"We need to move as soon as we get back. Our clan cannot withstand the Uchiha's retaliation."

The Kaguya Clan leader had not ordered the retreat without reason. Time truly had run out, and they had no choice but to withdraw.

Several hundred kilometers away, atop a cliff.

Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju faced each other across the ravine, with their respective clans behind them.

After exchanging a glance, the Uchiha forces turned and rapidly withdrew. On the Senju side, Senju Tobirama's brow was furrowed tightly enough to crush a fly.

"Big Brother! We're just letting them leave like that?! There's still time to change the order and pursue them!"

"Enough! Haven't enough people died today?"

"But—"

Hashirama Senju raised a hand, and an immense pressure burst forth, instantly suppressing Tobirama and the surrounding clansmen until they could not utter a word.

Hashirama watched the army of Uchiha ninjas gradually disappear into the night before leading his clansmen to clean up the battlefield.

Both sides had suffered devastating losses in this battle. More than half of their elite main forces alone had been lost. Most importantly, both clan leaders had died!

When the Uchiha had suddenly received news that their Clan Land was under attack, Senju Butsuma had desperately tried to stop them. Uchiha Tajima, meanwhile, had fought to the death to cover his forces' retreat. In the end, the two perished together.

Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju had been appointed acting clan leaders, and as though their hearts were linked, Hashirama and Madara immediately ordered a ceasefire. That was what had led to the scene just now.

"War... Madara, just watch. I will use these hands to build a brand-new era."

Meanwhile, Uchiha Madara led his clansmen back toward the Clan Land at top speed. He could not afford to slow down. Their losses this time had been far too great. Although he had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, he felt not the slightest joy.

His father had died, more than half the clan had been lost, and their Clan Land had been attacked. Was the Sharingan truly cursed? How tragic it was to be Uchiha!

As he thought of this, a flash of grief passed through Madara's eyes. The slight moisture in his eyes was dried away in an instant by the wind.

"Izuna, don't worry about the clansmen's bodies. The Senju will return them obediently."

Izuna pursed his lips and forcibly suppressed the emotions in his heart. Madara beside him saw it all clearly.

"No, I'm worried about our younger brother who stayed behind in the clan."

Upon hearing that, Uchiha Madara's expression froze, and another stab of pain pierced his heart.

"It's fine. That guy Gen could take a Water Dragon Bullet to the head and still not die. He'll definitely be fine this time."

But Izuna was not comforted in the slightest. Surviving a Water Dragon Bullet to the head only meant that Gen's skull was hard. But with the Kaguya army attacking their home this time, what use was being hardheaded?

The Uchiha army moved with incredible speed. In less than half an hour, they had sprinted more than a hundred li and returned to the Clan Land.

The moment they arrived, all they saw were ruined walls and broken rubble. Fires still burned through the houses, but no one went to put them out. Even the smell of blood in the air had nearly faded away.