Encirclement!

Crack!

Fissures appeared in the ground—one, then two, then more and more. The sounds of battle abruptly vanished as everyone scattered, avoiding the growing number of cracks.

Thick roots burst from the fissures and shot into the sky. Within mere seconds, they grew into towering trees, like a miracle of nature.

"Don't panic! My brother's Wood Release won't attack allies! Keep killing!"

Tobirama looked at the small-clan ninja who dared not advance. He felt somewhat disdainful, but still spoke words of encouragement.

"Tobirama! You fucking bastard, today is the day you die!!"

Tobirama turned around and saw a Susanoo giant behind him.

"Uchiha Izuna!"

"Die, you damn Tobirama!"

Boom!

Izuna controlled the Susanoo, raising its enormous blade as though it were swatting mice.

The Susanoo was too large. Every movement it made was earth-shaking. It was fine for clearing out cannon fodder, but it seemed clumsy against overly agile ninja. With trees and boulders all around, there were plenty of places to hide.

After hacking away for a while, Izuna voluntarily dismissed the Susanoo. He had realized that continuing like this would not change the outcome. Aside from leaving Tobirama disheveled every time, he gained nothing else.

"Is running and hiding all you know how to do, you coward Tobirama?!"

Hmph!

Tobirama sneered from behind a Wood Release tree. Izuna truly was a brainless idiot.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Kunai flew in for a sneak attack, clanging against the air around Izuna. The Susanoo's manifested arm caught the incoming kunai and crushed them outright.

"Oh? Rather than running away, you actually took the initiative to show yourself?"

"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"

Splash!

Izuna leaped backward, only to land on the water's surface. Looking around, he saw that the water was still spreading.

The surrounding ninja had long since moved elsewhere to continue fighting. Today's battle would likely be unforgettable for the rest of their lives. Every other move was a terrain-altering ultimate technique, and Chakra seemed inexhaustible. They were all monsters!

"Creating favorable terrain? Then how much Chakra do you have left?"

Izuna pointed his sword hand at Tobirama and sneered.

"Heh. As long as I keep you occupied, that's enough."

"Hm? What do you mean?!"

"Look toward your home, idiot!"

Izuna narrowed his eyes and raised the Susanoo again, lifting himself higher to look toward the distant firelight.

His third brother, Uchiha Yuan, was at home, so he was not worried that anything would happen. But... just in case, he still needed to see it for himself.

"They're fighting over there. Looks like my third brother has joined in... No, then that other place is—!!"

"You damn Tobirama! How many ninja clans did you convince?!"

Tobirama stood on the water, his face full of smug satisfaction.

"You'll never guess. Beg me! I still won't tell you!"

"You fucking bastard! I'll take you down with me!"

At that moment, at the Uchiha home, Uchiha Yuan's Shadow Clone was still fighting several ninja clans a few kilometers away.

The Shadow Clone was becoming anxious. Those mid-sized clans had only sent a few hundred people each, but together their numbers exceeded a thousand. He had brought quite a few clansmen as well, yet the battle was still deadlocked...

"You didn't all come here, did you?"

Facing Uchiha Yuan's question, the other side offered no response. Instead, they threw a huge ball of flesh at him.

Boom!

The Shadow Clone staggered from the impact. His Mangekyō Sharingan activated instantly. He could not hesitate now.

"Susanoo! Rise!"

Using Susanoo to clear out this trash could not have been more effective. The Akimichi Clan's Multi-Size Technique was as fragile as a baby before him, while the Nara Clan and Yamanaka Clan's techniques did not counter the Uchiha.

"Clan Head! A large number of ninja have appeared at the rear mountain!"

Damn it! The Shadow Clone furiously slapped an Akimichi fat man into a pulp, then immediately formed hand seals.

"Summoning Technique!"

Little Kuro appeared on the battlefield with a baffled expression. She had barely raised her head to look around before she was dismissed again.

But Little Kuro was not stupid. As a Ninja Cat, she immediately understood what was happening.

"What a pain, meow!"

At Uchiha Yuan's home, Haru felt uneasy. Sounds of fighting had reached the Clan Land, and that was certainly not good news.

When she turned around, she saw the Black Cat drawing something on the floor and curiously leaned closer to look.

"What are you doing?"

"Summoning my original body, meow~"

Uchiha Haru had heard of the Ninja Cat Clan, but this was her first time seeing a cat use ninja techniques.

Boom!

The house exploded, and an unfamiliar Uchiha ninja fell from the roof. He spat out a mouthful of blood. The fuzz on his face had yet to fully fade; he was clearly still just a half-grown boy.

"Cough, cough! Run!"

Uchiha Haru froze for a moment, then rose to leave quickly. But when she looked down, she saw that the Black Cat was still drawing.

"Kuro!"

"Almost! Almost, meow!"

Sshk!

Haru turned her head. That unfamiliar clansman had already become a corpse, and she saw what the enemy looked like.

"The Fūma Clan!"

The Fūma Clan was located in the Land of Wind, yet they had appeared here!

"A woman?"

The Fūma Clan members all looked quite distinctive—ugly to an extreme degree—and they even liked painting eyeshadow onto their faces.

Haru faced a formidable enemy. Her opponent was not weak, and she had never fought a ninja like him before. She had no information on him whatsoever.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The Fūma ninja nimbly dodged and charged in to kill her. Haru had no weapon and could only evade. The room quickly descended into chaos.

The tense moments felt like years. Little Kuro's fur was soaked through, but she finally completed the technique.

"You scared me to death, meow! Summoning Technique!"

Far away in the laboratory, Uchiha Yuan's fingers trembled. With a smack, a beaker fell to the floor and shattered.

I feel so uneasy. What's going on?

Just as Uchiha Yuan sensed that something was wrong, a pulling force suddenly came over him. Once he realized it was Little Kuro's Chakra, he did not resist and allowed himself to be summoned.

Splash!

Uchiha Yuan reappeared directly inside his home in the Uchiha Clan Grounds. Turning his head, he saw Little Kuro already sprawled exhausted on the ground.

Thud!

A dull sound of someone collapsing rang out. Warm blood flowed across the floor. Uchiha Yuan looked over and saw an extremely ugly ninja standing there with a blood-dripping blade.

Looking around again, his home appeared to have been ransacked. Tables and chairs lay overturned everywhere, the walls were damaged, there was a huge hole in the roof, and two corpses lay inside.

"What happened?"

"Meow!"

"Hm?"

Following Little Kuro's gaze, Uchiha Yuan noticed that the clothes of the person who had just fallen looked somewhat familiar.

—Huff!

—Huff!

"The clan was invaded, meow..."

After saying that, Little Kuro closed her eyes. To summon Uchiha Yuan over, she had exhausted all her Chakra, and her consciousness slowly sank into sleep.

Huff—

Only Uchiha Yuan's increasingly heavy breathing remained in the room. The Fūma ninja felt that today had truly opened his eyes. One Uchiha after another kept appearing. Could this be some sort of relay tactic?

"Brat! Die!"

However, Uchiha Yuan did not acknowledge him. He slowly walked over to Haru and turned her body over.

"Haru... Haru!"

His fingers brushed across Haru's face. The massive blood loss had caused her body temperature to plummet, and her heart... had already stopped beating. Uchiha Yuan suddenly felt hollow inside. Tears fell unconsciously, while the sound of something cutting through the air came from behind him.

Clang!

Two pale, jade-like fingers caught the blade. Frost slowly spread across it. The Fūma ninja's eyes widened, but it spread too quickly. By the time he wanted to let go, it was already too late.

"What kind of nin—"

In the span of a breath, a lifelike ice sculpture stood in the room.

Uchiha Yuan opened the large scroll he always carried on his back. Finding several empty spaces inside, he sealed Haru's corpse into one of them.

Then he stood, picked up Little Kuro, and tucked her into his arms. Moonlight shone through the hole in the roof, making the curve of Uchiha Yuan's lips look especially eerie.