Allied Forces March Out, the Higher-Ups' Schemes!

Allied Forces March Out, the Higher-Ups' Schemes!

Hearing the name "Madara Uchiha," several other Kumogakure higher-ups in the office shuddered.

It was a fear carved into the bones of the older generation of shinobi, a terrifying name enough to make children stop crying.

"Shut up!"

Raikage A turned around, his eyes blazing as he glared at the elders.

"This is no longer the Warring States Era. Madara Uchiha has long been dead."

The Raikage strode to the window and looked down at the vast, prosperous Kumogakure below. Lightning Release chakra erupted from his body, shattering the surrounding glass.

"The times have changed. The Shinobi World now belongs to Kumogakure! One Uchiha can't stir up any trouble!"

Raikage A turned around, raised his fist, and roared,

"Since they're so eager to die, I'll grant them their wish."

"Assemble Kumogakure's elite forces. I'll take the field myself and twist off the head of that brat called Lu Ming."

"I'll gouge out the Sharingan of every single member of the Uchiha Clan and completely crush their ridiculous provocation!"

The scene returned to Konoha.

The morning mist had yet to fully disperse. At Konoha's main gate, several Chunin assigned to guard duty yawned as they chatted about the panic-filled rumors of war spreading through the village.

"Did you hear? Kumogakure is coming to attack. The higher-ups wanted to hand someone over, but the Uchiha directly declared war."

"They've gone mad. How could one clan possibly defeat Kumogakure...?"

Just as the guards whispered among themselves,

"Step, step, step..."

A series of synchronized, heavy, forceful footsteps came from deep within the village streets.

The footsteps seemed to stomp upon their hearts, radiating a chilling killing intent.

The guards froze and looked toward the sound.

The drowsiness vanished from their faces without a trace.

In the morning mist, dozens of figures emerged.

They were forty-three elite shinobi from the Uchiha Shrine!

All of them wore dark combat uniforms, standard short swords hanging at their waists. Most striking of all, each of them wore a broad black cloak.

The morning wind swept past, making the cloaks snap in the air and revealing two large words embroidered in gold thread on their backs—"Shrine"!

"Hiss—"

One Konoha guard sucked in a breath, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

"Th-These are Uchiha people? What are they going to do?!"

Another guard widened his eyes and looked at Tekka Uchiha and Nanami Uchiha at the front.

"Do you feel that? That chakra fluctuation... it's terrifying! All forty-three of them are Elite Jonin-level experts!"

And that was not all. As the Shrine elites drew closer,

the guards clearly saw that a scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan glowed in every one of their eye sockets.

More than forty pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan!

The tangible killing intent made the surrounding air turn cold.

"W-Wait! Those clothes, that lightning-nature chakra presence..."

An older guard remembered something and collapsed onto the ground.

"I remember now! The ones who caused that world-destroying explosion over the Forest of Death last night... were this group wearing Shrine cloaks!"

The other guards stood rooted to the spot.

Looking at the Shrine elites' intense killing intent and unstoppable momentum, their minds went blank.

Only then did they remember that the Forest of Death explosion had been the Shrine's doing, and they finally believed that the Uchiha truly intended to wage war against Kumogakure.

The forty-three elite shinobi of the Uchiha Shrine stood perfectly straight, all dressed in dark combat uniforms and draped in Shrine cloaks with gold lettering against black fabric.

More than forty pairs of scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan flickered through the morning mist, exuding an almost tangible spiritual pressure.

And to the right of the Shrine formation,

dozens of Hyuga Branch Family elites dressed in pure white kimono

stood in orderly ranks under Hizashi Hyuga's lead.

The veins around their eyes bulged, while their pure white eyes held the resolve to face death without regret.

Konoha's two strongest ocular-technique clans had, at this moment, completely cast aside a thousand years of enmity and stood side by side on the same front.

"Good heavens... I never thought I'd live to see the Uchiha and Hyuga join forces!"

"Terrifying! Just standing here under this chakra pressure makes it hard to breathe!"

"They're really going to fight Kumogakure to the death!"

The Konoha civilians and ordinary guards hiding in the corners of distant streets watched the scene with numb scalps, their whispers trembling uncontrollably.

None of them had expected that not only would the Uchiha refuse to hand over their clansmen, they would instead assemble such a terrifying allied force.

Just as the oppressive atmosphere reached its peak,

a figure clad in a black Divine Robe appeared at the very front of the formation.

Uchiha Lu Ming!

The instant he appeared, an overbearing aura that seemed to tower above all living things swept across the area.

The Mangekyō Sharingan in Lu Ming's eye sockets glowed red. He swept his gaze over the road ahead and drew the short sword at his waist.

Whoosh!

The blade pointed straight at the heavens!

Tekka Uchiha, Nanami Uchiha, and the other Shrine captains behind him, along with every Shrine disciple, drew their weapons at the same time and shouted with all their strength!

"For the glory of the Uchiha!!!"

The furious roar of these dozens of Elite Jonin and even Kage Level experts rang out at once.

The heroic cry instantly tore apart the morning mist and exploded above all of Konoha!

The sound waves rolled outward, making the ears of distant onlookers ring. Even their souls resonated with that fanatical fighting spirit.

Lu Ming stood before the army, his gaze like lightning. He poured the chakra within him into his throat and shouted a domineering declaration worthy of being recorded in Shinobi World history:

"In this battle, let the world remember the Uchiha once more!!!"

As his words fell, the bluestone beneath Lu Ming's feet shattered.

Violent Lightning Release chakra wrapped around his body. He transformed into a streak of blue lightning and shot toward the village outskirts at extreme speed, leaving a chain of sonic booms in the air.

"Kill!"

Tekka Uchiha let out a hoarse roar.

The Shrine disciples and Hyuga forces followed close behind. Dozens of figures became black-and-white afterimages as they advanced at full speed.

The fierce wind swept up fallen leaves from the ground. The Uchiha and Hyuga marched out together with an unstoppable force, formally launching their assault on Kumogakure!