For several days, the Land of Grass remained quiet. Iwagakure sent no additional troops to Kannabi Bridge.
Instead, word spread everywhere that even Ōnoki himself had failed to take Kannabi Bridge from Takigawa and Sanada.
Ōnoki was a veteran Tsuchikage. He had taken the position after the First Shinobi World War, held absolute authority in Iwagakure, and mastered Dust Release. His power deterred nations across the Shinobi World.
Yet even someone as powerful as Ōnoki had failed to defeat two young Uchiha prodigies. Much like Fugaku Uchiha's rise years ago, it made people take notice.
Land of Fire, Konoha, Hokage's Office.
Orochimaru had personally led troops to Kikyō Mountain, while the Third Hokage had come out of retirement to lead Konoha once more. Reading the reports from the various battlefields, he let out a soft breath.
Beside him, Homura asked, "What happened? Has another Uchiha awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
With the war underway, Homura had been brought back as an elder. He had once served as Hokage Assistant, and when he retired, his years of service to Konoha had earned him the rank of elder.
The Third Hokage handed him the intelligence report. "See for yourself. Takigawa and Sanada have done something remarkable again."
Homura glanced at the report. "I expected this. The records left by the Second Hokage gave us some idea of how powerful the Mangekyo Sharingan was. I just never thought so many Uchiha would awaken it at once."
"Fugaku kept too much hidden. I'm afraid the Uchiha have more Mangekyo Sharingan wielders than the six we know about."
The Third Hokage nodded. "Remember the six who transferred from the Security Force to the regular Ninja Corps? I suspect all six have awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan."
Homura nodded. "It's certainly possible. Fujimoto has defected, and three of