On the rooftop terrace of the Tsuchikage Building, Tian Uguisu gazed at the hellish scene below, her fingertips lightly tapping the railing. The Earth Spirit Set she wore gleamed with a dull light, while the outer black and gold feather brocade billowed as if alive, its hem brushing against the gravel on the terrace with a soft rustling sound.
" Lord Tsuchikage, everyone from Ryūchi Cave has arrived." A low voice came from behind her; it was her personal maid, holding a stack of rune armor.
Tian Uguisu didn't turn around, her gaze fixed on the stone wall in the southeast. "The fools of the Kurayoshi Family, thinking they can trap me with an ancient formation?" She suddenly laughed, a clear, chilling laugh that sent a shiver down the spines of the waiting ninjas. "Tell them to put on their armor and draw their swords. Today is a good day for my white phosphorus snakes to have their feast."
Just as the maid turned around, Tian Uguisu suddenly slammed her palms on the ground. The bluestone slabs of the terrace cracked instantly, and Sanjo giant snakes as thick as houses burst out of the ground. Their scales gleamed with a ghostly blue light under the moonlight, and specks of white phosphorescent fire seeped from the gaps in the scales. As soon as they landed, they burned through the stone bricks.
"Go," Tian Uguisu commanded softly.
Sanjo giant snakes let out deafening hisses, flicked their tails, and leaped off the terrace. The foremost snake crashed straight into the nearest stone wall, and with a deafening crash of its head against the rock, the hundred-meter-high wall cracked open in the middle. The two snakes behind seized the opportunity to spew out white phosphorus fire, and the oil-like flames spread along the crack, burning the traitors on the wall until they screamed and fell to the ground.
"It's Lady Tian Uguisu's summoning snake!" The resistance fighters inside the walls erupted in cheers.
Tian Uguisu leaped onto the snake's back, her black and gold feathers billowing in the flames. She watched as Yuichi Kurayoshi below brandished his longsword, directing the counterattack, then suddenly raised her Hand Seals: " Yamata, your turn."
The ground rose again, and this time an even larger serpent emerged, its eyes like two scarlet lanterns. It opened its mouth and spat out a still-twitching head that landed at Tian Uguisu's feet—it was Gango Kagōji, the head of the Hanagaji family, whose Shiei ring family crest on his forehead was half-covered in blood.
"The private soldiers of Huagang Temple are in the northwest district," Tian Uguisu, nudging the head with her toe, her voice as flat as if she were talking about the weather, "Send your children to wipe them out. Remember, leave no survivors."
The Eight-Headed Orochi no Orochi hissed in response, its massive body crushing over the houses as it swam toward the northwest district. Tian Uguisu, standing on the serpent's back, suddenly saw a nobleman in brocade robes trying to escape from the east side of the stone wall. She took out a Kunai from her bosom and flicked it with her finger.
The Kunai pierced the nobleman's back, dragging him into the nearby fire. Tian Uguisu watched the rapidly curling flames, a cold smile curving her lips, "Think they can turn the world upside down by colluding with half the ninjas? These fools, have they forgotten who helped them suppress the border Moryo puppet army, forgotten who holds absolute power?"
Fifty miles outside Iwagakure, in the desolate wilderness, Madara Uchiha stepped onto the battlefield and stumbled upon 100,000 noble private soldiers escorting captured Iwagakure ninja eastward. These private soldiers wore armor with gold trim, and the carriages were adorned with the banners of various clans. Leading them was the young lord of the Akamatsu clan, who was whipping an injured old ninja with a horsewhip.
" Madara Uchiha?!" Someone recognized the man in black clothes, with black hair and red eyes, and screamed in terror.
Ban didn't speak, but slowly raised his hand.
Pale purple Chakra surged out from behind him, instantly condensing into the third form of Susanoo was a hundred meters tall. The giant god held a sword and a fan, and red light like magma flowed from the gaps in his armor. As soon as he appeared, he swung his sword at the watchtower next to him— Chakra Cannon position set up by the rebellious nobles, which was now preparing to bombard the barrier of Iwagakure.
"Boom--"
With a flash of light, the reinforced concrete watchtower was cleaved in two as if it were made of paper. Before the nobles operating the cannons could react, Susanoo's other sword had already picked up the still-burning Chakra Cannon and hurled it at the distant noble banner formation.
A massive fireball exploded where the flags were clustered, sending the young master of the Akamatsu family flying. He landed at Madara's feet. Staring at those crimson Sharingan, his teeth chattered, " Lord Madara, spare me! It was the various clans that forced me! They said you and Lady Tian Uguisu were planning to usurp the Land of Earth..."
Madara crushed his skull with a single stomp, his voice as cold as ice. "When your fathers were gossiping in the council, they should have known this would happen. The Shinobi World is ruled by the strong."
Susanoo took a big step and drew two bloody tracks on the wasteland with his swords. The formation of the noble private soldiers collapsed instantly. Some people tried to use the ground to escape, but were split in half by Susanoo's sword as soon as they got into the soil. Some people released the psychic beast, but were caught by the giant god, and both the man and the beast were crushed into a pulp.
"How's it going in Tian Uguisu Village?" Madara suddenly asked telepathically, his voice traveling through Chakra to Tian Uguisu's ears in the distance.
Soon, Ban received Tian Uguisu's reply, "The central section of Iwagakure has been cleared out, and the remaining rebels in the southeast granary await disposal. I want the seventy-six clan leaders alive."
He scoffed. Susanoo suddenly turned around, slashing northwards with a crisscrossing sword and fan—from there came the sound of dense hooves, the main force of the assembled noble alliance, numbering in the millions, was rushing towards Iwagakure with banners proclaiming "Purge the Emperor's Poisonous Men."
"Alive?" Ban's red eyes reflected the torches that lit up the hillside. "Too easy on them."
Susanoo swung his sword once more, this time not with flames, but with a rain of blood. When the first rays of dawn pierced the clouds, there were no rebels standing on the wasteland, only tattered flags stuck in piles of corpses, whistling in the wind.
Madara looked up towards the direction of Iwagakure, where the Kakkō was gradually dying down. He started walking back, and the wild grass he stepped on was quickly soaked with blood, glowing eerily red in the dim light of dawn.
At 7:45 AM, Tian Uguisu stood on the ruins of the Tsuchikage Building, watching her subordinates count the corpses. The stone walls had been demolished, revealing layers upon layers of corpses beneath—betrayed ninjas, noble private soldiers, and loyal Iwa ninjas.
"Miss, the statistics are in." The maid handed over the list, her voice trembling. "A total of 31,700 traitorous ninjas have been wiped out. We also defeated over 5 million noble private soldiers, captured 42 heads of the 76 major noble families, and the rest fled to the northwest."
Tian Uguisu took the roster and flipped through it casually. Suddenly, she looked towards the direction outside the village, where she heard familiar Chakra fluctuations.
Madara Uchiha appeared at the village entrance. His Susanoo had been deactivated. His black trench coat was stained with blood, and he was carrying a dying old man in his hand—the chairman of the Land of Earth Council and one of the masterminds behind the rebellion.
"The rest are here." Ban tossed the old man in front of Tian Uguisu. "The rebels on the border have been mostly cleared out. Your snakes are more effective than I expected."
The old man struggled to lift his head, looking at the two men who had instilled fear in the nobles for years, and suddenly roared, "You will die a horrible death! The Land of Earth will not tolerate you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Tian Uguisu stomped her foot on his throat. She looked down into his venomous eyes, her voice calm and unwavering. "From the moment you raised your flag, you should have known that the Land of Earth cannot tolerate worms like you hiding in the cracks of rocks."
Madara Uchiha sneered, kicking the pile of corpses beside him. "There are still some small clans that haven't shown themselves yet. Shall we raid their houses?"
"No need." Tian Uguisu withdrew her foot, turned to look at the rising sun, and said, "Have the messenger deliver these heads. Tell them that those who escaped today will be dealt with twice as severely tomorrow."
Sunlight streamed onto the ruins of Iwagakure, illuminating the still-wet bloodstains on the ground. In the distance, on the training ground, the surviving Iwagakure ninja were cleaning up the battlefield; some were sobbing softly, while others were silently bandaging their wounds.
The Tian Uguisu's black and gold feathers gleamed in the morning light, the bloodstains on them resembling withered flowers. She suddenly whispered, "Master, do you think we were too cruel?"
Madara leaned against the broken wall, watching the ninjas rebuilding their defenses. A rare warmth flickered in his crimson eyes. "Ruthless? Once they understand who's protecting them from being devoured by these nobles, and allowing them to live a good life, they won't think it's ruthless anymore."
On the distant border, the last wisp of smoke is dissipating. The land of the Land of Earth has been cracked open with deep, bone-revealing wounds, but in the morning light, new life is quietly sprouting.