While the Senju Clan was in chaos, on the southern border of the Land of Fire Land of Light...
Outside a key border town within the Land of Fire, this town was rapidly armed and heavily fortified after the Uchiha established their independent nation, in order to defend against the Uchiha.
However, after the Uchiha established their nation, they remained in a standoff with the Senju, so there was no further activity, and the town remained peaceful for a year.
Now, a huge cloud of smoke suddenly rose from the once peaceful suburbs, instantly drawing the attention of the soldiers who were on guard duty.
"What's going on over there? Is there a large army marching?" The general guarding the city stood on the wall, frowning, unsure of what was happening.
It's not fair to blame the general guarding the city for not realizing it immediately. After all, the Land of Fire hasn't experienced any major wars in all these years, and no small country would be foolish enough to Land of Fire.
Therefore, the samurai within the Land of Fire are basically just for show; the ninja clans within the Land of Fire are already sufficient to constitute the main military force of the Land of Fire.
The Land of Fire has no need to support a large group of useless samurai, so the symbolic significance of samurai far outweighs their practical value within the Land of Fire.
"Wait, I think I see a familiar symbol," a soldier squinted at the distance. The general beside him asked, "What do you see?"
The samurai soldier scratched his head, looking puzzled, and said, "Was I still half asleep yesterday? Why did I see the Uchiha symbol moving this way?"
When the general heard the name Uchiha, he didn't react at first, then his expression suddenly turned to horror. "What? Uchiha? Sound the alarm! Sound the alarm!"
Before the soldiers nearby could even react to what was happening, alarms were already blaring throughout the city, the sirens blaring incessantly.
"Clang, clang, clang!" Hearing the alarms blaring from the distant city, the Uchiha army on the march quickened their pace.
The leader was a Chunin the Uchiha Clan. He glanced at the distant city walls, then at the soldiers following behind him.
As a city on the southern border of the Uchiha and the Land of Fire, it naturally had few troops, so when Uchiha Takashi sent him, he only dispatched 1,000 men.
In fact, according to the Nara Clan's estimate, 800 people would have been enough, but Uchiha Takashi chose 1000 as a precaution and to ensure that the buff would not expire due to multiple triggers.
This Uchiha ninja's objective was to capture the city before him and then advance south, at the very least conquering three towns to expand the influence of the Land of Light.
"All troops, listen up! Prepare the breaching cannons!" The Uchiha clansmen stopped a few hundred paces away from the city.
This position is perfectly positioned outside the range of the city's soldiers' arrows, and the catapults can't reach them either, making it the ideal observation distance.
As the Uchiha clansmen gave their orders, the soldiers behind them quickly deployed into formation, pushing out several catapults that were ten meters high.
Then, several soldiers took out something that looked like a tin can from the crates that had been shipped over; this thing was a breaching cannon.
To be precise, this thing was a cannonball filled with gunpowder, mainly used for attacking cities and breaching doors.
"Ready!" Several soldiers placed the breaching cannon near the trough of the catapult.
Meanwhile, the soldiers on the city wall were still unaware of what the Uchiha army was doing there. Each of them nervously drew their bows, watching the Uchiha banners fluttering in the distance.
"What are they doing? Using catapults?" The general in charge of the guard bit his lower lip tightly, his eyes constantly darting between the giant catapults.
"Whoosh—" Suddenly, the giant catapult in the distance moved, and a dark object shot through the air, slamming heavily against the city wall.
"Thump..." This thing wasn't like an ordinary stone; it didn't just hit the wall once. Instead, it exploded violently the instant it hit the city wall, like Ninjutsu technique.
The samurai standing on the wall were shaken so badly by the violent tremors coming from beneath their feet that they couldn't even stand up, and several were even knocked to the ground on the spot.
"What's going on? Could it be that they've sent ninjas to attack such a small town?" The general in charge of the defense looked into the distance with a horrified expression.
He had initially assumed the distant samurai troops, clad in their distinctive armor, were a samurai unit. However, the massive explosion that had just occurred made him question his judgment.
If it wasn't a ninja, then what could have unleashed such power, almost collapsing the city walls?
He couldn't think of anything besides Ninjutsu, but even that didn't make sense if it was a ninja.
Is it really necessary for the Uchiha to deploy a ninja force for a small military town? And judging by the number of soldiers, it seems unlikely, even if it's a mix of samurai and ninja.
After the previous attack ended, another round of dark objects came crashing down, exploding on the city wall and causing it to shake violently. They even blasted a gap in the outermost layer of the wall.
Such frequent explosions could not possibly have been unleashed by a small number of ninjas; it must have been either by a large number of ninjas or by an absolutely elite force.
However, neither of these options is likely, because the Senju Clan is still alive, and it's improbable that the Uchiha would transfer a large number of ninja from their clan to deal with a small town on their southern border.
If they weren't ninjas, then where did such frequent and powerful attacks come from?
Just as the generals were baffled, a new wave of attacks followed.
The Uchiha Uchiha wouldn't give the enemy a chance to breathe. They didn't even consider using any tactics; they simply loaded all their siege cannons onto catapults.
They hurled them all at once onto the city walls. Huge cannonballs slammed into the walls and exploded, instantly shaking the once-sturdy walls to the point of collapse.
Meanwhile, the Uchiha bombardment was not yet over; a continuous stream of shells continued to fly in from afar, only to explode upon hitting the city walls.
Finally, under the intense bombardment of the Uchiha, this incredibly sturdy wall collapsed with a deafening roar. The soldiers on the wall had already withdrawn shortly before its collapse.
They witnessed a city wall collapse right before their eyes, which had a tremendous psychological impact on them.
So when the Uchiha army launched their attack, their morale collapsed on the spot, and they had no will to resist whatsoever.
In their view, only ninjas could launch such an attack and breach the city walls; they were just ordinary people, utterly powerless against ninjas and with no chance of escape.
So when the Uchiha troops rushed at them, they didn't hesitate for a moment; they immediately threw their weapons to the ground and knelt down to beg for mercy.
The Uchiha captured the key border town effortlessly, using only a fraction of their artillery shells.