Everything that happened next went smoothly. Uchiha Takashi led the Uchiha assault squad all the way to the front gate.
When the Sarutobi Clan members facing off against the Uchiha second elder at the front gate saw another squad of Uchiha coming from behind, they were scared out of their wits.
Those six hundred-odd Uchiha were already putting tremendous pressure on them, flinging Ninjutsu at them as though it cost nothing.
The Fire Style flying everywhere practically turned the place into a massive bombardment zone! It really was a sky full of stars!
Except these stars seemed rather deadly. Then, as everyone struggled to hold out, another bunch of Uchiha suddenly charged out from behind.
What made their blood run cold most of all was that these Uchiha were hidden in the night, with only faint glimmers of scarlet light flickering in the darkness.
None of them were fools. Everyone knew about the Uchiha Clan's unique Sharingan.
The Uchiha Clan's cheat-like Sharingan was already difficult to deal with during the day. Add a nighttime buff, and the Sharingan in the darkness became even more terrifying.
Under pressure from both front and rear, the Three-Clan Allied Forces guarding the front gate finally collapsed completely and scattered in flight.
Without another word, the Uchiha second elder led his men in pursuit, only stopping when they reached the Senju Clan's frontline camp.
Back at the Three-Clan Allied Forces' camp, the second elder grinned and patted Uchiha Takashi on the shoulder. "Hahahaha! You've got some skill, kid.
"You took just over a hundred men and cut straight through them. I bet those Senju are scared out of their wits by now.
"As expected, our Uchiha Clan is invincible! Even without the Hyuga Clan, we can handle them!"
Uchiha Takashi offered a timely reminder. "Although we successfully thwarted the Three-Clan Allied Forces' plans this time,
"they're still an alliance of three great clans. What we did this time actually hasn't affected them that much.
"Once they regroup, we'll be in serious trouble without the Hyuga Clan's help."
Only then did the second elder put away his smile. "I know. We caught them off guard with an unexpected attack this time.
"We must also have exploited the fact that their three clans only recently joined forces and were still learning to work together. That opening let our surprise attack succeed.
"Still, the results of this battle were tremendous. According to the current tally, we slaughtered several dozen Senju alone!"
Just then, an Uchiha tally keeper walked over. "Second Elder, Third Elder, the results of this battle have been tallied.
"Our Uchiha Clan lost fifty-two men, with one hundred lightly wounded and thirty-six severely wounded.
"We inflicted at least five hundred deaths on the enemy, over three hundred of whom were killed by the squad the third elder led."
The enemy's wounded had not been counted. After all, they had fled rather quickly, and the Uchiha had no way of knowing exactly how many were injured.
But by counting the bodies and questioning the prisoners they had captured, they could roughly determine the number of dead.
Fifty-two against five hundred, a loss ratio of nearly one to ten. In any battle, that could be considered a major victory.
Even for a clan like the Uchiha, accustomed to fighting outnumbered, it was a tremendous victory.
Only after hearing how many casualties they had inflicted did Uchiha Takashi smile. "Looks like the enemy really has suffered a crippling blow this time."
Five hundred dead-put that on any random small clan, and it would probably be enough to wipe them out several times over.
These were not five hundred ordinary people. They were five hundred combat shinobi, the absolute core of their clans, serving in fighting roles.
And five hundred dead also meant even more wounded. Usually, for every one person killed, five were injured.
The total number of shinobi in the Three-Clan Allied Forces' camp had only been a little over a thousand. By that calculation, half had died, and every survivor was wounded.
Even with three great clans united, losses on that scale were still crippling, a major blow to their strength.
After all, the three great clans combined only had four or five thousand shinobi, and that count even included Genin.
After confirming that nothing else needed his attention, Uchiha Takashi said to the second elder,
"Since the danger has passed, Second Elder, I'll head back first. Our main base's defenses are a little thin because I pulled these men away.
"I'm worried something might happen there."
The second elder waved with a broad smile. "Go on, go on. You don't need to worry about the front for now.
"The Senju and the others will need some time to recover from this."
Uchiha Takashi nodded, then vanished into the night with his men.
At the Senju Clan's main base.
Fū Senju, the Senju Clan head, received news from the front.
As he read the letter in his hands, his grip tightened. Both elders beside him sensed something was wrong.
The Senju second elder asked tentatively, "Clan Head, did something happen at the front? Was the offensive stalled, or was the transport convoy raided?"
The second elder never considered that the front had already collapsed. After all, over a thousand elite shinobi were stationed there. No matter how strong the Uchiha were, surely they could not break the front in a single night?
Not to mention that old fellow Ryō Uchiha was dead. As far as he imagined, the Uchiha should have been leaderless now.
After all, he had heard nothing about the Uchiha appointing a new clan head. Ever since that old bastard died, there had been no further news about their clan head.
Hearing the second elder's words, Fū Senju snorted. "Hmph! A stalled offensive? A raided transport convoy? If that were all, I wouldn't be this angry!
"Look for yourself!" With that, Fū Senju tossed the report from the front to the second elder.
The second elder picked it up and read it, his expression instantly changing in shock. "What? The frontline forces were routed? All the ground we gained has been lost?
"The Uchiha Clan has pushed all the way to our frontline camp?
"What the hell is Genichi doing as grand elder? How could he let the Uchiha Clan push us back? We had over a thousand men!"
"Send word to Tsuru Senju! Tell him he has three days to retake the camp!" Fū Senju said furiously. "And send Genichi a message asking what the hell he's doing!
"He actually let the Uchiha Clan seize the camp!"
Clearly, the information in this letter was incomplete. After all, the rout had only happened recently, and the front had yet to learn that Genichi Senju and Tsuru Senju were already dead.
The Senju Clan commander stationed at the front still thought the Three-Clan Allied Forces had merely been scattered by the assault and had not suffered many casualties.
As for Genichi Senju and Tsuru Senju, he assumed they were merely gathering the routed troops and had not arrived yet. It never occurred to him that they had already been slaughtered.
After all, who could have imagined that two expert Jonin approaching Clan Head Level would die just like that in a baffling surprise attack?
Besides, they still did not know Uchiha Takashi existed. They did not believe the Uchiha Clan's current strongest fighters were capable of killing those two elders.
At the Uchiha Clan's main base, the grand elder paced anxiously back and forth.
Several hours had passed since Uchiha Takashi set out with his squad. By now, the distant sky was almost bright.
Those were a hundred and fifty elites who had awakened their Sharingan! If they were lost at the front, his wails would carry from the Uchiha Clan all the way to the Land of Water.
"Grand Elder! Grand Elder! The third elder and the others are back!" Just as his anxiety reached its peak, an Uchiha clansman ran in excitedly.
The grand elder exclaimed in delighted surprise, "They're back? Did the assault succeed?"
The Uchiha clansman said, brimming with excitement, "Yes, Grand Elder! They said we suffered few casualties in this battle and inflicted at least five hundred deaths on the enemy."
Hearing that number, the grand elder was ecstatic. "How many? How many did you say? Five hundred? Hahahaha!"
The grand elder let out the classic Uchiha maniacal laugh. "Who would've thought the Senju Clan and Uzumaki Clan would have a day like this, with a hundred elites dying at the front!
"I really want to know what Fū Senju's face will look like when he hears this. It'll be quite a sight."
As he spoke, the grand elder seemed to already see Fū Senju looking as though he had swallowed a dead fly. Just imagining it was enough to lift his spirits.
"Come on, let's get the details from the third elder. Then I'll tell Fū Senju all about it and let him enjoy himself too."
Smiling broadly, the grand elder walked out of the shrine and went straight to the victorious Uchiha Takashi.
"Takashi, you truly are a genius of the Uchiha Clan! The clan will be proud of you!" The moment the grand elder approached, he began patting Uchiha Takashi on the shoulder and praising him.
"Our Uchiha Clan has a legacy stretching back over a thousand years. When have we ever won such a great victory? I must have this recorded on the stone tablet!"
As he spoke, the grand elder was about to order someone to fetch the stone tablet from the shrine. He intended to personally record this great victory so that future Uchiha descendants could admire it.
Uchiha Takashi, who had shown little reaction, turned his gaze over the moment he heard about the stone tablet. "Stone tablet?"
Seeing Uchiha Takashi's "confused" expression, the grand elder immediately explained, "It's something passed down from our Uchiha Clan's ancestors, even from the Sage of Six Paths.
"It records the Uchiha Clan's legacy, as well as the glorious deeds of past generations of Uchiha.
"As long as you accomplish something our ancestors never achieved before, you can record it on the stone tablet for future generations to admire.
"But the stone tablet we use to record achievements isn't the same one said to have been passed down by the Sage of Six Paths. There's no need to worry that engraving it will damage our legacy."
The grand elder abruptly changed tack in the middle of his explanation. "Speaking of the stone tablet, though, that reminds me. I've never been able to understand what is written on the one passed down by our forebears.
"Even with my Mitsudomoe Sharingan, I can only understand part of it. Takashi, haven't your eyes already evolved into the Mangekyō Sharingan? Try taking another look. Perhaps you'll be able to read it.
"If we can learn our forebears' legacy from the stone tablet, perhaps our Uchiha Clan can immediately gain even greater power and stand at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World!"
As the grand elder spoke, he watched Uchiha Takashi with burning eyes.
Uchiha Takashi had his head lowered in thought. The stone tablet? Is that the tablet Black Zetsu altered in the original story to deceive Madara Uchiha?
He had heard that this stone tablet had apparently always been inside the Uchiha Clan's shrine, and only those who unlocked the Mangekyō Sharingan could understand its contents.
But if I remember correctly, hasn't that filial son Black Zetsu already altered the contents? It's purely there to trick people.
Then again, of course brainless Uchiha would believe it.
Uchiha Takashi did not want to expose this lie right now, mainly because some things on the tablet were not wrong, and even if he exposed it now, others might not believe him.
"Grand Elder, take me to have a look." After thinking it over, Uchiha Takashi decided to first inspect this stone tablet altered by Black Zetsu, the mastermind behind the scenes.
The grand elder immediately nodded and led Uchiha Takashi into the deepest part of the shrine.
This was the Uchiha's most treasured and most secret place.
The Uchiha Clan's Ninjutsu legacy, clan legacy, research into the Sharingan, and even all sorts of clothing and ninja tools were stored here.
And sitting at the very center was that so-called stone tablet.
The grand elder pointed at the tablet in the middle. "That's the stone tablet passed down by our ancestors. Legend says the Sage of Six Paths left it behind.
"Unfortunately, I can't read it, so I've never known what's written on it."
As he spoke, the grand elder brought out a similar-looking stone tablet from the other side. "And this is the stone tablet our ancestors used to record events."
Uchiha Takashi slowly walked up to the central stone tablet. The Sharingan in his eyes slowly spun until they took on the shape of pinwheels.
With the Mangekyō Sharingan's help, he successfully read its contents.
The contents were divided into four sections. A Sharingan that had not unlocked the Mangekyō Sharingan could read the clan's history.
This had been altered by Black Zetsu, saying that Asura had stolen Indra's position, and that the Senju Clan inherently coveted the Uchiha Clan's power and was the Uchiha's eternal enemy.
It also said that the Shinobi World was plagued by endless war, and only absolute control could bring an end to it all.
Uchiha Takashi agreed with the second point. It seemed Black Zetsu's alterations were not entirely useless. At least the second point sounded somewhat reasonable, though it was a little extreme.
Next came the section that only the Mangekyō Sharingan could read.
It recorded that the Mangekyō Sharingan could control Tailed Beasts, then described how powerful the Tailed Beasts were.
It also detailed the steps for unlocking the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, then mentioned its immense power and stated that combining yin and yang could grant the Power of All Creation.
In short, every line was tempting the reader, all of it talking about how to grow stronger. Any Uchiha who saw this would probably get fired up.
Let alone an Uchiha with the Mangekyō Sharingan, who was the one capable of reading this section. Uchiha with the Mangekyō Sharingan were all extremists.
Seeing this would only make them think about obtaining such power, without considering the actual issues at all.
Unfortunately, Uchiha Takashi was no ordinary Uchiha. He was an Uchiha with a brain!
When he looked further, he could no longer understand it. Presumably, he would need the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, or even the Rinnegan, to read it.
Still, with what he knew, he could roughly guess what came next. It would just be things like the Eye of the Moon Plan and Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Heh. Apart from fooling an old man like Madara Uchiha, these words probably couldn't even convince a three-year-old.
Who the hell can end everything by dreaming? You're daydreaming!