On Konoha's side!
Before setting out, Uchiha Shin had already dispatched all the Anbu spies. Danzo and his forces stopped after reaching Sunset Valley, and Uchiha Shin quickly learned of this.
"Sunset Valley? What an interesting name! In that case, I'll bury all of you there, to keep the setting sun company!"
Uchiha Shin sneered.
"All troops, listen! Full speed ahead, target: Sunset Valley!"
"Understood!!"
Time passed quickly. The sun moved from the east to its zenith, and then to the west.
Uchiha Shin finally led the large army of Konoha ninja to Sunset Valley.
"We're finally here!"
Uchiha Shin looked from a distance of several thousand meters at Danzo and the more than one thousand ninja behind him. The corner of his mouth curled up slightly.
"All units..."
"Lord Fifth, wait!"
At that moment, Shikaku called out.
"What is it?"
Uchiha Shin looked at Shikaku.
"I fear there's a trap ahead!"
Shikaku said.
"Hmm??"
Uchiha Shin raised an eyebrow.
"Explain!!"
"Yes! I've known Danzo for some years, and I know very well what kind of person he is. You could say he's a man who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals."
As long as he can win, he doesn't care about the means.
However, now he's just waiting there with all his men in formation. He's not attacking proactively, which would be a good chance to catch us off guard as we've just arrived.
"Clearly, he is waiting for us to fall into a trap he has already set!"
Shikaku said gravely.
"Makes sense!"
Uchiha Shin nodded.
"Lord Fifth, leave the next part to us!"
At this time, Hiashi said in a deep voice.
"Alright!"
Uchiha Shin nodded.
Hiashi waved his hand.
Several Hyuga branch family ninja emerged from the ranks. Activating their Byakugan, they walked forward.
Seeing this, Danzo's face instantly darkened.
"Damn you, Shikaku! Damn you, Hiashi!"
"They are aiding a tyrant! I won't let them get away with this!"
Danzo was furious.
The moment the Hyuga clan members stepped forward to investigate, he knew his scheme was likely to fail. The Byakugan is extremely powerful on the battlefield.
Otherwise, Kumogakure wouldn't have coveted the Hyuga clan's eyes so much after the war. It was entirely because they had suffered too many losses at the hands of the Hyuga clan during the Third Great Ninja War.
In fact, when Danzo was planting the explosive tags, he had already taken precautions against them being detected by Hyuga spies.
He had extended the warning line dozens of miles out.
Which was why several waves of Konoha's spies failed to discover the large number of explosive tags he had buried in the valley.
Without Shikaku's reminder, a rash and careless Uchiha Shin would have certainly suffered heavy losses. However, because of Shikaku's warning, Uchiha Shin sensed something was wrong.
Now, with the Hyuga clan members conducting a thorough search, the explosive tags buried underground could no longer be hidden.
For a moment, Danzo was filled with extreme hatred for Shikaku and Hiashi.
"Lord Fifth, the soil ahead has been disturbed. It seems a large number of explosive tags are buried inside!"
Just as the Hyuga clan members were reporting their findings to Uchiha Shin, Danzo decisively detonated all the explosive tags.
BOOM...
For a moment, the flames of the explosion filled the entire valley. At the same time, the entire valley began to shake.
"Twelve Guardian Ninja, hear my command! Immediately lead your three hundred ninja and attack!"
"Sarutobi Shinnosuke, keep an eye on them!"
Danzo said.
"Yes!!"
Sarutobi Shinnosuke responded immediately. He then looked at Kazuma and gestured with his hand: "If you please!"
In reality, Sarutobi Shinnosuke had long known that Asuma had pledged allegiance to the Daimyo. He had tacitly accepted this outcome.
Now, he was merely putting on an act.
That day, not long after he had left the Capital of the Land of Fire, Sarutobi Asuma, who had already pledged allegiance to the Daimyo, used a summoning jutsu to send a monkey. He gave the monkey a letter, gave it a few instructions, and then sent it back.
The monkey, upon returning to Mount Myoboku, immediately reverse-summoned Sarutobi Shinnosuke, who was still on the road. It then delivered Asuma's letter to Shinnosuke.
After reading the letter, Shinnosuke learned that Asuma had pledged allegiance to the Daimyo and went along with it.
He also abandoned his original idea of using old men to replace the young, and obediently dispatched twelve hundred able-bodied young ninja.
Because of this, Danzo didn't get the chance to find fault with him again.
"The Twelve Guardian Ninja accept the order! Everyone, charge with me!"
Kazuma gave Shinnosuke a deep look, sneered, and roared.
The moment the energy wave from the explosion subsided, Kazuma led the Twelve Guardian Ninja and the other three hundred ninja charging towards Uchiha Shin's forces.
From the very beginning, Kazuma had anticipated that Danzo would not trust them easily and would certainly use them as cannon fodder. Therefore, he was not angry.
In fact, in Kazuma's mind, these three hundred ninja were also just cannon fodder, because their true trump card was the Sarutobi clan, which had completely sided with the Daimyo. To divert Danzo's attention, these men were expendable.
"Izumi!"
Uchiha Shin called out in a low voice.
"Understood!!"
Izumi responded.
"First Division, charge with me!"
Izumi shouted, taking the lead and charging towards Kazuma and his men.
"Charge!"
Seeing Izumi move, the thousands of ninja behind her also roared and charged towards the enemy. The First Division was, in fact, the commoner ninja unit organized by Uchiha Setsuna.
As the two sides drew closer, Izumi increased her speed tenfold.
With a whoosh, in an instant, Izumi became a bolt of lightning.
She swiftly appeared before Kazuma and decisively swung the short sword in her hand!
"What??"
So fast? Kazuma's expression changed drastically. He was just about to block when he felt a sharp pain in his neck.
With a squelch, in the next moment, a head flew high into the air.
"Kazuma??"
Asuma, Rikudo, and the other members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja's faces changed drastically.
However, Izumi did not stop her attack there.
After killing Kazuma, she instantly appeared before Asuma.
Without hesitation, she swung her short sword again.
Asuma's reaction was incredibly fast.
The moment he realized he was Izumi's target, he had already begun to dodge to the side.
However, with the Mangekyo Sharingan, Izumi's perceptive abilities were terrifying.
She completely predicted Asuma's movements.
In a flash, she killed Asuma cleanly and decisively!
"Asuma!!!"
This time, it wasn't just Rikudo and the other Guardian Ninja who cried out in shock.
Even Shinnosuke, far behind, couldn't help but cry out.
"That Uchiha clan girl... she has awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan!"
Tsunade said with a grave expression.
"Danzo, we can't wait any longer! Otherwise, more people will be killed by this girl!"
"No, no one knows the side effects of the Sharingan better than I do. The Sharingan is strong and very useful, that's true, but the longer it's used, the easier it is to go blind!"
"This is a perfect opportunity. We can use those men to exhaust that Uchiha girl's visual prowess. Once her eyes become useless, she'll be easy to deal with. Then, killing her will be as easy as turning over our hand."
A sharp glint flashed in Danzo's eyes.
His heart was already stirring.
"Mangekyo Sharingan! Mine... they're all mine!"
"But, many people will die that way!"
Tsunade said in a deep voice.
"A single general's success is built on ten thousand bleaching bones. It can't be helped!"
Danzo responded with iron-blooded ruthlessness.
"Lord Danzo! Let me lead the army into battle!"
At this time, Shinnosuke requested.
The death of his brother had filled him with rage.
He couldn't care about anything else.
At this moment, he only wanted to avenge his brother.
"You may!"
Danzo, hearing this, did not stop him.
In any case, the members of the Sarutobi clan were just consumables.
As long as Shinnosuke and his men could exhaust the girl's visual prowess, it would be a great service.
"Everyone, charge with me!"
After getting Danzo's approval, Sarutobi Shinnosuke immediately led the Sarutobi Army to charge towards Izumi and the others!
"Hiashi, Shikaku, it's time for you and the Second Division to enter the field!"
Uchiha Shin said with a smile.
Using commoner ninja against the Daimyo's ninja.
Using the ninja of the major clans against the Sarutobi clan's ninja.
This was a strategy Uchiha Shin had decided on early on.
Since Shinnosuke had already attacked, it was time to let the ninja of the major clans also be stained with the blood of the Sarutobi clan.
Only then will they truly be on his side.
"Understood!"
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