"Protect Uzumaki remnants?" Uchiha Madara glanced at the unconscious Nagato, then looked back at Uchiha Kane and said:
"I didn't expect you to know some of Konoha's secrets. It seems the once-proud Uchiha clan has been tainted by Konoha's foul stench."
"I have no interest in the current Konoha whatsoever. It is a dying village."
"A completely dead village, without ideals, without a future."
"Beneath the Hokage Rock lies nothing but a pile of dung."
"After Senju Hashirama's death, I lost all interest in Konoha."
"Yet it is you people, harassing me again and again."
"First it was Shimura Danzō, then Jiraiya, and now you."
"You traitors who dare use the same clan emblem as me... you don't actually think I'd spare you out of clan sentiment, do you?"
Uchiha Madara actually called the current Konoha a dung heap – so crude.
He insulted Konoha, but none of the people present dared to refute him.
Yōkō knew Uchiha Madara's plan, which was why he kept exploiting Nagato – a point Uchiha Madara absolutely had to protect – to repeatedly use Uchiha Madara.
Uchiha Madara was probably fed up internally. It's like poking a hornet's nest; why do they keep coming after me?
Uchiha Madara clapped his hands together.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"
Seeing Uchiha Madara take action, Yōkō felt extremely tense.
To prevent the village from suspecting he killed Lynx, he had acted against Lynx before clashing with Uchiha Madara.
This way, no one would ever suspect Lynx's death was related to him.
His resurrection chance for this month was used up, so he needed to be even more careful.
Yōkō didn't charge forward immediately but waited to see Uchiha Kane and the others' actions.
This investigation of Uchiha Madara was primarily the Uchiha clan's responsibility anyway.
The Uchiha clan had the duty to kill their former clan leader.
Just as Yellow Dog had instructed, he hoped Uchiha Kane and Uchiha Madara would destroy each other.
The forest grew violently, thick tree trunks surrounding the Konoha group.
Uchiha Kane quickly commanded his clansmen: "Everyone, use Fire Release!"
Four Jōnin and eight Special Jōnin used twelve extremely large Great Fireball Techniques.
Great Fireballs connected with Great Fireballs, each over ten meters in diameter.
The reconnaissance squad looked at Squad Leader Fox.
They didn't know if the village intended to stand by and let Uchiha Madara and the Uchiha clan fight it out, or if they should assist quickly.
Yōkō pointed towards Uzumaki Nagato and said:
"Seize the Uzumaki remnant! Then we can learn Uchiha Madara's scheme. Whatever Uchiha Madara protects, we must destroy!"
The White Ram squad, the Kika squad, and the reconnaissance squad immediately moved out, bypassing the Wood Release and Fire Release battlefield, and charged towards the White Zetsu on the flank.
Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan were protected in the center by a group of White Zetsu.
The White Zetsu saw the Konoha Anbu charging towards them and thought, This is bad.
"What do we do? Those Konoha Anbu look pretty strong."
"There are only a few dozen of us; we're no match for the Konoha Anbu."
"Let's call a few more helpers. How about three hundred?"
From underground and within the trees, White Zetsu emerged one after another.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya had once hung tens of thousands of people from her era on the God Tree, turning them into White Zetsu.
In the original story, Obito later cultivated and split these tens of thousands into one hundred thousand White Zetsu.
Summoning three hundred White Zetsu now was nothing for the White Zetsu army.
Yōkō formed a hand seal.
Water Release: Water Cutting Wave!
A thin line of water shot out abruptly, sweeping horizontally and cutting through over a hundred White Zetsu.
A single technique reduced the White Zetsu by one-third.
The White Zetsu were extremely surprised.
"A Water Release of this level is second only to Senju Tobirama, right?"
Yōkō quickly ordered: "Use combination techniques! Clear a path for me to charge through!"
White Ram and Kika directed their squads, and their most practiced Wind Release and Fire Release combination technique appeared.
The Wind-Fire combination technique ignored the rain, killed dozens of White Zetsu, and cleared a path.
As the dense crowd of White Zetsu vanished, Yōkō saw Nagato.
He body-flickered forward.
The White Zetsu felt a black shadow flash past, then turned to look at Nagato in the rear.
Yōkō body-flickered and appeared in front of Nagato.
Nagato was unconscious.
Yahiko's hand was only halfway raised, Konan's eyes were just widening in horror.
At that moment, Yōkō sensed terrifying movement from the side.
A Wood Dragon came roaring towards him!
Yōkō quickly jumped up.
The Wood Dragon could absorb chakra, converting the enemy's chakra into its own nourishment, making the dragon longer, thicker, and more resilient.
If trapped by the Wood Dragon, it would be troublesome; even the chakra within his Absolute Defense: Copper Light might be absorbed.
The pressure the Uchiha group was putting on Uchiha Madara was too little; he could still manage two battlefields simultaneously.
The Wood Dragon's claw swiped through the air towards him.
Yōkō formed a hand seal and used Water Release: Water Cutting Wave again.
The water line shot out, severing the Wood Dragon's claw!
Yōkō was now, by all accounts, a low Kage-level; the power of his Water Release: Water Cutting Wave was extremely strong.
Seeing the Anbu squad leader possessed such strength, Uchiha Madara grew slightly interested.
He waved his hand, and a white figure emerged from the tree hollow behind him.
The reconnaissance ninja Hyūga Koe saw the figure behind Uchiha Madara and shouted in surprise, "Sarutobi Kanenosuke?"
A moment later, he seemed confused. "Sarutobi Kanenosuke had a spiral-patterned mask over his eyes. This person's face has no eye holes, just twisted wooden vines."
"Is it not Sarutobi Kanenosuke? Could it be another subordinate of Uchiha Madara?"
Yōkō thought, This is bad, it's the most unique Spiral White Zetsu, the one who later becomes Tobi.
Tobi was hollow; beneath that spiral mask was an empty cavity.
Tobi charged straight for Yōkō, protecting Uzumaki Nagato.
Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs!
A wooden spear shot towards Yōkō, who let it strike his chest.
The wooden spear shattered upon hitting the Copper Light, its tip breaking, unable to pierce Yōkō's chest.
Yōkō feared the Wood Dragon Technique, but not the Cutting Sprigs.
Seeing the Cutting Sprigs was ineffective, Tobi closed in to engage Yōkō in taijutsu.
Tobi's taijutsu was strong, his speed fast. With him blocking the way, Yōkō couldn't reach Nagato's immediate vicinity in a short time.
Uchiha Madara glanced at the two Uchiha corpses within the flowering trees and said:
"Uchiha Kane, do you believe me now? I will not go easy on you. The only similarity between us is a surname."
In the heavy rain, Uchiha Kane was drenched in sweat.
Sweat and rainwater were indistinguishable, continuously dripping from his chin.
Uchiha Madara was too strong!
The range of the Advent of a World of Flowering Trees was immense. Unnoticed, they were surrounded by wildly growing large trees.
One careless move, and the thick, resilient tree trunks could crush them to death.
Uchiha Kane looked at the massive Wood Dragon to the side. It was only because Squad Leader Fox had drawn the Wood Dragon's attention; otherwise, with that fearsome dragon added to the mix, they would die even faster.
They were at a disadvantage, a significant disadvantage.
Who would have thought that Uchiha Madara, in his seventies, still possessed such a terrifying amount of chakra.
Amid the chaos, Uchiha Mizukiku constantly dodged. Skilled in the Body Flicker Technique, he leaped between tree trunks, keeping an eye on his surroundings, avoiding being trapped.
He occasionally observed the battles of Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Kane, Uchiha Tōka, and the Anbu's Fox.
He had another identity now: Advisor Danzō's spy, Root's Otsu.
Uchiha Mizukiku assessed internally:
Uchiha Kane is no match for Uchiha Madara; the gap between them is huge. Fire Release is no match for Wood Release.
Barring any surprises, the rogue ninja pursuit team will all die here...
***
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(End of Chapter)