Uchiha Kane lay on the ground, eyes full of despair.
The rainwater was filled with poisonous pollen. The toxic powder drenched his body, flowed into his ears, seeped into his skin, and, more importantly, flowed into his eyes.
His eyes were sore, swollen, and painful; the tomoe spun with unusual sluggishness.
As expected of the former Clan Leader Uchiha Madara, he knew their Sharingan so well.
He couldn't move, forced to watch as Uchiha Michi and several Special Jōnin were crushed to death by the tree trunks.
Those not dead yet were like him, about to be submerged by the trunks.
Three tree trunks coiled around him like venomous snakes.
The pressure from the trunks grew greater and greater...
Uchiha Kane suddenly remembered his first mission outside the village.
Just after graduating from the Ninja Academy, he encountered a twenty-meter-long anaconda in the Land of Waves.
That giant snake would coil around its prey, slowly tightening, crushing bones, constricting until suffocation.
Uchiha Kane heard the ominous creaking of his own bones under stress, a sound that made one's scalp crawl.
So, when bones break, the vibration reaches the head before the pain does.
At that moment, he heard the sound of more tree trunks breaking through the earth.
It's over... completely over...
Half the elite Uchiha clansmen I brought out are going to die here...
What will become of the clan?
Is the Uchiha clan going to follow in the footsteps of the Senju clan so soon?
Three trunks alone brought my body to the brink of collapse. With over a dozen more suddenly appearing nearby, I'm about to be crushed into pulp...
Tōka will also die here. Fugaku isn't a Jōnin yet. Who will be the next clan leader?
The clan loses 4 Jōnin, 12 Special Jōnin... losing half its elite. How will the village treat the clan afterwards?
Just as Uchiha Kane felt despair, he suddenly realized his body felt a bit looser.
Looking down, he saw the newly emerged trunks had drilled into the gaps of the old ones, prying them apart?
A thin branch drilled into an old trunk, rapidly growing and turning into a thick trunk.
The Wood Release trunks created by Uchiha Madara had common green leaves.
The new trunks bore red maple leaves!
It seemed... like two different Wood Releases?
Whose were these red maple trunks? Why were they opposing the old ones?
Not just him, but Uchiha Tōka nearby also broke free from the trunks and fell.
From Uchiha Tōka's condition, his left leg had just been crushed.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"
A voice rang out nearby.
Not Uchiha Madara's voice, it was... Fox's voice?
The red maple Wood Release pushed open the gaps. Uchiha Kane broke free from the trunks' constriction and fell from four meters high.
As he fell through the air, he saw the Anbu's Fox charging deep into the flowering trees.
Fox had his hands clapped together, surrounded by red maple trunks breaking through the earth.
The red maple trunks pushed aside the old trunks, instantly relieving the pressure around them.
The newly grown trunks bore red maple leaves, a fiery red expanse.
This was specially designed by Yōkō. Both were Wood Release, but Uchiha Madara's had green broad leaves, while Yōkō's had red maple leaves, subtly matching Yōkō's 'Copper Fox' moniker.
These leaves would consume a bit more chakra, but it didn't matter.
Presence was also a form of strength.
In this situation, presence was necessary.
Winning or losing is temporary; looking cool is forever.
The red maple trunks formed a vast maple forest. After pushing aside the trunks created by Uchiha Madara, they revealed the tree hollow where Uchiha Madara stood!
Uchiha Madara stood before the tree hollow halfway up the large tree, his eyes slightly surprised. Why does someone here also know Wood Release?
Yōkō formed hand seals again.
Sharp spikes grew from the maple tree trunks.
All the spikes pointed towards Uchiha Madara.
Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs!
Hundreds of sharp spikes shot out, piercing towards Uchiha Madara from different angles.
Susano'o instantly appeared around Uchiha Madara.
The wooden spears of the Cutting Sprigs were all blocked by the Susano'o.
The Susano'o's defense was very strong; the Cutting Sprigs couldn't penetrate it.
Yōkō frowned, turning his head to look at the charging Wood Dragon.
The Wood Dragon had quickly defeated the White Ram and Kika squads and was now charging towards him.
Yōkō waved his hand. Over a dozen red maple trunks moved, entangling Uchiha Madara's Wood Dragon.
Wood Release was extremely flexible, suitable for dealing with large opponents.
Inside his Susano'o, Uchiha Madara looked down at the Konoha Anbu on the ground.
"When did Konoha get an Anbu like this? One who has mastered Wood Release?"
A White Zetsu emerged from a trunk near Uchiha Madara and said:
"Lord Madara, this Anbu's codename is Fox. People from Sunagakure call him Copper Fox. He possesses a strange absolute defense secret technique; physical attacks are ineffective against him."
"Physical attacks are ineffective? There is no absolutely defensive technique in the shinobi world. Let me test how strong his physical defense really is."
Uchiha Madara exerted more power. Muscles appeared on the Susano'o's skeletal frame, and it gripped a large sword, slashing fiercely towards the Anbu Fox.
Red maple trunks formed arch after arch above Yōkō's head.
Each trunk was two meters thick.
The Susano'o's great sword cut through over a dozen trunks before its kinetic energy was exhausted. It struck a Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall, failing to break through it.
Uchiha Madara was taken aback. A single sword strike didn't even force out his absolute defense secret technique? It couldn't even break through the Wood Release?
For a moment, Uchiha Madara felt a sense of trance, as if he were fighting Hashirama's Wood Release again, unable to break its defense.
Why does this person have such strong Wood Release talent? Is he from the Senju clan?
In the distance, Hyūga Koe let out a long sigh of relief.
Squad Leader Fox was too strong. Within the terrifying flowering trees, he had created a safe zone for the Uchiha ninja.
Moreover, he had blocked Uchiha Madara's powerful sword strike using only Wood Release.
Squad Leader Fox hadn't even used his signature absolute defense yet.
Uchiha Madara looked down at the Konoha Anbu and said:
"Not bad, Crimson Maple Fox. Your Wood Release has already reached one-tenth of Senju Hashirama's level."
Hyūga Koe in the distance was shocked. This information must be reported to the village.
Squad Leader Fox's Wood Release strength is actually one-tenth of the First Hokage's?
And even Uchiha Madara addressed Squad Leader Fox as 'Crimson Maple Fox'?
A title given by the enemy is a genuine title. Those who call themselves emperor are always just 'little emperors', fake GOATs.
Squad Leader Fox had gained a second title: Crimson Maple Fox!
Yōkō thought, That's about enough.
He wasn't here to kill Uchiha Madara; he was here to display his Wood Release, to demonstrate his value as an ally.
This battle tested the strength of Wood Release. In combat against a Kage-level ninja, Wood Release's agility, offense, and defense were all top-tier.
What he lacked now was chakra reserves.
If he had super-Kage-level chakra reserves, the power of his Wood Release would be even greater.
Forcing Uchiha Madara to use Susano'o and withstanding a strike from it was already a very impressive achievement.
Demonstrating his strategic value, and taking advantage of Lynx's death to seek the Anbu Vice Commander position – that was Yōkō's goal.
He couldn't show off any more; overdoing it could get him killed.
The Susano'o's great sword lifted, and Yōkō's Wood Locking Wall dispersed.
He glanced back at the reconnaissance squad. Hyūga Koe was watching. Good, the village would soon know of his performance.
Yōkō jumped backward.
In mid-air, he threw out several Iron Vines, which wrapped around the eight severely injured Uchiha members.
Yōkō carried them away from the combat zone.
Taking a final look at Uchiha Madara, Yōkō noticed he wasn't even looking at him.
Following Uchiha Madara's gaze, Yōkō saw he was looking at the brothers Uchiha Mahiru and Uchiha Kirika, both immobilized by the poison.
Taking an extra glance at Uchiha Mahiru, Yōkō felt something was amiss.
I'm here facing him with Wood Release, but he's looking at someone else? Are these two more valuable than me?
The reconnaissance squad, the two Anbu squads, and the Uchiha members dragged behind Yōkō by Iron Vines fled in panic.
Antelope supported White Ram, coming to Yōkō's side in terror.
"Squad Leader! White Ram's chest was crushed by the Wood Release!"
Yōkō had asked the White Ram and Kika squads to hold off the Wood Dragon Technique, but he hadn't expected White Ram to be so severely injured.
***
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(End of Chapter)