Izuna had implemented a modified version of the future Ninja Academy system for the current Uchiha. However, in the Warring States period, there were no nanny missions like running errands or weeding. The lowest rank was a C-rank escort mission.
"You've suffered quite a few injuries on the front line. After this war is over, take a position at the Clan School. Don't go back to the front lines casually," Izuna stated.
Uchiha Shin was startled, but he quickly realized what Izuna meant.
There were two main reasons. First was the grave error he had committed at Shirotani Pass before Izuna's arrival, where he had allowed himself to be ambushed by Senju Yuma.
The second was that Izuna was beginning to suppress the old guard and the opposition factions within the clan, supporting the new generation to take the stage of history. And Uchiha Shin was among the first targets for suppression.
After all, when Uchiha Tajima died and the selection for the new Clan Head took place, Uchiha Shin had stood on Uchiha Gakugyo's side.
"Yes."
Even if he was unwilling, Uchiha Shin could only accept the order. Izuna's performance was simply too dominant. Compared to the previous Clan Head, Uchiha Tajima, Izuna was even more overwhelming.
After Uchiha Shin withdrew, Izuna unrolled a map on the table before him and began marking it with a brush.
This was likely the most chaotic battle of the Warring States period to date.
The Eastern and Western battlefields involved the Uchiha and the four northwestern clans against the allied forces of the Senju and Uzumaki.
On the Northern and Southern battlefields, the war between the Hyuga and the Sarutobi-Shimura alliance was imminent.
It was a free-for-all involving the absolute apex families of the era.
"Vice-Clan Head, bad news!"
Suddenly, Uchiha Akichi strode into the tent and knelt on one knee before Izuna.
"What is it?" Izuna looked up at him.
"On the Mount Congyun battlefield, the Senju sent another battalion of reinforcements and launched a full-scale attack on our clan. Originally, this wouldn't have been enough to breach our defense line in a short time, but... but..."
Uchiha Akichi began to stammer.
"Spit it out!" Izuna barked.
"Yes! In the last battle, Senju Hashirama used a technique that appeared to be called Deep Forest Bloom. It caused paralysis in many of our ninja. Gakugyo was ambushed and heavily wounded by Senju Tobirama during that fight and is currently in a coma."
Izuna was stunned. Senju Hashirama's evolution was truly terrifying.
He has already mastered Deep Forest Bloom?
Izuna remembered that technique; it was something even Madara, with his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, found difficult to withstand. Once unleashed on a battlefield, its lethality was unimaginable.
"And... and..." Uchiha Akichi wasn't finished.
"And what?!"
Even with Izuna's calm personality, he began to feel a flare of anger.
"In the last battle, to cover the retreat of our main army, the Clan Head used an even more powerful Susanoo. His physical condition has deteriorated severely, and he is currently in recuperation."
An even more powerful Susanoo?
Izuna thought for a moment. That was likely the Armored Susanoo displayed by Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke in the original story.
The Mangekyo Sharingan's Susanoo had three forms: the skeletal form, the humanoid form, and the heavy armored form. The armored form was the strongest state of the standard Mangekyo Sharingan Susanoo.
In the original story, Sasuke went nearly blind after using it just once, immediately swapping for Itachi's eyes afterward. Of course, that was also because Sasuke courted death by using the Mangekyo wildly right after awakening it.
Itachi had likely used it sparingly, but the consumption the armored form demanded from the Mangekyo Sharingan was undoubtedly fatal.
"Vice-Clan Head, what should we do?" Uchiha Akichi asked urgently.
Originally, the situation had been roughly fifty-fifty, or at least forty-sixty. But losing two Kage-level powerhouses in one breath was a massive blow. Even Izuna hadn't anticipated that Hashirama would master Deep Forest Bloom and reverse the tide of battle to this extent.
"Pass on my command. Even if you have to use the clan's forbidden jutsu, Izanagi, it doesn't matter. The Mount Congyun frontal battlefield is to enter a state of total defense. Until the Clan Head and Gakugyo recover, no one is permitted to initiate an attack against the Senju."
"Yes, I will notify them immediately." Uchiha Akichi nodded heavily, then added, "But Vice-Clan Head, dragging this out isn't a long-term solution."
"I know. I have a plan."
Hearing Izuna say this, Uchiha Akichi felt much more relieved and withdrew from the tent to convey the orders.
In truth, Izuna did have a plan, but it had a prerequisite: he needed a decisive battle with Senju Yuma and Uzumaki Hiro'umi.
Since a month ago, those two old bastards had adopted a turtling strategy, refusing to come out. Originally, they could have pressed the attack.
From their strategy and the Senju's performance at Mount Congyun, Izuna could deduce exactly what those old foxes were thinking.
They were definitely planning to focus all their strength on the frontal battlefield. Once Mount Congyun was taken, Shirotani Pass wouldn't matter. The only reason they kept some forces here was that they feared he would copy Senju Tobirama's move from two years ago and raid the Senju homeland.
Izuna checked his System panel:
[Player: Uchiha Izuna]
[Cultivation: Kage-level]
[Chakra Nature: Fire, Wind, Lightning]
[Kekkai Genkai: Mangekyo Sharingan]
[Techniques: Sage Mode, Flying Thunder God - Level 2, Rasengan, Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, Blaze Release...]
And on the bottom row, it read—
[Skill Points: 284]
He was only a little bit away from exchanging for the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
If he was lucky, perhaps he could force those two old turtles, Senju Yuma and Uzumaki Hiro'umi, out into the open?
Although both Madara and Uchiha Gakugyo were injured, the Uchiha were still one of the two strongest clans. By entering a defensive state, even Senju Hashirama with his Deep Forest Bloom would find it difficult to breach their lines easily.
But it was only a matter of time.
After receiving Izuna's authorization, the Uchiha army at Mount Congyun immediately went on the defensive.
However, Uchiha Enka personally wrote to Izuna, stating that Senju Hashirama was simply too fierce. They were defending with everything they had, but at this rate, persisting for half a year was basically their limit. If they were unlucky, the defense line could be broken in three to four months.
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