Along the northern border of the Land of Fire where it meets the Land of Fields, a heavy stench of blood hung thick through the dense forest.
The last light of the setting sun filtered down through gaps in the leaves, casting the bloodstains on the ground in a harsh and vivid glare.
The survivors of a Konoha border patrol unit were being driven into a desperate corner by elite Kumogakure ninja. The trees all around were covered in the scorched marks left behind by Lightning Style jutsu.
"Captain, we can't hold on any longer!"
A Konoha ninja pressed a hand over his bleeding abdomen and shouted in a hoarse voice.
The Hyūga branch family ninja leading them had the veins around his Byakugan bulging visibly. His face had gone as white as paper.
His right arm had been pierced clean through by a Lightning Style jutsu and hung limp at his side.
"Hold on! Reinforcements will arrive soon!"
He forced the words out through gritted teeth, but in his heart he had already given up hope.
The Kumogakure assault had come with terrifying speed. The border outpost had been destroyed almost in an instant. Even the messenger hawks had barely gotten airborne before being shot down.
"Hahahaha! Trash from Konoha, your masters from Kumogakure are here!!"
A Kumogakure jonin bared his teeth in a vicious grin. The lightning blade in his hand crackled with blinding arcs of electricity.
"Today I'll show you what real power looks like!"
Lightning Style, Thunder Tiger Strike!
A raging surge of lightning took the shape of a great tiger and came roaring down toward the Konoha ninja.
The Hyūga ninja barely managed to set up a Rotation stance, but in his badly wounded state he had no chance of mounting a full defense.
The lightning was about to swallow them all.
"Fire Style, Great Fire Dragon Jutsu!"
A massive fire dragon suddenly came howling out from deep in the forest and crashed violently into the thunder tiger. The shockwave from the explosion tore the surrounding trees clean out of the ground.
When the smoke and dust cleared, dozens of figures had appeared in front of the surviving Konoha ninja. At the front stood Uchiha Chiya.
"It's the Uchiha! Reinforcements!!"
The Konoha ninja cried out with overwhelming relief. Several of them even collapsed on the spot from the sudden release of tension.
Chiya's gaze swept across the battlefield. A flash of cold clarity passed through his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
He sensed that among the Kumogakure ninja present, there were no high-level combatants.
'A little disappointing.'
"Uchiha Clan, hear my order!"
He spoke in a low, steady voice.
"These Kumogakure ninja are yours to handle. Let me see what these years of training have produced."
The Uchiha ninja, who had been holding back their burning frustration for far too long, exploded with tremendous fighting spirit in an instant.
"Yes! Clan Head!"
They answered in unison and launched themselves at the Kumogakure forces like starving wolves.
"Sharingan? Hmph!"
The Kumogakure jonin curled his lip with contempt. The lightning blade in his hand crackled to life again.
Lightning Style, Thunder Flash Step!
His figure vanished in an instant. A split second later he appeared behind a Uchiha ninja, his lightning blade driving straight for the man's heart.
"Clang!"
The sound of metal meeting metal rang out. The Uchiha ninja had turned at some point no one could identify, and the katana in his hand had blocked the lightning blade with precise accuracy.
The three-tomoe Sharingan rotated slowly. The corner of the Uchiha ninja's mouth curved into a cold smile.
"Too slow."
"Fire Style, Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"
From nearby, another Uchiha burst up out of the ground.
His Sharingan rotated slightly. His hands flew through seals, and several spheres of flame shot from his mouth, detonating at close range against the Kumogakure jonin's chest.
The jonin let out a scream and was sent flying backward. His chest was a scorched ruin.
On the other side.
Three Uchiha jonin stood back to back in a triangular formation, facing the Kumogakure ninja closing in from all sides.
"Fire Style, Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Fire Style, Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
"Fire Style, Flame Bullet!"
Three different Fire Style jutsu erupted at the same moment. The scorching flames wove together into a net of death, sealing off every escape route for the surrounding Kumogakure ninja and consuming them all within it.
"Genjutsu, Sharingan!"
A young Uchiha girl did nothing more than glance lightly in a direction. The Kumogakure ninja whose eyes met hers froze on the spot.
A look of sheer terror rose in his eyes. Then he fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth.
As more and more Uchiha joined the assault and entered the battle,
the fight became entirely one-sided.
The Uchiha ninja moved as though passing through empty space. The Sharingan allowed them to anticipate every movement the Kumogakure ninja made, and the Fire Style jutsu pressed the enemy into constant retreat.
The speed that the Kumogakure forces prided themselves on held no advantage whatsoever against the Sharingan. In fact, their heavy reliance on Lightning Style had left them with no real means of countering genjutsu.
The genjutsu ninja of the Kurama Clan stood at the edge of the battlefield, watching the scene unfold with their mouths hanging open.
They had been prepared to deploy their clan's secret genjutsu in support, but they found there was simply no opening for them to step in at all.
"This... is this the true strength of the Uchiha Clan?"
One Kurama Clan chunin swallowed hard, his voice slightly unsteady.
"This is terrifying. Those Kumogakure ninja look like children in front of them."
Another murmured quietly.
Kurama Clan Head, Kurama Sōun, drew a deep breath. His eyes were filled with shock and awe.
"No wonder the Third assigned them to face Kumogakure..."
On the battlefield, the last remaining Kumogakure jonin was cornered by three Uchiha ninja.
He had been scorched to tatters by Fire Style jutsu, burns covering him in several places.
"Damn Konoha... damn Uchiha..."
He cursed through clenched teeth, but his eyes were full of fear.
"It's over."
The lead Uchiha jonin closed in and said coldly.
The three-tomoe Sharingan spun sharply.
A look of confusion entered the Kumogakure jonin's eyes. In the instant his mind was seized by the genjutsu, a kunai had already been driven through his throat.
As the last enemy fell, silence returned to the forest. Only the occasional crackling of burning flames broke through it.
Chiya was very satisfied with the Uchiha's performance.
"Clear the battlefield!"
At Chiya's command, the Uchiha ninja began clearing the battlefield in an orderly manner and tending to their wounded Konoha comrades.
"Clan Head Chiya! We..."
Kurama Sōun looked at Chiya and came forward.
Chiya took one look at the lost expression on his face and knew what was going through his mind.
He walked over and gave him a pat on the shoulder.
"Help us clear the battlefield!"
Hearing the order, a look of genuine excitement spread across Kurama Sōun's face.
He turned and walked away, giving the order to the Kurama ninja.
Chiya walked at an easy pace toward the Hyūga branch family ninja who had been leading the border patrol and reached out to help him to his feet.
"You worked hard. You all did well."
He said warmly, and at the same time signaled for a medical ninja to come and treat him.
The Hyūga ninja was too overcome to find words and could only nod repeatedly.
He had never imagined he would be personally helped to his feet by the head of the Uchiha Clan.
Uchiha Chiya, the very person his own clan head spoke of with the greatest admiration!!
"Sensei."
Shisui came to Chiya's side. A thoughtful light shimmered in his eyes.
"The Kumogakure ninja were a little weaker than I expected."
Chiya gave a slight shake of his head.
"It is not that they are weak. It is that we were well prepared.
The years of training the Uchiha have put in were not wasted."
He looked around. He could see that even after winning an overwhelming victory, none of the Uchiha ninja had let it go to their heads. Every one of them was calmly drawing lessons from the battle. That satisfied him greatly.
"Clan Head Kurama."
Chiya turned toward the Kurama clan members standing nearby.
"Although there was no chance to display the Kurama Clan's genjutsu this time, we will still need your strength in the battles ahead."
The Kurama Clan Head quickly bowed.
"Clan Head Chiya, you are too kind. Simply witnessing the Uchiha Clan fight with our own eyes has already been an honor.
If you have need of us, the Kurama Clan will give everything we have in support!"
Chiya gave a nod, then raised his voice to address everyone.
"This victory is only the beginning!
Kumogakure will not let this go. We must establish a solid defensive line and prepare to receive a far more intense offensive!"
"Yes!"
Everyone answered in unison, their confidence running high.
The sound echoed through the forest.
Night fell. The Uchiha ninja established a temporary camp on the foundation of the old Konoha outpost.
"Shriek!"
At that moment, a sharp cry rang out from high in the sky.
A Konoha messenger hawk descended from above.
━━━━━━━━━━━━
❤️ Enjoying the Story?
⭐ Every 500 Powerstones = 1 Bonus Chapter!
📖 Read 120 chapters ahead on Patreon.
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
Thank you for your support!
━━━━━━━━━━━━