Dawn was breaking, the sky gradually turning pale.
On a hill outside Kikyō Mountain Fortress, Uchiha Ren and Hizashi Hyūga stood side by side on the branch of a large tree, gazing toward the dim forest in the distance.
"Five kilometers! The enemy is moving fast—everyone prepare!"
Hizashi suddenly spoke up with a warning.
As his voice fell, shadows flashed through the forest below. One after another, shinobi scattered outward, disappearing back into the darkness in an instant.
Ren asked, "Do you see any elite opponents on their side?"
Hizashi shook his head and pointed in a direction.
"Not yet. I don't sense any extremely powerful chakra. But the chakra concentration is highest over there—that should be their main attack direction."
Ren followed the direction Hizashi indicated. That hill was being defended by Obito Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake .
His thoughts stirred slightly.
During the earlier war council, Shikaku Nara had pushed Konoha's defensive line outward to the four mountains closest to Kikyō Mountain Fortress.
The original plan was:
Uchiha Ren and Namikaze Minato each defending one mountain.Might Duy and Hiashi Hyūga jointly defending another.Ino–Shika–Chō together with Kushina Uzumaki defending the last.
This ensured that each mountain had one or two shinobi capable of holding their own, preventing the enemy from exploiting a weak point.
However, Ren had instead pushed Obito Uchiha forward, letting him and Kakashi Hatake take the position originally assigned to Ino–Shika–Chō and Kushina. Meanwhile, Ino–Shika–Chō and Kushina were moved to the rear to oversee the overall battlefield.
In Ren's view, although the Ino–Shika–Chō combination could restrain or even defeat ordinary Kage-level opponents, using them that way would be a tremendous waste of their abilities.
Within their trio:
Shikaku Nara 's strategic geniusInoichi Yamanaka 's Mind Transmission techniques
could exert far greater influence from the rear command.
Chōza Akimichi , meanwhile, could serve as their bodyguard, ensuring their safety while they directed the battle.
As for Obito, there was no need to say more.
He now possessed dual Mangekyō Sharingan Kamui along with Hashirama Cells—his strength was no weaker than Minato's, perhaps even greater.
Although Obito still lacked battlefield experience, pairing him with Kakashi, who had resumed practicing the Hatake clan's swordsmanship, was more than enough to hold a defensive line.
With Obito stationed there, that hill's defense was nothing to worry about.
"One kilometer! Prepare for contact!"
Hizashi called out again.
The sharp whistle of arrows cutting through the air rang out.
The Hyūga clan archers had already begun their assault, harvesting the lives of enemy shinobi one after another.
"Five hundred meters!"
Hizashi spoke again.
Ren could now clearly see figures rapidly approaching through the distant forest.
"Three hundred meters!"
Hizashi warned.
Ren began forming hand seals, gathering chakra.
"One hundred meters!"
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Ren opened his mouth and expelled a vast sea of flames that surged forward like a raging inferno, sweeping across the battlefield.
Earthen walls suddenly rose up.
The roaring sea of fire was split apart into more than a dozen rushing streams of flame.
"It's Uchiha Ren!"
Someone within the Allied Shinobi Forces (Three-Village Alliance) recognized him and shouted a warning.
At the same time, two figures pushed through the ranks from the rear and rapidly advanced toward the battlefield.
"Kill!"
The Konoha defenders and the allied shinobi forces clashed head-on.
The battle instantly descended into fierce close combat.
Ren casually beheaded an Iwagakure shinobi, then glanced toward the nearby mountains. Fighting had also broken out there, with both sides already locked in melee.
But something felt strange.
Neither there nor here had any particularly intense chakra fluctuations.
The enemy's true elites had yet to enter the battle.
Ren cut down several more Iwa shinobi who rushed toward him.
Flames erupted across his body, pushing his speed to the limit as he flashed forward into the enemy formation.
"Fire Release Chakra Mode!"
If their elites wouldn't show themselves—then he would kill until they did.
Ren's figure flickered repeatedly, reaping the lives of allied shinobi one after another.
"Earth Release: Rock Fist!"
After Ren had slain more than a dozen Iwa ninja in succession, a burly man wearing an Iwagakure forehead protector burst from the crowd.
His arm was coated in hardened stone as he blocked Ren's Zanka no Tachi for one of his comrades.
"You're cutting down my companions like vegetables… that's not very polite."
The man shook his arm, knocking Ren back before speaking coldly.
It was Kitsuchi of Iwagakure.
"Lava Release: Scorching River Eruption!"
Just as Ren landed, a massive torrent of molten lava surged toward him like a blazing river.
Ren lightly tapped the ground and leapt into the air.
But when the lava river slammed into the earth, it erupted into waves of molten rock that spread in all directions—leaving Ren with nowhere to land.
Flames instantly burst from beneath his feet.
Using the recoil, Ren flipped through the air and landed atop a tree more than ten meters away.
He turned his gaze toward the one who had launched the lava attack—a red-haired old man in purple robes.
With a strange tone, Ren said,
"So it's Rōshi, the Four-Tails jinchūriki… I almost thought Akainu had shown up."
"What Akainu or whatever—Uchiha Ren, your death is at hand!"
Rōshi had no interest in banter. Wanting to end the fight quickly, he formed hand seals and spat several enormous lava fireballs toward Ren.
"Fire Release: Fire Fist!"
Ren swung his arm.
A massive flaming fist shot forward, smashing the incoming lava fireballs aside before he immediately slashed his sword through the air.
"Fire Release: Solar Blaze Slash!"
A blazing arc of fire surged toward Rōshi.
But the old man snorted coldly.
Without dodging, he charged straight into the incoming slash.
"Earth Release: Earth Spear Barrage!"
At that moment, the ground within dozens of meters beneath Ren suddenly bulged upward.
Sharp earth spears erupted from the ground, stabbing toward him during the brief opening created by his attack.
The timing was perfect.
Ren had no chance to evade.
Puchi!
A thick earth spear pierced straight through Ren's body.
Ren looked toward Kitsuchi, who still held his hand seals.
A trace of seriousness appeared in his eyes.
"Lava Release: Undersea Needle!"
At that moment, Rōshi burst out of the sea of flames.
His entire body burned with blazing fire as he punched Ren—
shattering him into a scattering storm of flames.
Rōshi had already entered Lava Release Chakra Mode.
His original appearance was almost unrecognizable. His body had transformed into scorching magma, cloaked in a blazing flame mantle—much like Ren's own chakra cloak.
Ren's gaze sharpened.
Kitsuchi… and Rōshi, the Four-Tails jinchūriki.
Now things were getting troublesome.
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