"We won! We actually won!"
On the battlefield, the Uzumaki clan's ninja bore witness to Heiyan's three-man squad defeating the Seven Swordsmen of the Bloody Mist. A surge of encouragement and strength surged through them.
Many among them had healed their wounds during this time. Now emboldened by the victory, they threw themselves back into combat to pursue the retreating forces.
In stark contrast stood the remaining two thousand Mist ninja, all wearing expressions of sheer terror, as if they had witnessed the end of the world.
The Seven Swordsmen had been defeated—and utterly annihilated without exception.
Faced with this situation, not a single Mist soldier wished to continue fighting. Under pursuit by the Uzumaki clan, the entire army broke formation and fled in panic.
Heiyan looked toward the distance and noticed that Fugaku and Hiashi had also finished off their respective opponents. He picked up Samehada, Fangs of Lightning, and the shattered Cleaver Sword.
He planned to gather all seven ninja swords first before deciding on the next steps.
However, just as Heiyan prepared to reunite with his companions, he suddenly froze mid-movement, sensing an immense danger approaching.
"Watch out!"
From afar, both Fugaku and Hiashi cried out simultaneously, rushing forward instantly to provide backup support.
But it was already too late.
[Roar!]
With a thunder-like roar, under everyone's horrified gaze, a massive black panther burst lightning-fast onto the battlefield. Black lightning surged around its body, radiating a terrifying aura capable of obliterating everything.
And the monstrous beast's target—without a doubt—was Heiyan himself, standing right at the center of the battlefield.
Heiban-cha?
As the electrified feline charged straight at him, Heiyan narrowed his eyes.
Heiban-cha was a Lightning Release jutsu previously used by Tarui, the Fifth Raikage in another timeline.
This Black Lightning jutsu, due to its violently uncontrollable nature, proved extremely difficult to handle. Mishandling could easily lead to self-injury, which is why only those with advanced mastery of Lightning Release were permitted to use it.
To Heiyan's knowledge, the inventor of this particular jutsu was none other than Tarui, the man he once fought against.
So, it finally arrived, huh?
Thinking about this, Heiyan stood still on the spot, letting his arms fall loosely by his sides, appearing to completely abandon resistance or evasion.
Why?
Because this Shadow Clone had already consumed considerable chakra during previous battles, and would soon dissolve automatically anyway.
Rather than struggle pointlessly, better to vanish quickly and transmit what information he'd gathered back to his original body.
So—
Boom!
Before the eyes of everyone present, the black panther slammed violently into Heiyan, enveloping his form entirely within a blinding burst of black lightning.
For a long moment, the electricity gradually faded away.
Then, a towering figure over two meters tall stood motionless where the impact occurred. The man possessed wild-looking long yellow hair, bore a tattoo of the kanji for "Lightning" upon his right shoulder, and was surrounded by a swirling shield of blue lightning.
Third Raikage!
"A Shadow Clone, huh."
Looking down at the "corpse" of Heiyan vanishing into a puff of white smoke, the Third Raikage furrowed his brow slightly. Then, scanning the battlefield below, he sent an imposing gaze sweeping slowly across Fugaku, Hiashi, and the Uzumaki forces.
Anyone who met his gaze either wore a grim expression or instinctively showed fear.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Behind the Third Raikage, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Burubi, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, and several thousand Cloud ninja troops descended onto the battlefield.
But it didn't end there.
From another direction, over two thousand Mist ninja and a bounty hunter legion of hundreds rushed forward in forced march formation. Leading them was none other than Mist's Third Mizukage, accompanied by Black Zetsu and Kakuzu.
The enemy's main force had finally made its full appearance.
At this moment, crowds packed the area, completely surrounding Uzugakure from all directions, cutting off every escape route for the Uzumaki clan.
"This…" Ashina Uzumaki found himself at a loss for words, overwhelmed by unprecedented despair. After living all these years, he had never witnessed such a massive and overwhelming display before.
Even Konoha itself would likely fall easily to the alliance formed by Cloud, Mist, and Golden Exchange—let alone a Uzugakure that only numbered a few hundred ninja?
Although Ashina had just seen how one of Heiyan's Shadow Clones was defeated, could even Heiyan himself possibly defeat the Third Raikage?
Not to mention, besides the Third Raikage, the enemy alliance also contained numerous experts, including several Kage-level powerhouses.
On their side, only three reinforcements had arrived.
The imbalance in strength was simply too great…
Right then.
Swoosh!
From within the Mist ranks, the leading Third Mizukage suddenly lunged forward directly at Fugaku Uchiha. The eyes he kept closed most of the time were now wide open—revealing unmistakably marked triple-tomoe Sharingan patterns.
Controlled like a puppet by Madara Uchiha, the Third Mizukage acted entirely under Madara's will.
Now, without question, the Mizukage's mission was to kill Fugaku—the traitorous "double agent"—on behalf of Uchiha Madara, reclaim the counterfeit blazing war fan, and take his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Leaping high into the air, the Third Mizukage rapidly performed hand seals. Then came a shocking sight.
Shuu!
A blue ice pillar—more than ten meters long and thick enough for several people to embrace together—materialized from the Mizukage's chakra and hurtled down from midair, shrieking straight toward Fugaku.
[Ice Release: Great Ice Spear!]
He had launched an attack with the Kekkei Genkai Ice Release right away.
"So another puppet under Genjutsu control by the Sharingan," Fugaku Uchiha murmured, realizing at once upon seeing the Mizukage's eyes that the mysterious Uchiha figure previously appearing at the Valley of the End must be behind this. Truthfully, he was somewhat shocked—after all, this was the leader of an entire village, yet even he had become a Sharingan puppet.
It seemed the ocular power of the Eternal Mangekyou was even stronger than he'd imagined.
However, facing the Third Mizukage's Ice Release assault, Fugaku showed no fear at all—for he happened to possess exactly the technique needed to counter it.
He quickly began performing hand seals—but with each hand moving independently, one finishing with the "Tatsu" (Dragon) seal and the other with the "Tora" (Tiger) seal.
Then, two distinctly different chakra natures fused within Fugaku's body before bursting forth from his mouth in a torrent of flame, forming a fireball that shot straight ahead!
This fireball might seem similar to the Fireball Technique at first glance, but it was actually entirely different.
Because this was a Scorch Release fireball.
Boom!
As it flew forward at breakneck speed, the fireball spun violently. This was because its surface was tightly wrapped in a layer of Wind Release.
The fire and wind fused—wind fanning the flames, and flames whipping the wind—making the fireball swell mid-air until it spanned over ten meters wide.
One year ago, Fugaku received instructions on developing the Scorch Release from Heiyan. After secretly training for so long, he'd finally completed the basic development of this Kekkei Genkai.
Boom!
Before countless watching eyes, the Scorch Release fireball and the giant ice pillar violently collided midair, instantly triggering a massive explosion that shook the entire battlefield.
Countless fragments of Scorch Release and Ice Release scattered like flower petals falling from the sky, spreading across every corner of the battlefield.
Fugaku Uchiha and the Third Mizukage—the opening clash between them was already fiercer than the earlier battle against the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist.
"Damn it."
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