"Mr. Izuna, are you sure you've thought this through?"
As Izuna jumped in front of them, Kaguya Manro and the others' faces turned dark. "If we take Uzushiogakure, not only Uzumaki Mito, but the Uzumaki's resources as a whole—Uchiha could take half of it. That's a tremendous gain."
Izuna only smiled, saying nothing. After Manro finished, Izuna rolled his neck and said, "Enough nonsense. I'll give you a chance to live."
"Withdraw from the Land of Whirlpools immediately, and I won't make a move."
Manro's face darkened even further. They were only a few miles from Uzushiogakure now.
How could they possibly let the fat that was already at their mouths fly away?
Even if they had long heard of Izuna's reputation, it changed nothing.
"It seems Mr. Izuna intends to disregard the interests of his clan and act on his own. In that case, we can only—"
"Wait, Clan Head."
Just as Manro was about to order the full strength of the 500 Kaguya ninja he'd brought to attack, Kaguya Taketori spoke up to stop him.
Manro frowned at his second-in-command, and Taketori lowered his voice. "Leaving aside how strong Uchiha Izuna really is—if we injure him, we'll face the wrath of the Uchiha, the Uzumaki, and the Senju. Even if we take Uzushiogakure, it won't be worth it."
Manro's heart jolted.
True. Today's move had already offended the Uzumaki and the Senju. Even if they wiped the Uzumaki out clean today, if they also injured Uchiha Izuna, they'd be offending two great clans at once—the Senju and the Uchiha.
Not worth it.
With that thought, Manro's mind spun rapidly. He changed his tune and shouted at Izuna, "Mr. Izuna, while our two clans can't ally to attack the Uzumaki now, the Kaguya clan also doesn't wish to damage our relationship with the Uchiha."
"How about this: you and I fight one-on-one. If you win, I, Kaguya Manro, will withdraw my troops from the Land of Whirlpools at once. If you lose, then the Uchiha must not interfere in this matter."
As soon as Manro said it, before Izuna could even respond, Uzumaki Hiro'umi, Uzumaki Wakou, the Uzumaki, and even some of the Senju ninja across from them all wore complicated expressions—some almost couldn't hold back their laughter.
A one-on-one with Uchiha Izuna?
Was this man out of his mind?
Across the entire Warring States era, besides Senju Hashirama, who would even dare to say something like that?
Looks like he'd been stuck out on some backwater island for too long; he didn't even know the most basic intelligence.
But it wasn't hard to see why Manro dared to propose it.
He was from the same generation as Uchiha Tajima and Senju Butsuma.
Even though illness plagued him, aside from shortening his lifespan, it hadn't significantly weakened his strength.
More importantly, the Kaguya clan couldn't afford the consequences of offending both the Senju and the Uchiha.
Izuna found it amusing inside, but he didn't show much on the surface—only a faint upward arc at the corner of his mouth. "Heh. Fine. As you like."
"Then excuse me."
The fingertip bones on all ten of Manro's fingers slowly protruded.
In the next instant, Manro snapped his arm—ten grains of fingertip bone shot toward Izuna so fast the naked eye couldn't even track them.
Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!
But under the Mangekyo Sharingan's ocular power, the attack might as well have been standing still.
Izuna casually lifted one hand. A wisp of silvery flame flared up and blocked every single bone projectile.
With another flick of his hand, he scattered them across the ground.
It all happened too fast. The Kaguya ninja opposite him didn't even react in time.
"What was that jutsu?"
"Just now, it looked like silver flames rose from Uchiha Izuna's hand?"
"He blocked the Clan Head's Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets that easily—how is that possible?"
They all felt it was fast, but among the Senju and Uzumaki in the rear, the ninja with experience fighting the Uchiha could tell—
That was Susanoo!
He'd only used a small portion, just enough to block Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets.
Uchiha Izuna hadn't even tried!
"I want to take my beauty home sooner. Hurry it up. Otherwise..." Halfway through, Izuna's tone deepened—no, his killing intent did—until he enunciated each word. "I won't be able to stop myself from killing you~~"
Manro's face jerked. An involuntary chill rose in his chest.
"Me... being intimidated by the presence of some punk barely in his twenties?"
He couldn't believe it. With one sharp pull, he yanked out his entire spine, turning it into a long whip.
"Dance of the Clematis!!"
Manro swung the bone whip. Izuna's left eye—his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan—shifted slightly, and the Mangekyo's ocular power laid bare every trajectory of Manro's attacks.
So he meant to coil me up with this?
Susanoo's ribcage shield rose, wrapping Izuna's body within.
As Manro swung, the bone whip stretched longer and longer, wrapping Izuna together with the outer shell of Susanoo's shield.
"Bloom."
Manro spoke softly, and the bones of his left arm surged outward. Bone after bone poured from within his body, swelling and expanding until it became an enormous bone spear the size of an adult human!
"Hrah!"
With a furious shout, Manro thrust the bone spear straight into Susanoo's shield.
Clang—
At the moment of contact, a shriek like metal grinding against metal tore through the air.
Three seconds later, the outer shell of Susanoo's shield began to crackle with a sound like plastic splintering.
Even stronger than Kaguya clan's Kimimaro? Izuna thought.
"You've thrown two moves already. How about I return one?"
Izuna spoke suddenly.
He wasn't Gaara—someone who only knew how to rely on defense, standing there and waiting for the other person to break through.
As his ocular power and Chakra surged, silvery, flame-shaped Chakra flared over Susanoo's shield.
A bone-shaped Chakra giant rose up, startling the Kaguya ninja who were seeing it for the first time.
Manro looked up as well, only to see the bone-shaped Susanoo swing a thrusting sword down at him.
With no other choice, Manro retreated in a burst to dodge.
Boom!!!
The Chakra thrusting sword slammed down, pulverizing the spot where Manro had stood. Gravel and sand blasted outward, forcing ninja on both sides to retreat rapidly.
"The defense got stronger!"
Manro's heart tightened as he stared at the crack he'd created earlier.
That spot had already repaired itself under Izuna's Chakra reinforcement, and it was obvious the defensive thickness had increased too.
"Clan Head—under your feet."
From behind, Taketori reminded him in a low voice.
"I know."
Manro's gaze shifted to Izuna's feet—there was no Susanoo protection there.
Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Seedling Fern!
In the next instant, Manro slammed both hands to the ground.
Countless massive bone spikes erupted from the earth.
In later generations, the Dance of the Seedling Fern that Kimimaro used already covered a terrifying area.
Manro's strength surpassed his—needless to say what it meant in his hands.
Led by Grand Elder Uzumaki Hiro'umi, the Uzumaki ninja moved at once.
"Barrier: Space Separation!"
Countless transparent shields formed before the Uzumaki and the Senju, temporarily holding back the advancing Dance of the Seedling Fern.
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