"Don't think you can run!"
Kaguya Manro paid no attention to the blind, doomed Uchiha jonin. His gaze turned skyward.
He leaped up, his body twisting as if boneless, and fired his finger bones.
Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!
Several bone bullets struck the legs of the ninja hawk carrying Madara and the other two.
The hawk let out a pained cry as its leg was hit, its body immediately flipping over. Madara and the two with him began to fall.
"Damn it! No matter what, we must let the Clan Head escape!"
Another Uchiha jonin roared, using the last of his chakra to attack downward. "Fire Release: Great Dragon Flame Song!"
Whoosh—
Six roaring dragon heads of flame surged downward. Though their power was formidable, the Kaguya ninja below were already prepared.
Hands pressed to the ground, rising bone frames blocked all the fire dragons.
Thud!
The three landed rather miserably on the ground. Madara's face was also covered in mud, his heart seething with frustration.
When had Uchiha Madara ever been this humiliated? Not even against Senju Hashirama!
He wanted to activate his Mangekyo again and charge back in for another fierce battle.
However, his chakra was nearly depleted, and his eyes were nearly blind—neither would allow it.
"Can we summon another ninja hawk?"
One of them asked, supporting Madara's shoulder.
The other gritted his teeth. "Even if we summon one, it won't be faster than their jutsu!"
The Uchiha summoning beast—the hawk.
This was not a speed-type summoning creature.
Their advantage lay primarily in flight, used for limited combat support and message delivery.
Though not slow, they couldn't evade attacks from jonin-level ninja.
Especially when there were so many of them.
"Forget it."
Madara suddenly spoke, startling the two. They hurriedly asked, "Clan Head, what do you mean?"
Madara said coldly, "Take whatever chakra you have left for Summoning Technique and Izanagi. Before we die, kill as many Kaguya ninja as you can. Every one counts."
"How can that be? We must let the Clan Head escape!"
The two were deeply anxious.
Madara's lips curved slightly. "Heh, do you think we can escape now?"
As he spoke, Madara raised his head slightly, signaling the two to look ahead.
The hundreds of Kaguya ninja who had blocked the Great Dragon Flame Song were now charging toward them again.
Madara pushed away the arm of the Uchiha jonin supporting him and forced himself to stand. Even at the end, he maintained his commanding, imperious presence. "I said, kill as many as you can! Use up every last bit of your chakra!"
In truth, the two knew they couldn't escape.
But they still wanted to cling to that nearly nonexistent hope.
Now, hearing Madara himself say it, they realized that sliver of hope had never existed from the start.
"Yes! Clan Head!"
Both gritted their teeth.
"We've killed enough today. The clans of the Warring States will know what fate awaits those who stand against the Uchiha. Our objective is achieved!" Madara shouted angrily, then laughed wildly. "And we've exceeded our goal!"
Hearing Madara's wild laughter, the other two couldn't help but smile as well.
Unlike the later Uchiha, completely bewitched by power and lost to their original purpose—this was the true Uchiha!
"Izuna, the future of the Uchiha is in your hands."
Madara thought inwardly.
The next moment, he prepared to risk going completely blind, to burn through the last of his life force and unleash the Mangekyo Sharingan one final time.
Whoooosh!!!
An extremely sharp sound of cutting wind arrived.
All three of them felt a wind pressure above their heads sharp enough to cut skin.
Meanwhile, Kaguya Taketo and the others' faces changed drastically, and they hurriedly pressed their hands to the ground once more.
Once again, rows of bone frames rose up with a hardness surpassing steel.
At the same time, Madara and the others finally saw what had flown overhead.
"Spiraling shuriken!"
One of them exclaimed.
After holding out for only three seconds, the spiraling shuriken pierced through the bone wall, splitting it in two.
Behind them, Kaguya Taketo cried out, "Get out of the way!"
Boom!!!
The spiraling shuriken crashed into the village behind them, erupting into a massive sphere of wind blades. The resulting gale scattered even the surrounding flames.
A shadow descended from the sky at the same time. Accompanied by the cry of a hawk, a silhouette appeared before the three.
"Dying now would be a bit too soon, wouldn't it?"
Izuna half-turned his head and smiled.
"Vice-Clan Head!"
The two exclaimed in joyful surprise, but due to severe physical exhaustion and a surge of emotion, they nearly collapsed.
"Izuna!"
Even Madara's voice trembled slightly.
Izuna immediately observed that Madara's eyes were completely spent.
He could no longer fight another battle.
Still, compared to the original story, he'd held out long enough, hadn't he? The Mangekyo really was a trap.
"Can you two at least still walk?"
Izuna turned his head back to the two Uchiha jonin.
"Yes."
They both responded quickly.
Izuna raised his right hand slightly. His ninja hawk descended from midair.
"Take Madara and go. I'll hold the rear."
Izuna said lightly.
"Vice-Clan Head, just you alone?"
As one helped Madara onto the hawk's back, the other asked worriedly.
"If I'd brought others, do you think I would've made it in time?"
Izuna laughed mockingly.
"Izuna, if you can't win, retreat quickly."
Madara said breathlessly.
"Big brother, you should worry about yourself more."
Izuna smiled.
Madara's disheveled state was something not even seen in the original story.
Covered in mud, his battle attire in tatters—he looked almost like a beggar.
If not for the limitations of technology and intelligence, he'd really want to take a photo of Madara right now so he could tease him about it later.
After all three mounted, the ninja hawk beat its wings and took off.
"Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"
Several Kaguya ninja saw Madara and the others attempting to flee again and quickly launched their attacks at the summoning beast.
Whoosh!!!
A silver-white flame ignited, forming a shield that easily deflected the Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets.
"Your opponent from now on is me."
Izuna raised both hands. "Could it be that my strength isn't enough to draw your attention?"
As he spoke, Sage Mode markings appeared at the corners of Izuna's eyes.
"Uchiha Izuna—"
Kaguya Manro ground his teeth. Though unwilling to let Uchiha Madara and the others escape like this, the other was right—this was an emergency.
"This is the second battle, isn't it? And just like last time, one against an entire clan. How about we exchange greetings first?"
Izuna smiled lightly. In the next instant, his hand seals were complete.
"Sage Art: Blaze Release: Imperial Flame of Heaven's Mandate!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!
An S-rank fire-lightning fusion Blaze Release that could be said to surpass ninety percent of all jutsu in the current Uchiha arsenal—even those of later generations—erupted like a tsunami.
With just the first move, he demonstrated to the entire Kaguya clan the vast gulf between the two brothers, Madara and Izuna.
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