Haruto quickly signaled with his hands for the clan members to concentrate their attacks at a single point.
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
Eight Uchiha unleashed Fire Release in unison toward the same direction. A raging inferno surged forward, colliding head-on with the enemy's water dragon.
They managed to repel the assault, but even Haruto himself, along with the other Uchiha, couldn't help being forced several steps back. The sheer force behind that jutsu was obvious.
Especially for Senju Haruto.
Though he had yet to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, he was still among the clan's top fighters. In both fame and skill, Haruto considered himself second only to Uchiha Fugaku.
Yet even so, he had needed to combine forces with seven other clan members just to barely neutralize that single technique.
"Sure, Water Style naturally has an advantage over Fire Style… but this guy's jutsu is on another level," Haruto muttered, drawing a sharp breath between his teeth.
He also noticed that the dense mist from earlier had thinned considerably due to the clash of ninjutsu. Their visibility was now far clearer than before—several times better, in fact.
Thanks to that, Haruto and the others could finally get a good look at their opponents.
Several shinobi in Kirigakure uniforms stood respectfully behind a small boy. The way they held themselves around him left no doubt about his importance.
And yet, that child gave Haruto a profound sense of danger.
Green hair. Violet eyes. A scar beneath his left eye like the mark of crude stitching. In his hands, a strange staff-like weapon tipped with a hook, decorated with green flowers.
"So this is the might of the Uchiha Clan? To think you could block my Water Style…"
While Haruto was sizing up the boy, the boy was also studying the Konoha shinobi before him.
This boy was none other than the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure—Kujaku Yakura.
His gaze sharpened as he took in the sight: every ninja blocking his way bore a three-tomoe Sharingan.
There was no mistaking it. Not only were these men Uchiha, they were all fully matured three-tomoe users.
"It seems their Sharingan will make fine spoils of war," said Ao, standing beside Yakura, without a second thought.
Ever since acquiring the Byakugan, Ao had come to appreciate the immense advantages of dōjutsu. While the Sharingan was different from the Byakugan, he certainly didn't underestimate it.
"Who are you?" Haruto asked warily, eyes fixed on Yakura.
"You don't even know who I am?" Yakura chuckled lightly.
Then again, it wasn't surprising. Though Konoha and Kirigakure had enjoyed long stretches of peace, no formal alliance existed between them. Kirigakure shinobi—especially someone like Yakura—had no reason to visit the Leaf.
Without a distinct trait like the Sharingan to identify him, it was natural these Uchiha didn't recognize his face.
"I am the Mizukage of Kirigakure."
The smile vanished from Yakura's lips, replaced by a sharp focus as chakra flared.
In Yakura's mind, the first battle was the decisive one—the clash that would set the tone for the war. A swift, crushing victory here would shatter enemy morale and let Kirigakure advance like a tidal wave.
That was why he had personally come to this battlefield. And finding the Uchiha here only heightened his anticipation.
Every shinobi in the ninja world knew the Uchiha name. Beyond genjutsu, their greatest strength was Fire Release.
And Yakura, as Mizukage, was their natural predator. Not only was he a master of Water Release, but as the Three-Tails' jinchūriki, his vast chakra reserves allowed him to unleash water techniques the enemy could scarcely endure.
His hands flashed through seals—an A-rank jutsu, far deadlier than Water Dragon Bullet.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Drawing on the Three-Tails' chakra, Yakura conjured a massive waterfall nearly a hundred meters wide, in the middle of this waterless terrain, and sent it crashing toward Haruto and the others.
Haruto's Sharingan widened. For a moment, he was at a loss.
If they could leverage the terrain for Earth Release, perhaps they could block it. But their specialties were all Fire Release.
And more importantly…
Haruto had never imagined that the Mizukage himself would appear here—let alone run straight into him.
"Retreat!"
It was the only order he could give.
But the Great Waterfall's range was far greater than he'd feared. At their speed, there was no escaping.
BOOM!
The crushing water pressure slammed into Haruto's chest, the roaring flood swallowing him whole.
The rest of the Uchiha fared no better. Not one escaped Yakura's jutsu.
RUMBLE!
The torrent swept forward, uprooting towering trees as if they were weeds.
When the waters finally receded, the battlefield was nothing short of a disaster zone.
Haruto lay sprawled on the ground, his body utterly drained of strength. The impact had cracked several of his ribs.
In a twisted way, he felt relieved he hadn't brought the entire clan. If all the Uchiha had been here, the death toll from that single jutsu would have been unimaginable.
Though Yakura had used the Great Waterfall Technique…
To Haruto, it felt like something beyond Water Release—more like an ocean-style jutsu.
Forcing deep breaths into his lungs, Haruto pushed himself upright, only to see Yakura and his men descending from above.
"Impressive," Yakura said, looking at Haruto and the others. "To take my Water Release head-on and remain conscious—you truly live up to the Uchiha name."
Though they were now incapable of fighting, Yakura still acknowledged their prowess.
But that was as far as it went.
"So, you're the Mizukage," Haruto said, lifting his head to meet Yakura's eyes. "That means if I can take you down here and now… this war ends."
Even in the jaws of defeat, there was still a sliver of hope.
And the Uchiha weren't without genjutsu masters beyond Shisui, Itsuka, and Itachi. Haruto himself was among the clan's finest illusionists.
The moment their eyes locked, Haruto launched his genjutsu, intending to force Yakura to slaughter his own men before finishing him off.
But Yakura surged forward, swinging his strange weapon, tearing a deep, bloody wound across Haruto's chest.
Haruto's eyes went wide in shock as blood gushed from the gash. His genjutsu… had no effect?
"I forgot to mention," Yakura said in a low, cold voice, "I'm not just the Mizukage—I'm also the Three-Tails' jinchūriki. Illusions don't work on me."
None of them noticed the masked man in black watching the battle from the shadows.