"What on earth... is happening?"
Clan Leader Taishi Tsugawa stood by the window, watching the visible commotion, disturbance, and chaos outside, unable to help muttering under his breath.
Facing an invisible enemy, his heart had grown restless as well.
A terrible premonition kept surfacing in his mind.
Sure enough, his foreboding was quickly validated when a reconnaissance ninja burst in urgently.
The scout's gaze immediately locked onto the clan leader, then spoke at breakneck speed:
"Clan Leader, disaster! Elder Shūhei suddenly went berserk during his village patrol and brazenly attacked Captain Yoshihisa."
"After suffering severe injuries, Captain Yoshihisa managed to escape with difficulty, but when Captain Morita came to his aid, Yoshihisa suddenly became inexplicably horrified and irrationally killed Captain Morita."
"Then Captain Yoshihisa fled again."
"Currently, both Captain Yoshihisa and Elder Shūhei have vanished without a trace..."
Taishi Tsugawa blinked, first doubting his ears, then beginning to doubt his own mind.
What exactly was this person saying?
When Taishi Tsugawa's mind finally processed the specific meaning of this intelligence report, he felt his veins bulging, his temples throbbing on both sides.
"Why... what exactly happened?"
Despite receiving the latest intelligence, he almost instinctively repeated his earlier question.
Immediately, he conceived the most reasonable yet factually incorrect explanation: someone in the clan had fallen under enemy Genjutsu control—only those whose minds had been invaded would suddenly attack their own clansmen.
But his speculation was quickly disproven when new information arrived.
Another ninja approached him, saying:
"Clan Leader, we discovered Captain Yoshihisa's corpse. Based on his movement patterns after being wounded..."
"Based on what?"
"We deduce that Captain Yoshihisa was already dead before attacking Captain Morita. His body was found in an alley between the two squad deployment areas."
"What?"
Taishi Tsugawa felt his mind descending into chaos again, his thoughts growing increasingly muddled:
"If Yoshihisa died before Morita, then how did Morita die? Who killed him?"
At that moment, a third ninja rushed breathlessly to Taishi Tsugawa, his face showing urgency, bewilderment, and even terror:
"Clan Leader, we discovered Elder Shūhei's corpse in the deceased Captain Daisuke's residence. Judging by the body's condition, the elder died approximately one day ago."
After consideration, he added: "Most likely during the same time period as Captain Daisuke."
Taishi Tsugawa no longer felt dizzy—he felt a chill down his spine.
If Elder Shūhei died long ago, then who had been attending meetings here from yesterday until this morning?
Cold sweat trickled past Taishi Tsugawa's eyes. At this moment, he felt enveloped by endless darkness... Could the enemy transform into his clansmen without leaving any flaws whatsoever?
Could they even perfectly mimic chakra signatures?
The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became. Taishi Tsugawa quietly distanced himself from the three ninjas who had brought him the latest news.
In other words, from now on, not a single ninja in the clan was trustworthy—anyone could suddenly attack him.
"What... exactly are we fighting against?"
This clan leader's mood now far exceeded "storm clouds gathering"—he felt the entire ninja clan stood at a cliff's edge, where one careless step meant complete annihilation.
...
Yūshin, after burning two warehouses, killing several ninjas, and performing a somewhat manic show, had temporarily withdrawn from the village.
His feelings were complex. Just a few months ago, the Tsugawa Clan had been an irresistible colossus to him. When the Hagūgen Clan's village was overrun, any resistance he mounted seemed like an ant trying to stop a chariot.
Yet in such a short time, their positions had completely reversed.
The mighty Tsugawa Clan had become the vulnerable party.
On one hand, after strengthening his physique and chakra while mastering White Zetsu's infiltration abilities, Yūshin's strength had improved dramatically. On the other hand, the offensive-defensive relationship had fundamentally reversed.
Yūshin gained insight: ninjas were indeed a profession emphasizing extreme offense—sometimes only capable of actively initiating attacks.
His operations had proceeded so smoothly that they could be described quite colloquially: one bad apple spoils the whole barrel.
Though a bad apple is small, it certainly has the power to disgust people.
After regrouping with the other two, they each reported their respective progress.
Shichimi Uchiha and Gorō Fūma had ambushed several ninja squads and incidentally eliminated a combat squad captain—an unexpected bonus.
"What about the enemy clan leader?" Shichimi Uchiha asked Yūshin.
Yūshin grabbed a water bottle and gulped water furiously, then exhaled deeply before saying: "According to plan, he's still being kept alive."
It wasn't about sparing the clan leader, but according to Yūshin's conception, it was best to deal with him at the final moment... When a ninja clan had endured sufficient psychological pressure, the leader's death would mark their moment of collapse.
"So... the enemy high command now consists of only one clan leader, one elder, and one combat squad captain." Gorō Fūma counted on his fingers.
Yūshin nodded.
"Should we launch the planned assault on the village?" Shichimi Uchiha asked again.
Their ultimate objective was dispersing this ninja clan, so they had to create sufficient commotion.
"According to the original plan, we need to allow enough time for fear to spread, so we'll act in three days... By then our main force will arrive just in time, giving us sufficient personnel to clean up the battlefield."
Moldy things, after being sealed up for a while, become more sour and foul.
By this point, the Tsugawa Clan would never believe the attacks they suffered came from revenge by the obscure minor ninja clan they had destroyed. They would only think they had somehow offended some major power in the shinobi world, who was now toying with and destroying them.
Slightly extending the assault timeline would severely test their psychological endurance.
During these three days, Yūshin wouldn't remain idle. He would periodically infiltrate the Tsugawa village for assassinations or arson, keeping their nerves constantly taut without a moment's respite.
Time flew swiftly, soon reaching the evening of the third day.
Just three people, and the all-out assault on a ninja clan was about to begin.
According to plan, Yūshin would infiltrate the village interior for "center blooming" operations, while Shichimi Uchiha and Gorō Fūma would attack from outside inward.
Shichimi Uchiha and Gorō Fūma no longer concealed themselves. After an explosion sounded from within the village, the two strode boldly toward the village gates.
Simultaneously, Shichimi Uchiha began forming hand seals at an unhurried pace.
Perhaps because Yūshin had previously misunderstood the origin of her ninjutsu, she now decided to make a distinction, letting him understand that different Uchiha ninjas had different Fire Release techniques.
Though still quite distant from the village walls, Shichimi Uchiha had completed her hand seals and paused slightly.
At this distance, ordinary Fire Release techniques could never reach their target...
Shichimi Uchiha's nostrils flared slightly as she took a deep breath:
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation."
Yes...
This was Madara Uchiha's technique.
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