"Huh…"
Raizen exhaled a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, sitting atop the giant clay bird. Chakra was running thin, and he didn't want to waste it. He nudged the bird upward, higher and higher, until they pierced the clouds. Below, the battlefield had shrunk into a chaotic tapestry of movement—ninja coalitions weaving through smoke, mud, and flashes of chakra.
The Uchiha coalition had broken through the Hyuga blockade, slowly forcing the Hyuga forces back. But the Hyuga didn't appear to be fully defending—they were letting the Uchiha push deeper into Lingshan Canyon.
"Classic," Raizen muttered. "They're baiting them… trying to wipe the Uchiha in one sweep."
From his high perch, he analyzed the situation: the Uchiha vanguard was likely pinned deep in the canyon, surrounded on all sides. Even if the reinforcements reached them, the Hyuga would attack from behind, cutting off escape routes. And at the canyon's mouth lay the Hyuga base camp, a fortress ready to crush anyone trying to flee.
"What kind of force is strong enough for the Uchiha to risk a full rescue?" Raizen thought, his eyes narrowing. The vanguard's strength had to be enormous—enough that the Uchiha coalition would gamble their lives to pull them out.
As he scouted, the coalition forces pressed forward, deeper into the canyon. They finally reached the vanguard's retreat point—only to find Hyuga forces lying in wait at the base camp. The Hyuga who had fought the Uchiha previously now reinforced the trap, surrounding the Uchiha from front and back.
"Not good…" Raizen muttered.
From his vantage, he saw the Hyuga troops lined perfectly at the front, unscathed and brimming with chakra, while the Uchiha forces looked drained, already half their chakra spent from the breakthrough. The odds had shifted dangerously.
"Uchiha! This is your grave!"A Hyuga ninja at the front called out, radiating a terrifying aura. Even the massed coalition behind him seemed insignificant compared to his presence.
Raizen's eyes widened. Shadow-rank powerhouse. Only someone at that level could radiate that kind of aura, standing unafraid in the middle of thousands of enemy forces.
"Hinata Tennin! Whose grave this will be is undecided!"Uchiha Gang, a middle-aged Uchiha elder and formidable shinobi, bellowed. His chakra flared with the calm of someone unafraid to challenge a Shadow-rank Hyuga.
"Enough talk! Hyuga, strike!"At his order, Hyuga Tennin's cold cry cut through the air. The Hyuga behind him surged forward like a predator, converging from both ends.
Uchiha Gang didn't flinch. He inhaled deeply, eyes sweeping the battlefield. Victory—or annihilation—was about to be decided here, now. He raised his hand and released a thunderous command:
"Uchiha coalition, attack!"
"Roar!"The Uchiha forces obeyed instantly. Ninjas on both flanks stepped forward, forming a living wall of bodies and chakra. Kunai clenched in fists, they charged fearlessly, a perfect counter to the Hyuga assault.
The clash of thousands of ninja was imminent—the moment when strategy, strength, and survival instincts would collide like steel and fire.
Raizen tightened his grip on the giant bird's reins. From above, he could see everything: the smoke, the mud, the glint of chakra-fueled weapons. The war wasn't just about strength—it was about calculation, timing, and the instinct to survive. And he intended to survive, no matter what.