Roars echoed across the battlefield.
Even though he chose to stay in the shadows and watch this false world alongside Patriarch Hitoshi, Kakashi no longer wanted to see his friends fall.
That kind of experience was too torturous, waking him up in countless nights.
He had known about Uchiha Shisui for a while, but their interactions began only when they were together in the Hyuga clan's territory.
Even so, Kakashi saw through Shisui's true nature.
This man reminded him so much of Obito.
If what Patriarch Hitoshi told him was true, and Obito's heart had turned completely dark, then it was clear that his mind was troubled.
One Obito was enough for the ninja world; Kakashi hoped Uchiha Shisui would always remain as he was—pure and kind, treating everyone around him with honesty.
He watched, as if looking at an Obito who hadn't fallen into darkness.
Until now.
Kakashi saw Shisui about to be swept away by a Dust Release attack. As he distanced himself, he seemed to understand something.
Especially after feeling that strange yet familiar power within his eyes, he finally realized who was behind the Nine-Tails incident and understood that the desperate roars he heard after killing Rin were not just a figment of his imagination.
No wonder Rin's body was gone.
No wonder those people died.
That power had always existed; it was just that Obito hadn't taken it.
Now, having been triggered again, Kakashi finally grasped how to use it.
In fact, the moment Kakashi killed Rin, Obito had activated his Mangekyou, and so had the eyes he gave to Kakashi, though he hadn't fully mastered them.
Kamui's unique vortex appeared behind Shisui. As the space twisted, the tip of the cone created by the Dust Release was ultimately sucked into another dimension.
A crisis faded away.
Fugaku and the Uchiha clan members sighed in relief, while the third Hokage looked at Kakashi with an expression full of mixed feelings.
Only Shisui felt deeply embarrassed. He didn't have time to thank Kakashi, simply casting a grateful glance at him before seriously following Fugaku's lead to encircle the floating third Tsuchikage.
As the two Susano'o engaged Oonoki, the pressure on him instantly increased.
He knew that, with precautions in place, a direct attack on Fugaku and Shisui would have little effect. So, while avoiding their attacks, he started thinking about how to minimize losses, occasionally launching a few Dust Releases into the Konohagakure crowd to claim lives.
The war seemed to have reached a stalemate.
People clearly underestimated the Uchiha clan, including the ninjas from Iwagakure Village. After all, since the end of the Warring States period and the establishment of Konohagakure, the Uchiha had become part of the Konohagakure guard and had few chances to go to battle.
Even during the Third Great Ninja War, Fugaku had very few opportunities to make a name for himself; he only led small teams to clean up the aftermath, which is why he could casually stroll the battlefield with his three-year-old son, Itachi.
The only time he faced danger, Patriarch Hitoshi came to his rescue, but it also led to Fugaku being castrated.
Looking back further, after the death of the First Hokage, the Uchiha clan experienced internal conflict, which was eventually settled by Uchiha Itachi.
But even though they rarely got a chance to fight, anyone who dared to underestimate these crazed warriors would pay a terrible price. The frenzied Uchiha clan could only be stopped by the Senju clan while Hashirama was still alive!
A mere village like Iwagakure, not even at full strength, suffered significant losses when they first encountered this crazy group.
Against these madmen, you had to stay on high alert.
Especially when you stab one of them, and they laugh maniacally at you. That image could haunt Iwagakure ninjas for life. Many would ignite explosive tags and take their enemies down with them when faced with despair.
Even scarier was if you accidentally killed their friends or family; that would trigger them to activate their Sharingan, massively boosting their fighting power, making them extremely hard to deal with.
On the battlefield, they were undoubtedly skilled fighters. Putting aside any intelligence issues and their craziness, it seemed only they could defeat themselves.
The brutal war continued.
In the sky, facing the stubborn resistance from the remaining forces of Konohagakure and the Uchiha clan, Oonoki knew what the final outcome of this war would be.
But Tsuchikage was clearly unwilling to accept that.
Although they hadn't managed to push Konohagakure to the ground, that didn't mean that Kumogakure and Iwagakure had lost the war. It only meant that Konohagakure had regained its senses and was qualified to fight them again.
Now it was time to show their strength, so even though he knew defeat was inevitable, he still wanted to take a few more pieces from Konohagakure.
The Land of Earth and the main force of Iwagakure Village were still around; they could keep sending reinforcements. The only difference this time would be that he would really need to communicate with Raikage to redivide the interests.
Even now, he didn't feel like he would lose, especially since Oonoki had prepared backup plans.
So naturally, with Oonoki's stubborn temper activating the Stone Will, the brutality of the war intensified!
One side took a step back, and their village would be destroyed.
The other side, even if they planned to finish it, had to weaken the opponent's surviving forces.
This situation was a fight to the death!
Time moved forward, second by second.
The sun set in the west only to rise again.
The ninja world welcomed a new day.
But in the plains just outside Konohagakure, the only things greeting the new sun were piles of corpses and scattered bits of flesh and entrails.
The ground was stained red with fresh and dried blood.
After a day and night of intense fighting, it ended with Oonoki unable to dodge in time, receiving a blow to his waist, losing control of his Earth Jutsu, and having his thigh pierced by Shisui's kunai, forcing him to retreat.
Konohagakure had blocked Iwagakure Village's attack!
But none of the ninja cleaning up the aftermath showed any signs of relief.
The battle was truly brutal, and what was even scarier was that despite the heavy toll, the Tsuchikage seemed to have no intention of negotiating. Before leaving, he even made threats while covering his injured thigh, Saying that Sarutobi would be killed sooner or later
Oonoki wanted to weaken Konohagakure, but that didn't mean he was willing to sacrifice himself.
So they all understood that the war was not over; a stalemate awaited them.
Those still alive didn't know how many would be left in the end.
"Third Hokage, I leave the rest to you. I need to go support the Hyuga clan."
The morning sun shone gently on the land, but people's hearts remained cold. Fugaku wiped the dried blood and tears from his face and rubbed his blurry eyes, worn from using his Sharingan too much. He left Sarutobi with a brief message and turned to lead the surviving Uchiha toward the side of Konohagakure.
The old village chief was gasping for breath. After one night, his hair had nearly turned completely white. This battle had confirmed that the era of the ninjas was truly coming to an end, and the spirit he once had was completely gone.
So as he watched Fugaku leave, the old chief didn't think about the unity of the village but noticed that the relationship between the Uchiha and Hyuga seemed even closer than he had imagined.
As the two major eye clans continued to strengthen their bond, he wondered if he might have to hand over his Hokage position.
The defense of Konohagakure ended with a hard-fought victory, but the shadows and higher-ups in the village each had their own thoughts.
If there was one person in the entire ninja world who had suffered an unwarranted disaster, it was Uchiha Obito, now struggling and collapsing in the realm of time and space.
"Ah!!"
In pain, he twisted his body.
The half of him that was completely pierced and broken reminded Obito of the time Uchiha Madara had treated him!
Well, fine.
Oonoki's Dust Release finally hit someone.
It's a sad story. The unfortunate person was just trying to enjoy a boxed meal in the safest spot possible when disaster struck. If he hadn't reacted quickly enough, the tip of the Dust Release's cone-shaped disintegration would have taken him out on the spot, really sending him to his end.
But the Tsuchikage swore that this had nothing to do with him, and Obito seemed to understand that too. In intense pain, with Hashirama's cells kicking in, Obito pounded the floor with red eyes, letting out a desperate roar.
"Kakashi!!"
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