Chapter 61: 61 - The Slaughter at Yu
Under the night sky, the streets and alleys of Yu were soon soaked in blood.
Flashes of fire and lightning illuminated the darkness, signaling the escalation of the battle.
The attack by the Konoha ninjas was swift and efficient, but the targeted Kumo ninjas reacted just as quickly.
As two dominant forces of the ninja world, each side had strategies tailored to their strengths.
With a full arsenal of techniques and the Sharingan and Byakugan at their disposal, Konoha ninjas preferred deep-strike tactics using small, multi-layered formations. This raid was no different.
In response, the Kumo ninjas, skilled in mobility and quick assaults, leveraged Yu's labyrinth of streets and alleys to conduct ambushes and flanking maneuvers, denying Konoha the advantage of their superior numbers.
After losing over a hundred lives to Konoha's initial assault, the remaining several hundred Kumo ninjas roamed the streets of Yu with agility, greatly complicating Konoha's efforts to annihilate them.
The wooden architecture of Yu, similar to that of Konoha, restricted Konoha ninjas from freely using their signature fire jutsu.
The exception was Pakura, who specialized in taijutsu and Scorch Release. She thrived in this environment, with fireballs generated by her Scorch Release swirling around her as she charged toward the densest clusters of enemies.
Overall, Kumo's defeat was inevitable. Though they delayed their demise, they also sealed off their own escape routes.
Outside the village, the Sarutobi clan, leading a unit of ninjas, used the Great Fireball to suppress the Kumo forces, who lacked long-range techniques, keeping them pinned down.
Victory here was certain.
Inside the village, a Kumo jonin dove through a window as Masashi's blade swept past, rolling to his feet inside the building. He kicked over a table for cover, hands already forming seals.
"Got you now!" the jonin growled, but Masashi was no longer there. The jonin's eyes widened as a shadow fell across him from behind.
The chunin spun, his lightning-wrapped kunai catching Masashi's descending blade. For a split second, their eyes met—then Masashi vanished again. The chunin felt cold steel emerge from his chest, Masashi having teleported to a mark he'd placed earlier on the floor.
Another one down. But they keep coming. He moved methodically through Yu's streets.
Each strike served two purposes—eliminating enemies and placing new Flying Thunder God marks in strategic locations.
He used the Flying Thunder God repeatedly, significantly reducing casualties among his clan members.
Kumo ninjas were indeed fierce warriors.
Many of them resorted to suicide attacks without hesitation when the situation turned hopeless.
Against such opponents, even with an overwhelming numerical advantage, the Konoha forces had already lost nearly a hundred ninjas.
Both sides were elite forces, serving as the vanguard of their respective armies. Most were at least chunin, and many Kumo jonin were concentrated within the village, giving them a numerical edge.
However, Konoha wasn't at a disadvantage in quality.
The six Uchiha members wielding three-tomoe Sharingan were equivalent to twelve jonin—an advantage that was not exaggerated.
Especially Masashi, whose Sharingan had an exceptional ripple effect on the battlefield.
Ahead, a group of Kumo chunin had formed a spearhead formation, enduring a round of Konoha ninjutsu before charging toward a Konoha chunin squad.
At the forefront of the Kumo formation was a massive, heavily scarred ninja. Missing an arm and clearly doomed, he led his team on a desperate charge.
"For Kumo! No retreat!" The one-armed ninja's battle cry echoed through the streets.
Facing them, the Konoha chunin squad, already accustomed to this rhythm, braced for impact.
Though Kumo ninjas were ferocious, Konoha ninjas were no less resolute.
But the direction of the Kumo charge happened to align with a Flying Thunder God mark.
The massive Kumo ninja vaguely noticed a flame-shaped pattern on the ground.
In the next instant, Masashi appeared there. Mid-air and having already completed his hand signs, he exhaled a stream of fire.
Flames resembling cherry blossoms scattered from above, avoiding the buildings and enveloping the Kumo ninjas.
The scarred jonin, resolved to die, had the moisture in their bodies evaporated in an instant. Preserving their final movements, they became human torches.
Masashi had no time to inspect the results, nor did he need to. Before landing, he had already teleported elsewhere.
The Flying Thunder God was finally unleashing its true potential on the battlefield.
Unlike Minato, who used specialized kunai as anchor points for simultaneous mass kills, this approach didn't align with Masashi's combat style.
With precise chakra sensing to locate Kumo ninjas, he engaged in a methodical slaughter of their lower-ranking forces in his own way.
Kunai and explosive tags aimed at him were redirected to nonflammable "dump zones" he had marked in advance.
Anyone who tried fighting him in taijutsu either got burned by the fire swirling around his blade, ended up frozen solid, or just got smashed aside by his raw strength.
Kumo's jonin tried to step in when they spotted him, but Konoha's jonin held them back.
Even if they broke free, these speed-specialized Kumo jonin found themselves unable to keep up with Masashi's movements.
Helplessly, they watched as their subordinates were slaughtered within seconds, each death marked by a brief flash and a spray of crimson.
"Where is he? How is he—" A Kumo jonin's words cut short as another of his comrades vanished in a flash of movement.
This reminded them of someone.
"He's not the Yellow Flash," muttered a dark-skinned Kumo jonin as he caught a clear glimpse of Masashi. "He's one of the Uchiha."
When faced with the combined powers of the Sharingan and the Byakugan, even the bravest Kumo jonin couldn't find an opportunity to make a heroic last stand.
Dōjutsu are so annoying! That was the shared thought of all the Kumo jonin.
Yet none of them considered surrender.
"Show these eyes what Kumo's spirit means," a senior jonin shouted his hands already forming seals.
Dying on the battlefield was seen as the ultimate honor for men in Kumo—a belief deeply ingrained in their culture.
Their Raikage was a unique example among the Five Kage, as he always led his forces into battle personally.
However, the current Fourth Raikage wasn't present here. He was still in the Land of Frost, leading the main forces and supply units southward, likely not even in the Land of Hot Water yet.
The Kumo jonin reached a decision.
If they were doomed to lose, instead of futilely chasing that phantom and eating dust, they might as well drag a few Konoha jonin down with them.
If they succeeded, it would be worth it.
First, they decided to target the Byakugan.
The Kumo ninjas realized that the true cornerstone of Konoha's overwhelming advantage in this battle was the Byakugan users.
Because of the Byakugan, the Konoha ninjas were able to maximize their ninjutsu superiority while neutralizing Kumo's effectiveness in guerrilla combat and limiting their taijutsu advantage.
More than ten Kumo jonin divided into two groups: half engaged the Konoha jonin, disregarding their chakra reserves and consuming chakra-enhancing drugs, their eyes bloodshot as they lunged at their targets.
The drugs coursed through their bodies, turning their chakra wild and volatile.
Several Hyūga chunin, unable to evade in time, were killed in an instant, their bodies crumpling before they could even assume their Gentle Fist stance.
"All Hyūga chunin, fall back!"
The Uchiha closest to them shifted their positions, hands flickering through seals. "We'll cover their retreat. Don't let them break our lines!"
The Hyūga chunin had no intention of dying needlessly and promptly retreated.
It wasn't that they were unwilling to fight chunin to chunin, but after Masashi's earlier rampage, most of the Kumo ninjas below jonin had already been killed.
Under the hateful glares of the Kumo jonin, Masashi reappeared.
The high-intensity, prolonged use of the Flying Thunder God was taking a toll on him. It required immense mental focus, and his body felt the strain. While he possessed chakra reserves comparable to a tailed beast, he wasn't limitless.
In the battle against the Kumo forces within the village, he had single-handedly killed more than half their numbers. While it wasn't extraordinary for a jonin to kill chunin, the efficiency of his slaughter was unmatched.
Suddenly, a Kumo jonin broke free from his opponent and, cloaked in lightning, charged toward Masashi.
The Konoha jonin behind him launched a fire jutsu, but the Kumo ninja powered through it, using the momentum of the explosion to accelerate even further. The flames wrapped around his lightning armor, creating a terrifying spectacle.
This was a Kumo jonin who had mastered the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Though Masashi had primarily targeted chunin, he had been keeping a close eye on these jonin.
Judging from this one's muscular build and ninjutsu style, he was likely a member of the Raikage's family.
This clan had been known for their reckless bravery since the Warring States Period. Another comparable group of hotheaded warriors were the Kaguya clan.
The fact that the Kaguya clan could produce someone as graceful as Kimimaro was nothing short of a genetic miracle.
In Masashi's understanding, the Raikage's lineage wasn't so much reckless as greedy.
However, during his previous life, this family hadn't yet developed the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, so their combat power back then wasn't as formidable as now.
Facing this probable Raikage relative, he remained calm and cast a genjutsu.
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In the eyes of the Kumo jonin, the world suddenly turned into a sea of flames, with only a pair of giant Sharingan staring down coldly at him.
The heat felt real, the pain excruciating, every nerve ending screaming in agony.
The pain of being engulfed in flames awakened his primal instincts. With a roar, he used sheer willpower to force his way out of the illusion.
Back in reality, the first thing he saw was a giant hand descending toward him.
He hastily raised his arms, thickening his lightning armor until it buzzed like a thousand birds.
Boom—!!!
The street's stone slabs shattered into dust, leaving a massive handprint crater on the ground. The impact sent shockwaves through the surrounding buildings, windows shattering.
The Kumo jonin lay at the bottom of the pit, his bones shattered, staring blankly at the sky. His lightning armor flickered and died, leaving only the smell of ozone.
Masashi withdrew his partially manifested ice arm as the Sage Mode Markings faded from his face. Pointing a finger at the downed ninja, he released an ice blade that severed the man's head.
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161/200 reached for bonus chapter.
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