Uhe night sky, the streets and alleys of Yu were soon soaked in blood.

  Fshes of fire and lightning illumihe darkness, signaling the escation of the battle.

  The attack by the Konoha ninjas was swift and effit, 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 teiques and the Sharingan and Byakugan at their disposal, Konoha ninjas preferred deep-strike tactics using small, multi-yered formations. This raid was no different.

  In respohe Kumo ninjas, skilled in mobility and quick assaults, leveraged Yu's byrinth of streets and alleys to duct ambushes and fnking 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 plig Konoha's efforts to annihite them.

  The wooden architecture of Yu, simir to that of Konoha, restricted Konoha ninjas from freely using their signature fire jutsu.

  The exception akura, who specialized in taijutsu and Scorch Release. She thrived in this enviro, with fireballs geed by her Scorch Release swirling around her as she charged toward the de clusters of enemies.

  Overall, Kumo's defeat was iable. Though they deyed their demise, they also sealed off their own escape routes.

  Outside the vilge, the Sarutobi , leading a unit of ninjas, used the Great Fireball to suppress the Kumo forces, who cked le teiques, keeping them pinned down.

  Victory here was certain.

  Ihe vilge, a Kumo jonin dove through a window as Masashi's bde swept past, rolling to his feet ihe building. He kicked over a table for cover, hands already f seals.

  "Got you now!" the jonin growled, but Masashi was no lohere. The jonin's eyes widened as a shadow fell across him from behind.

  The in spun, his lightning-ed kunai catg Masashi's desding bde. For a split sed, their eyes met—then Masashi vanished again. The i cold steel emerge from his chest, Masashi having teleported to a mark he'd pced earlier on the floor.

  Another one down. But they keep ing. He moved methodically through Yu's streets.

  Each strike served two purposes—eliminating enemies and pg new Flying Thunder God marks in strategic locations.

  He used the Flying Thunder God repeatedly, signifitly redug casualties among his members.

  Kumo ninjas were indeed fierce warriors.

  Many of them resorted to suicide attacks without hesitatiohe situation turned hopeless.

  Against such oppos, even with an overwhelming numerical advahe 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 in, and many Kumo jonin were trated within the vilge, 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 advahat was not exaggerated.

  Especially Masashi, whose Sharingan had an exceptional ripple effe the battlefield.

  Ahead, a group of Kumo in had formed a spearhead formation, enduring a round of Konoha ninjutsu before charging toward a Konoha in 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! reat!" The one-armed ninja's battle cry echoed through the streets.

  Fag them, the Konoha in squad, already aced to this rhythm, braced for impact.

  Though Kumo ninjas were ferocious, Konoha ninjas were no less resolute.

  But the dire of the Kumo charge happeo align with a Flying Thunder God mark.

  The massive Kumo ninja vaguely noticed a fme-shaped pattern on the ground.

  In the instant, Masashi appeared there. Mid-air and having already pleted his hand signs, he exhaled a stream of fire.

  Fmes 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 ihe results, nor did he o. Before nding, he had already teleported elsewhere.

  The Flying Thunder God was finally unleashing its true potential otlefield.

  Unlike Minato, who used specialized kunai as anchor points for simultaneous mass kills, this approach didn't align with Masashi's bat style.

  With precise chakra sensing to locate Kumo ninjas, he engaged in a methodical sughter of their lower-ranking forces in his own way.

  Kunai and explosive tags aimed at him were redirected to nonfmmable "dump zones" he had marked in advance.

  Anyone who tried fighting him in taijutsu either got burned by the fire swirling around his bde, ended up frozen solid, or just got smashed aside by his raw strength.

  Kumo's jonin tried to step ihey spotted him, but Konoha's jonihem back.

  Even if they broke free, these speed-specialized Kumo jonin found themselves uo keep up with Masashi's movements.

  Helplessly, they watched as their subordinates were sughtered within seds, each death marked by a brief fsh and a spray of crimson.

  "Where is he? How is he—" A Kumo jonin's words cut short as another of his rades vanished in a fsh of movement.

  This remihem of someone.

  "He's not the Yellow Fsh," muttered a dark-skinned Kumo jonin as he caught a clear glimpse of Masashi. "He's one of the Uchiha."

  When faced with the bined powers of the Sharingan and the Byakugan, even the bravest Kumo jonin couldn't find an opportunity to make a heroic st stand.

  Dōjutsu are so annoying! That was the shared thought of all the Kumo jonin.

  Yet none of them sidered surrender.

  "Show these eyes what Kumo's spirit means," a senior jonin shouted his hands already f seals.

  Dying otlefield 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 aing dust, they might as well drag a few Konoha jonin down with them.

  If they succeeded, it would be worth it.

  First, they decided tet the Byakugan.

  The Kumo ninjas realized that the true erstone 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 ralizing Kumo's effectiveness in guerril bat and limiting their taijutsu advantage.

  More than ten Kumo jonin divided into two groups: half ehe Konoha jonin, disregarding their chakra reserves and ing chakra-enhang drugs, their eyes bloodshot as they lu their targets.

  The drugs coursed through their bodies, turning their chakra wild and votile.

  Several Hyūga in, uo evade in time, were killed in an instant, their bodies crumpling before they could even assume their Gentle Fist stance.

  "All Hyūga in, 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 in had no iion of dying needlessly and promptly retreated.

  It wasn't that they were unwilling to fight in to in, but after Masashi's earlier rampage, most of the Kumo ninjas below jonin had already been killed.

  Uhe hateful gres of the Kumo jonin, Masashi reappeared.

  The high-iy, 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 parable to a tailed beast, he wasn't limitless.

  Itle against the Kumo forces within the vilge, he had single-handedly killed more than half their numbers. While it wasraordinary for a jonin to kill in, the efficy of his sughter was unmatched.

  Suddenly, a Kumo jonin broke free from his oppo and, cloaked in lightning, charged toward Masashi.

  The Konoha jonin behind him unched a fire jutsu, but the Kumo ninja powered through it, using the momentum of the explosion to accelerate even further. The fmes ed 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 in, he had been keeping a close eye on these jonin.

  Judging from this one's muscur build and ninjutsu style, he was likely a member of the Raikage's family.

  This had been known for their reckless bravery sihe Warring States Period. Another parable group of hotheaded warriors were the Kaguya .

  The fact that the Kaguya could produeone as graceful as Kimimaro was nothing short of a geic miracle.

  In Masashi's uanding, 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 bat power back then wasn't as formidable as now.

  Fag this probable Raikage retive, he remained calm and cast a genjutsu.

  ---

  In the eyes of the Kumo jonin, the world suddenly turned into a sea of fmes, 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 fmes awakened his primal instincts. With a roar, he used sheer willpower to force his way out of the illusion.

  Ba reality, the first thing he saw was a giant hand desding toward him.

  He hastily raised his arms, thiing his lightning armor until it buzzed like a thousand birds.

  Boom—!!!

  The street's stone sbs shattered into dust, leaving a massive handprint crater on the ground. The impact sent shockwaves through the surrounding buildings, windows shattering.

  The Kumo jonin y at the bottom of the pit, his bones shattered, staring bnkly at the sky. His lightning armor flickered and died, leaving only the smell of ozone.

  Masashi withdrew his partially maed ice arm as the Sage Mode Markings faded from his face. Pointing a fi the downed ninja, he released an ice bde that severed the man's head.