As the Konoha ninja army adjusted its strategy, with the main force standing by and shifting focus to annihiting enemy squads in field battles, the jonin, including Masashi, were given some rest.

  Jiraiya set up a rotation system, keeping only a few jonin on duty at a time.

  Several jonin had gathered at one of the rest areas, discussing the ret strategic ges. The smell of tea filled the pce as they debated the merits of their neroach.

  "We're spreading our forces too thin," a senior jonin said, setting down his cup with a frown. "The enemy could exploit the gaps in our defense."

  Masashi leaned against the wall, eyes half-closed. "Sometimes efficy requires aggression. A direct approach with our full strength would end this faster."

  "And risk more casualties?" Another jonin cut in, looking up from the map spread on the low table. "We've already lost enough people."

  "Better quick losses than a drawn-out war." The longer we wait, the more variables ehe equation.

  Although Masashi believed that given Konoha's current figuration, a dired aggressive approach might be the most effit, he deferred to the sensus. After all, at its core, a ninja vilge funed as a service anization.

  When Tobirama established the nomination system for the Hokage, it wasn't specifically targeting the Uchiha. At that time, the Uchiha themselves had no iion of vying for the position of the First Hokage. It was Hashirama's less-than-reliable handling of the matter that iently put Madara on a rollercoaster of emotions.

  With no bat missions for the moment, Masashi took the opportunity to enjoy the famed hot springs of Yu. However, soaking in the springs didn't mean ing his training.

  His focus was on Lightning Release body teiques and Kagutsuchi.

  The tter proved signifitly more challenging. Kagutsuchi, a true Mangekyō Sharingan ability, was theoretically impossible to uand or utilize without awakening the Mangekyō.

  Historically, most Uchiha who awakehe Mangekyō Sharingan couldn't clearly articute their abilities. Every Mangekyō teique was born directly from the user's deepest desires, a system pletely detached from ventional ninjutsu.

  But Kai had mao create this teique purely with the power of a three-tomoe Sharingan. Remarkably, it worked just like the Mangekyō version of Kagutsuchi.

  Before divine beiered the fray, any Mangekyō ability was a formidable on. Amaterasu could defeat almost a a gnce, representing the pinnacle of elemental transformation.

  Tsukuyomi and Kotoamatsukami epitomized genjutsu, the former shattering minds with violehe tter maniputing its victims without them ever notig.

  Kamui excelled in both offense and defense, reigning supreme among space-time teiques.

  And Kagutsuchi, while seemingly less impactful than the aforementioeiques, was unparalleled in shape manipution.

  Turning something ily abstrato something akin to a standard ninjutsu was extraordinarily difficult. Even with a three-tomoe Sharingan, mastering it was no guarantee.

  Fortunately, Masashi was one of the rare Uchiha who could properly wield ocur power at the three-tomoe stage. For him, Kagutsuchi was challenging but not impossible.

  ---

  In Yu's abaraining grounds, now verted into tourist spots, the pce was often filled with the sounds of crag and explosions, with the occasional fire pilr shooting into the sky.

  This kept the Yu ninja at a distahough Uchiha members frequently visited to train together.

  "It's like trying to grab smoke," one Uchiha member pined after another failed attempt.

  "Because you're thinking of it as chakra. Think of it as aension of your vision."

  "But the fmes won't stabilize!"

  "That's the point. They're not meant to be stable. They're meant to be alive."

  The jonin of the Uchiha had a straightforward strategy: unity.

  Sihe night of the ails attack, the Uchiha uood the importance of ag collectively. Instead of endless debates over better tactics, they decided to band together and act decisively, adjusting strategies as needed.

  This time was no exception. Whether or not Masashi ied the Muzo's legacy, the se was unanimous: support him.

  Iraining grounds today, a group of Uchiha was gathered, all honing their fire-release teiques. True to his pragmatiature, Masashi included them in his training to share knowledge and elevate everyone's abilities.

  "There's a qualitative threshold we're missing," Masashi expined, watg atempt fizzle out. "Something beyond just strengthening our eyes."

  "Like the differeween regur chakra and nature energy?" Tetsuka asked, his own Sharingan analyzing the failed teique.

  "Exactly. But for each Uchiha, that threshold mas differently." Just as every Mangekyō ability is uo its wielder.

  If Kagutsuchi could be popurized, an Uchiha ninja's standard capability in battle would shift from one-on-two to one-on-three. For the fire-specializing Uchiha , Kagutsuchi was nothing short of a divine on.

  But as always, the fire remained unruly and uncooperative. The root issue was the differeween trolling ocur power and chakra.

  "So what you're saying is..." a senior Uchiha began, his brow furrowed in tration.

  "We eaeed to find our own path to trol." Masashi said. "The traditional path won't work here."

  Chakra manipution follows a rigorous and well-established system. Ocur power, however, was entirely subjective. If there was any guiding principle, it was simply this: "If you believe you , then you —even if you 't."

  This left the group of Uchiha jonin scratg their heads, muasashi's frustration. He had hoped that someone in the group would experience a breakthrough to accelerate the progress. Instead, they were all struggling more than he was.

  Shape manipution was not a fn cept to the Uchiha. Teiques like Fire Dragon Bomb and Dragoerwaul all involved fire shape manipution.

  However, those teiques required hand signs, and the resulting shapes were fixed. Kagutsuchi, in trast, demanded freeform manipution, repg hand signs with ocur power.

  The fire created by this teique could be endlessly maniputed as long as it wasinguished. Yet, none of them, including Masashi, could perform even basic shape transformations.

  He cluded that the issue y in insuffit ocur power. Just as chakra achieved qualitative ge at a certain threshold, so too did ocur power. Before this threshold was reached, the only noticeable improvement was an enha of the Sharingan's basis.

  He theorized that the qualitative ge might vary for eadividual. For Kai, it seemed to enhance trol.

  After another failed attempt, Masashi admitted to himself that he couldn't fully master the teique in his current state. Just like his Susanoo, which was inaccessible outside of Sage Mode, Kagutsuchi required a power boost from the Mangekyō.

  "Step back a little, everyone," he announced, preparing to shift tactics.

  "How far is 'a little' with you?" Tetsuka asked, already moving back.

  "Far enough to not get burned I guess?"

  The jonin promptly gave him space, knowing all too well that fire, o of trol, spared no one—even those profit in fire.

  With a sihought, Masashi tapped into the natural energy stored within him. Fme-like markings appeared on his face as his chakra and ocur power surged in Sage Mode.

  He released a trolled amount of chakra, transf it with fire nature, then used his ocur power to manipute it. Drawing on Kai's "insights" and his own experieh Susanoo, he shaped the fire into a sword.

  The fmes twisted and danced before solidifying into the form of a bde, stable and precise. The gathered jonin marveled at the sight, crowding around to observe the fire sword.

  "Why don't you try cutting something?" someone suggested.

  Masashi nodded, walking to a nearby target and swinging the sword. The bde passed ly through, leaving the upper half of the target to slide off, its cut edge charred bck.

  Kagutsuchi had been successfully executed, with a perfect transformation. He would call it Sage Art: Kagutsuchi.

  In the final days before the decisive battle, one of Masashi's main tasks was to accumute natural energy.

  After firming that he couldn't use it without "buffing up," he stopped w about it.

  Of course, he still practiced daily, but only briefly before deactivating it quickly.

  Good resources should be saved for critical moments.

  What was the point of a buff if it didn't let you st for a hundred rounds?

  And so, finally, the time froup brawl had arrived.

  Konoha's military supplies had been replenished. Most importantly, Kumo's forces were beaten to the point where they could no longer operate in small, indepe squads.

  Without the havoc caused by the ails, Konoha's basibat strength was solid.

  In the inal timeline, Konoha's losses on the night of the ails attack were trated among the genin. The higher-ranking jonin were mostly unharmed uhey recklessly got close to the ails' cws.

  As a result, Konoha in the inal timeline, with its genin forces severely depleted, found itself uo tis frontation with Kumo after a brief csh. Even though it knew Kumo's threats were habitual, Konoha dared not take risks and was forced to promise.

  This led to Konoha handing over Hizashi's corpse, with his Byakugan already destroyed. The high-ranking officials of Kumo uood that this was Konoha's bottom line. Any further provocation would lead to a desperate fight, something Kumo wao avoid.

  Their goal was robbery, not war to the death. Thus, peace was achieved.

  But in this timelihe attitude of Konoha's s was pletely the opposite. They were more worried about Kumo suddenly deg not to fight.

  When Konoha's main forces departed from Yu, the smen marched with high spirits, brimming with fighting i.

  Thanks to the frequent skirmishes and reaissatles during this time, the genin of in had already earheir battle merits. With military supplies ihere were no further worries.

  Now it was time for the jonin to earn their share of merits.

  Oh, there was a certain big shot named Napoleon who liked to trate his artillery, calling it the "King of Battle."

  In the shinobi world, the "King of Battle" was the jonin, and long ago, it was established that in rge-scale fights, if there were enough jonin, some should always be grouped together.

  The Konoha's army, numbering over ten thousand, spread out after leaving the vilge.

  They tinued using the traditional multi-front deep-peion strategy.

  This was necessary. Otherwise, it would just lead to unnecessary casualties. Clusters of jonin acted as spearheads, while in and genin stayed in small squad formations.

  The mobilized Konoha ninjas advaraight toward Kumo's main base.

  As for the Kumo army, from the perspective of the entire Land of Hot Water, they had already lost their ability to gather intelligen the periphery.

  However, they still had enough strength to send out scouts.

  Thus, when the Konoha ninjas approached the vilge that Kumo had turned into a stronghold, battles between scouts and guards broke out once again.

  This did not hihe main advance of Konoha's forces.

  Masashi, like most of the jonin, moved alongside Jiraiya.

  Pakura, however, had bee out separately. Her Scorch Release was better suited for small squad bat.

  But even while moving, Masashi didn't stop abs natural energy.

  Finally, he saw the rge vilge in the distance.

  Ohis vilge had been the tral battleground for tless ninja s, its once-bustling streets turned intraveyards.

  Over time, the area became a haunting pce filled with bones, rumored to be a haven fhosts.

  But after the establishment of the One try-One Vilge system, this vilge, located at a major transportation hub, regais prosperity.

  Otherwise, Kumo wouldn't have chosen it as a stronghold.

  Jiraiya led a group of jonin to a high ground overlooking the battlefield.

  Below them, on the pins, Konoha and Kumo ninjas were locked in fierbat, the ground stained red with blood.

  On the vilge walls, Kumo jonin were also watg, waiting for an opportunity to turide.

  They had noticed the group on the distant high ground. They khose were the true oppos.

  They had long been aware of the destru of the fortress.

  Konoha had somehow mao aplish it ht. All the Kumo statiohere were annihited, and the Eight-Tails jinchuriki was missing.

  No one believed that Killer B was dead.

  There were only minns of partial transformation at the site, something that didn't align with the norm.

  A battle that fierce should have left more destru, the Kumo anders reasoned. It was clear he must have been captured.

  But to destroy the fortress so thhly that Killer B couldn't even fully unleash the Eight-Tails? Only multiple Kage-level individuals leading a group of jonin could achieve that.

  Jiraiya and the Konoha jonin couldn't possibly have shere. Kumo wasn't so x. Jiraiya and his group had always been in Yu.

  Thus, Kumo suspected Iwa.

  Possibly even Suna. After all, Suna was Konoha's ally, and they would relish the ce to strike at Kumo.

  No smaller vilge could muster such power.

  They had already sent messages back to their vilge, requesting reinforts to iigate.

  For now, they announced within the army that Killer B was on a secret mission.

  But today, Konoha suddenly unched a massive offensive.

  The timing was terrible for Kumo, ing right before their supply shipment was due to arrive.

  The loss of the fortress had severely weakened Kumo's supply capacity. Without that transit hub, transportation costs had skyrocketed, and safety had plummeted. Konoha not only hampered Kumo's reaissance efforts but also attacked their supply lines.

  As a result, Kumo's resource stockpile was even tighter thahey first heard about the fortress's fall.

  Many low-level Kumo ninjas didn't even have enough explosive tags.

  At this moment, the Fourth Raikage stood on the vilge wall. Lightning chakra crackled around him itently, betraying his agitation.

  His face showed ion.

  Only those who knew him well could tell that this expressio the Raikage was in aremely foul mood.

  "Yugito," he suddenly said.

  "Yes, Raikage-sama," a female ninja responded.

  "I'll hold off Jiraiya. Your task is to kill as many Konoha ninjas as possible. Avoid engaging their jonin."

  "Uood."

  "The rest of you, same as st time. Keep your oppos occupied."

  "Yes!"

  The group responded loudly, their voices filled with pent-up frustration. Konoha's tactics during this time had been utterly infuriating.

  "Good! Move out!"

  The Fourth Raikage barked before leaping off the vilge wall, his body already ed in his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

  "Reckless as always, Raikage-sama…" his guards muttered with wry smiles, but they followed, oer another.

  Alongside them, other Kumo jonin jumped down as well, their formations tight and disciplined despite their ander's impulsive charge.

  From his vantage point, Hizashi immediately reyed this information to the jonin, his Byakugan trag every movement. "The Raikage is on the move, and so is their jinchuriki. They're splitting their forces—the Raikage's heading straight for us."

  "Got it, Hizashi," Jiraiya said, stretg his limbs. "Let's go, too."

  With that, he leapt from the high ground.

  The Konoha jonin followed, smiling as they joihe charge. Finally, a real fight, their expressions seemed to say.

  Among the eight great ninja s, the Uchiha and Sarutobi s were particurly excited.

  These two s excelled at battlefield assaults, and they thrived in sarios like this.

  Masashi didn't smile. He was too busy.

  There was no time frinning—every sed spent gathering natural energy was crucial, as he would soon.

  Following his smen, he quickly broke ahead of the pack, then summoned his beast.

  With a deafening roar, a massive bake appeared otlefield, Masashi standing atop its head.

  "Kuro."

  "Masashi, your orders?"

  "See that cat? Charge straight at it!" His eyes fixed on Yugito.