The Land of Lightning.
Border region.
A vast, open plain stretched out beneath the sky. Ahead stood a massive platform rising several dozen meters high.
Uchiha Yuzuru and the Third Raikage stood at the forefront.
The fierce wind whipped at their cloaks, their arms crossed as they stood side by side.
Below them, the Cloud ninja stood in perfect formation.
Everyone stood quietly in place, making no sound. The headbands on the Cloud shinobi's foreheads converged into a silver torrent under the sunlight.
Across from them, separated by less than a kilometer, stood the united army of Konohagakure, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure.
The two forces faced each other in silence, the air thick with the scent of blood and steel.
At the front of the Allied Shinobi Forces stood Shimura Danzō, eyes gleaming with excitement.
So many ninja—waiting for his command.
All ready to move at his word.
This feeling...
It was intoxicating.
Across the entire shinobi world, who else had ever commanded the combined might of four great villages?
Not even Hashirama Senju or Uchiha Madara could boast such authority!
After this battle, his name would shake the world!
Danzō took a deep breath, his voice amplified by chakra as it echoed across the ranks.
"Before us stands the rebellion of Kumogakure! Today, no matter the cost, we will crush them!"
"CHARGE!"
As soon as his words fell, the army of ten thousand moved as one, like a colossal, well-oiled machine turning into motion—rushing toward the Cloud forces.
Meanwhile, the Cloud ninja spread out, their orderly formation dividing into four wide channels.
The next instant, A, Killer B, Sakumo Hatake, and Fugaku Uchiha stepped to the front.
Boom!
The Third Raikage leapt from the towering platform like a cannonball, crashing into the ground with such force that a web of cracks spread out in all directions.
"Hahahahahaha! I've been waiting for this! Finally, a battle worth my blood!"
"Today, I'll show you what it means to be the strongest Raikage!"
As his voice thundered across the field, A, Killer B, Sakumo, and Fugaku joined him at his back.
Five figures stood tall, unflinching before ten thousand enemies.
The Allied shinobi stared in disbelief.
"Are they serious? Only five people—against all of us?!"
"The Third Raikage, A, the Tailed Beast jinchuriki, Sakumo Hatake, and Fugaku Uchiha... shouldn't they be behind the lines commanding the troops?"
"Have those Cloud fools lost their minds? Do they think five men can stop ten thousand?"
"Bastards! That's beyond arrogance—they're mocking us!"
Hearing their outrage, the Third Raikage only laughed harder.
"Ten thousand ninja? Hah! For us, that's enough!"
"With great power comes great responsibility. To protect our village and our comrades—that is my duty as Raikage! Even if I die here, I'll guard the sprouts of our next generation!"
A raised his voice to match him.
"That's right! We won't let our comrades die for nothing!"
The Allied shinobi faltered. Many looked confused—especially those from Konoha.
Why did those words sound... familiar?
At the rear, Shimura Danzō's face darkened.
Those Cloud bastards were mocking them—mocking Konoha!
And of course, it had to be those accursed Uchiha behind it.
But fine. Let them throw their lives away for pride. They'd regret it soon enough!
The Third Raikage didn't care what the enemy thought.
With a flash of lightning, his body blurred forward, charging straight into the Allied ranks.
Fugaku, Sakumo, and A followed instantly.
"B!"
At A's call, Killer B's chakra erupted violently, his massive form swelling until the Eight-Tails stood revealed.
"ROOOOAR!"
A gigantic Tailed Beast Ball gathered at its mouth—and fired straight toward the Allied army.
Seeing it coming, the Iwa-nin slammed their hands onto the ground.
"Earth Release: Infinite Earth Flow Wall!"
Thick stone walls shot upward, forming an impenetrable barrier.
But in the next second—
BOOM!
The Tailed Beast Ball tore through all of it, detonating amidst the Allied ranks.
The explosion was catastrophic. In an instant, countless shinobi were annihilated.
Before they could recover, a second Tailed Beast Ball followed.
BOOM!
The ground quaked violently. The army reeled under another wave of destruction.
"Quick! Stop the Eight-Tails! We can't let it fire again!"
They had prepared for this scenario.
A squad of elite shinobi immediately charged toward the monstrous beast.
"Not before you get past us!"
"Hell Stab— Four-Fingered Nukite!"
The Third Raikage's form flashed—dozens of shinobi were obliterated in a heartbeat.
Sakumo, A, and Fugaku followed close behind, their combined assault ripping through the Allied formation like a spearpoint.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Technique!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Dozens of enemy shinobi launched their combination jutsu.
Flames and wind engulfed the Third Raikage's form—
—but he burst out unscathed the next instant.
"Hahahaha! Is that all? You're only tickling me!"
"A true battle ends in one strike!"
He roared—and more shinobi fell, bodies torn apart.
Against such a vast army, he didn't even need to think—just keep moving, hand raised, slaughtering everything in his path.
Not far away, A rampaged like a living bolt of lightning.
He didn't possess his father's insane defense, so he targeted the densest clusters of enemies.
Many hesitated, afraid of hitting their comrades with large-scale jutsu.
That hesitation was his weapon.
"Perfect! Exhilarating!" A laughed madly.
He darted through their ranks, untouchable. Kunai and lesser jutsu bounced off his lightning armor, while every elbow strike he threw crushed another foe.
Elsewhere, Fugaku Uchiha's eyes spun—three tomoe glinting blood-red.
Every movement of his enemies lay bare before him.
No matter the attack, he always chose the perfect counter.
His elegant swordplay and precise movements turned the battlefield into a deadly dance. He was a butterfly amid fire and blood.
"Everyone attack at once! Even if it hits our comrades, it's better than being cut down one by one!"
A desperate shinobi shouted—only for his heart to be pierced from behind the next second.
He turned in disbelief to see his comrade's blank, illusion-clouded eyes.
Resisting the Sharingan's genjutsu while facing his flawless blade techniques—and watching out for teammates turned into enemies…
He was just a simple genin. How was he supposed to fight this?!
Fugaku ignored the corpse and kept swinging his blade.
During his time in Kumogakure, he had studied their Lightning Release Body Reinforcement techniques.
He hadn't mastered the Lightning Chakra Armor, but his physical power had increased dramatically.
Speed, strength, endurance—
Every aspect of his body had evolved.
As his sword sliced through another Konoha ninja's throat, Fugaku spoke coldly:
"This time, we are no longer comrades."
"Lament your unfortunate fate—born without the Sharingan."