For instance, during the Warring States period, Qin fought six states at once. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao faced the alliance of Ma Chao and Han Sui. Both used discord to break their enemies' alliances and achieve victory.
According to Uchiha Kong's account, the Fuma, Saito, and other clans had fought minor skirmishes among themselves over resources in the past.
The other four clans had only temporarily banded together under Hagoromo Masanari's leadership because they coveted the Uchiha's fertile lands.
Izuna was confident he could find an opportunity to shatter their alliance.
For now, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio had no plans to march from their lands, so he could rest easy on that front.
However, less than three weeks after the first battle, the five-clan alliance grew bold again.
They launched successive attacks, but the Uchiha repelled every one.
Although Izuna had killed Kikawa Yoichi, the Kikawa clan didn't withdraw. Instead, they promoted Kikawa Yoichi's younger brother, Kikawa Kenji, to the position of clan head.
In today's battle, even Hagoromo Masanari, the leader of the alliance, had taken to the field himself. Although he only joined in the latter half of the fight, he was undeniably Kage-level.
Without using his Mangekyo, Izuna couldn't finish him off.
At the end of their final exchange before today's battle concluded, Izuna clearly heard the old man Hagoromo Masanari say to him in a mocking tone, "It seems you can't use that power of yours consecutively."
The Mangekyo's weakness had been seen through. Although Izuna had expected it, he couldn't help but feel annoyed.
"The enemy will attack more frequently from now on. Tell everyone to be careful."
After returning to camp to rest, Izuna gave the order to Uchiha Kong.
"Understood."
Uchiha Kong nodded and departed, his body covered in blood and grime.
Izuna opened his system skill tree:
[Current Skill Points: 86]
*It's enough!*
All this time, Izuna had been waiting for the Flying Thunder God Technique.
With a thought, the translucent text on the light screen changed. The "86" in the skill points column rapidly dropped to "6".
At the same time, the previously dimmed line for the Flying Thunder God lit up at the very beginning.
[Flying Thunder God Technique (B-rank): Learned]→[Flying Thunder God Technique: Second Step (A-rank): Locked, 40 Skill Points Required]→[Flying Thunder God Technique: Third Step (S-rank): Locked, ?? Skill Points Required]
*The A-rank Flying Thunder God only needs 40 points?*
Izuna was stunned for a moment, but then it made sense. The prerequisite for learning the Second Step, besides the skill points, was having already learned the basic Flying Thunder God Technique.
So, in total, it was actually 120 points.
*Knock, knock.*
Soon after he mastered the technique, a knock came from the door.
"Come in."
*Creeak.*
The old wooden door let out a teeth-grinding squeal as it opened.
Uchiha Ise walked in carrying a small wooden box. "Vice-Clan Head," he said in a low voice, "the items you requested."
"Thank you. Put it down, then go get some rest."
Izuna's back was to him as he fiddled with a Flying Thunder God kunai he had just retrieved from his system inventory.
"Vice-Clan Head, why do you need these things..."
Before Uchiha Ise could finish, he felt the temperature in the room drop sharply. He quickly stammered, "I-I'll take my leave! I'll take my leave now!"
*Thud!*
The wooden door was shut again.
Izuna opened the wooden box. Inside lay an orange, single-eyed spiral mask and a plain black cloak.
After putting them on, Izuna looked at his reflection in the window.
*Yep, this is it. The same getup Uchiha Obito used under the alias "Tobi."*
*Poof!*
He formed a cross-shaped hand seal, and with a puff of smoke, another Izuna appeared in the room.
Shadow Clone Jutsu.
It was unlikely he'd need it, but it was better to leave one behind just in case.
*Whoosh!*
The next second, Izuna opened the window and hurled the Flying Thunder God kunai high into the air, easily covering a distance of over half a mile.
He vanished from the spot. In almost the same instant, he reappeared hundreds of feet in the air, right where the kunai was.
Bracing against the strong wind, Izuna grinned in excitement. He snatched the kunai from mid-air and threw it forward again.
Vanish, reappear. Vanish, reappear!
In just a few seconds, he was already far from the Uchiha camp.
***
Even for a Jonin-level ninja, traveling from the Uchiha's northwestern Stonecastle would take at least three days.
But with the Flying Thunder God, Izuna arrived by dusk on the second day.
From a cliff, he looked down at the flags hanging at the edge of the canyon below. Each flag bore two different clan crests, side by side.
The Sarutobi clan and the Shimura clan.
The reason their crests appeared on the same flag was simple: like the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, their clans were in an alliance.
It was an alliance with a long and solid history, one they demonstrated by placing their crests on the same banner to show their unity.
Combined, the strength of these two clans could rival that of the Hyuga clan, second only to the Uchiha and Senju during the Warring States period.
It wasn't impossible that they even surpassed them.
*"So, the fated bond between Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo was forged way back in the Warring States period?"*
Izuna, wearing Obito's spiral mask, couldn't help but sneer inwardly. He tossed a Flying Thunder God kunai into the air and vanished once more.
***
Meanwhile, in the Sarutobi-Shimura allied lands.
Sarutobi Furukawa and Shimura Keizo, the heads of their respective clans, were sitting opposite each other, enjoying dinner.
"Furukawa, my friend," Shimura Keizo said, his eyes glinting as he poured his old friend a cup of sake, "with the Hagoromo leading a five-clan alliance against the Uchiha's northwest border, and the Senju poised to attack from the east, shouldn't our two clans take this opportunity to..."
His meaning was obvious. They should also cash in on this opportunity.
However, perhaps by fate, the relationship between Sarutobi Furukawa and Shimura Keizo—the grandfathers of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo—was very similar to their grandsons'.
Though allies, Sarutobi Furukawa was a moderate. He maintained a neutral stance toward the Uchiha and Senju, not wanting to offend either.
Shimura Keizo, on the other hand, was a hardliner. He had always hoped the Sarutobi and Shimura would supplant the Senju and Uchiha to become the two strongest clans of the era.
"Don't underestimate the Uchiha, Keizo," Sarutobi Furukawa said, taking a sip of sake. "It's still uncertain whether the Senju and Uchiha will fight. They just signed a truce less than half a year ago..."
Shimura Keizo snorted. "That's just a piece of paper. As the Uchiha's sworn enemies, how could the Senju possibly pass up this golden opportunity?"
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