Just as Hanzō eliminated Chishū, the commanding officer of Sunagakure, the forces led by Uchiha Kagami had already carved a gap in the defensive line established by the Sunagakure ninja squad.
Through this gap, the Konoha forces, like a sharp blade, pressed deep into the enemy lines, pushing the Sunagakure ninja squad to the brink of collapse.
Although the power of Fire Release was severely limited, the Uchiha clan, besides Fire Release, was also skilled in shurikenjutsu and other taijutsu.
Uchiha Kagami, as a jōnin of the village, also mastered other chakra nature transformations, and wielding the legendary Sage Tool, the Gunbai, his achievements were no less than Hanzō's.
Regarding Uchiha Kagami's strength, Fumori Masaki believed that although he did not possess the Mangekyō Sharingan, with his rich combat experience and ninjutsu, coupled with a Sage Tool like the Gunbai, his strength might not be much inferior to Uchiha Sasuke during the Five Kage Summit.
Just as Black Zetsu said, the Sharingan is equivalent to a weapon; the stronger the weapon, the greater the increase in the user's strength.
However, if the user's basic strength is already high, even with a relatively inferior weapon, they can still display great power.
Conversely, if one's basic strength is lacking, even with the Mangekyō Sharingan, they cannot become a truly independent powerhouse.
In the brotherly battle between Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke, Fumori Masaki felt that Uchiha Itachi indeed did not use his full strength, but that was limited to the combination of his abilities.
If any single ability of Uchiha Itachi were taken out separately, Fumori Masaki believed he would have used his full power.
In other words, Fumori Masaki believed that Uchiha Sasuke did indeed break Uchiha Itachi's Tsukuyomi with just his regular Sharingan.
The way Uchiha Itachi held back was simply by using Tsukuyomi without chaining it with his other techniques like a combo.
If the brotherly battle was an exam, Uchiha Sasuke truly delivered a perfect answer sheet to his older brother.
He used his wisdom to devise solutions for Uchiha Itachi's genjutsu, shurikenjutsu, ninjutsu, and Mangekyō Sharingan.
Finally, Uchiha Sasuke's self-created Kirin even forced his brother to unleash the ultimate power of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
It's believed that when Uchiha Itachi died, he thought Uchiha Sasuke already had the strength to protect himself.
At this moment, Uchiha Kagami was running at the forefront, weaving through the battlefield.
Simply relying on the Gunbai and the scythe attached to its end, he eliminated many Sunagakure ninja.
In his Sharingan's view, the Sunagakure ninja's movements were very slow, and his own physical abilities allowed him to move at a speed exceeding theirs.
In close combat, no Sunagakure ninja could defeat him.
Even ninja tools enhanced with wind-natured chakra by Sunagakure ninja could not harm the Gunbai.
The Gunbai's material was made from a branch of the God Tree—of course, this was not recorded in the Uchiha clan's history and was considered lost knowledge.
Unlike Hanzō's scythe, it was undoubtedly a divine weapon, and how could it be destroyed by an ordinary ninja's Wind Release?
Long-range Wind Release attacks were also absorbed by the Gunbai, then converted into an equal amount of Wind Release to counterattack.
To ordinary people unaware of the Gunbai's secrets, this was truly astonishing, and the Sunagakure ninja who had witnessed its special ability had, without exception, all died.
After using the Gunbai to send a Sunagakure ninja flying, Uchiha Kagami happened to see Hanzō rushing over.
He thought something had happened, but then he heard Hanzō say, "I've already dealt with Sunagakure's commander.
I'm spreading this information now, and I expect the Sunagakure ninja forces will soon completely collapse."
"Is that so?" Uchiha Kagami wiped the rain from his face, but the water continued to stream down.
"This weather, it seems to be getting worse."
"You're new here, so you don't know the situation.
This is the season for heavy rain that occurs several times a year.
Normally, this time of year sees very severe flooding, and who knows how many people die."
Hanzō, having adapted to this situation, appeared calm.
"Fortunately, thanks to the drainage facilities designed with the help of your Konoha Village, at least the civilians in the residential areas don't have to worry about dying.
It's just a pity that all the facilities here are ruined."
Because of the impending battle with Sunagakure ninja, the civilians living in this area had been evacuated to relatively peaceful inland regions.
The fierce fighting obviously couldn't spare a single brick or tile here; not to mention the houses, even the drainage facilities were all destroyed and unusable.
"It doesn't matter; the reparations from the Land of Wind will be used to repair these then.
So many people have died, Sunagakure ninja will have to bleed for it," Uchiha Kagami said.
At this time, Uchiha Kagami did not yet know how much flesh Fumori Masaki's ultimate goal would demand from the Land of Wind.
After all, the war was not yet over, and the specific terms would still need to be decided based on the circumstances.
"That's right, they should compensate us well!" Hanzō laughed heartily, looking at the nearby battlefield.
Their propaganda had already taken effect; with the death of their commander, the Sunagakure ninja forces could not continue fighting here and began to retreat while fighting.
Unlike the collapse and retreat of samurai armies, ninja are inherently based on small teams; even when forming a squad, the scale won't be large, usually only a few hundred people per unit.
The number of Sunagakure ninja forces probably never reached a thousand, and factoring in casualties from the battle, the retreating Sunagakure ninja forces were quite scattered at this moment.
Because they were organized into small teams, despite being scattered, they maintained stability.
During the previous ninja war, Uchiha Kagami already knew that the collapse of ninja forces wouldn't be like samurai armies, where large numbers of battle results could be reaped.
But regardless, the enemy was fleeing in disarray, which was different from an orderly retreat.
As long as they pursued, the results would at least be somewhat greater than in a chaotic melee.
After giving the order to pursue, Uchiha Kagami looked up at the sky.
The rain was very heavy now; if a person went out, they would be drenched in less than three seconds.
In such an environment, even vision was severely affected.
Uchiha Kagami, due to his Sharingan, was no different from normal, but others were not so lucky.
"Let the Uchiha clan members be the vanguard, with everyone else in the rear." Uchiha Kagami re-adjusted the deployment, had the Yamanaka clan members transmit the information, and then turned to Hanzō, "You're native to this place, is this kind of weather still suitable for engaging Sunagakure's main forces?"
"Not very likely. It's not really suitable for large-scale group confrontations anymore.
If it were our Amegakure ninja, adapted to this environment, we might be able to display considerable combat power, but for others, it's uncertain.
Besides, I don't think the enemy is foolish.
Facing such heavy rain and slippery roads, if their commander has any sense, they won't engage us in a large-scale confrontation." Hanzō shook his head.
"Then where do you think they'll stop?" Uchiha Kagami asked again.
Hanzō pondered for a moment and named a location.
He believed they should stop the pursuit there, otherwise, they might delve too deep into enemy territory and be unable to return in time.
So, Uchiha Kagami relayed this information to the pursuing forces, then he and Hanzō used chakra reserve blocks to recover their chakra, and immediately prepared to catch up.
Hanzō held the chakra reserve block, forming a single hand seal to channel the chakra within into his meridians.
The first time he saw this item, he was extremely surprised.
With this, the ninja's weakness of insufficient long-term combat ability could be solved.
He was deeply shocked by the wisdom of Konoha Village.
Once both had replenished their chakra, they charged forward again, quickly arriving at the location of the pursuing forces.
The pursuing forces had now stopped, because this was the location Hanzō had mentioned.
Not far ahead, a large number of Sunagakure ninja forces could be vaguely seen, and the defeated Sunagakure ninja squads were heading there.
Uchiha Kagami narrowed his eyes slightly.
The Sharingan, unlike the Byakugan, couldn't observe very distant objects, but he could vaguely make out the person in front of the large Sunagakure ninja force.
Because during the previous ninja war, he had fought this person before; this person was the Third Kazekage's older sister, and also Sunagakure's second-in-command—Chiyo.
Just as Uchiha Kagami looked at Chiyo, Chiyo also noticed the person in the distance.
She could see a streak of blood-red light, a light she deeply detested.
During the First Ninja World War, it was people with these lights in their eyes who repeatedly thwarted Sunagakure's attacks.
"Tch, is it someone from the Uchiha clan? Probably that guy Uchiha Kagami," Chiyo said expressionlessly.
Everyone knew the Uchiha clan was Konoha Village's Military Police Force.
Except during wartime, these Uchiha clan members with internal positions rarely came out.
But no one would underestimate these clans who seemingly hunkered down within the village.
And Chiyo would never forget that it was Uchiha Kagami, along with Shimura Danzō of Konoha Village, who eliminated her teacher, Monzaemon.
Neither Shimura Danzō nor Uchiha Kagami—one was the leader of the village's military police, and the other was an important captain of Konoha Village's Anbu—were easy to find. (Sunagakure still didn't know that Shimura Danzō had been transferred out of Anbu; even after moving to the Intelligence Division, Shimura Danzō still took care to protect his identity.)
But now, due to the war, Uchiha Kagami had left the village and appeared here.
Although Chiyo couldn't clearly see Uchiha Kagami's face, she was certain that person was Uchiha Kagami.
Because facing the Land of Wind, the opposing side would definitely send high-ranking ninja from their village, and within the Uchiha clan, it could only be that Uchiha Kagami.
She couldn't help but feel intense hatred.
"Now, Uchiha Kagami must pay the price, and as for that Shimura Danzō, I'll settle accounts with him in the future!" Chiyo took a deep breath.
Although her temper wasn't great, she was no longer young and at least knew the importance of staying calm.
Despite wishing to immediately go and kill Uchiha Kagami, she knew now was not a good time to fight.
She looked up at the leaden, rolling clouds and the ceaseless downpour, feeling a bit depressed.
When would this awful weather finally stop?
If the weather remained so severe, Sunagakure would clearly find it difficult to launch an attack under such conditions.
Chiyo weighed her options repeatedly and decided to observe the situation in the coming days; for now, she would lead the troops back.
So, she glanced over there again, as if to engrave Uchiha Kagami's figure in her heart, then led her troops away.
Watching the large Sunagakure ninja force gradually recede into the distance, Uchiha Kagami let out a soft breath, feeling somewhat relieved.
Although he wasn't afraid of the enemy's attacks, this weather not only affected the opponent but also affected him and his comrades.
It was equally detrimental to their side and not a good time for battle.
Speaking of which, as for this battle, they had undoubtedly achieved the village's objective.
Even without having calculated, by looking at the composition of their own forces and the Sunagakure ninja corpses lying on the ground, Uchiha Kagami could determine that the village's target of a high exchange ratio had been met.
Moreover, on the other side of the battlefield, there were still Sunagakure ninja forces who hadn't managed to retreat, and their numbers were not small.
Capturing them alive meant valuable prisoners, and if they died, they would be heads counted towards military achievements.
Neither situation was a loss; it was just unknown how the situation was on that side while they were fighting here.
Hanzō learned from Uchiha Kagami that some Sunagakure ninja were still stranded on this side and immediately said, "Since that's the case, we must quickly deal with these people.
Whether alive or killed, it must be done quickly.
If they are allowed to roam inland, they could threaten internal peace."
Uchiha Kagami nodded and said, "According to my previous arrangements, the troops left there should have already begun their operation.
I just don't know the results.
If they remember to prioritize capturing prisoners, they should first surround them to prevent them from escaping.
As for the rest, we can discuss it later."
"Surrounding them is good," Hanzō sighed in relief and said, "Then let's go and check the situation.
The losses and such can be calculated by the people below."
"Alright." Uchiha Kagami nodded and ordered his men to clean up the battlefield, especially the corpses, as improper handling could lead to epidemics.
Their own casualties and material losses also needed to be tallied, while he and Hanzō led a unit to the other side of the battlefield.
Upon arriving there, they were immediately noticed by Konoha ninja sentries.
After confirming their identities, Uchiha Kagami and Hanzō inquired about the current situation.
The commander in charge of the encirclement first stated that the troops had surrounded the Sunagakure ninja and were slowly wearing them down, but then complained, "I really don't know what's wrong with these people.
They would rather die than surrender.
Even though they've been pushed to a dead end and captured by our men, they still struggle to detonate the explosive tags on their bodies."
Hanzō was greatly astonished by this, but Uchiha Kagami remained calm.
He had sensed the enemy's strong fighting will before, but looking at the current situation, he vaguely felt that behind this strong will, there seemed to be another hidden reason.