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That evening, the Second Elder returned from the Hyūga clan.
"They refused? ...I see." The clan leader sighed softly—things hadn't gone as smoothly as hoped.
"It seems the Hyūga truly suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Uchiha in previous years," Akio remarked.
"That must be the case. Otherwise, they wouldn't have given up on such a great opportunity." The clan leader felt helpless. "It looks like our plan to minimize losses won't work this time..."
"Don't worry. With Second Uncle here, I will protect our clan members," Akio reassured him.
Both the Second Elder and the clan leader rolled their eyes at him, making Akio's face flush with embarrassment.
Stepping out of the clan leader's hall, Akio muttered to himself, "I am not the same as before… This war will surely surprise everyone."
The next morning, after breakfast, Akio packed his gear and arrived at the front of the clan leader's hall.
A large number of clan members had already gathered there, with even more arriving.
After about half an hour, the Second and Third Elders arrived, following closely behind the clan leader.
The clan leader surveyed the assembled group and said, "It looks like everyone is almost here. I won't say much—just hope for everyone's safe return."
"I'll leave the rest to the two elders," the clan leader said, turning to them.
"Rest assured, clan leader," the two elders responded in unison.
"Move out!" The Second Elder issued the order after a few final words with the clan leader.
"Yes!" came the synchronized response. With that, the Uzumaki forces set off for the Eastern Plains battlefield, Akio among them.
As they marched, Akio carefully observed the group of shinobi and was surprised by what he saw—over a dozen elite Jōnin, two peak-level Jōnin, and hundreds of skilled Chūnin and Genin.
"This is nearly half of our clan's strength. It seems the clan is determined to teach the Kaguya a lesson," Akio thought to himself.
They traveled non-stop throughout the day, finally arriving at the Senju camp on the battlefield by evening.
Along the way, they encountered several Senju and Kaguya scouts but did not engage them. With such a large force on the move, stealth was impossible—it was better to let both sides know directly.
So, as they approached the Senju camp, Hashirama and Tobirama came out to meet them.
"Thank you, Uzumaki clan, for your support. You must be exhausted after such a long journey. Set up camp and rest first—let's talk strategy after dinner," Hashirama greeted them warmly.
After eating and settling in, the Second and Third Elders followed Hashirama to meet the Senju's Eastern Battlefield Elder. Akio, grinning, tagged along. Though the elders shot him disapproving looks, they did not stop him.
To their surprise, they found the Eastern Elder bedridden.
"Pardon my appearance. This old body of mine is growing useless," the elder said weakly.
It turned out that the Senju had engaged in a probing battle with the Kaguya that morning and nearly suffered a crushing defeat. Both the Kaguya's First and Second Elders had appeared on the battlefield. Hashirama and Tobirama had managed to hold off the Second Elder, but the Eastern Elder had been completely overwhelmed by the First Elder in just ten minutes.
"I was outmatched... Damn that Kaguya Taketori! If Hashirama hadn't had a breakthrough in battle, I wouldn't have made it back," the Eastern Elder said. Despite his words, he wore a faint smile—clearly pleased with Hashirama's talent.
"Now that you're here, I can rest easier. I've been worrying about a Kaguya sneak attack…" he said, completely ignoring Akio, who didn't seem to mind.
However, Tobirama looked thoughtful. After having fought Uchiha Madara alongside Akio and working with him to develop the Flying Thunder God technique, he refused to believe this so-called "useless" elder was as incompetent as rumors claimed.
"This will be a tough battle," Akio thought. He had initially believed that with the Uzumaki reinforcements, the tide would shift in their favor—but seeing the Eastern Elder's condition, things were looking grim.
Just then, the two Uzumaki Elders finished their discussion with the Eastern Elder and stepped outside, with Akio following behind.
After a long day of travel, the Uzumaki forces were exhausted, and everyone quickly retired for the night.
The next morning, just as Akio was caught between sleep and wakefulness, a loud cry rang through the camp.
"All units, prepare for battle! The Kaguya are attacking!"
Akio flipped out of bed and sat up straight. He knew—the Kaguya must have been aware of the Senju's reinforcements, yet they still dared to attack. They must have some hidden trump card.
Stepping outside, he saw the two Uzumaki Elders already gathering their forces. The Eastern Elder had also been helped out of his tent.
Before long, the Kaguya forces arrived before the camp, but the one leading them was not Kaguya Taketori.
"Damn it, Kaguya Shōrai! You dare come to the battlefield yourself? Are you not afraid of leaving your clan defenseless?!" the Eastern Elder shouted.
It turned out that the Kaguya clan leader himself had come, explaining why the attack was launched so soon.
"Hmph! Once I wipe you all out here, I can return in time!" Kaguya Shōrai declared.
The Eastern Elder's expression darkened. In this battlefield, no one could stop Kaguya Shōrai. Even if he were uninjured, he could hold out for no more than five minutes.
The two Uzumaki Elders exchanged glances, their faces grim. "That madman! Their home must be completely defenseless—even a mid-tier clan could wipe them out now!"
"Hashirama, restrict the Kaguya clan leader's movements. We'll take it from there," the Second Elder requested.
Without hesitation, Hashirama acted. "Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!"
Wood Release was truly a battlefield dominator. Though its main goal was to restrict Kaguya Shōrai, many of the Kaguya's lower-ranking shinobi were injured in the process.
At that moment, the two Uzumaki Elders and their two peak-level Jōnin used the Body Flicker Technique to surround Kaguya Shōrai.
"Ninjutsu: Four Purple Flame Formation!" They trapped him within dual-layered barriers, cutting him off from the battlefield.
"Good!" The Eastern Elder shouted, pushing away his aides. "Now, Hashirama, Tobirama—hold off Kaguya Taketori! As for the Second Elder, I will stake my life to keep him here! Everyone else, kill them all!"
"Wait, Elder!" Tobirama interrupted, turning to Akio. "Second Granduncle, can you handle the Kaguya Second Elder?"
Akio nodded slowly. "Leave Kaguya Senzō to me."
The Eastern Elder was baffled, but when he saw Akio engage Kaguya Senzō, skillfully using his masterful Substitution Jutsu, shuriken techniques, and quickfire Rasengan assaults, he realized—Akio was no weakling.
Seizing the moment, the Eastern Elder quickly commanded the combined Senju and Uzumaki forces to press their attack.
With their superior numbers, the enemy suffered heavy casualties.
"Damn it! A mere barrier technique can trap me?! Dance of the Seedling Fern!" Kaguya Shōrai roared, unleashing his forbidden Shikotsumyaku technique, disregarding the risk of triggering the Kaguya bloodline disease.
Countless bone spears erupted from the ground, forcing the four Uzumaki to break formation and dodge.
With the barrier shattered, Kaguya Shōrai charged into the battlefield like a mad beast, only stopping when Kaguya Taketori called out, "Clan Leader, our forces have suffered too many losses. Let's retreat and regroup!"
"Tch… Fine! Retreat!" Kaguya Shōrai growled reluctantly.
As the Kaguya withdrew, both Senju and Uzumaki forces breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure Kaguya Shōrai exerted was immense.
"For now, the battle is over." Akio exhaled, glancing at the sun overhead.
"I wonder how many more of our people we've lost…"
Such is war...
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