Chapter 183: Fall of the Leaf Village

Homura Mitokado looked nervously over his shoulder.

Following Homura's gaze, Dan Uchiha glanced back casually.

"Not good!"

Outside the Uchiha clan's territory, several Anbu who were tasked to chase after Homura noticed Dan looking in their direction and were instantly scared out of their wits.

Whoosh, whoosh.

In the blink of an eye, they disappeared, using the Body Flicker Technique to escape and report back to Danzō Shimura.

Ten minutes later.

In the meeting room of the Reanimation division's building.

"This is all I managed to get, the rest of the Sharingan fell into Danzō's hands."

Homura Mitokado brought out the Sharingan he had managed to snatch, ranging from one tomoe to three tomoe. In total, he only had six or seven pairs.

After Dan slowly collected the few pairs of Sharingan, Homura couldn't help but urge him:

"Dan Uchiha, it's your turn to fulfill your promise and help me deal with Danzō."

Homura was filled with resentment.

Not only did he want to avenge his deceased friend, Koharu Utatane, more importantly, he wanted to save the village.

However, before Dan could respond...

Boom. Boom.

Several loud explosions suddenly rang out from outside the Leaf Village.

Huh?

Tsunade was startled and quickly ran to the window. She saw fires raging outside the village, with thick smoke billowing and trees falling in masses. Then, deafening battle cries followed.

"The united Shinobi forces... have launched a full-scale attack on the Leaf," Tsunade turned back and said solemnly.

Oh? They're rather fast.

Upon hearing this, Dan glanced at Homura and spoke with some difficulty:

"Well, if we kill the Hokage at this time, the Leaf will be thrown into a leaderless state, which might... not be very good, right?"

Homura was shaken.

"It's over, the village is finished."

He muttered, his eyes unfocused, and in his despair, he suddenly coughed up a large mouthful of blood and collapsed onto the tatami mat.

Tsunade walked over, checked him, and then shook her head at Dan:

"He's beyond help."

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.

These two elders and advisors of the Leaf Village both died at the hands of Danzō today, their lives abruptly ended.

Looking at the encroaching enemy forces outside the village.

Tsunade clenched her fists, her brows furrowed, her body taut, ready to take action at any moment.

Just then.

Pat.

Dan's hand landed on Tsunade's shoulder:

"Don't worry. Let's first see how our Fifth Hokage, Danzō, performs. Didn't he say he was going to defeat the united Shinobi forces and save the Leaf?"

"Who's worried?"

Tsunade turned her head and glared at Dan, still being stubborn, but her clenched fist gradually relaxed.

Outside the Leaf Village.

In the forest, a Cloud ninja accidentally triggered a trap set by the Leaf ninjas, causing an explosive tag to explode, killing him instantly.

From this second onwards, the decisive battle of the Fourth Great Ninja War commenced.

Forty thousand united Shinobi forces surrounded the entire Leaf.

The Hidden Sand, Hidden Mist, Hidden Cloud, and Hidden Stone, each attacked the Leaf's east gate, west gate, south gate, and the hills behind the village simultaneously.

The Leaf's defense force was twenty thousand.

Although they were outnumbered, the Leaf ninja were fighting on their home turf, more familiar with the terrain, and had set up a large number of traps in advance, thus firmly holding the advantage.

It was still uncertain who would have the upper hand.

At the south gate of the village.

As the main entrance of the Leaf, this was naturally the most heavily guarded position with the most troops, the dense defense lines were like high walls.

Not even a fly could get in.

The enemy choosing to attack from the main entrance was none other than the Hidden Cloud who had first declared war on the Leaf.

As the commander of the Cloud forces, the Fourth Raikage's combat objective was clear, that was —

To breach the Leaf from the front.

However.

Right at the start, the Cloud encountered a significant obstacle.

Whoosh.

A massive red toad descended from the sky, landing in the midst of the Cloud forces, squashing dozens, if not hundreds of people, with a single sit.

Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique.

This toad was the summoning creature of Jiraiya, the current advisor to the Hokage — Gamaken.

"Another fight, huh? The enemy this time better not be that damned fox again."

Upon his arrival, Gamaken complained, then looked around.

Although he didn't see the Nine-Tails, the dense Cloud forces surrounding him made his expression more solemn than ever.

Judging from the situation, a unprecedented tough battle was coming.

Whoosh.

Jiraiya jumped and landed on Gamaken's head.

Facing the nearly ten thousand enemy forces ahead, he furrowed his brow, then shouted to Gamaken below his feet: "Use that move!"

As soon as he finished speaking.

The tacit understanding formed over many years made the man and the toad cast their techniques simultaneously.

Jiraiya spewed out a dragon-like flame from his mouth;

While Gamaken sprayed a large amount of toad oil with his astonishing lung capacity.

When the flame and oil mixed in the air, it instantly caused a violent chemical reaction, amplifying the power and range of the Fire Release by more than ten times.

Combination Transformation: Toad Oil Flame Bullet.

This was the so-called "adding fuel to the fire."

Whoosh.

In the terrified eyes of many Cloud ninja, a terrifying sea of fire rushed towards them, covering a radius of hundreds of meters.

The raging sea of fire swallowed thousands of Cloud ninja in an instant.

"So powerful."

"Long live Lord Jiraiya!"

Seeing this, many Leaf ninja excitedly shouted Jiraiya's name, and morale was greatly boosted.

At the east gate of the Leaf Village.

"Charge into the Leaf, kill everyone, loot everything valuable, then burn this village to ashes!"

A group of Mist ninja howled, their eyes bloodshot from intense excitement, like mad dogs attacking the Leaf's defense lines.

Here to resist the Hidden Mist was the Hyūga clan, led by Hiashi Hyūga.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Countless kunai and shuriken flew from all directions, targeting Hiashi, about to turn him into a pincushion.

"Rotation!"

Hiashi roared, casting the Hyūga clan's secret technique, rotating at high speed and forming a chakra barrier outside his body.

All the attacks were deflected.

Then he locked onto an enemy jōnin with his Byakugan and fiercely smacked his palm into the air.

Eight Trigrams Air Palm.

"Ehh!"

With a scream, the Mist jōnin spat out blood, was sent flying back, and had his heart vessels broken by an invisible chakra shock wave.

"Long live the clan head!" The ninja of the Hyūga clan cheered.

Cooperating with the Hyūga in the battle were the Inuzuka clan, who bred and fought with ninja dogs, and other small ninja clans, such as the Moonlight clan and Sunset clan.

They held their ground at the Leaf's east gate, not giving an inch.

At the west gate of the Leaf Village.

Facing the aggressive Sand forces, the ninja of the Aburame clan stepped forward.

This clan, usually low-profile in the Leaf, was often overlooked and...

Often overlooked, the Aburame clan demonstrated their deadly prowess on the battlefield, a fact only their enemies truly understood.

Their insects, numbering in the millions, rampaged through the forests of the Leaf Village, halting the advance of the Sand forces. Though the Sand's army boasted eight thousand, they were vastly outnumbered by the Aburame's insects.

Under the Aburame's control, the insects scurried onto their enemies, their sharp mandibles tearing at the enemy's skin, injecting deadly toxins. Some insects burrowed directly into the bodies of Sand shinobi, feasting on their organs and causing them to writhe in excruciating pain.

Alongside the Aburame, other clans, such as the Mitsu, Kazamatsuri, and Kurama clans fought valiantly. Their combined efforts not only prevented the Sand from infiltrating the Leaf, but even forced them to retreat several kilometers.

In the forests behind the Leaf Village...

Thud, thud, thud.

The ground shook as colossal figures, standing over ten meters tall, clad in red armor emblazoned with the character for "food", battled against the Stone shinobi. They were the Akimichi clan shinobi, who had used their Multi-Size Technique.

Among these powerful Akimichi, the Nara and Yamanaka clans were also present, combining their unique secret techniques.

The highly intelligent Nara clan devised strategies and used their Shadow Imitation Technique to control the enemy.

The Yamanaka clan, adept at sensory and mental manipulation, identified targets and connected the thoughts of their comrades.

Finally, the Akimichi clan, with their destructive power, delivered the final blow to the enemy.

The trio, known as "Ino–Shika–Chō", once again proved their worth on the battlefield.

Under their leadership, a force of less than five thousand Leaf shinobi managed to hold back the Stone's army, three times their number.

From a bird's eye view...

The Leaf shinobi launched a counterattack. The elite shinobi of each clan led their troops in a valiant defense against the enemy. For a time, neither side could gain the upper hand.

This was the power of the Leaf, the strongest of the five great shinobi villages.

Despite the Leaf's talent drain over the years and the serious internal strife that led to disunity, at this critical moment of life and death...

The Leaf shinobi erupted with astonishing power.

Never underestimate the Leaf.

...

While the war raged on, there was an eerily quiet place.

The Uchiha clan's land.

Located in the southwest corner of the Leaf Village, it was within the range of the Cloud's attack. Previously, the Fourth Raikage had ordered his troops to avoid the Uchiha land, with no one permitted near the area.

The Cloud and the Uchiha, or to be more precise, the Uchiha's Dan, had agreed to mutual non-aggression.

However.

The unusual state of the Uchiha land soon caught the attention of the Sand.

Among the major shinobi villages...

The Sand's strength was relatively the weakest, with neither the quantity nor the average quality of its shinobi matching that of the other villages. So far, they had suffered heavy losses.

Faced with the Leaf's impenetrable defense, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, was growing frustrated.

Just then...

An elite shinobi named Maki reported the situation in the Uchiha's land to Rasa.

It seemed that there were no Leaf forces stationed there, which was an excellent direction for the Sand to attack.

Hearing this news...

Rasa's spirits lifted, and he immediately ordered Chiyo and Ebizō to lead the Sand's main forces to hold their ground.

He personally led a thousand elite Sand shinobi into the Uchiha's land.

The streets were deserted.

It seemed that after the Uchiha left the Leaf, their clan's land had been abandoned.

"Why didn't the Leaf station any troops here?"

Rasa murmured to himself, puzzled.

So, he ordered his Sand shinobi to stay alert and not be complacent, fearing a trap laid by the Leaf shinobi.

But Rasa soon discovered that he was overthinking.

There were no ambushes by Leaf shinobi in the Uchiha's land, nor were there any explosive tags or other traps. There was no hint of danger.

Until they passed by the Body Modification Department building.

Hmm?

Rasa stopped in his tracks, looking at the building. Above the entrance hung a sign with the words "Uchiha Body Modification Department", with a bicep icon above it.

Something was odd about this place.

Rasa closed his eyes, using his sensory abilities to investigate the interior of the building, but he found no chakra reaction.

Was he being overly suspicious?

Rasa thought so, but he still felt uneasy. Frowning, he ordered two Sand Anbu:

"Go in and check."

"Yes."

The two Anbu immediately complied, entering the Body Modification Department building under the watchful eyes of the Sand shinobi.

However, only a few seconds later...

Thump, thump.

With two muffled sounds, the two Sand Anbu were flung out of the building like cannonballs, landing in front of Rasa and the others, causing the ground to crack.

Their chests were deeply indented, blood flowing from their seven orifices, their faces filled with terror, as if they had seen something horrifying.

They were killed by a punch.

The horrific state of their deaths sent chills down the spines of the onlookers.

"Surround the building!"

Rasa's eyes hardened, and he ordered in a low voice.

With his command, the Sand shinobi immediately surrounded the Body Modification Department building.

Inside the building, there was still no movement.

However, under the terrified gaze of the Sand shinobi, a dark aura began to emanate from the windows, walls, and the entrance of the building.

Especially the entrance of the Body Modification Department, it was filled with a dense darkness, like a gaping maw of a beast from the abyss, ready to devour anyone who dared approach.

"Hmph, what a charade."

Rasa saw this and quickly formed seals, pressing a palm to the ground.

Boom.

Countless grains of golden sand emerged from the ground, floating in mid-air like seawater, surrounding the Body Modification Department building.

Magnet Release: Gold Dust.

"Whoever you are, since you refuse to come out, then... be buried with this building."

Rasa chuckled, stretching a hand forward and slowly clenched it into a fist, controlling the gold dust to envelop the Body Modification Department building.

In just a second...

His gold dust could destroy the building, reducing it to ruins.

But just then...

Hmm?

Rasa suddenly found himself immobilized by an invisible force. He couldn't move a finger, let alone launch any jutsu.

At the same time...

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

The surrounding Sand shinobi, along with the Body Modification Department building, everything was rapidly moving away from him, disappearing from his sight.

Finally, even the sky and the ground disappeared, leaving only darkness before Rasa's eyes.

And in that darkness...

A pair of massive eyes appeared.

They were a pair of gigantic, blood-red eyes. The Yin-Yang fish pattern in their pupils slowly swirled, emitting a terrifying ocular power that made one's heart palpitate.

Rasa's heart trembled, his eyes filled with horror, and he stammered out a name:

"Uchiha... Dan..."