Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

"No, we can't send any more people. We've already lost fifteen Jonin. Continuing with this piecemeal tactic will only exhaust our defenses!"

"Then what do you suggest we do? Let those few Konoha ninjas follow us? If we don't deal with them now, do you believe a whole bunch of Konoha ninjas will suddenly appear and wipe us all out? If that happens, our army will be finished!"

The Cloud Ninja's command post was set up on the back of a rather large hairy hippo. This hairy hippo came from Turtle Island and was tamed by the Cloud Ninja and left in the Hidden Cloud Village as a vehicle. This thing can climb mountains and cross rivers, and its speed on land is quite fast. Most importantly, it has excellent load-bearing capacity; it can even build a house on its broad back without any problem.

In fact, the Yunren actually built a wooden house on the back of a hippopotamus.

More than 20 staff officers were in this room, remotely commanding this massive force of more than 15,000 people through radio communication equipment, special communication methods of sensing ninjas, and various ninja beasts they had trained. If the troops that had been lost in the previous battles were included, the total number of troops deployed exceeded 20,000. This was almost all the resources that the Cloud Ninja had saved up during the Third Shinobi World War were poured into this war!

to be frank,

With such a large force, it was extremely difficult for the twenty-odd staff officers to command. Their brains were practically boiling from working at high speed. Just as they were working hard in the cold weather, their foreheads were covered in sweat, when the guards responsible for their protection informed them that they had been targeted by Konoha ninjas and asked them what to do.

This was undoubtedly adding insult to injury, causing the staff officers, already under immense pressure, to roar hysterically.

They immediately sent people to eliminate the Konoha ninja following behind, but they never returned, and so far three groups of people have been killed!

The disagreement arose from this point.

Some people believe that this group of Konoha ninja must be eliminated, otherwise it will be a thorn in their side and they will never have peace of mind; but others feel that instead of using piecemeal tactics to send people to their deaths, it would be better to shrink the defensive line. As long as Konoha does not send a large army, with the strength of the command headquarters, there is no need to worry about it being breached so easily.

While they were arguing,

"I'll go!"

The abrupt statement interrupted the debate.

The staff officers looked over, and it was the two Yukito who were speaking.

"Eh? Lady Yugito..."

It's true that Jinchuriki aren't well-liked in the villages, but those with high strength do hold a respectable position. These advisors may privately dislike and hate Yugito, but they can't be disrespectful to her in public.

"I'll handle those few Konoha ninjas. You all focus on the battle at the front."

"But... is it okay?"

The staff officers hesitated.

It's no secret that Yugito Nii has recently changed. At least the advisors know that Yugito Nii is no longer the belligerent Two-Tails Jinchuriki she used to be. The Raikage has also repeatedly warned that Yugito Nii should not be allowed to take action unless absolutely necessary.

Therefore, they did not intend to put the two Yugito into battle so soon.

However, it was unexpected that the two Yukitos would volunteer for the battle.

"What problem could there be? Or do you have a better solution now? If I don't take action, I estimate that I would have to send out almost all the Jonin here to deal with those few Konoha ninjas. Don't underestimate the Konoha ninjas just because there are only a few of them. There are some very powerful experts among them! If we leave them alone, and wait for other Konoha experts to come to our aid, even I am not very confident that I can handle this trouble."

The two wooden figures leaned against the door and spoke slowly.

She hates war now.

However, she did not forget that she was a Kumogakure ninja. Seeing her comrades die one after another, she could not remain indifferent. Her loyalty to the village overwhelmed her aversion to the war. However, she was also planning to capture those few Konoha ninja alive. She knew what the biggest goal of this war was, not to defeat or crush Konoha's army, but to find a way to force Konoha to the negotiating table to end this war.

Therefore,

Instead of sitting idly and waiting, it's better to take the initiative.

“Well…” The strategists exchanged glances, clearly realizing that what the two Yugitos said was not an exaggeration, and that there was indeed no better choice at the moment. One of them spoke up: “Lord Yugito, please take two squads with you!”

"can!"

Seeing that the advisors had reached a consensus, the two Yugitos readily agreed to the lenient request, which was hardly even a condition. It was nothing more than to keep watch nearby. Since she had no intention of betraying the village, she didn't care about such a trivial matter. She immediately turned around and set off with the two Cloud Ninja squads, heading quickly toward the Konoha ninjas following behind the command post.

······

"These Cloud Ninja don't seem like a threat at all!"

Chihaya Uchiha wiped the blood off her face with her sleeve, then looked at Nono Yakushi and said excitedly, "Nono-neechan, why don't we just charge in?"

"Don't do anything reckless! Have you forgotten about the Two-Tails Jinchuriki?"

Yakushi Nonou is tending to Ringo Ameyuri's wounds. Although Uchiha Chihaya keeps saying that these Cloud Ninjas are no good, there are actually a few skilled ones among them. Not only did Ringo Ameyuri get cuts on her arm and ribs, but Kakashi also had his left arm bone fractured while protecting Juri.

The Cloud Ninja are not weaklings.

It's just that Yakushi Nonou and her team are too strong. Even in Konoha, there aren't many experts stronger than them. Uchiha Chihaya's skills are probably around the fourth best in the Uchiha clan today, after Sogen, Shisui, and Fugaku.

Many veteran Jonin from various clans were no match for Uchiha Chihaya in one-on-one sparring.

Kakashi's abilities are beyond question. How could a man who became the Sixth Hokage in the original future of history be weak? Even though he wasn't an Uchiha, that Sharingan constantly drained Kakashi's chakra, yet Kakashi still used it with great skill. Even many original Uchiha couldn't match his mastery of the Sharingan.

There's also Ringo Ameyuri, a lightning-style genius girl from Kirigakure and a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. She wields the lightning sword Kiba, and her combat strength rivals that of Uchiha Chihaya. Due to elemental disadvantage, she often suffers losses against Uchiha Chihaya. However, even the Cloud Ninja, who also uses lightning-style techniques, cannot withstand the blade of this genius girl from Kirigakure!

"The Two-Tails Jinchuriki... I wonder when I'll be able to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan?"

Uchiha Chihaya muttered listlessly.

Upon learning that the clan leader, Shisui, and Elder Fugaku had all awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, many members of the clan were trying to find a way to awaken their own. The earth-shattering 'divine power' of Susanoo aroused an irrepressible desire in many members of the clan.

Uchiha

They are a race that admires the strong!

They are arrogant because of their strength, and the pursuit of power is ingrained in the bones of most people. People like Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, who are not obsessed with strength, are definitely a minority.

Ironically, Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, these minority members, were all exceptionally talented, and their rapid growth made many of their clansmen green with envy!

"hold on."

Yakushi Nono is very patient.

"As long as we don't lose them, there's no need to confront the Cloud Ninja head-on. Our mission is to search and track; destruction and sabotage are not within our purview. Chihaya, acting on your own is not the behavior of a qualified ninja."

As they spoke, they finished treating Ringo Ameyuri's wounds.

Her gaze turned northwest, the curtain of wind and snow obscuring her vision, preventing her from seeing too far ahead. However, she knew that the Cloud Ninja's command post was not far ahead! Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two small, dark-colored sparrows fly through the wind and snow to Zhu Li's side, and then plunge into the blank space on the open scroll.

New information has arrived!

only--

"Ten o'clock position, all personnel on high alert!"

After reading the information on the scroll, Zhu Li hurriedly issued a warning.

Upon hearing the sound, everyone immediately turned their attention to the ten o'clock direction. A dark red figure broke through the wind and snow, striking like a crimson lightning bolt. Judging from its trajectory, its target was none other than Zhu Li!

However, Kakashi's reaction was extremely fast!

The three hand seals—Si, Hai, and Xu—were completed in an instant. Then, he slapped the ground with both hands, channeling the refined earth-attribute chakra into the earth.

"Earth Escape·Earth Flow Wall."

The earth was shaking.

A thick rock wall, resembling a city wall and adorned with dog-head statues, burst forth from the ground, blocking the path of the dark red figure advancing towards Mount Lu. It protected Zhu Li from behind. Zhu Li himself was no weakling; whether in the Dark Division or Root, he was considered a top-tier expert.

She didn't waste the time Kakashi had bought for her. She flicked the scroll in her hand, and a giant black eagle flew out. Juri leaped onto the eagle's back and soared into the air, narrowly avoiding the terrifying attack. From the air, she saw the rock wall being smashed to pieces by the attacker, and the flying rocks almost knocked the giant eagle beneath her down!

but,

Its mission has been accomplished!

"It's the Two-Tails Jinchuriki! The attacker is the Two-Tails Jinchuriki! Everyone be careful."

Juri knew this was a bit of hindsight, but there was nothing she could do. No one expected the Two-Tails Jinchuriki to arrive so quickly, so quickly that she only received the information a tiny bit earlier than expected. Perhaps this also exposed her as the team's sensory ninja, and she was targeted by Yugito Nii, almost getting smashed to pieces.

She wasn't being self-deprecating; she simply knew very well that she was no match for a Jinchuriki, and she wasn't one of the monsters from the Uchiha clan.

Fighting a Jinchūriki is something like...

Let's leave it to the experts who are better at combat!

As a sensory ninja, her mission was to keep an eye on the Cloud Ninja's command post and prevent them from slipping away! Otherwise, all their efforts would have been in vain.

"They came so fast!"

Yakushi Nono's face was ashen.

She knew the Two-Tails Jinchuriki was guarding the command post, which is why she tried her best to stop Uchiha Chihaya's charge. Unfortunately, they couldn't get close, but Yugito Nii took the initiative to attack! This was one of the worst possible scenarios she had anticipated!

"Kakashi, Chihaya, Ameyuri, don't die!"

As soon as he finished speaking,

Yakushi Nonou threw out her specially made smoke bomb.

However, the next second, the half-tailed beast Yugito opened her mouth and let out a low roar. The gust of wind she stirred up dispersed the smoke completely. She turned her eyes and first looked up at the dark giant eagle in the sky. She estimated the distance and realized that unless she was fully transformed into a tailed beast, she would not be able to reach that height.

"What a pity!"

She felt extremely regretful.

If she could capture this sensory ninja at the beginning, she wouldn't need to fight these Konoha ninjas anymore. She could just shake them off and the command post would be safe. However, this was just wishful thinking, since she wasn't sure if there was a second sensory ninja among the others.

In fact, it does exist.

Kakashi's ninja dogs also possess tracking abilities, but with Juri present, he simply chose to conserve chakra...

Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spear!

Kakashi has no intention of conserving chakra at this moment.

Fighting a monster like a Jinchuriki with the idea of ​​conserving chakra is just asking for trouble. Just looking at the scene where the Two-Tails Jinchuriki smashed the Earth Flow Wall, he honestly gave up on the idea of ​​close combat. Although he had dabbled in Hardening Technique, he obviously hadn't trained it to be harder than stone.

At this moment,

Ninjutsu attacks are the best strategy!

As for genjutsu... When he saw the two different chakras active within Yugito Nii, he realized that his genjutsu would be difficult to work on Yugito Nii, even though one of his eyes was a Sharingan, but he had not learned the genjutsu of the Uchiha clan.

Rock spears burst forth from beneath the two Yugito's feet, moving with incredible speed and striking with tremendous force.

Unfortunately, the two Yugitos' agility exceeded Kakashi's expectations. With incredible flexibility, they twisted their bodies and dodged the attacks of the rock spears like boneless cats. However, while dodging the rock spears, she saw an attack coming from both sides.

[Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Technique]

[Lightning Release: Star Alignment]

Uchiha Chihaya and Ringo Ameyuri launched their attack from the left and right respectively.

Fireballs and flashing lightning bolts flew towards Yugito Nii. Although she was protected by the Tailed Beast Cloth, it didn't mean she wouldn't feel pain when she was hit. Seeing the attacks coming from both sides, Yugito Nii chose to move and dodge. She ran like lightning across the wasteland, avoiding the two attackers, and changed direction to attack Chihaya Uchiha.

[Chapter 214: Still Water's Return to His Hometown]

How strong are Jinchūriki?