Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

The water whips coming from the left and right are known for their considerable power just by the sharp whistling sound they produce when swung. Although the water whip is only a C-rank ninjutsu, the rank of a ninjutsu is not entirely linked to its power. Its evaluation criteria take into account many factors and are quite complex. However, one thing is certain: the same ninjutsu can have vastly different power depending on who wields it.

The Water Whip Technique being used by these two Mist Ninja is a prime example; its power has already exceeded ordinary standards.

If he were hit, his bones would break, his tendons would crumble, and he would be torn to pieces... But that's impossible. The armor he's wearing has the defensive power of a 'D-rank Noble Phantasm'. Even if it can't completely protect him from all the attacks he receives, it can still help him reduce the damage.

At most, you'll be sent flying, leaving you with some bruises and swelling.

"Uchiha Style: Great Fire Sword".

Faced with the attack of the Water Release technique, Zongxian finally recalled the good old days when he set fire to the Mist Ninja on the battlefield. So he drew his sword, and the blazing fire flowed around the blade. Facing the water whip that came down from the left and right, he swung his sword in mid-air and drew a beautiful semi-circle!

Attack against attack, strength against strength!

Back on the battlefield, his favorite thing to do was to use fire-style techniques to overwhelm the water-style techniques of the mist ninjas!

Defeat the enemy by targeting their strongest and most proficient areas.

It was precisely because of Zongxian's vile character and behavior that he earned the title of "Flame Demon." The word "Flame" indicates the power of his fire-style techniques, while the title "Demon" is used to describe his wicked behavior.

The blade and the water whip clashed in the air, accompanied by an explosion of extremely high-temperature flames. The water whip was completely evaporated, and water vapor, resembling clouds, filled the air. Judging from the two Mist Ninjas' hurried withdrawal of their hands, they were most likely burned by the extremely hot water vapor.

Then--

Zongxian, who hadn't yet landed, turned his gaze to the distance.

"You're the second one."

The Mist ninja who had attacked Sogen with Earth Release techniques was startled by the voice behind him. He clearly saw Uchiha Sogen block the attack of his comrade, who always boasted of being the best swordsman among them, and retreating to try and create distance. He was pondering what technique to use to coordinate with his comrade…

How did Uchiha Munen suddenly appear behind him?

Was it the Instantaneous Movement Technique? Shadow Clone Technique? Or some other technique he didn't know about?

His thoughts raced like lightning. Unable to see through Uchiha Sogen's methods in such a short time, he immediately stopped thinking. Instead of waiting to die, he acted on his body's instincts, turned around and threw a powerful punch at the source of the sound. This punch was enhanced by Earth Release: Hardening Technique. If it hit, it would definitely be enough to give Uchiha Sogen a hard time.

Even though he might lose his life to Sogen's attack, he still chose to attack instead of defending or running away, which shows the ruthlessness and decisiveness of the Kirigakure's character.

But this punch, delivered with all his might, landed on empty air.

All he could see behind him was his own solitary shadow.

When the flying shuriken shattered his spine and pierced his body with bone fragments, the intense pain jolted him awake from the illusion. Before dying, he finally understood what kind of method Uchiha Munen had used. It turned out... it was genjutsu!

As expected of the Uchiha clan.

His somewhat sluggish brain couldn't understand at all when he had fallen under the illusion.

With this final question lingering in his mind, he coughed up blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs, then collapsed to the ground, lifeless, gradually losing his warmth and becoming a cold corpse.

"This is really troublesome!"

Zongxian lowered his left hand, which had thrown the shuriken, his brow furrowing slightly. These Mist Ninja were quite skilled, making them rather difficult to kill. The two Mist Ninja whose palms had been burned had retreated behind the castle gate, where a ninja from the Shadow Guard, skilled in medical ninjutsu, was treating their burns…

After this exchange, only half of the four attackers were killed.

He must admit,

These Mist Ninja are indeed elite, with formidable combat power, and quite difficult to deal with.

Moreover, this is only because Yagura Karatachi did not make a move, and the remaining ten Kageshiro ninjas of the Mist Guard also chose to stand by and watch. If Yagura Karatachi were to come to his senses and make a move, it would not be easy for him to deal with the situation with his current methods.

Also, we can't forget that Yagura is now a Jinchūriki. If he unleashes the power of the Tailed Beast and launches two Tailed Beast Balls, then Sogen will either have to choose to escape or use the power of his Mangekyou Sharingan. If he escapes... it probably won't be that easy. Yagura also has twelve subordinates who can be used to hold Sogen back and prevent him from escaping.

Therefore,

Using the Mangekyou Sharingan seems to be his only option!

"Are you trying to deplete my eye power? Or do you want to probe my eye techniques?"

Zongxian turned his scarlet eyes.

At this moment,

He vaguely understood why Obito Uchiha had set up such a trap. Perhaps Obito's goal from the beginning was him, that he was wary of his unrevealed eye techniques and wanted to find out more? Or was he planning to use the Hidden Mist Ninja to deplete his eye power and blind him?

Or perhaps it's a combination of both?

He never quite understood why Obito Uchiha would get involved in the massacre of the Uchiha clan. No matter what, Rin Nohara's death couldn't be blamed on the Uchiha clan!

It wasn't until he remembered that Obito Uchiha seemed quite wary of Itachi Uchiha that he vaguely guessed that, besides collecting Sharingan to use Izanagi, perhaps the real purpose was to prevent more Mangekyou Sharingan from appearing in the Uchiha clan.

after all,

Obito Uchiha was able to dominate the ninja world because of his Mangekyou Sharingan's eye technique, Kamui. He knew better than most Uchiha how powerful the Mangekyou Sharingan truly was.

And today,

Considering his current situation, Zongxian began to believe that his deduction was correct!

Gazing at the castle before him,

A smile appeared on Zongxian's lips. Sure enough, even if it was a trap, he had to go through it. Otherwise, he would never know what kind of tricks Obito Uchiha was up to, which was always a concern!

Now that we know what Obito Uchiha wants,

Then,

Give him what he wants!

[Chapter 92. Half-Tailed Beast Transformation (Third Update!)]

"Obito, how are you feeling?"

Obito Uchiha, dressed in a white Zetsu, used the Ephemeral Technique to conceal himself in the shadows of the low bushes under the eaves of the castle. From here, he could clearly see the battle taking place at the main gate. Even if the battle moved inside the castle, he could simply pass through the wall to continue watching.

Zetsu also emerged from the bushes, sticking close to Obito Uchiha.

There's no way around it; the bushes are only so big. It's okay to hide one person, but it's a bit of a stretch for two. If you don't stick close together, you'll be spotted.

"He should have noticed Yagura's unusual behavior by now."

"Is it an illusion?"

“That’s right, genjutsu. It’s a required course for all Uchiha who have awakened their Sharingan. Our previous deduction was correct. Uchiha Mugen’s awakened eye technique should be genjutsu. Just now… his genjutsu interfered with my control over Yagura. His genjutsu is very powerful. If I use the eye technique of the Mangekyou Sharingan, the genjutsu I use to manipulate Yagura might be broken.”

White Zetsu suddenly realized and blurted out, "I was wondering why you didn't let the Fourth Mizukage make a move earlier. I thought you wanted to observe first, but it turns out you couldn't do anything!"

Immediately,

He realized what Obito Uchiha had said, "Huh? Your genjutsu can be broken? Does that mean Yagura Karatachi will lose control?"

"Yes."

Obito Uchiha answered calmly.

"Then, then, there's no way to do it? If Yagura loses control, then the Mist Ninja and Konoha won't be able to fight, right? Wouldn't all our hard work have been for nothing?"

"Losing a few tools is nothing as long as the goal is achieved."

Obito Uchiha's eyes were deep and unfathomable.

Even Yagura Karatachi, who held the dual identities of the Fourth Mizukage and the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, was just a useful tool in his eyes. As long as his goal could be achieved, the loss of one or two tools was acceptable. Of course, the premise was that his goal could be achieved.

Then,

The question now is whether he can get what he wants!

His goal was simple.

The first step was to confirm the nature of Uchiha Sogen's Mangekyou Sharingan. Only after confirming the danger of Uchiha Sogen's eye technique would he decide on the second step. If Uchiha Sogen's eye technique was not dangerous, Uchiha Obito would personally take Uchiha Sogen's life and eyes.

If Uchiha Sogen's eye technique is dangerous

Then we need to find a way to preserve Yagura, this useful tool, and use the Mist Ninja and other pawns to wear down Uchiha Sogen's eye power, and use the grinding technique to destroy Uchiha Sogen's Mangekyou Sharingan.

Today,

The once 'Xian Er' boy has long since shed his naivety and immaturity, maturing through days and nights of painful torment. His seemingly bold and arrogant style of doing things is actually the result of thorough preparation in advance.

Five years ago, they dared to invade Konoha.

It was because he had a deep understanding of his teacher and knew the village where he had lived for more than ten years like the back of his hand that he made a bold move that night, causing a great disturbance and sending the man who could break his 'divine power' away from this world.

After thinking for seven or eight seconds, Obito Uchiha made a decision.

After calling out Zongxian's name at the beginning, Yagura Karatachi, who hadn't spoken since, spoke again, "Everyone, step back!"

Extremely simple commands

Yet it sends chills down your spine.

The members of the Shadow Guard all understood what the Mizukage's order meant: it signified the arrival of the embodiment of destruction.

then,

The Mist Ninja fled quickly.

They are not afraid of death, but that doesn't mean they are willing to be accidentally killed by their own Mizukage.

"Are they about to unleash their ultimate move?"

As the ninja scattered, Zongxian understood what was about to happen. He stood still, clapped his hands together, skipped the bloodletting procedure of biting his fingers, and directly summoned the greatsword Samehada stored in the village.

The moment Samehada was in his hands, it obediently extended its hilt, wrapping around Sogen's forearm like a rope, and began to replenish his depleted chakra. The extremely pure chakra flowed into his body like a spring.

Just as Zongxian's chakra returned to full strength,

The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, also unleashed a chakra aura as fierce as a volcanic eruption. The prison door that held the calamity was opened, and an aura of destruction surged onto the ground.

The tailed beast's cloak, tinged with red and black, enveloped Yagura Karatachi.

Three dark red tails swayed behind him.

This is the half-tailed beast form, the critical state to enter the full tailed beast form. While maintaining a small, humanoid form, it draws out the power of the tailed beast to the maximum extent. Generally speaking, few jinchūriki can actively maintain this critical state. They usually enter the critical state when they go berserk and the seal is unlocked.

Only the Jinchuriki who perfectly wields the power of the Tailed Beasts can seize this initiative.

Yagura,

He happened to be a Jinchūriki who perfectly controlled the power of the Tailed Beast.

"boom!"

With just a stomp of his foot, Mount Kuroshio shook violently.

The castle's main gate collapsed with a deafening roar, and a thick cloud of dust shot into the sky like a long dragon.