Evil Uchiha Itsuki

"What the hell!"

Torifu Akimichi almost spat out blood.

What does this mean? 

What's this guy saying? 

Nara Shikaku is talking about tailed beasts, why are you dragging me into this?

Am I a tailed beast? 

Well...

Torifu Akimichi, after using the Super Expansion Jutsu, was indeed a powerhouse, with endless strength and massive amounts of chakra. He really did resemble a tailed beast in some ways.

If he swung his staff, even the Eight-Tails wouldn't be able to withstand it for long, right?

Wait a second!

Nara Shikaku shook his head vigorously.

What am I thinking? 

This is the pride of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, our last trump card. How could I let him fight a tailed beast head-on?

What if something happened? 

Kakashi spoke in a serious tone, "Shikaku, Elder Torifu, once the war breaks out, the Ino-Shika-Cho clan will surely lend a hand, right? Elder Torifu, you'll fight for Konoha, won't you?"

"Of course!"

Nara Shikaku answered without hesitation, though what he was really thinking was known only to him.

Family comes first.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio alone has thousands of people.

Sure, Konoha's important, but his clan was just as important.

If it comes down to it, we'll leave too.

If Uchiha Itsuki could do it, why can't we?

"Good!"

Kakashi suddenly said, "Cloud Hidden is coming in strong, Shikaku. Here's what I'm thinking..."

After hearing Kakashi's plan, Shikaku was left speechless.

"What's wrong?" 

Kakashi asked, "Is the plan no good?"

"No!" 

Shikaku sighed, "The plan is solid, and there's a high chance of success. But I don't want this war. What Konoha needs now is rest."

Kakashi, unmoved, replied, "It's out of our hands now."

"I will personally lead the shinobi army into battle!"

Kakashi's tone was firm as he continued, "If I die on the battlefield, Shikaku, I want you to take over as Hokage."

"What…"

Shikaku was stunned.

Kakashi was that determined about this war?

This wasn't something Shikaku had expected.

He thought Kakashi had just been frustrated for too long, playing the puppet, and now wanted a battle to vent that frustration.

But now it seemed clear—if they didn't win, Kakashi wasn't planning on leaving the battlefield alive.

Who could handle that?!

Shikaku began to feel a headache coming on.

...

Cloud Hidden was furious.

In a short amount of time, they gathered more than ten thousand people and marched toward Konoha, stirring up quite the commotion.

What's going on? 

Even Onoki was baffled.

This wasn't part of the plan.

What had happened to Cloud Hidden to provoke them like this? 

Konoha doesn't seem like they'd provoke Cloud Hidden right now, do they? 

Shouldn't they be hiding like turtles?

What shocked Onoki even more was that Konoha actually chose to fight back.

They gathered a group of shinobi and faced Cloud Hidden head-on.

...

"What the heck!"

When Itsuki Uchiha received the news, he was surprised.

What's going on with Cloud Hidden? 

What's going on with Konoha? 

Why are tempers flaring so easily?

"Lord Itsuki!" 

A group of people looked at Itsuki Uchiha.

They had a feeling that their leader was about to stir up trouble again.

"Why are you all looking at me?"

Itsuki raised an eyebrow and said, "I've already told you, Fire Shadow Village is newly established, and stability is what we need right now. All of you troublemakers, behave yourselves."

The group fell silent.

They just stared at Itsuki.

Silently staring.

"Fine!"

Under their gaze, Itsuki suddenly said, "By the looks of it, you all want to stir things up. Well then..."

Everyone now had dark lines on their faces.

You're the one who can't behave, and yet you're blaming us. Unbelievable!

"Lord Fugaku!" 

Itsuki turned to look at Fugaku, saying, "Remember, you and your men need to protect Fire Shadow Village. Don't let anyone have a chance to attack us. You understand that during times like these, enemies love to sneak in."

"Rest assured!" 

Fugaku said firmly, "After the Tsunade incident, I guarantee that not a single enemy will slip in."

Tsunade, with her distinct features, had managed to sneak into Fire Shadow Village and gamble for quite a while in the commercial district.

To Fugaku, this was a great shame.

It was like being slapped in the face in front of everyone.

As the former leader of the Uchiha clan, even though he had passed the position on to Itsuki, Fugaku still held his role with pride.

After that incident, he was beyond furious.

Now his patrols, along with the Byakugan and sensory ninjas, were constantly surveying the entire Fire Shadow Village.

It made a lot of shinobi uncomfortable.

Who enjoys being spied on all the time?

Even if you're not a female ninja, it's annoying.

But Fugaku didn't care about any of that. His stance was simple: In wartime, we need to prevent enemy infiltration.

Or what—do you want the enemy to sneak in?

"Good!"

Itsuki turned his attention to Shisui, saying, "Shisui, take twenty Jonin with you on a mission. The war between Konoha and Cloud Hidden has to escalate. Understood?"

"Yes!" 

Shisui stood up, his expression resolute.

After spending time in Fire Shadow Village, he had fully embraced his role as a shinobi of the village.

This was the shinobi village he wanted! 

This was the life he wanted! 

As long as Konoha and Cloud Hidden fought, it might spark a chain reaction, and soon a new ninja world war would begin.

But thanks to Fire Shadow Village's unique geographical location and its abundance of skilled warriors, they could easily avoid the chaos.

Let the world stir! 

The more chaos out there, the more benefits Fire Shadow Village would reap.

As long as Fire Shadow Village thrived, Shisui didn't care about the fate of the other ninja villages.

Take care of yourself first!

But!

Unexpectedly, things moved quickly.

As Fire Shadow Village was discussing how to get involved and make sure Konoha and Cloud Hidden really went to war and didn't just talk big...

At the same time, Iwa Hidden was trying to stop the fight.

They had agreed with Cloud Hidden that now was not the time to attack Konoha.

But who could've guessed!

At that moment, Konoha struck first.

They initiated the war!

This news shocked everyone.

What's happening to Konoha? 

And...

They won! 

They were beating Cloud Hidden so badly that they were crying out in pain.

...

"Are you all ready?" 

Kakashi looked at the shinobi in front of him, his voice calm.

The shinobi didn't answer, but their eyes burned with intensity as they stared at Kakashi.

"Everyone!" 

Kakashi's voice echoed among the Konoha forces.

"Our enemy, Cloud Hidden!" 

"The Cloud Hidden Village, which has never respected Konoha!" 

"I know you all have a fire burning inside you!" 

"Now, unleash it!" 

"Let your anger, your strength, your long-suppressed fury, all explode!"

"Cloud Hidden!" 

Kakashi pointed in the direction of the enemy and whispered, "Follow me!"

"Attack!"

The ninjas of Konoha shouted loudly.

Their voices echoed through the skies.

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others hiding in the shadows were startled.

Then, Kakashi led the army of ninjas, surging forward like a tidal wave.

Each one was resolute! Each one was filled with excitement! They were full of anticipation!

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

Thankfully, he didn't try to stop them, or else these ninjas might have turned against him.

Their expressions spoke volumes.

He had never imagined that Konoha would one day have so many battle-hungry ninjas.

Was this still the Konoha he knew?

"I was wrong!"

Shikaku, standing next to him, was also stunned. He muttered, "The ninjas of Konoha have been suppressed for too long."

Moreover!

The recent events had ignited a fire in the hearts of every Konoha ninja.

This fire couldn't be vented on the people of Konoha, so they turned it towards the Hidden Cloud Village!

So!

This time, the Hidden Cloud Village was destined to suffer greatly.

Without even looking at the battle, just by observing the spirit of Konoha's ninja army, Shikaku concluded this.

With a bitter smile, Shikaku said, "No one could have expected that Kakashi would take ten thousand Konoha ninjas. Damn it, that's nearly all of our forces!"

Konoha, after accounting for the different ninja villages and the core members protecting clan lands, only had slightly more than ten thousand ninjas ready for combat.

Kakashi had taken more than eighty percent of them in one move.

He had even abandoned several border defense lines! No more defense! All-out attack!

So!

While the Hidden Cloud ninjas waited for a response from Konoha, Konoha's ninja army appeared.

"What?!"

The commander of the Hidden Cloud stared blankly at Konoha's ninja army.

He was an experienced veteran commander. Although he looked down on Konoha, he had never underestimated them.

However!

No matter how cautious he was, he couldn't believe that they would dare attack the Hidden Cloud! Konoha!

That's Konoha! In name, the strongest ninja village, but in reality, cowardly.

Also!

Where are the sensor ninjas?

Why haven't they reported anything? With so many ninjas, how did they not notice?

Are they brainless?

"My Lord!"

A ninja hurriedly ran over and shouted, "The sensor ninjas report that Konoha's army has been advancing nonstop!"

Now it made sense! The sensor ninjas had detected the enemy, but their speed was so fast that they couldn't keep up!

This realization made the commander both want to cry and laugh.

What about the signal? Can't they send a signal?

It was carelessness! While the commander had never underestimated Konoha, his subordinates might have.

No! Even though he said he never underestimated them, was that really the case?

The commander's expression slowly became calm, and he shouted, "Prepare for battle! Kill all these Konoha ninjas and show them the power of the Hidden Cloud!"

"Yes!"

The Hidden Cloud ninjas sneered, eyes filled with cruelty.

Konoha!

Do you even remember how to fight? Let us teach you! We, the martial fighters of the Hidden Cloud, have never stopped fighting!

With this mindset, the two forces clashed.

As the battle was about to start, the commander got a clear look at the Konoha ninjas, and his heart sank.

What was that expression? What was that look in their eyes? These Konoha ninjas were not normal!

And how could there be so many of them?

The Hidden Cloud hadn't wanted to start a full-on war, just to intimidate Konoha.

That's why they had deployed 8,000 ninjas.

But!

After a few quick glances, the commander was stunned to see that the Konoha army was not only larger than theirs but significantly so!

This battle was going to be a disaster!

The commander had just come to this realization when the two forces collided.

And then he saw a terrifying scene.

The Konoha ninjas threw a barrage of explosive tags, and then, despite the explosions, charged into the battlefield.

The Hidden Cloud ninjas had just defended against the tags when the Konoha ninjas were already upon them, slashing their throats.

The Hidden Cloud forces at the back were furious and immediately launched a counterattack.

But the Konoha ninjas seemed to know no fear. Like death soldiers, they charged in, willing to die if it meant taking down at least one enemy.

"Ugh!"

A bolt of lightning from a Lightning Release technique sliced through a Konoha ninja.

But that ninja roared loudly and, with his last strength, threw his weapon, causing enough trouble for the Hidden Cloud.

One of the Hidden Cloud ninjas was even injured.

Then, the Konoha reinforcements arrived and killed those Hidden Cloud ninjas.

A Hidden Cloud ninja had just pierced a Konoha ninja's heart, only to find that, with his dying breath, the Konoha ninja launched a Fire Release technique, taking the Hidden Cloud ninja down with him.

They perished together!

The two sides were locked in a deadly struggle.

The casualty ratio between Konoha and the Hidden Cloud was roughly one to two.

One Konoha ninja, two Hidden Cloud!

Because the Konoha ninjas were unafraid of death, they sought only to kill more enemies. Even if they couldn't, they aimed to create enough opportunity for their comrades.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The Konoha ninjas shouted.

After seeing blood, their aura grew colder and more savage, like a giant beast ready to devour the Hidden Cloud ninjas.

"This… this isn't Konoha's ninja force!"

The Hidden Cloud commander shouted in disbelief.

This was the thought in the minds of many of the Hidden Cloud ninjas.

By this point in the battle, to be honest, they were starting to feel afraid.

They had never thought Konoha would dare to fight this battle.

And!

The enemy was fighting so fiercely!

Was this even a battle? The other side seemed determined to die together!

"My Lord, we must think of something!"

The commander's advisor anxiously shouted, "We can't continue like this. The casualty ratio is too high. If this keeps up, we'll be wiped out."

Although they didn't know how many Konoha ninjas there were, they definitely outnumbered them.

The casualty rate on the enemy side was lower than theirs.

If this continued, the Hidden Cloud forces would be annihilated.

"Think of something? What can we think of?"

The Hidden Cloud commander gave him a cold look and said, "Send the signal! Retreat!"

"Re… retreat?"

The advisor was stunned.

Although the Hidden Cloud had lost in several of the previous great ninja wars, they had rarely retreated from Konoha.

They always left after getting the upper hand.

That's how, despite their defeats in the ninja wars, they had managed to gain plenty of benefits.

But now, they were truly being driven away.

"Didn't you hear me?"

The commander's eyes were filled with killing intent.

This idiot still couldn't see the situation clearly?

They had suffered such a massive loss, and he still looked down on Konoha?

Damn fool!