Chapter 389 – A Performance
"These Cloud ninjas are really fast… and they've actually broken into this outpost already?"
Fugaku listened to the report delivered by a member of the Hyūga clan, his expression growing increasingly grave.
How long had the Cloud forces been moving?
And yet they had already reached this location?
Had they detoured around Konoha's defenses—or forced their way straight through?
Either way, it clearly deviated from Fugaku's original plan: to pin the Cloud forces at the border and prevent even a single step into the Land of Fire.
Fortunately, based on the Hyūga ninja's description, it seemed the enemy had only slipped around the defenses rather than launching a full breakthrough.
Their numbers were small—less than a hundred.
"Commander Fugaku," the Hyūga ninja reported quickly,
"the defensive strength inside the outpost isn't strong, but they're still holding on."
"If we accelerate now, we should be able to deal with them. However…"
The speaker was Hyūga Kaiten, formerly a teammate of Uchiha Ryū.
During a previous mission, Kaiten had fought alongside Ryū and Senju Jin to escort a task unit. At the time, he had believed it would become an extremely dangerous engagement.
What he never expected—
Was that Ryū would personally kill the Cloud elite Toroi, completely shattering the morale of the enemy forces.
With the Cloud shinobi losing their nerve—and with Ryū and Senju Jin reinforcing the task group—the battle had ended far more easily than anticipated.
After that incident, the Cloud forces began withdrawing their lines, and Kaiten returned to Konoha alongside Ryū.
This time around, Kaiten technically had special privileges—he could have avoided returning to the battlefield.
But both Hyūga Hiashi and Hyūga Hizashi wanted him deployed.
And having fought with Ryū before, Kaiten trusted his squad leader completely.
When he learned that Ryū was heading to the front lines, Kaiten followed without hesitation.
The Cloud raiding force truly wasn't large—at most around a hundred men.
Against two thousand Konoha shinobi, they would be wiped out without difficulty.
The problem was exhaustion.
After days of extreme forced marching, the unit's combat effectiveness had noticeably declined.
Destroying a hundred enemies was easy—but if even a few escaped and reported Konoha's condition back to the Cloud army, their operational state would be exposed.
Fugaku immediately understood Kaiten's unspoken concern.
After a brief moment of consideration, he made his decision.
"You all rest here," Fugaku said calmly.
"Uchiha Kawa, Uchiha Ryū—you two are with me. We'll handle this."
"C-Commander?"
Kaiten thought he had misheard.
But when he saw Ryū and Kawa follow Fugaku without the slightest hesitation, his mind went blank.
"Commander, just the three of you?" he blurted out.
"Everyone's exhausted, but we still have combat capability. If we rest for an hour, we can move together—"
"No need," Fugaku interrupted gently, shaking his head with a faint smile.
"I'm not trying to wipe them out. Just drive them away."
"You stay hidden. If they notice you—"
Fugaku paused, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"…then this little performance wouldn't mean anything at all."
As he spoke, Fugaku was already walking toward the Cloud shinobi, leaving Hyūga Kaiten no choice but to relay his orders to the rest of the unit.
Fugaku had never intended to wipe them out in one stroke—not because he couldn't, but because it would be troublesome.
His fighting style tended to produce overwhelming destructive power. One mistake, and the entire outpost would be flattened, supplies and all reduced to ashes.
If that happened, what would be the point of intercepting them here?
Frankly speaking, it would have been easier to let the Cloud shinobi fully enter the damned outpost, then unleash large-scale Fire Release from the outside and burn everything—people and materials alike—to nothing.
With his strength, that would have been effortless.
Of course, if the Cloud ninjas were that cooperative, Fugaku wouldn't hesitate in the slightest.
Moving swiftly with the two Police Force squad leaders, Fugaku also took the time to observe the two young men from his clan.
To be honest, although both were Uchiha, their attitude toward him—the clan head—was one of proper respect, and nothing more.
That realization left Fugaku mildly vexed, though he knew full well why.
These two clearly answered to Kei.
Or rather, anyone who came out of the Police Force almost invariably did.
It was a form of charisma, Fugaku supposed. He couldn't deny a trace of envy.
Still, he knew that most of the Uchiha clan listened to both him and Kei. Apart from raw strength—where he seemed to lag behind these two—everything else was still under control.
"Kawa, Ryū," Fugaku suddenly said as they neared the outpost,
"you two enter the compound and cooperate with the defenders to clear out the Cloud shinobi inside."
"I'll handle the ones at the front."
He glanced at them and added lightly,
"Be careful. I'd rather not have Kei coming after me later."
"Clan Head, rest assured," Uchiha Kawa replied after exchanging a look with Ryū.
"Once we finish clearing the inside, we'll immediately come out and support you."
In truth, neither of them had a clear idea of Fugaku's true combat strength.
Aside from Kawa having seen him once during the Nine-Tails incident, neither had ever witnessed the clan head fight personally.
They knew he possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan—a terrifying power.
Rumor had it that within the entire Uchiha clan, only Fugaku and their department head possessed such eyes.
As for Kei, he had never openly displayed them—but both men firmly believed he had them. Kei's strength was simply too unfathomable.
That said, Fugaku himself…
Even with the Mangekyō, his lack of visible combat records made them uneasy.
His command abilities were unquestionable—he had led the clan and performed admirably during the Third Great Ninja War.
But frontline combat?
They weren't confident.
Fugaku seemed to sense their thoughts. It left him both amused and mildly exasperated.
He offered no explanation.
With a sudden burst of speed, he leapt forward and charged straight toward the Cloud shinobi.
Kawa and Ryū exchanged another glance before darting toward the interior of the outpost.
They silently hoped there were more Cloud shinobi inside—either so they could finish quickly and assist, or so Fugaku wouldn't have to bear everything alone.
As Fugaku advanced, his Sharingan activated.
By the time he reached the enemy, both eyes had fully transformed into the Mangekyō.
One sweeping glance was enough.
About sixty.
These Cloud shinobi were operating as lateral support, clearly preparing to rush into the outpost.
The Konoha defenders were stubborn, and the outpost was layered with seals and barriers—that was likely why the Cloud forces hadn't been able to flood in all at once.
Fugaku's sudden appearance startled them.
But they were trained shinobi. Shock lasted only an instant before reactions kicked in.
Unfortunately for them—
Fugaku had no intention of giving them that chance.
With one hand forming seals, the eerie Mangekyō erupted with a twisted, overwhelming chakra.
The Cloud shinobi who met his gaze suddenly felt as if their bodies had been pierced and nailed in place.
Inside their minds, a strange crimson pattern on a black background began to rotate slowly.
Fugaku didn't pause.
His hands blurred through seals.
The next moment, a sea of flames—vast beyond despair—erupted forward.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
---
"This is—"
Kawa and Ryū had just reached the top of the outpost, still figuring out their entry route, when terrifying chakra exploded from the front.
Scorching heat and sparks slammed into them head-on.
They froze.
Then, without a word, they leapt onto a nearby tree.
From there, they stared at the forest ahead—now an ocean of fire.
They swallowed hard.
There was no doubt.
This was Fugaku's work.
Such monstrous Fire Release could only come from the Uchiha.
The Sarutobi clan was skilled with fire, yes—but compared to the Uchiha, it was on another level entirely.
For the first time, both men realized—
They had underestimated their clan head.
---
"This…"
Kaiten stood at the front of the resting troops, staring at the spreading inferno.
Cloud shinobi were being swallowed by flames, reduced to ash.
He wasn't the only one stunned.
Behind him, the exhausted Konoha shinobi sat frozen, gazing at the blazing horizon.
The heat that washed over them stirred fear—
But also reassurance.
With a shinobi like this on their side, survival suddenly felt more plausible.
Six thousand against eight thousand.
The numerical gap had weighed heavily on them.
They had marched to war driven by resolve, by duty to protect their home—but pessimism lingered.
Now, Fugaku's display tipped the balance—at least in their hearts.
Hope stirred.
The flames were immense.
Even Cloud camps over thirty kilometers away could faintly see the smoke curling into the sky.
Whether Fugaku intended this or not, the effect was undeniable.
Morale surged.
Pressure mounted—on the enemy.
---
Inside the Cloud camp's central tent, the Fourth Raikage was discussing strategy while Killer B absentmindedly composed lyrics.
Suddenly, an intelligence ninja rushed in and knelt.
"Raikage-sama! A massive fire has erupted near the Konoha outpost. It appears to be Fire Release."
"Our sensors report the commander is Uchiha Fugaku. Our raiding unit—"
"And due to distance, we can't confirm enemy numbers, but visually, it appears to be at least two thousand."
"What?"
The Raikage froze, then his expression darkened.
"Our raid was wiped out? And by Uchiha Fugaku?"
Why him?
Fugaku was the Uchiha clan head—but he lacked notable personal battle achievements.
Command experience, yes. Combat feats? Sparse.
Why hadn't Konoha sent Jiraiya or Tsunade?
Was Konoha truly short on manpower?
The Raikage couldn't understand it.
But one conclusion became clear—
Konoha is stretched thin.
"…Interesting," he muttered.
"Sending someone like him to the front."
He waved the messenger away and turned to the map.
Regardless of numbers, he intended to test them.
To test Uchiha Fugaku.
"Send orders," the Raikage said heavily.
"At dawn, a thousand men. Fast units only—ready to disengage at any time."
"We strike the Konoha outpost."
"I want to see what they're really made of."
---
Fugaku's Great Fire Annihilation had incinerated over sixty Cloud shinobi.
Wasteful?
No.
Necessary.
He had felt it—the low morale in his troops.
Deadly, in wartime.
This performance was his answer.
And it worked.
When he rejoined his unit, the atmosphere had changed.
The dead weight was gone.
Hope had returned.
Leading his forces into the outpost, Fugaku found that the Cloud attackers—perhaps rattled, perhaps overextended—had already begun retreating after sabotaging defenses.
That made things easier for Kawa and Ryū.
They stormed in, coordinating with the defenders, intercepting and eliminating the remaining Cloud shinobi.
By the time Fugaku arrived, the outpost was secure.
"Are you alright?" he asked, looking at a wounded ninja supported by Kawa.
"I'm Hiraga Genta, Chūnin," the man replied, struggling to stand.
"Squad leader here. Our Commander and vice-Commander…"
He couldn't continue.
Fugaku understood.
Casualties.
He frowned slightly.
Cloud forces breaking through to strike a rear supply outpost was troubling.
"Any contact on the first line?" Fugaku asked.
"How many Hyūga are stationed there?"
"There's been one clash," Genta replied.
"Our main force is about ten kilometers ahead. The Cloud camp is thirty kilometers out."
Fugaku nodded.
The Land of Fire was flat, forested, and open—perfect for deep raids.
No mountains. Plenty of cover.
Cloud shinobi were built for this kind of warfare.
"Rest," Fugaku said, patting his shoulder.
"Prepare food and hot water. We'll move again tonight."
"You're not leaving troops here?" Genta asked anxiously.
"No," Fugaku replied calmly.
"But another unit will arrive soon."
"Another unit…?"
Fugaku smiled faintly.
"Didn't I say? I'm the commander of the First Division."