Huff Huff
"Do you see it now?! This is the power of the Uchiha! Before these eyes, your puppets are nothing more than child's play! Mere toys dancing in the palm of a god! AHAHAHAHAHA!"
Uchiha Naka laughed maniacally, a distinct hint of madness bleeding into his voice. Both of his cheeks were stained with trails of fresh blood. Within his eyes, crimson irises housing a unique Mangekyo Sharingan pattern were framed by bloodshot sclera, the web of red veins radiating an ominous, suffocating pressure into the air.
Behind him stood Uchiha Arashi and Uchiha Eisuke with their Sharingans spinning, flanked by the First Division Uchiha Jonin and Chunin.
On the opposing side of the battlefield stood a hooded figure draped in white robes that masked most of his body. The fabric was scorched with burn marks and torn by the bloodstained kunai and shuriken that had managed to slip past the defensive perimeter of his ten remaining puppets. Beneath his partially singed hood, the lower half of Monzaemon Chikamatsu's face was exposed. His skin was wrinkled, pale, and weathered; the renowned puppet master was clearly an old man drawing near his deathbed.
Scattered across the scarred earth between the two opposing forces lay the shattered, abandoned remnants of what used to be four of Chikamatsu's masterpieces.
***
Half an hour ago.
Uchiha Naka, Arashi, Eisuke, and 210 other Uchiha clansmen of the First Division were intercepted by four massive puppets and their master, Monzaemon Chikamatsu.
"Is this the renowned puppet master, Monzaemon Chikamatsu?"
"His puppets are indeed worthy of his reputation... if they are as powerful as they look."
"The four cardinal deities… Seiryu (靑龍) the Azure Dragon, Suzaku (朱雀) the Vermilion Phoenix, Byakko (白虎) the White Tiger, and Genbu (玄武) the Black Tortoise…."
Monzaemon Chikamatsu sat atop the Genbu puppet, its thick upper shell split open down the middle. His four automated warriors took the terrifying shapes of mythological beasts.
Seiryu, the Azure Dragon, floated above his right; its ten-meter-long, serpentine body coiled like a loaded spring as crackling Lightning Chakra flickered around its mane and jaw.
Suzaku, the Vermilion Phoenix, circled to his left with a massive wingspan stretching nearly eight meters, shedding literal feathers of fire with every flutter of its wings.
Byakko, the White Tiger, positioned itself directly in front of Chikamatsu; though invisible to normal eyes, the Sharingan clearly tracked the dense, white Wind Chakra swirling violently around the one-story-tall beast.
Finally, Genbu, the Black Tortoise, loomed as the largest of all. It stood two stories tall, measured three meters wide, and stretched six meters long with a five-meter-long serpentine tail. Its armor-plated body was saturated with dense Earth Chakra, while its snake-tail thrummed with Water Chakra.
The title of "the first genius puppet master" felt entirely inadequate before the sheer majesty of Chikamatsu's ultimate creations: the Four Cardinal Deities Collection.
Gulp.
The younger Uchiha clansmen swallowed hard, their throats dry with nervousness. Despite their experience in Uzushio front, the colossal scale of these mechanical beasts was deeply intimidating to the younger shinobis.
Slap!
"AH!"
"What are you doing, standing there in a daze like idiots?!" Naka barked with absolute contempt, striking a stiffened Chunin across the back. "Are you already terrified before the actual battle has even begun? Are you still Uchiha?!"
Unfortunately, his harsh words did little to rally the discouraged rookies. Frustrated, Naka creased his brows, closed his eyes for a brief moment, and snapped them open. His crimson irises no longer held three simple tomoe, but rather the intricate, deadly pattern of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
The crowd gasped.
"Do not be discouraged! With these eyes, our clan is bound to emerge victorious! There is absolutely nothing to fear!"
Shock and sudden excitement rippled through the ranks of the Chunin. The Jonin were already aware of Naka's awakening, but to the lower-ranking ninja, this revelation was staggering. They had not yet been informed that Naka and Naori had achieved the supreme eyes. Instantly, memories of their legendary former leader, Uchiha Madara, and his brother Izuna flashed through their minds. Fear and anxiety evaporated, replaced by an intoxicating wave of vigor. A singular thought united them all: the Uchiha clan was about to ascend to the peak of the shinobi world once more!
"""UWWAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!"""
Two hundred Uchiha Chunins unleashed a fervent, deafening battle cry. All traces of wariness vanished from their eyes, replaced entirely by an eager bloodlust for a glorious future.
….
Beneath his white hood and cloak, Monzaemon Chikamatsu's wrinkled brows furrowed. His blind eyes could not physically see the Uchiha, but through his puppets' sensory mechanisms, he could clearly feel the clan's terrifying enthusiasm and eager bloodlust for this battle.
'…. As expected… Uchiha are a bunch of madmen.'
Normally, the sheer scale and monstrous design of his Four Cardinal Puppets gave him an immediate psychological advantage. His opponents were almost always intimidated, fighting with a cautious wariness. However, the Uchiha clansmen before him did not display an ounce of fear.
'So be it then. I will let you Uchiha have a taste of my babies(puppets)!'
Chikamatsu flicked his fingers, commanding his constructs with deadly elegance. The thick black tortoise shell of Genbu split open and encased him within the beast's main body, providing an ultimate defense against all forms of ninjutsu and physical projectiles. Sight was no issue; he could easily borrow vision from his remaining puppets. After all, he was facing the Uchiha—and more than two hundred of them at that.
…
Katon Gokakyu no Jutsu !! 火遁・豪火球の術 (Fire release : Great Fireball Technique!)
Katon: Ryūen Hōka no Jutsu 火遁・龍炎放歌の術 (Fire release: dragon flame song technique)
Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu火遁・豪龍火の術 (Fire release : Great dragon flame Technique)
A relentless barrage of massive fireballs and roaring flame dragons converged on Chikamatsu and his puppets.
'Hmph! A mere fire release!'
SuikyuHeki 水球壁 (Water sphere wall)
The serpentine tail of Genbu twisted violently, snapping its jaws wide. A massive torrent of water sprayed from its maw, expanding into a colossal aquatic sphere that completely enveloped all four divine puppets.
"Tsk! As expected, these puppets can manipulate all the elemental natures," one Uchiha clicked his tongue.
"Naka, do you have any good plan?"
Uchiha Naka silently stared at the water sphere as it absorbed the bombardment of Uchiha fire techniques before finally addressing Arashi and Eisuke.
"You should have noticed it with your Sharingan by now. I don't know how he manufactured them, but those puppets are entirely made of compressed chakra metal. They are so saturated with elemental energy that the metal itself has taken on the properties of specific natures. To store and forge chakra metal on this scale, Suna must have been preparing for war for at least two decades. Conventional attacks won't work."
Arashi and Eisuke grimly agreed with Naka's analysis. Masterpieces like these were not something that could be created within a mere two or three years of preparation.
"Gather the Jonin," Naka ordered coldly. "We will erect the Uchiha Flame Formation. Trap them inside and slowly compress the barrier until those puppets burn to ash!"
"!!!"
"Naka, are you sure?" Arashi questioned as his eyes widened. "The Uchiha Flame Formation is incredibly powerful, but it's a stationary barrier. Forcing it to shift and compress the zone will demand far more chakra than normal..."
"Don't worry," Naka interrupted, smirking as he raised a hand to cover his right eye, looking at his comrades' anxious faces. "If the barrier fails... I will use my Mangekyo Sharingan to turn the tide."
""!!!""
As the son of Uchiha Sosuke, Eisuke understood the true, terrifying prowess of the Mangekyo and immediately nodded. Arashi, having personally witnessed its capabilities before, agreed with newfound confidence. With Naka leading the vanguard, there was no way the Uchiha would suffer casualties here.
Swiftly, Naka, Eisuke, and Arashi fanned out alongside the other Jonin, encircling the water sphere where Chikamatsu remained coiled. Once everyone was perfectly in position, they raised their hands, channeling searing Fire Chakra into their fingertips before simultaneously slamming their palms against the earth.
Uchiha Kaenjinうちは火炎陣 (Uchiha Flame Formation)
A massive, towering cylinder of solid plasma erupted around the battlefield, instantly vaporizing the water sphere upon contact.
'!' Chikamatsu noticed the fiery trap immediately and canceled his water technique.
'The Uchiha Flame Formation… this is troublesome...'
With a sharp flick of his wrists, he sent his puppets charging outward to breach the wall.
KUWAANGGGGG!!!!! (CRASH!!!!)
Upon impact, the blazing barrier spider-webbed with small fissures, but it rapidly repaired itself. Worse yet, the surfaces of the chakra metal puppets that touched the barrier were instantly scorched and charred black. Even the high-speed Suzaku puppet suffered noticeable structural damage from the kinetic impact.
'…The Uchiha Flame Formation is far more formidable than the rumors suggested,' Chikamatsu thought, a wave of begrudging respect washing over him. 'As expected of the strongest clan of the Warring States era. Truly enviable.'
'The barrier is slowly closing in… Pushing through will damage them, but it is better than sitting around waiting for a slow death. The Uchiha Flame Formation is an extreme utilization of Fire Chakra, meaning Suzaku and Byakko won't be effective here.'
Acting quickly, Seiryu coiled down atop Genbu's heavy tortoise shell as the colossal black beast began to march its massive frame forward.
'With earth at the core and coated with water and lightning!'
Genbu's main jaw snapped open, manifesting a massive Earth Dragon, while its serpentine tail formed a rushing Water Dragon. Simultaneously, Seiryu unleashed a ferocious Lightning Dragon.
The three elemental forces twisted together, merging into a singular, colossal beast: an earth dragon biting down on a high-velocity water drill, its entire head heavily coated in concentrated, crackling electricity.
Raisuidoryūdan 雷水土龍弾 (Lightning water earth Dragon)
The multi-elemental dragon hurled itself at the Uchiha Flame Formation. The piercing water drill struck first, rapidly thinning out the point of impact, followed immediately by the devastating head-on collision of the lightning and earth segments. The compromised flame wall cracked violently, pieces of the barrier beginning to fracture and dissolve.
The Uchiha Jonin and Arashi, who were closest to the breach, gritted their teeth and poured their remaining chakra into repairing the formation. But Chikamatsu was a veteran; he did not let the opportunity slip by.
Using Genbu's massive, sturdy frame as a battering ram, Chikamatsu drove the heavy chakra metal bodies of his constructs straight into the crack.
Genbu's dark, obsidian head forced its way out of the fractured barrier, closely followed by Seiryu's azure serpentine body. The mechanical beasts thrashed their heads and wriggled violently, physically blocking the formation from sealing itself shut.
"I-Impossible?!" one of the Uchiha Jonin maintaining the wall gasped.
"Dammit! What are you all waiting for?! Attack!" Arashi roared to the Chunin and the unassigned Jonin. "Don't let them escape the barrier!"
""!!!""
Katon Gokakyu no Jutsu !! 火遁・豪火球の術 (Fire release : Great Fireball Technique!)
Fūton: Toppa 風遁・突破 (Wind release: breakthrough)
A coordinated storm of Fire and Wind Release ninjutsu slammed into Genbu's exposed head and Seiryu's coiling body. The wind fueled the flames, turning the counter-attack into a miniature inferno that fed back into the Uchiha Flame Formation.