"Led by Senju Butsuma, the major rebel clans have resorted to despicable methods!"
"They openly assassinated Konoha elder Uchiha Tajima, attempting to provoke war and overturn Konoha, disregarding the safety of all living beings across the land, all just to satisfy their own selfish desires. Their crimes deserve execution!"
"Konoha has always sought peace, willing to coexist and prosper with all clans, yet in return it has received such vicious backlash."
"Now the rebel clans have gathered heavy forces and openly invaded. Konoha will absolutely not tolerate this!"
It is hereby formally declared, "Konoha upholds the will of the Sage of Six Paths' Natural Law, to protect all living beings and purge the rebels who defy the Natural Law!"
"From this day forth, a full-scale war is officially declared against all ninja clans participating in the rebellion!"
"This war is to punish the rebels on behalf of the Natural Law, to quell the rebellion across the land, to unify the Land of Fire, to completely end the conflicts between ninja clans, and to carry out the Sage of Six Paths' original intent of safeguarding peace in the world!"
"Anyone who stubbornly resists is one whom the Natural Law will not tolerate. Konoha will eliminate them with full force, showing no mercy!"
Konoha Grand Elder, Arisu.
———
The moment Konoha's declaration of war was released, the entire ninja world was shaken.
The declaration spread like falling snow into the hands of every ninja clan.
The major clans were both shocked and excited.
They hadn't expected Konoha to flip the table as well.
At last, a decisive battle could begin.
The major clans sharpened their blades eagerly. None of them believed they would lose to Konoha. Instead, they believed Konoha could not possibly defeat the combined forces of all the great clans.
But very soon, when they clashed head-on with Konoha, they realized what kind of opponent they were facing.
When Susanoo appeared on the battlefield, the major clans could only stab at it with kunai.
It was like primitive men trying to fight a lightsaber.
Uchiha Madara fought all the way west, defeating the Fūma, Kurama, and Shiranui clans along the way.
"Lord Madara, this place is Fallen Katsu Cliff. Back in the day, many old matters of various ninja clans were hidden within this cliff, and countless secrets of the past were passed down here."
Uchiha Haruo stood sideways at the edge of the cliff, looking down at the mist-shrouded depths below. His tone carried a trace of emotion as he smiled and reported to Uchiha Madara beside him.
"Mm."
Hearing this, Uchiha Madara cast a calm gaze into the depths of the cliff face. The scarlet Sharingan slowly bloomed in his eyes, the Mangekyō spinning quietly.
"Mm?"
In just an instant, Madara's brows suddenly tightened, and a sharp vigilance flashed through his eyes.
"There's a strange, indescribable fluctuation of chakra…"
Madara instinctively judged it to be a trap laid here by enemy ninja clans, concealing killing intent.
"I'll go take a look."
Before his words even settled, chakra burst violently beneath Uchiha Madara's feet, and his figure turned into a black shadow.
In an instant, he shot toward the depths of the cliff.
When he reached deep within the cliff face, there were no ambushes or traps as expected. There was only a moss-covered rock wall, and within a narrow crevice of the stone, a simple ancient scroll was quietly embedded.
The scroll was tightly wrapped in thick layers of dust, its surface rough and mottled.
It looked no different from the surrounding rock. Without careful inspection, it would only be mistaken for an ordinary stone.
"Lord Madara, what is this?"
Uchiha Haruo rushed over right behind him, staring at the unremarkable scroll with confusion filling his eyes.
But Uchiha Madara's expression grew increasingly solemn.
His brows remained tightly furrowed, the tomoe in his Sharingan spinning rapidly. His hands were already moving swiftly, forming a series of complex and precise seals unique to the Uchiha.
"This should be something left behind by a member of the Uchiha clan."
"To unlock this scroll, one must both master the power of the Sharingan and form the corresponding precise hand seals."
"Neither can be missing… but exactly which Uchiha left it behind is still unknown."
Uchiha Madara muttered in a low voice, his hand movements not slowing in the slightest.
As the final seal was completed, the dust on the surface of the scroll fell away in soft bursts, as if stripped layer by layer by an invisible force. Immediately after, the scroll slowly unrolled on its own.
Uchiha Madara immediately activated his Sharingan, using pure ocular power to rapidly decipher the hidden text on the scroll.
The moment he fully grasped its contents,
On Madara's usually cold and indifferent face, an unmistakable look of shock suddenly appeared, and a storm surged in his heart.
"This is actually a forbidden technique that has never been passed down within the clan!"
On the scroll, there was clearly recorded a forbidden technique called Izanagi. To use it, one must sacrifice a Sharingan as the price.
"To rewrite reality with ocular power, to turn a desperate situation into a dream, to turn illusion into reality… the sheer strangeness and dominance of this technique is truly terrifying."
With just a brief understanding, Uchiha Madara grasped the core of the forbidden technique. He then raised his hand and carefully stored the scroll into his sleeve, silently making a decision.
"When I return to the clan, I'll hand this forbidden technique over to Great-Grandfather."
———
The scene shifts to the southern side of the battlefield, where Senju Hashirama is leading Konoha's First Division, directly facing the Ino-Shika-Cho, the remnants of the Senju, as well as the Sarutobi and Shimura clans and other forces.
Senju Hashirama's Wood Release chakra surged like a raging tide.
Giant trees burst out of the ground, wooden dragons soared and coiled through the sky, and towering wooden giants stood between heaven and earth.
The overwhelming power of Wood Release pushed across the battlefield without resistance.
Wherever it passed, the various ninja clans had no strength to resist and surrendered one after another.
Especially the Sarutobi, Shimura, and Ino-Shika-Cho clans. After witnessing the sky-blocking wooden giants and the roaring, twisting wooden dragons, the last trace of their will to fight instantly collapsed.
They surrendered at lightning speed, choosing without hesitation to submit to Konoha.
Meanwhile, at the Senju clan's territory, inside the council hall, "Clan leader! Quickly gather the clan's valuables, we must evacuate immediately!"
"Clan leader, how about retreating to an island! This subordinate has learned that in the eastern sea of the Land of Fire there is an island called Wave Island."
"We can each occupy an island with the Uzumaki clan and temporarily avoid the sharp edge, forming a mutual support position!"
"Clan leader, in my opinion, the best course is to directly seek refuge with the Uzumaki clan! After all, we share distant blood ties. They will definitely take us in!"
The hall was filled with elders talking over each other, all of them proposing panicked plans to survive.
Not a single person mentioned holding their ground or fighting to the death.
Senju Butsuma sat at the head seat, his face ashen to the extreme. In his hands were reports of defeat from the front lines, one after another.
His fingers had turned pale from gripping them too tightly, the frustration and fury in his heart reaching its peak.
"Why?! Weren't you all swearing before that this allied army of ninja clans would be unstoppable, invincible in the world?!"
"Wasn't the ninja alliance supposed to be invincible?!"
Butsuma slammed his palm onto the table in front of him, his voice filled with disbelief and rage.
"In just a single day! Only one day, and the entire allied army has collapsed, throwing away their armor and fleeing?!"
"Clan leader, we can't hesitate any longer! If we don't leave now, it'll be too late. Senju Hashirama's forces have already reached Kikyo Mountain. In the blink of an eye, they'll be at our doorstep!"
An elder, drenched in sweat from anxiety, stepped forward and urged repeatedly.
Pain surged through Senju Butsuma's heart. He slowly turned his head to look at the portraits of past Senju clan leaders hanging on the main wall of the hall, his eyes filled with sorrow.
"If I had even half the talent and vision of Clan Leader He, how could the Senju clan have fallen to such a state?!"
Butsuma threw his head back and let out a long cry.
"I don't want to live anymore!"
Overcome with grief and anger, Butsuma suddenly gripped the tachi at his waist, pressing the hilt tightly against his neck.
The thought of taking his own life to atone to the ancestors arose in his mind. His eyes locked onto the ancestral portraits as his heart struggled in extreme torment.
Not a single elder behind him tried to stop him.
"..."
Senju Butsuma saw that no one actually tried to stop him…
After a painful internal struggle, he finally let go of the tachi in defeat, as if all the strength had been drained from his body.
"Forget it… forget it!"
"It seems I have no choice but to leave the Land of Fire, to leave the Senju clan territory that I personally built, to leave the resting place where generations of our ancestors are buried…"
Senju Butsuma collapsed heavily onto the seat, his eyes lifeless.
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