Chapter 249: Third: What Do You Mean The Hyuga Have Rebelled Too?
On another battlefield, the chaos in the Hyuga Clan Territory had not subsided.
Under the astonished gazes of Shikaku Nara and others, the second squad led by Uzumaki Kushina pierced into the fray like a sharp dagger.
“Adamantine Sealing Chains!” Uzumaki Kushina stood firm on the rooftop, her red hair flying, as several massive golden chains behind her whipped fiercely like living giant serpents!
They swept precisely toward the Hyuga guards and Konoha jonin’s formation with unmatched power and sealing force.
Wherever the chains passed, ninjas attempting hand seals had their chakra instantly stagnate, taijutsu ninjas were flung away by the immense force, and the carefully arranged encirclement collapsed in an instant!
“Now! Break through!” Natsuhi shouted sharply, her hands forming seals, as massive purple chakra surged from behind her like a peacock spreading its tail, transforming into a chakra giant bird poised to take flight—Peacock Myōhō: Wing Strike!
The chakra wings flapped forward fiercely, smashing open several Hyuga guards trying to reorganize their defense ahead, clearing a path.
“Blood Dragon Technique!” Oyakushiro Chino’s eerie blood-red eyes spun with tomoe, as bloodstains left from the previous battle on the ground seemed summoned, rapidly gathering into a ferocious roaring blood dragon that charged at the Akimichi Clan ninjas attempting to flank from the side, forcing them to retreat and defend.
“Here we go!” Shita Junhito and Murahashi Hazuki, clad in deep blue chakra powered armor, guarded the flanks like two blue whirlwinds, one on each side.
Junhito’s power greatly enhanced, he punched a Hyuga ninja attempting a sneak attack, sending him flying along with his Rotation palm technique.
Hazuki’s speed was astonishing, her kunai precisely blocking incoming shuriken, occasionally seizing openings for sharp counterattacks.
The four coordinated seamlessly, their combat power astounding, instantly tearing an opening in the dense encirclement.
“Follow up!” Uzumaki Kushina’s voice came from ahead.
Hizashi Hyuga did not hesitate, grabbing his son Neji and closely following with the other five rebelling branch family members, charging outward along the blood path cleared by the Star Ninjas.
“Stop them!” Hiashi Hyuga clutched his still sharply painful chest, roaring hoarsely.
He forcibly mustered chakra, leading Hyuga Homura, Hyuga Ko, and a group of loyal branch family elites in another attempt to block them.
Shikaku Nara immediately directed the Konoha jonins to press from the flank.
“Shadow Imitation Technique!” Shikaku formed hand seals, but his shadow was abruptly smashed as it extended by a sweeping golden chain!
Uzumaki Kushina coldly glanced at him, the pressure in her gaze making Shikaku’s heart jolt.
It was as if he saw Kushina!
“Damn it!” Choza Akimichi’s body doubled in size, his massive palm slamming down, only to be firmly blocked by the chakra dragon conjured from Natsuhi’s Peacock Myōhō.
Inoichi Yamanaka tried the Mind Body Switch Technique, but was disrupted by the strange golden chains, making intrusion extremely difficult.
“This is… the Uzumaki Clan…” Inoichi Yamanaka’s expression grew grave.
While directing the battle, Shikaku quickly asked Hiashi: “Hiashi! What exactly is going on?! Why has the Caged Bird failed? What method did they use?”
Hiashi’s face was ashen, blood at his mouth, breathing heavily with both anger and confusion: “I don’t know! The Caged Bird, inherited for hundreds of years… it actually…”
“But it’s absolutely tied to that Shura! He attacked the Hyuga Clan Territory twice, digging out the main family elders’ Byakugan—he must have planned it long ago!”
Hearing this, Shikaku felt a deeper chill in his heart; Shura’s obsession and connection with the Hyuga Clan far exceeded their imagination.
At the same time, the Star Ninja squad’s breakout ability was extremely strong, each with jonin level strength, and the Uzumaki Clan’s Adamantine Sealing Chains excelled in both offense and defense!
Uzumaki Kushina led the charge, her fiery red hair like a burning flag in the night wind.
The several thick golden chains behind her swirled and danced around her like living creatures, emanating powerful sealing aura; any ninjutsu or attack attempting to approach was mercilessly shattered or repelled, providing an impregnable barrier for the team.
Hizashi Hyuga, Neji, and the other five branch family jonins followed closely, their eyes filled with longing for freedom, resolve to fight with their backs to the wall, and joy at the value placed on them by the Land of Stars and that Shura.
On the team’s left, Shita Junhito’s chakra powered armor moved swiftly like the wind, his specially made chakra-reinforced short blade flashing coldly, precisely blocking incoming kunai and shuriken, occasionally thrusting counterattacks with ruthless precision.
On the right, Murahashi Hazuki moved nimbly, her ninja tools throwing technique masterful, combined with minor Wind Release ninjutsu, always timely interrupting the hand seals of pursuing ninjas behind, disrupting their chase rhythm.
Natsuhi formed hand seals, faint purple chakra light swirling around her, a massive chakra dragon faintly emerging behind her, responsible for rear guard.
They fought while withdrawing, like a chisel ruthlessly piercing through the Konoha ninjas’ encirclement.
The team led by Shikaku and Hiashi momentarily failed to intercept effectively.
And the breakout direction of Uzumaki Kushina and the others was toward the Uchiha Clan Territory, where firelight soared and explosions rang out incessantly!
The closer they got, the thicker the blood scent and violent chakra fluctuations in the air became.
“Not good! Their target is the Uchiha Clan Territory!” Inoichi Yamanaka’s mental perception also captured the aura of the battlefield ahead, chaotic to the extreme.
At that moment, at the center of the Uchiha Clan Territory, a sudden change occurred!
Boom!!!
A massive, suffocating emerald-green energy beam shot straight into the sky!
Then, under everyone’s horrified gazes, a towering green giant rose from the ground!
It wore ancient chakra armor, emanating soul-shaking pressure, like an ancient war god revived from myth!
“This… what is this?!”
“What… what monster is that?!”
All the pursuing top Konoha jonins fell into immense shock and confusion at that moment.
“Sus… Susanoo?!” Shikaku Nara, Hiashi Hyuga, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Choza Akimichi, as clan heads of Konoha’s ninja clans, were especially horrified.
That was the Uchiha Clan’s legendary ultimate power, openable only by the Mangekyo Sharingan!
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On the main battlefield of the Uchiha Clan Territory, the battle had entered a white-hot phase.
Shouts of killing shook the heavens, firelight blazed everywhere.
Konoha Anbu and Root’s elite ninjas surged like a black tide, constantly assaulting the defensive line formed by surviving Uchiha clansmen and Star Ninjas.
Facing clan extermination crisis, the surviving Uchiha clansmen erupted with unprecedented combat power; even many awakened Sharingan evolution upon witnessing relatives’ deaths, their fighting styles growing more frenzied.
Sharingan and various secret technique lights flashed madly; every moment, someone fell.
Kakashi led a squad composed of Yamato and several elite Anbu elites, attempting to cut into the chaotic Uchiha Clan Territory battlefield from the side, straight for the core.
However, they had just broken through the outer chaotic area when they immediately faced stubborn resistance!
Three figures blocked their path like ghosts.
The one on the left had snow-white hair, pale skin, icy eyes, emanating dangerous aura, with stark white bone spikes extending from his forearms.
“Kaguya Clan, Kimimaro.” He activated Byakugan, his 360-degree field of vision capturing Kakashi and the others’ movements completely.
The one on the right had refined features, gentle demeanor; as his hands formed seals, bone-chilling cold spread, moisture in the air instantly condensing into ice crystals.
“Snow Clan, White.”
And a brown-haired girl with freckles on her face, her eyes unusually sharp at the moment; she said little, gradually transforming her body into smoke.
“Bloodline Limit!” Yamato immediately warned lowly, his eyes under the mask fixed dead on the freckled-face girl.
“Kill!” Kakashi wasted no words, cold light flashing in his eyes as he instantly issued the attack order.
Several Anbu ninjas immediately threw shuriken while quickly forming seals.
“Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!”
“Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!”
Fire fueled by wind turned into a blazing fire net enveloping Kimimaro and the other two.
“Corpse Bone Pulse: Camellia Dance!” Kimimaro advanced instead of retreating, his arm bone spikes instantly elongating and deforming into two massive bone blades!
Like an elegant dancer or a cold reaper, he swung the bone blades, precisely slicing and dispersing the incoming fireballs!
Sparks scattered, yet unable to harm him in the slightest!
The ground under his feet even sprouted sharp bone spikes instantly, forcing two frontline Anbu to retreat in disarray.
“Ice Release: Ice Rock Dome!” White acted even faster, hands slamming the ground as a thick, hard ice wall rose instantly, easily blocking the wind-fire combined ninjutsu impact.
Yukimi’s body flickered, instantly turning into formless smoke, deftly dodging the ninjutsu aftershocks, appearing at the side of an Anbu trying to circle behind, her kunai thrusting straight for his throat!
The move ruthless and precise!
“Careful! Her Bloodline Limit is Smoke Transformation! Watch your breathing!” Kakashi immediately warned, his figure exploding forward, kunai crackling with lightning stabbing toward Yukimi to rescue his comrade.
Clang!
Yukimi’s kunai clashed with Kakashi’s, ringing crisply.
The close-quarters clash made Yukimi feel this man somewhat familiar.
At that moment, as Yamato sidestepped to support a comrade forced back by Kimimaro’s bone spikes, a sharp bone spike edge swept across his Anbu mask!
Crack!
The Anbu mask shattered and fell to the ground, revealing Yamato’s young yet somewhat wooden face.
Yukimi’s movements abruptly halted!
She stared dead at that face, pupils contracting sharply!
A long-buried name escaped her lips: “Ten… Tenzo? It’s you?!”
Yamato’s body stiffened, his eyes complexly regarding Yukimi: “Yukimi… you… why join the Star Ninjas? Why aid the tyrant?”
“Aid the tyrant?!” Yukimi’s voice suddenly rose, filled with anger and sorrow: “Look around! Look at this hellish slaughter! We’re aiding the tyrant? What about you?! Look at what your Anbu are doing! Not sparing infants in swaddling clothes, nor elders who can barely walk!”
“Is this the Konoha you protect?!” She pointed at an old woman’s corpse lying in a pool of blood nearby, her voice trembling with agitation.
Kakashi fell silent, exhaustion and confusion deepening in his exposed dead-fish eye.
His father’s suicide, Obito’s “sacrifice”, Lin’s tragic death, Teacher Minato’s sacrifice…
One tragedy after another had already dragged him into the abyss; he was just numbly executing orders, filling his inner void with missions.
His brief encounter with Yukimi was one of the few lights in recent years, warming his corpse-like body for a moment.
But he hadn’t expected to meet again years later on the battlefield.
Facing Yukimi’s questioning, Kakashi could only stiffly repeat: “Uchiha colluded with the Land of Stars, launched rebellion, threatening village safety…”
“Colluded?” Yukimi seemed to hear the greatest joke, pointing at Uchiha ninjas fiercely battling Anbu and distant Star Ninjas desperately rescuing the weak, women, and children: “Open your eyes and see clearly! Now, who is raising the butcher’s knife against their own villagers? Who is desperately protecting the innocent!”
Yamato still wanted to argue: “But…”
“Enough!” Kakashi hoarsely interrupted Yamato, slowly pulling down his headband, as if to cover the deeper pain and struggle in his eyes.
“Yamato… Yukimi. Different stands, no point in talking. Us now… can only meet on the battlefield.” He gripped his kunai tightly again, lightning crackling in his palm.
“Old acquaintance?” Kimimaro stood beside Yukimi, asking softly.
“Mm…” The last trace of warmth vanished from Yukimi’s eyes.
The battle erupted again, even more ferocious than before!
Kimimaro’s Corpse Bone Pulse, enhanced by Byakugan’s insight, was like a meat grinder on the battlefield, bone blades, bone spikes, bone bullets attacking the Konoha Anbu from various tricky angles.
The remaining Uchiha forces also erupted with astonishing combat power, charging at Konoha ninjas like mad tigers, heedless of their own casualties.
Their experience fighting the Kaguya Clan of Kirigakure during the Third Great Ninja War instead made them exceptionally familiar with Kimimaro’s style, quickly forming coordination.
Two ninja clans who clashed on the battlefield just years ago now fought side by side.
Many Uchiha ninjas, while fighting, raised kunai or shuriken, angrily carving deep marks on their Konoha headbands on foreheads or arms.
That grating friction sound was like their final declaration of breaking with the village!
“Wood Release: Silent Killing Binding Technique!” Yamato formed hand seals, several thick wooden vines bursting from the earth, wrapping toward Kimimaro and a nearby Uchiha ninja like giant serpents!
“Corpse Bone Pulse: Pine Tree Dance!” Kimimaro’s body spun fiercely, countless sharp bone spikes erupting around him instantly!
These bone spikes not only shredded the wrapping vines in an instant but shot toward surroundings like a storm of pear blossoms!
Two Anbu ninjas unable to dodge were instantly pierced!
“Ice Release: Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals!” White’s figure shuttled rapidly through instantly formed ice mirrors, ice senbon in hand like the reaper’s invitation, constantly harvesting approaching enemies.
Under immense pressure, Kakashi had no choice but to open his always-closed left eye, the scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan slowly rotating.
He didn’t want Obito’s eyes to witness this clan slaughter, but to complete the mission, to protect comrades, he had no choice.
“Lightning Cutter!” Dazzling blue lightning coalesced in his hand, emitting sharp chirps like a thousand birds.
In the piercing thunder, Kakashi turned into a blue bolt of lightning, stabbing straight at Yukimi!
Yukimi turned to smoke again, dodging the fatal strike.
On the other side, Yamato held nothing back: “Wood Release: Tree Binding Death!”
The ground cracked, massive trees surging out like living things, wrapping toward Kimimaro and White, trying to restrict their movements.
“Wood Release?!” Surviving Uchiha ninjas saw this, all horrified, exclaiming.
Those thick trees like demonic claws from hell burst forth and grew madly; failing to grab Kimimaro and White, they wrapped toward three Uchiha ninjas attempting assault!
“Damn! It’s the First Lord’s Wood Release!”
“The Senju Clan shouldn’t have…”
“Urgh!”
Vine-like branches with powerful strangling force instantly bound the three Uchiha ninjas, clear sounds of cracking bones audible, screams cut short!
This scene deeply stimulated Yukimi!
Yukimi, who had been carefully observing his hand seals and chakra flow, suddenly flashed with realization in her eyes!
The power lurking in her body, originating from the bloodline stabilizer in Orochimaru’s First cells and White Zetsu Cells research, seemed activated by some homologous force, becoming exceptionally clear and active!
A strange resonance surged violently deep in her bloodline!
That vague power faintly felt in the Land of Stars became crystal clear at this moment!
In the instant her smoke recongealed, almost instinctively, mimicking Yamato’s earlier seal sequence and chakra operation, her hands rapidly formed seals!
Her chakra surged madly in an unprecedented way, merging into the earth!
“Wood Release: Tree Binding Death!”
Rumble!
Under the horrified gazes of Kakashi, Yamato, and all surrounding combatants, the ground not far before Yukimi cracked open!
Several tough trees burst from the earth, growing madly at speeds no less than Yamato’s, instantly wrapping three overextended Konoha Anbu ninjas unable to dodge in time!
In those three ninjas’ terrified, despairing gazes, the trees suddenly tightened!
“What?!”
“Impossible!”
“Ah——!”
Crack!
Tooth-grating bone-cracking sounds rang out; the three Anbu instantly strangled!
The entire flank battlefield seemed paused at that moment! The air froze!
Everyone witnessing this, whether Konoha side or Star Ninjas and Uchiha side, showed utmost shock and disbelief!
Kakashi and Yamato’s eyes bulged round!
Wood Release?!
How… how is this possible?!
This was Hashirama Senju’s unique Bloodline Limit dominating the ninja world!
How many died in Orochimaru’s human experiments to produce Yamato, a Wood Release test subject?!
And Yukimi was clearly from the Iburi Clan!
“Woo… Wood Release?!” Nearby battling Uchiha ninjas were also drawn, exclaiming.
Whether Uchiha ninjas or Konoha ninjas, looking at this freckled-faced kunoichi, their eyes filled with shock and doubt: “She… is she a Senju Clan member?!”
The distant Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally noticed this shocking scene.
Seeing another “Wood Release” user appear, on the Land of Stars side, an icy chill instantly shot from his soles to the top of his head!
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s first thought was Orochimaru!
After all, Yamato was Orochimaru’s test subject; could this kunoichi be too…
Moreover, the Star Ninja camp now had Uchiha, Uzumaki, Kaguya…
Ice Release and several Bloodline Limits!
Now even the lost Wood Release appeared!
This Land of Stars!
This Shura!
How many bloodline ninja clans had he gathered?!
What exactly did he want?!
“Hokage-sama! Urgent report from Hyuga Clan Territory!” As Hiruzen Sarutobi’s mind reeled, an Anbu ninja, covered in gunpowder smoke and urgency, appeared beside him via Body Flicker.
The Anbu ninja’s voice trembled slightly, reporting rapidly: “Hyuga Branch Family rebelled, Caged Bird failed! Hizashi Hyuga colluded with Star Ninjas, sneak-attacked and killed three main family elders; they’re breaking toward Uchiha Clan Territory under Star Ninja support! Shikaku-sama and Hiashi-sama are pursuing!”
“What?!” Hiruzen Sarutobi was struck like lightning, body swaying!
Uchiha rebellion unresolved, now Hyuga Branch Family too?!
Uzumaki, Uchiha, suspected Senju bloodline Wood Release…
Plus Hyuga Branch Family…
He only felt a chill rushing from his soles to the top of his head, vision blackening.
Konoha’s foundation seemed truly about to collapse completely this night!
