After returning from Uchiha Tajima's study, Xuan's life settled back into a peaceful, comfortable rhythm.
The very next day, the clan's logistics division delivered their mission payout—a staggering 300,000 ryō. Xuan casually tossed the money bag to his little maid to manage, not paying it much mind. In normal times, a mission like that wouldn't have paid nearly as much. However, because it fell under the jurisdiction of the Uchiha's wartime Kill Orders, the bounties were massively inflated. The bounty for an Elite Jōnin was 500,000 ryō; splitting it evenly with Madara netted Xuan 250,000, and adding the bounty for the standard Jōnin brought his total to a clean 300,000.
Every day, he dedicated a block of time to instruct the clan's youths, silently grinding his reputation and prestige. Afterward, he would head outside the compound to practice his Flying Raijin chains and shurikenjutsu, occasionally spending his free time brainstorming how to inject nature transformations into his Rasengan. Finally, he would supervise Senya Hotaru's training. Surprisingly, the little maid's progress was remarkably smooth. She had already successfully condensed her chakra; at this rate, under Xuan's direct tutelage, she would easily reach the Genin level within a year.
Uchiha Madara, meanwhile, continued to completely lack any self-awareness, routinely showing up at Xuan's manor to freely sponge off Hotaru's cooking. After mocking the thick-skinned idiot a few times and realizing it had absolutely zero effect, Xuan just sighed and let him be.
Whatever, Xuan thought. I'll just treat him as a free Taijutsu sparring dummy.
One day, Madara showed up right on time for lunch. Having grown used to it, Xuan chatted idly with him over the meal.
"By the way, I haven't seen Izuna in days. Where did that kid run off to?" Xuan asked casually, having just remembered Madara's younger brother.
Madara shrugged dismissively. "Oh, him? He got completely triggered by the two of us. Last time I saw him, he yelled something about absolutely catching up to our footsteps, and then he ran off. I heard he's undergoing brutal special training with Father's Shadow Guards, and they've even taken him out on a few covert missions. He'll be fine."
"Is that so?" Xuan nodded, quickly losing interest. It wasn't like he genuinely cared about the kid's survival anyway.
As Xuan's leisurely days ticked by, the continent-spanning war on the frontlines grew increasingly apocalyptic.
The Hyūga clan's grain-hoarding operatives had been thoroughly targeted by the Uchiha's intelligence network. The Hyūga Peak Jōnin had been relentlessly hunted by an Uchiha Peak Jōnin supported by an Elite Jōnin; after sustaining heavy injuries, he completely abandoned his mission and fled into Senju territory, not daring to show his face again.
As for the three Hyūga Elite Jōnin: one had been assassinated by Xuan and Madara. The other two were eventually tracked down. After a brutal clash resulting in one dead and one severely wounded, the survivor also fled into Senju territory.
As for the standard Jōnin scattered across the continent, the Uchiha's Kill Orders worked wonders. A 100,000 ryō bounty for a single head was enough to make the eyes of countless rogue shinobi and mercenaries burn with greed. While Jōnin were strong, they didn't possess the sheer, untouchable deterrent factor of an Elite Jōnin. Hunted by endless waves of bounty hunters, the Hyūga operatives found themselves surrounded by enemies on all sides. Let alone hoarding grain, simply surviving to see the next sunrise became an impossible struggle.
Having completely neutralized the hidden logistical threat, the Uchiha shifted their entire military might to the frontlines.
Not only did they dispatch three additional Peak Jōnin to the Kazama River to help Commander Uchiha Tō completely lock down the Senju reinforcement army, but Uchiha Tajima also personally deployed to the Hyūga front.
With two Kage-level Uchiha commanders taking the field, the pressure on the Hyūga forces doubled overnight. Grand Elder Hyūga Shinsō had no choice but to abandon his recuperation; dragging his half-healed body onto the battlefield, he desperately anchored the defensive line alongside Patriarch Tennin. After a series of catastrophic, bloody clashes, they barely managed to stabilize the front and prevent the Uchiha from breaking through.
The Uchiha, however, were in no rush. They held the absolute advantage. While both sides technically boasted two Kage-level combatants, the reality was much grimmer for the Hyūga. In a one-on-one duel, Uchiha Tajima could thoroughly suppress Hyūga Shinsō, and he held a distinct advantage over Hyūga Tennin as well.
The Uchiha's roster of Peak and Elite Jōnin was also slightly superior. Had the Hyūga not spent decades turning their mountainous borders into an impregnable fortress, their lines would have collapsed long ago.
But the Uchiha didn't even need to storm the fortress. The Hyūga were completely trapped. With their primary granary burned to ashes, how long could their remaining stockpiles possibly last? The Uchiha clan had deep pockets and secure supply lines; they were more than happy to sit back and starve their enemies to death.
The Senju clan wasn't in a rush either. They sat comfortably on their proverbial fishing boat, watching the chaos with a relaxed smile. Commander Senju Rakan casually strolled to the banks of the Kazama River every day. Sometimes he would lead a brief skirmish against the Uchiha defenses; other times, he would directly challenge Uchiha Tō to a duel. Eventually, it devolved into the two commanders just standing on opposite sides of the river, shouting colorful insults at each other. Life for the Senju vanguard was incredibly laid-back.
After all, the Senju possessed absolute confidence. They believed that the exact moment they decided this war should end, it would end. Uchiha Tō might be able to stall Senju Rakan, but if Clan Head Senju Butsuma and Senju Unma arrived on the battlefield together, how many Kage-level monsters could Tō possibly stop?
The only ones truly panicking were the Hyūga. As the food reserves dwindled day by day, Hyūga Tennin's anxiety reached a boiling point; half his hair had literally turned white from the stress. The longer this dragged on, the closer they crept toward the abyss. Yet, he was completely powerless to change the tactical reality. All he could do was violently curse the Uchiha, and when he got tired of that, he would pivot to cursing the Senju. Ferocious, desperate roaring echoed from the Hyūga command tent almost daily.
It was almost like a mirror image of the brutal Three-Clan War from two years ago, only this time, the primary meat grinder wasn't between the Uchiha and the Senju, but the Uchiha and the Hyūga.
In the blink of an eye, the war raged on for six months.
Half a month prior, the Hyūga clan's food reserves finally ran completely dry. Morale plummeted to rock bottom, and their shinobi began collapsing from sheer physical exhaustion and starvation. The defensive line was repeatedly torn open by the Uchiha vanguard, and the Hyūga only managed to plug the gaps by throwing bodies at the problem, paying for every inch of ground with oceans of blood. Anyone with eyes could see that if this continued, the Hyūga's total collapse was imminent.
After sleepwalking through the war for six months, the Senju clan suddenly seemed to wake up.
Another Kage-level powerhouse, Senju Unma, arrived at the Kazama River. The Senju immediately launched a frenzied, apocalyptic assault against the Uchiha blockade. They wanted a weakened, obedient Hyūga clan—not an exterminated one. It was finally time for the true rescue operation.
But the Senju had severely miscalculated.
The Uchiha defensive line displayed an unimaginably ferocious combat strength, forcefully absorbing the combined onslaught of two Senju Kage-level commanders without breaking.
There was only one reason they could hold the line: the Uchiha had secretly rotated massive reinforcements to the river. According to the Senju's strategic calculations, the Uchiha were already stretched to their absolute limits maintaining their northern and southern borders; it was mathematically impossible for them to have a hidden army in reserve. That was exactly why the Senju had been sleeping so soundly, arrogant in their belief that they controlled the scales of the war.
But... what if the Uchiha clan had completely abandoned their northern and southern borders?
When Senju Rakan saw Uchiha Yutaka and Uchiha Zhan leading counter-charges from within the Uchiha trenches, he was completely paralyzed by shock. Only one thought echoed through his mind: The Uchiha have gone completely insane.
Whether the Uchiha were insane or not, the defensive line held. With the Uchiha's current concentrated strength, the Senju forces found it agonizingly difficult to break through.
Sitting in the medical tent, Senju Rakan gritted his teeth as a medic bound his wounds. "Regardless of what the Uchiha's ultimate goal is, one thing is absolutely certain: they are dead set on stopping us from rescuing the Hyūga. And whatever they want to stop, we must accomplish! Send an urgent missive back to the compound! Tell Clan Head Butsuma to deploy to the front! I refuse to believe that with the three of us fighting together, we still can't crush this blockade!"
Senju Unma, who had emerged from the battle unscathed, nodded grimly. Just as he opened his mouth to agree, a Senju Jōnin burst into the tent and hastily whispered something into his ear.
Instantly, Unma's face turned incredibly dark, practically dripping with gloom.
"What's wrong?" Rakan asked, a bad feeling pooling in his gut.
Unma slowly closed his eyes. "The Clan Head... won't be able to come," he said heavily. "The Kaguya clan has suddenly launched a massive invasion against our eastern coast. Their motives are completely unknown... but I fear the Uchiha's shadow is behind this."
Senju Rakan froze. For the first time since the war began, a suffocating chill gripped his heart. The situation was violently spiraling out of their control.
What exactly are the Uchiha trying to do?!
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