According to the original plan, if they had waited for the enemy to go deeper, the traps and encirclement would have been far more effective.
Actually, according to the headquarters' overall strategy, it would have been acceptable for Fugaku Uchiha to let this Kirigakure force withdraw.
After all, their primary mission was warning, delaying, and exhausting the enemy, not annihilating them at all costs.
But he was unwilling, since the start of this war, although the Uchiha forces under his command had participated in many missions, the merits they achieved compared to Shinichi, Minato, and others were simply not eye-catching.
Although he himself had no ambition for the position of Hokage, he desperately hoped that the Uchiha Clan could establish sufficiently significant military achievements in this war.
Only then could they somewhat ease the awkward relationship between the Uchiha Clan and the village's upper leadership that had persisted for many years, gaining more influence and room for survival for the clan.
It was precisely this unwillingness and eagerness for success that caused him to make a somewhat rash decision.
Thus, this battlefield sealed within dense fog did not become a one-sided massacre, but rapidly evolved into a chaotic, tragic, and costly melee.
Boom! Boom!! Boom!!!
Deep within the gray-white fog covering the heavens and earth, waves of dull Ninjutsu explosions rang out one after another as Konoha's side continuously released techniques represented by Wind Style: Great Breakthrough, attempting to blow away the dense fog.
Meanwhile, the Village Hidden in the Mist continuously replenished the fog with Hidden Mist Jutsu. After all, being located right beside the sea was a huge advantage for them.
And this pervasive fog truly restricted the Uchiha Clan's famous Sharingan to a considerable extent.
However, the troops led by Fugaku Uchiha did not consist solely of Uchiha Clansmen. They also included Konoha reconnaissance ninjas represented by the Hyuga Clan and the Inuzuka Clan.
These specialists, skilled at locating enemies in harsh environments, became the eyes that prevented Konoha's side from completely losing its way in the fog.
In addition, Konoha had originally deployed superior forces here. Even though the battle had turned into a war of attrition, overall, Konoha still maintained a slight advantage.
Deeper within the battlefield lay a death zone where the concentration of fog far surpassed all other regions.
The fog here was so thick it seemed to possess physical substance; unable to see one's own hand was insufficient to describe it, even the sound itself seemed to be absorbed and distorted by this strange white curtain, and by the time it reached this place, only blurry echoes remained, as though separated by a thick wall of water.
At the core of the fog, Hangetsu Hozuki leaned against a slippery reef, cold sweat already soaking through his inner clothes while his heart pounded violently in his chest like war drums.
He forcibly suppressed himself from breathing heavily, even minimizing the motion of breathing itself.
Just now, at great cost, he had unleashed one of his trump cards, the terrifying Ninjutsu, Steam Imp, which he inherited from his father, the second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki.
A large-scale offensive Ninjutsu combining Clone Techniques, Water Style, and explosions, possessing tremendous destructive power.
In theory, its exquisite Ninjutsu cycle design could even achieve the terrifying effect of infinite explosions, but the price was that after every explosion, the caster's original body would enter a brief period of weakness.
Clearly, Hangetsu Hozuki had yet to reach the effortless level of mastery possessed by his father.
Merely completing a single explosion had already consumed his chakra drastically, leaving him mentally exhausted and drenched in cold sweat, but all of it was worth it.
He slowly adjusted his breathing, his icy gaze piercing through the fog toward the stiff figure standing in the field.
Inside the battlefield, Fugaku Uchiha stood there blankly like a stone statue that had lost its soul.
His eyes were locked tightly onto the four bodies lying around him.
They were members of the Uchiha Clan, and even more importantly, trusted subordinates upon whom he relied. Two of them had even grown up with him, companions as close as brothers.
Yet now, they had permanently fallen upon this cold and damp land.
Their corpses were covered in horrifying injuries left by the instantaneous scorching and tearing of high-temperature, high-pressure steam. Large portions of skin had rotted and curled open, and parts of their clothing had even fused together with the charred flesh, making the scene utterly miserable.
Just moments ago, after finally locking onto Hangetsu Hozuki's approximate location, Fugaku Uchiha had immediately led the most elite batch of clansmen directly toward the core. These four in particular had followed him all the way through enemy blockades, charging straight to Hangetsu Hozuki's front.
Naturally, he understood the principle of capturing the leader first.
However, the difficulty posed by Hangetsu Hozuki and the guards around him exceeded expectations.
In the end… because of his own underestimation and recklessness, because of his momentary lapse in command, and even more because, at the instant that devastating explosion struck, these four clansmen had thrown themselves before him without hesitation, using their flesh and blood to build the final shield protecting him, he survived and they, because of him, the irresponsible Clan Head, would forever remain here.
It's all my fault! It's all my fault! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!!!
Boundless regret was like the sharpest blade, gouging at Fugaku Uchiha's heart over and over again.
If only… if only I had realized it sooner… If only… if only I possessed even greater strength…
Along with the regret and sorrow filling his heart, the three black tomoe within Fugaku Uchiha's eyes suddenly began spinning wildly without warning!
Their rotation grew faster and faster, more and more frantic, until it almost blurred into indistinct afterimages!
The eerie crimson light within the dense fog became increasingly dazzling, as though some dormant power was awakening together with the screams from the deepest part of his heart!
"What moving camaraderie, Clan Head Fugaku."
From within the dense mist came Hangetsu Hozuki's voice, tinged with mockery and regret, drifting left and right unpredictably.
Originally, he had intended to quietly withdraw while the other party's mind was in turmoil, but at this moment, an even more tempting thought seized him.
If he could completely bury the Uchiha Clan Head here, then crushing the Konoha defenders at this location would no longer be an impossible dream!
Once that thought arose, it became impossible to suppress.
However, Hangetsu Hozuki did not act rashly, because he knew very well that beasts cornered into desperation were often the most dangerous, and a dying counterattack could be fatal.
What he needed to do now was continue using words to batter the opponent's crumbling mental defenses. At the same time, under the cover of the dense mist, his body silently shifted positions like a ghost, searching for the best angle for a lethal strike.
Unfortunately, Hangetsu Hozuki did not know that his mockery and delay at this moment not only failed to crush the other party, but instead, like throwing another bundle of deadly firewood into a blaze about to erupt violently, became the final key catalyzing some terrifying transformation.
Had he known, he would definitely have regretted this unnecessary game of cat and mouse.
'If only… if only I had realized it sooner… If only… if only I possessed even greater strength…'
Fugaku Uchiha seemed not to hear Hangetsu Hozuki's words at all, merely sinking into the endless vortex of regret and self-questioning within his heart.
Inside his eyes, the three tomoe were already spinning at the absolute limit, nearly connecting into a single black ring. The eerie glow grew brighter and brighter, while the shape of his pupils began undergoing some fundamental distortion and transformation!