Hearing this, Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Akichi, and the others turned pale with fright.
One hundred and fifty men?
If it were any other ninja clan, they wouldn't be so surprised, but that was the Senju!
And he had wiped out that many people right inside the opponent's base camp.
For a moment, the look in Uchiha Shin and the others' eyes as they looked at Izuna became even more reverent.
Following behind the Vice-Clan Head, we can definitely turn defeat into victory!
"Vice-Clan Head, what should our next step be!?" Uchiha Shin asked impatiently.
"First, pass this news down."
Izuna stroked his jaw. "Didn't Senju Yuma kill over a hundred of our people before? Tonight, I paid him back the same number. Consider it vengeance for our fallen clansmen."
"Yes, this subordinate will handle it immediately!"
Uchiha Shin responded quickly, bowing his head as he exited the tent.
"We still have to see the Senju's reaction before making the next decision," Izuna said in thought, then waved his hand lightly. "Alright, you are all dismissed. I'm tired to death."
"Yes! Vice-Clan Head!"
Uchiha Akichi led the remaining people out of the main tent.
However, Izuna did not sleep in the main tent. After everyone had left, he sneaked into the corner of the military camp, into Mito's tent.
Lying on the wooden plank bed, tossing and turning, Mito exclaimed when she saw Izuna arrive, wrapping her body tightly in the quilt. "What are you doing here?!"
Izuna gave a wicked laugh, sat down directly, hugged Mito who was wrapped in the quilt, and lowered his head to press his lips against hers.
"Mmph! Mmm~~"
Intoxicated, Mito suddenly snapped back to reality as if waking from a dream. She pushed Izuna away with all her might, shaking her head vigorously. "No, you can't! You mustn't!"
"Mito..."
Izuna whispered her name.
Mito's heart trembled, but she still firmly pushed Izuna away, though her tone softened considerably. "No... way... Un... unless Grandfather agrees..."
Mito didn't finish her sentence, but Izuna had more or less guessed it, causing black lines to form on his face.
Asking Uzumaki Hiro'umi, that die-hard loyalist of the Senju alliance, to agree to this matter between him and Mito was essentially a fantasy!
At the very least, he would have to wait until the two clans united and founded Konoha.
Izuna didn't know exactly which year Konoha was founded.
But judging by the current situation, without at least five years, it was absolutely impossible.
In other words, he had to wait a full five years!?
But looking at Mito's attitude, if he forced it now, even if he succeeded, it would likely trigger her resentment, right?
If this woman blackened and, just like in the original work, chose to marry Senju Hashirama, wouldn't he be cuckolded?
After hesitating for a while, Izuna hugged Mito again.
He wouldn't go all the way tonight, but going back empty-handed was impossible.
Tens of miles away from the Uchiha camp, when Senju Yuma led reinforcements to the stronghold Senju Chiharu was responsible for.
All he saw was a devastated battlefield and corpses strewn everywhere.
What made Senju Yuma and the others even more furious was that the body of Senju Chiharu, the supreme commander of this stronghold, had been placed in the most conspicuous position at the entrance, his head severed.
Even more unforgivable was a line of words written in fresh blood at the gate:
"Senju Yuma, here is the gift I return to you.
— Uchiha Izuna"
"U, chi, ha, I, zu, na!"
Senju Yuma roared the name word by word, stomping his foot down and crushing the muddy ground where the bloody words were written. "I, Senju Yuma, demand blood for blood!"
Behind him, Senju Unkan, who was at the peak of Jonin level, stepped forward. "Clan Head, for Uchiha Izuna to accomplish such a thing before we arrived, his strength... I fear it is already comparable to Vice-Clan Head Hashirama."
Hearing this, Senju Yuma fell silent for a moment.
If he were to wipe out the one hundred and fifty men in this stronghold himself, although he could do it, he couldn't have done it so cleanly.
At least, it would be impossible to do it before reinforcements, who were so close, arrived.
Looking at the entire Senju clan now, Senju Tobirama, who possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique, was slightly inferior in offensive power. Only the user of Wood Release, Senju Hashirama, could achieve this!
Had Uchiha Izuna already reached a level comparable to Hashirama?
At this moment, an elite Chunin responsible for inspecting the situation ran over and reported to Senju Yuma, "Clan Head, including Lord Chiharu, the entire stronghold was wiped out. No important items were lost."
"Hmph, Uchiha Izuna knew I would change the strategic deployment, so taking them would be useless," Senju Yuma snorted coldly.
Senju Unkan asked, "Clan Head, what should we do next?"
Senju Yuma clenched his fist. "Uchiha Izuna raided our army's stronghold, causing so many casualties among our clansmen. If this vengeance is not exacted, how can we account to our many compatriots within the clan!"
"Return to the main camp, change the overall deployment of the strongholds, and prepare to attack!"
As Senju Yuma's order came down, Senju Unkan and the others immediately cupped their hands in response. "Yes!"
However, Senju Yuma still had one question.
No matter how strong Uchiha Izuna was, how did he avoid the perception of so many patrolling ninja?
Even Senju Hashirama couldn't easily achieve such a thing, right?
Could he actually teleport?
As the Vice-Clan Head, one still had to pay attention to image and lead by example.
Although his relationship with Mito had essentially reached fruition aside from that final step.
Izuna did not lose himself in that sensation, nor did he make public the nature of his relationship with Mito.
Most of the time, he stayed in his own main tent.
As the supreme commander of the entire army, running to the "female prisoner's" tent every day—what would that look like?
Nearly ten days had passed since Izuna wiped out Senju Chiharu's stronghold.
During this period, Izuna did not launch a single attack.
Although morale on the Uchiha side had recovered significantly because of his action.
In terms of terrain, the location of the Senju camp was easy to defend and hard to attack.
The Uchiha camp, on the other hand, offered a clear view of any invading enemy forces.
Furthermore, even though the disparity in military force had decreased, the Senju still held the advantage in total combat power, making it unsuitable to take the initiative to attack.
"Senju Yuma should be leading his great army to attack right about now," Izuna said abruptly while sitting in the main tent reviewing documents.
Beside him, Uchiha Akichi, who had taken over Uchiha Shin's position as deputy, was startled and asked in a low voice, "Vice-Clan Head, what makes you say that?"
"I destroyed the stronghold with the most combat power, which Senju Chiharu was responsible for. Senju Yuma must be furious, but to avoid being sneak-attacked by me again, he would definitely completely change the geographical locations of the other strongholds. This takes a little time. After that, he will be impatient to come and attack me."
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