Chapter 13: All or Nothing

The war between the two great clans had lasted for half a month. Beyond the overwhelming power of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara that shook the world, the name of Chu Yang, from the younger generation, had gradually entered the public eye.

The consequence of fame is that danger follows in its wake.

Upon learning that Chu Yang was the successor being cultivated with all their might by Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama, the Uchiha clan solidified their resolve to kill him.

A genius valued even by Senju Hashirama would surely become a grave threat to the Uchiha clan in the future; they would never allow a second Senju Hashirama to emerge!

Therefore, in the subsequent battles, Chu Yang was "enthusiastically cared for" by the enemy on the battlefield!

Wherever Chu Yang appeared, that place would become the second center of the battlefield, aside from the clash between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.

Senju Tobirama was no pushover either. As if he had long anticipated the enemy's plan, he spared no effort in using Chu Yang as "bait" to stage several brilliant ambushes.

But this did not seem to dispel the Uchiha clan's desire to nip Chu Yang in the bud.

As long as Chu Yang dared to appear on the battlefield, the enemy would send their clan's elites to surround and kill him, regardless of the cost.

The unimaginable scale of forces and the hysterical madness meant that the subsequent ambushes did not achieve the expected results.

At this point, the situation had gradually spiraled out of Senju Tobirama's control.

By the time he realized it... it was already too late to pull Chu Yang back.

Under the intense contention of both sides, Chu Yang had become a symbol of sorts on the battlefield. If he were to be withdrawn to the rear for protection now, the morale of the Senju clan would suffer a heavy blow.

In that case, the advantages Senju Tobirama had built up in the previous battles would lose their meaning.

Thus, both sides were forced to center their efforts around Chu Yang!

They continuously poured in troops, raised the stakes, and engaged in an unimaginably fierce battle of offense and defense.

In terms of the direction of the entire war, its importance even surpassed the battle between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.

Late at night, in the early hours of the morning.

The Uchiha clan's camp.

Uchiha Madara and his younger brother, Uchiha Izuna, were discussing the key turning point of the war in a brightly lit secret chamber.

"Brother, if we drag this out any longer, the situation will turn against us. We must stake everything on one throw, gather the remaining genjutsu masters in the clan, and take out that brat named Senju Yang."

"Once he dies, the high morale of the Senju clan will instantly plummet to the bottom. When that happens, we are guaranteed to win this war!" Uchiha Izuna gave his opinion while under immense mental pressure, his eyes bloodshot.

Uchiha Madara did not respond immediately, his eyes fixed on the crisscrossing pieces on the sand table. Just as Izuna said, the Senju clan was constantly eroding their influence.

If they continued to maintain the status quo, losing this war was only a matter of time.

"You will lead this mission yourself. You must succeed. If we fail, we will have no chance of a comeback!" Uchiha Madara said heavily.

Uchiha Izuna nodded and turned to walk out of the secret chamber.

Watching his brother's departing back, Uchiha Madara suddenly felt a hint of regret. If he could, he would have gone himself, but he had to hold back Senju Hashirama on the front lines.

Aside from him, no one in the Uchiha clan could withstand Hashirama, and the reverse was also true.

That same night, Uchiha Izuna summoned ten genjutsu masters from the clan, preparing to infiltrate the Senju camp and assassinate Chu Yang.

Of course, the Uchiha clan had many others skilled in genjutsu, but for an assassination, the more people involved, the higher the chance of something going wrong.

Ten people was the optimal number Uchiha Izuna had arrived at after repeated deliberation; among these ten, there were even those who could serve as cannon fodder at the critical moment.

They knew what was at stake, and they were determined.

Under the moonlight, the group silently vanished into the darkness.

Meanwhile, after a day of fighting, Chu Yang had returned to his tent to rest.

But for some reason, Chu Yang just couldn't fall asleep.

Even though his exhausted eyelids were fighting each other, he would suddenly jolt awake just as he was about to drift off.

"What kind of strange negative buff is this?"

After tossing and turning in bed for a long time, Chu Yang angrily climbed up, sat on the edge of the bed, and cursed under his breath, before falling into self-doubt. "Could it be that my body is too weak?"

"Pah, pah, pah, pah!" No sooner had the words left his mouth than Chu Yang hurriedly denied it. He was a vigorous young man in his prime; how could he be weak?

If it wasn't a physical issue, then it must be a mental one.

Speaking of his mind, Chu Yang discovered that not only had his Haki become stronger, but his intuition had also become sharper than before when facing danger on the battlefield.

"There must be some danger making me feel so restless!" A flash of inspiration struck Chu Yang, and he immediately exerted his Observation Haki to its fullest, completely shrouding his surroundings.

Through the perception of his Observation Haki, Chu Yang discovered eleven people with unfamiliar auras crossing the Senju clan's sentry posts and heading in his direction.

"Assassination?" Chu Yang sneered, guessing the Uchiha clan's intentions. He hadn't expected them to target him for assassination.

Chu Yang used a Wood Clone, leaving the clone on the bed while he slipped away himself.

He prepared to call for backup and catch the turtles in the jar.

To deceive the enemy, Chu Yang did not alert the guards standing watch outside.

On the other side, Uchiha Izuna led the clan's experts, breaking through the Senju clan's security. Every time they passed a sentry post, a genjutsu master was responsible for silently putting the guards to sleep.

After breaking through multiple layers, Uchiha Izuna led his men to the vicinity of Chu Yang's tent. As long as they took care of the guards at the entrance, their mission would be a done deal.

At a signal from Uchiha Izuna's eyes, five genjutsu masters struck simultaneously, silently causing the guards to fall into a genjutsu.

"Izuna-sama, isn't this going a bit too smoothly?" the oldest man in the group suddenly spoke up.

"The people most proficient in genjutsu in the clan are all here. If we can fail even with this, then we don't need to keep fighting the Senju clan; we might as well just surrender," Uchiha Izuna replied coldly.

The old man gave a bitter smile, said nothing more, and retreated back into the ranks.

As the others stood guard outside, Uchiha Izuna lifted the tent flap and walked in alone, just in time to see "Chu Yang" fast asleep, his face showing signs of exhaustion.

"So young..."

The moment Uchiha Izuna saw Chu Yang's face, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. He was already considered a leader of the younger generation in the ninja world, but Chu Yang was even younger than him.

To kill such a young genius, even as an enemy, Uchiha Izuna felt a sense of pity.

However, Uchiha Izuna knew clearly that mercy to an enemy is cruelty to oneself. If Chu Yang were allowed to grow, what awaited the Uchiha clan might be hell!

Just thinking of this, Uchiha Izuna's expression turned ferocious. He pulled out a kunai and stabbed it fiercely toward Chu Yang's neck!

The moment the kunai pierced Chu Yang's neck, the tactile feedback from the blade turned Uchiha Izuna's face deathly pale!

"Wood Clone?!!"

(End of chapter)