How to Survive as an Uchiha

40 – A Mountain of Ice, A Mountain of Flame

Abandoning his original plan, Obito used Kamui to vanish.

"Just you wait," he said before disappearing.

The Konoha ninja waited for half a day, but there was no sign of him appearing anywhere. They shifted positions regularly, maintaining a strategic formation around the potential threat zones.

Everyone couldn't help but feel as though they were back in their ninja academy days, experiencing the awkwardness of a classmate yelling, "Don't leave after school!" during an argument.

It felt strange.

"Has he left?" someone asked.

Eventually, all eyes turned to the Hyūga clan members.

The Hyūgas, without needing further prompting, activated their Byakugan and began scanning the area.

"Everyone maintain your positions," a Hyūga jonin commanded. "We'll need full coverage of the area."

Despite being from the same village, the female shinobi present instinctively avoided their gaze.

After all, the Byakugan could see through objects, and the sudden call to action had left many of them rushing out of their homes. Some were still wearing their more... intimate undergarments.

"At least give us some warning next time," a kunoichi muttered, adjusting her hastily donned gear.

After a thorough

He ended it by using his Ice Release to create a 'Kiri ninja museum' along the shoreline. Afterward, he still had enough energy to teleport back to camp and make it just in time for dinner.

The sensation of exhaustion—tongue lolling out, struggling to squeeze out chakra as if milking a dry cow—was something he hadn't experienced even across two lifetimes.

Maybe the Nine-Tails would be strong enough to push him to that point. Opportunities to expend chakra so freely so close to home didn't come often.

Whether the number of tails correlated with a tailed beast's strength, he couldn't remember. However, the Ten-Tails did indeed have ten tails.

Ninjas loved speculating and creating theories. For instance, some claimed the One-Tail from Suna represented wind and sand, though its chakra inherently carried magnetic properties.

Similarly, there were wild claims about the Nine-Tails being fire-aligned.

Looking up close, it did appear somewhat fiery. While the Nine-Tails in manga was depicted as a giant, furry fox, in Masashi's eyes, it was more like a mountain of flames.

Its crimson chakra radiated blinding brilliance, like an inferno illuminating the skies.

However, this was merely chakra. Its essence wasn't different from human chakra, though the tailed beasts' chakra surpassed human limits in its violent intensity.

The Nine-Tails' claws slammed repeatedly into the ground, shaking the earth and whipping up powerful gusts. Trees fell en masse, uprooted by the force.

"Nothing's working! Our strongest jutsu..." a ninja called out in desperation.

It seemed godlike, embodying fire itself, as if to burn away all darkness and unleash brilliance.

On the walls, the ninja's expressions were filled with sorrow and despair—not for their lives but for Konoha behind them, where their families resided.

Those who had leapt from the walls to try and halt the beast's advance couldn't even make it pause. Techniques that once decimated enemies on battlefields barely scratched the Nine-Tails.

The beast, on the other hand, could sneeze or swat its claws and send people flying.

The walls provided no sense of safety.

Now, from the Konoha ninjas' perspective, only Masashi stood before the Nine-Tails.

Hiruzen and Danzō, along with the Konoha forces they led, had also arrived at the walls.

"Hold the line! We must protect the village!" Hiruzen's voice carried across the battlefield.

"The evacuation isn't complete. We need more time," Danzō added, his single visible eye fixed on the approaching beast.

Standing near the titanic beast, suffocation pressed heavily on them. Its sheer presence was overwhelming.

They, too, saw Masashi facing the Nine-Tails.

Even among those from the Sarutobi clan, historically unfriendly with the Uchiha, none harbored schadenfreude. In the face of such catastrophe, there were no clan divisions—only Konoha ninjas united.

Two sides remained: a mountain-sized tailed beast and the humans as small as sand grains.

All sound vanished from the walls. Only the Nine-Tails' heavy footsteps echoed.

Eyes filled with sorrow as another determined comrade prepared to sacrifice themselves against the beast, trying to slow it down by even the smallest margin.

This person wasn't the first, nor would they be the last. At this moment, every ninja present was prepared to die.

In the silence, Masashi's voice was crystal clear.

"Ice Release: Prometheus!"

In an instant, white replaced crimson, shrouding everyone's view.

A towering white titan stood firm on the earth. Its rugged, angular form seemed humanoid yet alien. Even the Akimichi clan's bulk couldn't achieve such a physique.

The giant's legs flared outward, with its lower torso resembling a skirt.

Somewhere, someone had once spoken of Prometheus, who defied the gods to bring fire to humanity.

The ninja world, of course, had no Mount Olympus. But as Masashi molded a mecha-like figure using Ice Release, everyone instinctively felt that the monstrous giant before them was terrifying.

For the older generation, including Hiruzen and Danzō, it evoked memories of something disturbingly similar.

Then, they heard Masashi's voice once more.

"Sage Art: Armament!"

What had appeared white became semi-transparent crystal, crawling over the giant's body and forming what looked like armor.

At least, the ninjas thought that massive piece must be a shield.

But the armor's design... seemed oddly familiar.

"Wait, isn't that his work?" someone on the wall suddenly exclaimed.

"That design... from the festival!"

"Masashi-sama created this!"

It was one of the evacuating civilians. Although the southern district wasn't as crowded as the north, it was still densely populated. Evacuation was far from complete.

Konoha's forces had improved the evacuation's efficiency, but the Nine-Tails was so close to the wall that even those far back could see the titan Masashi created.

The southern district had hosted last year's Uchiha Ice and Snow Festival, where he had showcased his immense skill. Among the massive ice sculptures he created were two massive figures: the Prometheus Titan and the Atlas Guardian, both inspired by ancient tales of beings who challenged the gods.

Though the ninja world had no Greek mythology, the sight of giant mecha-like sculptures had left a deep impression.

"Masashi-sama is that powerful of a ninja?"

Masashi, however, wasn't paying attention to this. He was inside the Prometheus, in Sage Mode, the markings on his face still shifting.

Ahead of him, the Nine-Tails paused, staring at the unfamiliar entity. Controlled by the Sharingan, it still felt a surge of rage.

Opening its mouth, it began forming another Tailed Beast Bomb.

Masashi changed his hand seals.

The Prometheus' feet released bursts of wind, lifting it off the ground.

With incredible speed, it charged at the Nine-Tails, extending a massive hand to grab the Tailed Beast Bomb.