The instant the “sleeping Ethan” burst apart into splintered wood— Izuna Uchiha’s mind went blank.
“…A Wood Clone?!” His voice cracked sharply through the tent.
For a heartbeat, he simply stared at the ruined decoy in disbelief.
Then horror flooded his face.
“How is this a Wood Clone?!” The words sounded almost desperate.
Because in that moment, Izuna understood everything.
This hadn’t been luck.
It hadn’t been coincidence.
From the very beginning— they had walked directly into a trap.
A perfect trap.
Outside the tent, screams erupted.
“AAAHHHH!” “Lord Izuna—IT’S AN AMBUSH!” “Help us!” “LORD IZUNA!” Izuna tore open the tent flap and rushed outside— only to stop dead in his tracks.
Torches ignited one after another across the encampment.
The darkness vanished instantly.
Senju shinobi surrounded the entire area from every direction.
There were so many that the forest itself seemed alive with movement.
And his men— His elite assassination squad— lay scattered across the ground in spreading pools of blood.
Kunai and shuriken pierced their bodies.
Some still twitched weakly.
Others stared lifelessly toward him with frozen expressions.
As if silently asking: Why did you bring us here?
Why did we die for this?
“This…” Izuna’s lips trembled.
“This is impossible…” His gaze snapped toward Ethan.
The boy stood calmly near the center of the encirclement, completely unharmed.
No panic.
No confusion.
Almost like he had expected all of this.
“How did you know we were coming?” Izuna demanded hoarsely.
Ethan scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“You probably won’t believe me…” He paused.
“But I honestly just couldn’t sleep.” “So I went out for a walk.” Izuna’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Then humiliation twisted violently across his face.
Who the hell would believe that?!
If you were “taking a walk,” then why leave a Wood Clone sleeping in bed?!
The sheer emotional damage nearly made him black out on the spot.
Blood surged up his throat.
He coughed violently and spat red across the dirt.
“Capture him alive.” Hashirama’s deep voice carried through the battlefield, calm but heavy.
Even now, he clearly had no desire to kill Madara’s younger brother.
The surrounding Senju tightened the encirclement cautiously.
Meanwhile, Tobirama glanced sideways at Ethan.
“So you really sensed them because you couldn’t sleep?” “Of course not.” Ethan answered instantly with shameless confidence.
“They failed to kill me several times already.” “So obviously they were planning something.” “I stayed awake on purpose and kept my guard up because I guessed they’d attempt an assassination.” Hashirama burst into loud laughter.
“So you were too scared to sleep?” Ethan rolled his eyes.
“Clan Head…” “If you keep phrasing it like that, this conversation’s going nowhere.” Even Tobirama’s mouth twitched upward slightly.
But then— something changed.
Izuna Uchiha finally broke.
He understood exactly what failure meant tonight.
If this mission failed— the Uchiha would lose everything.
His eyes turned blood-red with madness.
The air around him sharpened instantly.
Like a wounded beast cornered with nowhere left to run.
Several nearby Senju instinctively stiffened under the killing intent radiating from him.
Covered in blood, Izuna lunged forward.
Not to survive.
Not to escape.
Only to kill Ethan.
No matter the cost.
The Senju line faltered immediately.
Hashirama’s order to capture him alive restrained everyone.
No one dared strike lethally.
And on a battlefield— hesitation killed.
Izuna tore through the opening like a madman, rushing straight toward Ethan.
At the same moment— several “corpses” on the ground suddenly moved.
The surviving Uchiha illusion specialists had hidden beneath the dead, suppressing their presence while waiting for one final opportunity.
Most were already dying.
This attack was simply the last flicker of life before the flame went out.
Even so— they forced their Sharingan open and unleashed genjutsu at Hashirama and Tobirama simultaneously.
For the briefest instant— it worked.
Even Tobirama hadn’t expected that level of desperation.
Hashirama was caught off guard as well.
The power gap between them was overwhelming, so the illusion would only hold for a heartbeat— but in assassination battles, a heartbeat was enough.
Izuna’s Sharingan spun violently.
Once Ethan fell under genjutsu— the kunai in his hand would slit the boy’s throat effortlessly.
Then— something impossible happened.
Ethan closed his eyes.
Calmly.
Completely.
No fear.
No panic.
Nothing.
Izuna’s pupils shrank.
“You think avoiding eye contact will save you?!” He roared and slashed downward.
In his mind, he could already picture the blade carving through Ethan’s neck.
Instead— Ethan tilted sideways effortlessly.
The strike missed by centimeters.
Izuna froze.
He attacked again instantly.
Another miss.
Again.
Again.
Every strike sliced through empty air.
It was as if Ethan could see everything perfectly despite his closed eyes.
Before Izuna could process what was happening— Ethan stepped forward.
His stance lowered.
His fist drew back sharply at his waist.
Then he struck.
Fish-Man Karate: Shark Tile True Punch.
BOOM.
The impact detonated into Izuna’s side like a cannon blast.
The force ripped through his organs instantly.
His body bent unnaturally as blood exploded from his mouth.
For a moment, Izuna barely even felt the pain.
Shock overwhelmed everything else.
His eyes locked onto Ethan in pure disbelief.
“You closed your eyes…” His voice trembled.
“So how are you predicting my movements perfectly?!” Observation Haki.
But Ethan obviously wasn’t going to explain that.
So he answered with a completely serious expression: “Lucky guess.” “PUAGH—!” Izuna nearly died from rage alone.
Another mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips as his body stumbled backward.
Then he collapsed unconscious into the dirt.
At almost the same moment, the remaining Uchiha genjutsu specialists dropped one after another.
Dead.
Dying.
Or simply broken.
Their final gamble had failed completely.
Everything they sacrificed tonight— had become meaningless.
Hashirama shattered the illusion restraining him and immediately looked toward Ethan.
Only after confirming the boy was unharmed did his shoulders loosen slightly.
Tobirama reacted the same way.
Hashirama let out a long sigh.
“That was my mistake.” His expression darkened.
“We almost lost you tonight.” Ethan shrugged casually.
“It worked out in the end.” Then his eyes drifted toward the unconscious Izuna.
“Besides…” “Now that we captured Izuna Uchiha, the initiative belongs to us.” “Whether the war continues or peace negotiations begin—” “That decision is ours now.” Tobirama studied Ethan silently for several moments.
Then he spoke quietly.
“…You impressed me tonight.” The usual sharpness in his gaze had softened noticeably.
“It seems there’s no longer any need for additional ‘tempering.'” Ethan grinned.
Around them, countless Senju shinobi stared at him with open admiration.
This time— not because of Wood Release.
But because of the composure he displayed under lethal pressure.
The judgment.
The calm.
The sheer nerve required to stand in front of Izuna Uchiha with his eyes closed.
By dawn, no message had arrived from Izuna’s strike force.
Madara Uchiha already understood what that meant.
With a furious roar, he smashed the tactical sand table apart with a single punch.
Wood splintered across the chamber.
The Uchiha had lost.
Completely.
After tonight, there would be no recovering this war.
And Madara wasn’t the only one who realized it.
The moment news spread that Izuna’s assassination mission had failed—and that he himself had been captured alive— panic swept through the Uchiha camp.
Despair followed soon after.
Many clan members immediately began discussing surrender in secret.
Others simply fled under cover of darkness before dawn even arrived.
Within a single day, Madara watched the foundations of the Uchiha crumble apart around him.
Morale had collapsed entirely.
At that point— there was nothing left to save.
As clan leader, the only thing Madara could still do… was seek out Hashirama Senju— for one final battle.