As the enemy jōnin's movements came to a complete halt, the boy's eyes sharpened. Without a second thought, he swung his katana in a swift arc.
"Thud!"
Blood splattered. The boy decapitated him cleanly at the throat. The dying man's eyes dulled and stilled in an instant.
"What are you spacing out for? Get up now!" the boy barked out the command.
At that moment, Yan Uchiha was soaked in cold sweat—just moments ago, he'd almost thought he was finished.
A sudden wave of weakness hit him, dropping him to his knees beside the fallen longsword.
Hearing the voice, Yan Uchiha quickly grabbed the blade and stood, glancing sideways. "Fugaku Uchiha?"
"Kid, how many times have I told you? Call me Aniki Fugaku," Fugaku chuckled lightly.
The one who had just saved Yan Uchiha from the enemy jōnin's grasp was none other than the young heir of the Uchiha clan.
It is common knowledge in the Ninja World not to make direct eye contact with an opponent who possesses the Sharingan. This is because the Sharingan holds a power known as [Hypnotic Eye], essentially a Genjutsu activated through eye contact.
However, only a select few among the Uchiha possess the ability to use such techniques.
Fugaku, barely fourteen or fifteen years old, could already be considered a true elite within the Uchiha clan.
"Your Sharingan has just awakened. You can't keep it active for prolonged combat—it takes too much out of your body..." Fugaku went on. "Although the Sharingan is a dojutsu, using it still drains your chakra."
Yan's newly-awakened Sharingan couldn't withstand such strain.
And protecting him was inevitable—it was exactly the purpose his father intended.
Kai Uchiha, the head of the Uchiha clan, understood better than anyone the conditions required to awaken the Sharingan.
Even so, Kai Uchiha had expected Yan to need at least a year of battlefield training before awakening his Sharingan.
But here he was—accomplishing it in merely two months.
This boy truly was a prodigy.
After all, even Fugaku, currently the youngest among the Uchiha to awaken his Sharingan, didn't achieve it until he was eleven.
Nodding slightly, Yan Uchiha knew his Sharingan had just awakened. Naturally, he lacked the experience of Fugaku, who already possessed [Two-Tomoe Sharingan] in both eyes.
The level of the Sharingan is determined by the number of tomoe within the pupil, with [Three-Tomoe Sharingan] being the strongest.
Even among the many elites of the Uchiha clan, those who managed to awaken the [Three-Tomoe Sharingan] were considered top-tier.
"With your current strength, staying on this battlefield is far too dangerous. Withdraw immediately," Fugaku said.
After he had slain the enemy jonin, more enemy ninja kept coming relentlessly.
Generally speaking, including the Land of Rain's ninja, there was a gap between Konoha and the enemy forces—approximately two hundred shinobi.
While most of Konoha's ninja were highly skilled, such a numerical disadvantage was difficult to overcome.
Therefore, the key to victory in this war did not lie on the main battlefield, but rather at three other intense combat zones where elite ninjas clashed.
Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru faced off against Hanzo, Sakumo Hatake battled Tsuchigawa, and Kai Uchiha confronted the insect controller from the Nagare clan.
A single victory among those three battles would decide which side claimed overwhelming dominance in the war.
Ninjas of that caliber could tip the balance in a battle where strength levels were otherwise close.
"But..." Yan Uchiha's eyes looked toward the swift and fierce figure in the center of the battlefield—equally small as himself—and his gaze overflowed with unwillingness.
"This is an order!" Fugaku intensified his tone; he was the young heir, and his status within the clan was no less than the elders'.
Yan clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth before finally growling, "Understood!"
Soon after, he gradually withdrew to the edge of the battlefield.
As for Minato, he was completely drained—he had no energy left to spare for anything else. He also knew better than anyone that staying focused in battle could make or break the outcome.
Yet even so, he couldn't gain the upper hand in this battle right now.
Constantly slaying enemy ninja had significantly drained both his physical stamina and chakra reserves.
Besides, every enemy ninja on the battlefield was now prepared for his speed; none wanted to suffer the same fate as those who had underestimated him and ended up killed by Minato.
[Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique!]
[BOOM! BOOM!]
The shattered rocks beneath Minato's feet lifted into the air, gathering in front of his opponent into a massive rock fist around half a person's size, then crashing down fiercely upon him.
[Instant Flash!]
Upon seeing this, Minato shot backward instantly, reappearing several meters away in the blink of an eye.
[CRASH!]
Even so, the falling impact of the giant rock fist covered a radius of several meters, causing even Minato to stagger slightly under its powerful shockwave.
[SWISH!]
Of course, the enemy ninja wouldn't let this opportunity pass. His figure dashed forward furiously, his bright blade slashing downward—intending to slice Minato in two.
[Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!]
Just as his opponent was closing in, the barely stabilized Minato already formed the necessary seals. A wall of earth rose suddenly, just enough to shield his form from attack.
A moment of extreme danger narrowly escaped.
However, such a simple earthen barrier couldn't hold back a Jonin for very long.
Minato knew too—his enemy realized that after continuous fights, his strength, speed, and reflexes had already severely deteriorated from their peak.
In his prime, Minato's Instant Flash definitely could have avoided the blast radius of that rock fist.
Still... this was exactly what he planned to use against the sharp observation skills of an experienced Jonin.
[VRRROOM!]
He raised his right palm, quickly spinning and compressing chakra there until it coalesced in an instant into a brilliant blue sphere of chakra energy.
Then without hesitation, Minato raised his right arm and slammed it straight into the mud wall!
[Rasengan!]
[BOOM!]
The weak-quality dirt wall, erected deliberately by Minato beforehand, was instantly blown apart by the Rasengan.
Shattered stones flew in all directions. Minato's foot slammed down, and then a sapphire-blue chakra sphere smashed forcefully into the enemy Jonin's abdomen.
At the moment of impact, he wore an expression of shock, for in all his past battles, he had never encountered a scenario where the caster actively destroyed their own defensive Ninjutsu.
"Ugh...!"
The enemy Jonin spat out a mouthful of blood directly, then lost all strength, letting the long blade in his hand clatter to the ground.
Outwardly, he looked fine — but inside, his organs were torn to shreds by the [Rasengan].
"Die."
In an instant, a specially made Kunai pierced through his heart. Then Minato withdrew the Kunai, his expression cold and merciless.
At that very moment, both enemy and Konoha ninja froze in shock.
Minato had now taken down his third Jonin...
...
(TBC)
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