Chapter 296: Sacrificing Life to Cover the Retreat
"Swish!"
The sharp sound of something cutting through the air startled the couple resting under the tree, snapping their eyes open instantly.
"Impossible... enemies here?!"
Without a moment to think, Uchiha Hiroshi grabbed his terrified girlfriend and dove to the side.
Just as they vacated the spot, several kunai embedded themselves deep into the tree trunk. Seeing the weapons buried to the hilt, Hiroshi's expression darkened instantly. These unknown assailants were aiming to kill.
"Cho, stay behind me and protect yourself. I'll handle them," Hiroshi commanded, shielding her with his body. He drew a kunai, his gaze locked warily on the forest ahead.
Simultaneously, a specific chakra surged into his optic nerves. His pitch-black pupils flashed crimson, and three tomoe began to spin slowly within them.
Sharingan, activate!
Years of battlefield experience, combined with the guidance of an excellent teacher, had allowed Hiroshi to awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan at his age. Excluding anomalies like Kyosuke, Shisui, and Itachi—geniuses who appeared once in a century—his talent was undeniably high.
At that moment, four figures wearing masks and black cloaks slowly emerged from the shadows. There were no threats, no words exchanged. Moving with eerie coordination, they launched their attack on Hiroshi.
Hiroshi met them head-on with full force, but internally, he was far from calm.
That attire... are they Anbu? Damn it, did these idiots mistake me for someone else?
Wait, no. Their movements are different from the Anbu... Root. They must be Root!
The one who wants my life is Danzo?!
Hiroshi gritted his teeth in fury. He couldn't understand it. He had no grudges against Danzo, nor any recent conflicts. Why was the old hawk trying to kill him?
What terrified him even more was that Cho was here. He didn't believe for a second that these heartless killers would spare an innocent witness.
A surge of negative emotion rose from the depths of his heart, adding a lethal edge to his movements. Although his defense was slipping, resulting in new wounds accumulating on his body, he successfully managed to stall the enemies.
Block, parry, deflect. Facing four enemies, each with strength rivaling his own, all Hiroshi could do was buy time.
Time for Uchiha Cho to escape.
"Run! Hurry up and run!!!"
"B-but..."
"Don't give me that 'but' crap! You're distracting me! Go!"
Hearing Hiroshi's angry, desperate roar, Cho turned away with tears in her eyes and plunged into the underbrush, disappearing from sight.
Hiroshi finally let out a breath of relief. Immediately, a savage grin twisted his face, and the killing intent he had honed on the battlefield was unleashed without reservation.
"Scum. Since you want the life of Uchiha Hiroshi, are you prepared to die for it?"
Clap!
His hands slammed together, weaving seals at a speed invisible to the naked eye. A dozen basketball-sized fireballs rained down on the four assailants.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
The attack wasn't overly powerful, but the sheer volume forced the four operatives to scatter, breaking their encirclement formation.
Locking onto the one with the weakest chakra signature, Hiroshi forcibly activated the Body Flicker Technique. He blurred into a stream of afterimages, lunging at his target.
Defeating four opponents of equal strength in a head-on collision was impossible. To survive, or even win, he had to pick them off one by one.
The dynamic vision of the three-tomoe Sharingan granted him superior close-quarters combat capabilities. Despite the enemy's desperate counterattack, a simple feint allowed Hiroshi to drive his kunai deep into the operative's abdomen.
The blow wasn't immediately fatal, but the Root ninja was incapacitated.
Having taken one down, Hiroshi didn't give them a chance to regroup. After forming a few simple seals, a blinding blue light erupted in his hand, accompanied by the chirping of a thousand birds.
"Chidori!"
The technique that had now become a signature of the Uchiha clan shone brightly in Hiroshi's hand.
Gathering power, he sprinted. A flash of blue light cut through the air, and the rampant electricity pierced through the chest of the second enemy.
Hiroshi had defeated two.
However, the continuous burst of full-power attacks had drained both his chakra and stamina significantly. The remaining two enemies, whom he expected to be wary, attacked him with the emotionless efficiency characteristic of Root.
"Damn it. As expected of Root ninja. They don't even have normal emotional fluctuations," Hiroshi cursed inwardly. He took a deep breath, summoning the blinding lightning and the sound of chirping birds into his hand once more.
"This strike will finish you!"
But just then, a shadow appeared silently behind Hiroshi. He hadn't sensed it at all.
Shk.
A short sword pierced through Hiroshi's body. If he hadn't sensed a trace of killing intent at the very last second and shifted his vitals, that strike would have ended his life instantly.
"Gah!" Hiroshi coughed up a large mouthful of blood, struggling to speak. "Is this... the Silent Killing Technique?"
The shadow didn't answer. Instead, the figure released the sword and retreated to a safe distance, clearly wary of a dying counterattack.
Seeing this, a look of regret flashed through Hiroshi's eyes, followed quickly by ruthless determination. A massive surge of electricity erupted from every part of his body, forming sharp, extending currents of lightning.
"Chidori Current!"
This advanced technique, a shape transformation of the Chidori, had taken Hiroshi a full year to master under his sensei's guidance. This was the first time he had used it in combat.
The unexpected Chidori Current caught the two charging Root ninja off guard, blasting them to the ground. Judging by their convulsions, they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.
At this point, aside from the shadow assassin who specialized in stealth, the four initial enemies had been defeated by Uchiha Hiroshi.
Of course, his own injuries were severe. But whether for his own sake or to ensure his girlfriend's safety, he could not allow any enemy to survive.
Dragging his heavily wounded body, Hiroshi walked step by step toward the final enemy. The shadow assassin, seeing his state, hesitated for a moment before rushing forward to finish the job.
The final slaughter was about to begin.
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