But in the next instant—
> "Rokushiki: Shigan!" (Finger Gun!)
Uchiha Jin's voice cut through the roar of the flames.
His speed was a blur — no slower than Shisui's. Hidden under the fiery haze, he flickered behind Kurosuki Raiga, his right hand darting forward like a spear.
A single, precise thrust — straight through the heart.
Raiga froze.
> "How… how could this…"
He couldn't comprehend it. A seasoned swordsman of Kirigakure — one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen — had fallen to a boy from Konoha.
His body hit the scorched ground with a dull thud.
> "Raiga!"
A second swordsman, Jinpachi Munashi, roared in fury. Dual blades flashing, he lunged at Jin's neck in a blinding arc.
But Jin didn't even flinch.
> "Rokushiki: Kami-e… Slime Form."
His body seemed to lose all rigidity, flowing like liquid as the blades sliced through where his torso had been an instant earlier. The swords passed harmlessly through his shifting form.
Jinpachi's eyes widened in disbelief.
> "What the hell—what is he!?"
Even Shisui, witnessing it from behind, was stunned speechless.
A shinobi who could morph his body mid-fight like fluid? That wasn't ninjutsu — it looked like something else entirely.
But Jin didn't give his enemies time to recover. As the swordsman staggered, Jin's arm snapped forward again — one motion, one strike — straight through the heart.
Another of the Seven fell.
Two dead in mere seconds.
The flames crackled around them, reflecting off Jin's eyes — a calm, cold crimson.
---
> "Five left," Jin muttered.
He moved again — his speed blurring like a phantom through the mist and fire. Before the remaining swordsmen could regroup, Murasame Jinpachi and Kuriarare Kushimaru were struck down in a flurry of motion.
Each blow was precise — no wasted effort, no emotion.
Blood misted the air.
> "Rokushiki: Rankyaku — White Thunder!" (Storm Kick: White Lightning!)
Jin leapt high, spinning midair. His body turned into a flash of light as his heel descended, crackling with raw energy.
The impact hit Tongō Ameyuri before she could react.
A deafening boom shook the ground.
A crater erupted beneath them — the earth split, grass and rock shattered, and the last traces of fire were swept away by the shockwave.
When the smoke cleared, silence fell.
The battlefield was scorched and broken.
Of the famed Seven Ninja Swordsmen, only Biwa Jūzō and Fuguki Suikazan remained — both staring in stunned disbelief.
Even Shisui and Kazama were frozen in place, unable to speak.
And Hinata Aya, her Byakugan still active, stood wide-eyed — her thoughts in chaos.
This… this was not the quiet, unremarkable Uchiha she thought she knew.
> "Is this… still human?" she whispered.
Jin's thin silhouette stood amidst the destruction, the air warping with heat around him. In that moment, he looked like something between a god and a demon.
---
Sweat rolled down Jūzō's face.
> "Run."
That was all he said.
No arguments. No hesitation.
He turned and fled — and Fuguki followed immediately. The pride of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen meant nothing now.
Their instincts screamed the truth: they could not win.
Even with legendary blades in their hands, they were just men.
And the Uchiha before them — even without a visible Sharingan — was something far beyond that.
---
> "Shisui!" Jin's voice cut through the silence.
"Stop them!"
"Kazama — Shadow Possession, now!"
"Aya, use your Byakugan. Track them."
His tone left no room for argument.
> "No matter what, they can't leave alive," he added quietly. "My power can't be exposed yet."
Then he vanished — chasing after the fleeing swordsmen.
The others followed instantly.
They didn't need explanations. In that instant, all hesitation vanished.
Shisui flickered ahead, Kazama's shadows spread along the scorched earth, and Aya's Byakugan locked onto the two fleeing chakra signatures.
> "Two hundred meters ahead — they're splitting up!" Aya called.
> "Good." Jin's voice echoed as he accelerated again.
His eyes snapped open — and for the first time that day, the Sharingan flared to life.
Three tomoe spun in a crimson glow.
He set Aya down gently.
> "Stay here."
Then he was gone.
> "Rokushiki: Tekkai — Jade Form!" (Iron Body: Jade!)
His entire frame hardened, skin shimmering like steel as he shot forward like a black meteor toward Biwa Jūzō.
> "Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
Jūzō reacted instantly, slamming his hands to the ground — walls of earth erupted to block Jin's charge.
It didn't matter.
Jin smashed through it like paper.
> Boom!
Stone fragments scattered as Jin and Jūzō clashed head-on.
> "Tekkai: Wolf Fang — Wolf Wheel — Steel Breaker!"
Each strike sounded like a hammer on metal — relentless, overwhelming. In mere seconds, they exchanged over thirty blows, sparks flying with every impact of blade and fist.
Jūzō fought desperately, swinging his Kubikiribōchō in wide arcs. But Jin's movements were too fast, too refined — a terrifying blend of shinobi technique and something entirely alien.
For the first time in years, Biwa Jūzō, one of the Seven, felt fear.
He realized he wasn't fighting a mere Uchiha.
He was fighting a monster that borrowed human form.