Just as Akita's blade was about to cleave into Uchiha Ran—
Ran's face suddenly changed.
In that instant, the face before Akita was no longer the Uchiha brat—
It was Haitsuchi, the Iwagakure special jōnin.
"Wait—why is it Haitsuchi?!"
The thought flashed through Akita's mind, but inertia had already stolen his chance to stop.
"No—no—move! Get out of the way!"
Akita screamed inwardly.
But the strike came far too suddenly.
Haitsuchi, the blade already right in front of him, instinctively tried to raise his hands to form seals—
Too late.
There wasn't even time for a Substitution.
Haitsuchi's pupils dilated.
Slash.
With a clean sound, Haitsuchi clutched his throat and collapsed to the ground.
"A demon… this Uchiha is a demon!"
Terror surged through Akita's heart.
"No—there's still a chance. Two special jōnin are already dead. Akahoshi and Natsuhoshi are far away. That means the one still beside me must be—!"
"There's still a chance!"
Akita spun around and slashed again at "Haitsuchi."
As the blade came down—
"Haitsuchi" twisted, transforming back into Uchiha Ran, who flashed aside and narrowly dodged the strike.
"Damn Uchiha brat!"
Seeing that his slash had at least forced Ran back, Akita immediately began forming seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"
His eyes hardened as chakra surged.
The ground beneath Ran instantly turned into a violent, muddy torrent. Like a raging river of earth, it swallowed Ran's footing and hurled him away from Akita.
"What?!"
Akita saw panic and alarm flicker across Ran's eyes—and felt a surge of savage satisfaction.
Ran seemed completely trapped by the mudflow.
Just as Ran attempted to form seals for Fire Release: Dragon Flame Projectile—
An Earth Clone Akita had prepared earlier appeared in front of him and instantly hurled a kunai wrapped in explosive tags.
At the same time, Akita's other Earth Clone completed its seals.
A massive earth dragon rose up, roaring as it spewed destructive torrents of rock and soil.
Ran was swept away by the Earth Flow River, barely escaping the explosive kunai with a substitution—
But against the Earth Dragon Bullet, he had no defense.
The blast struck him head-on.
His body was blown away violently, crashing through the air before slamming into the ground.
Akita watched coldly, without the slightest hesitation.
Now.
This was the perfect moment.
His two clones rapidly formed seals again, prepared to drain every last drop of chakra if that's what it took to finish this.
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"
"Earth Release: Earth Stone Spikes!"
At the same time, Akita slammed both palms onto the ground.
"Earth Release: Mountain Crush!"
The ground trembled.
Around Ran, the earth surged and convulsed. Spear-like pillars of stone erupted upward, aiming straight for his body.
In Akita's eyes, Ran realized he couldn't be impaled—and leapt into the air.
He dodged the Earth Spear—
But his limbs were sliced open by the jagged stone spikes.
It wasn't over.
Akita's gaze locked onto him.
Ran was airborne, his body unable to adjust midair.
That was when Mountain Crush activated.
Two massive mountain-like slabs rose on either side of Ran, forming half-circles as they rapidly closed in—
Then slammed together.
Akita thought he heard Ran's scream.
But he still wasn't satisfied.
Whether the Uchiha brat had been crushed to paste or not, Akita intended to seal him completely—to erase any last shred of hope.
"Earth Release: Mountain Sealing Burial!"
Strange sealing script rapidly spread across the surface of the earthen mass.
Then—
The entire mountain sank into the ground, vanishing completely.
At last.
That Uchiha demon… sealed.
Two comrades had been sacrificed—but to Akita, it was worth it.
Whatever that horrifying genjutsu had been, sealing Ran meant revenge for his fallen teammates.
Akita slowly closed his eyes.
He was exhausted. His chakra had nearly been wrung dry.
"Ak—"
"Akita-jōnin!"
Still standing with his eyes closed, Akita planned to recover for a moment before helping Akahoshi deal with Natsuhoshi.
After all, that strange meteor from the Star Ninja Village was something Lord Ōnoki was very interested in.
In his haze, Akita thought he heard Akahoshi calling out to him.
So impatient… can't you even wait a moment?
I'm completely dry right now.
Meanwhile—
While fighting Natsuhoshi, Akahoshi kept stealing glances toward Akita's side of the battlefield.
What he saw made his blood run cold.
Akita had first killed their comrade—the special jōnin named A-Le.
Then, without hesitation, he slaughtered Haitsuchi.
After that—
Akita unleashed a flawless, absurdly smooth combo on empty air.
Earth Flow River.
Earth Spear.
Mountain Crush.
Even a high-level sealing technique.
All massively draining jutsu.
Even while being struck by Natsuhoshi, Akahoshi screamed Akita's name at the top of his lungs.
But Akita didn't react at all.
Even more terrifying—
Though Natsuhoshi was evenly matched with him, Akahoshi realized something horrifying:
In her eyes…
There was no trace of him at all.
"What… what is happening?!"
Distracted mid-fight, Akahoshi shouted again, desperately trying to snap Akita out of it.
Then—
In that single glance—
He saw Uchiha Ran.
Ran raised a finger to his lips.
Shh.
Then he tilted his blade slightly.
The flash of steel made Akahoshi squint—
And in the next heartbeat, before Akahoshi's eyes could even follow—
Ran hooked an arm around Akita's shoulder.
And calmly drove his blade straight into Akita's heart.
A flash of white.
The zanpakutō sliced cleanly through Akita's heart and body—
As effortlessly as cutting tofu.
Blood flowed down the blade.
Drip.
Drip.
Ran sheathed his sword, turned, and slowly walked away.
Akita remained standing there.
Eyes closed.
Expression relaxed.
"Akita-jōnin!"
Akahoshi screamed again.
This time—
Akita responded.
Irritation laced his voice as he spoke calmly:
"I heard you. I'm coming to help you."
In Akahoshi's horrified gaze—
Akita, his heart and torso already split open, blood pouring freely—
Spoke as if nothing had happened.
"W-what… is going on…?"
Sent flying by Natsuhoshi, Akahoshi's mind collapses into confusion.
This was far beyond anything he understood.
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