"Impressive eye."
Uchiha Yuan smiled faintly at Kakashi.
The two stood face to face, palm-blade pressed against katana. Their gazes locked.
Kakashi spoke quietly,
"Uchiha Yuan, do you intend to oppose the entire ANBU?
"If you stop now, with the Uchiha clan behind you, the village's punishment will not be severe.
"But if you continue… you will truly become a major criminal of Konoha."
A sharp glint flashed in Yuan's eyes.
"You're speaking to the wrong person, Kakashi."
His gaze flicked toward Danzō.
"Don't you see? That old thief wants me dead. I'm merely defending myself."
Kakashi fell silent.
Just then—
His pupils shrank.
Three figures appeared behind Yuan in a blur.
Steel flashed like lightning. Killing intent erupted.
For a split second, Kakashi hesitated—should he warn him?
Suddenly, a violent force traveled through his blade. He was blasted backward, sent flying.
At the same moment, he saw—
Yuan casually raised his left hand and caught a descending katana between two fingers.
He twisted.
Snap.
The blade tip shattered.
A whip-like kick followed, sending another attacker flying.
The broken blade tip swept across the first man's throat.
Yuan swayed slightly, evading the third slash, and flicked a finger against the attacker's sword.
The blade exploded into fragments.
The third assailant was thrown back like he'd been struck by a battering ram.
So fast.
Even with the Sharingan, Kakashi barely kept up.
He glanced at the three fallen figures.
Two Root.
One ANBU.
Only the ANBU shinobi was alive—and unharmed.
The whip kick had merely numbed his entire body.
Kakashi understood.
He's holding back.
ANBU represented the Hokage's authority. Killing them meant open rebellion.
Root… was another matter.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A thirty-meter earthen dragon roared toward Yuan.
Behind him, a massive inferno in the shape of a dragon surged forward.
He was caught between earth and fire.
Kakashi's breath tightened. There was no space to dodge.
Yet Yuan moved.
One hand pressed against the earthen dragon's head—
The charging construct halted instantly.
His other hand carved through the air.
A tyrannical invisible slash erupted.
The fire dragon disintegrated mid-roar, leaving only scorching heat behind.
Yuan glanced at Kakashi and smiled faintly.
Then he clenched—
The earthen dragon shattered into debris.
His figure vanished.
Cries rang out.
ANBU were sent tumbling.
Yuan tore through the battlefield like a tiger among wolves.
A kunai stabbed toward him—
Blood splashed across the attacker's mask.
He turned—
A Root shinobi beside him had already been decapitated.
Their eyes met.
For a heartbeat, his heart seemed to stop.
Yuan tilted his head—
A kunai grazed past his ear.
He caught it mid-flight and hurled it back.
A leaping Root shinobi dropped from the air, a kunai buried in his throat.
"Damn it! Kakashi, why are you still holding back? I order you—kill the traitor Uchiha Yuan!"
Danzō roared.
In mere moments, over twenty Root had fallen.
Four squads—wiped out.
His heart bled.
And he noticed—
Yuan killed Root without hesitation.
But against ANBU, he restrained himself.
"Understood, Danzō-sama."
Kakashi and Yellow Flash exchanged a look.
They leapt forward together.
Over a dozen ANBU followed.
They surrounded Yuan.
High above, Danzō sneered.
Let's see…
If ANBU press him to the edge—will he still show mercy?
All remaining Root gathered behind him.
"Be ready. The moment he shows an opening—strike to kill."
Below, Yuan swayed and twisted amid the tightening circle.
The ANBU attacks were sharper now.
Deadlier.
Their blades no longer tested—
They aimed to execute.
Yuan felt it clearly.
So this is the Hokage's will now.
He exhaled slowly.
The muscles across his body tightened.
A faint steam began to rise from his skin.
Crack.
Something within him unlocked.
His aura surged violently upward.
The ground beneath his feet fractured.
A pulse of terrifying pressure rolled outward.
Kakashi's Sharingan widened.
This chakra flow—
No… not chakra.
This was something else.
A raw, internal force bursting through the body's restraints.
Yuan lifted his head.
Veins bulged faintly at his temples.
His eyes burned with blazing resolve.
"Since you insist on forcing me—"
His voice was calm.
"Then watch carefully."
A thunderous shockwave exploded outward.
The surrounding ANBU were blown back.
Yuan's figure blurred—faster than before.
Far faster.
Kakashi's Sharingan barely traced an afterimage.
He struck once—
An ANBU was launched into a stone wall.
Second strike—
Two more collapsed.
The sheer pressure in the air cracked the floor beneath him.
High above, Danzō's expression changed.
What is this power…?
This isn't normal taijutsu.
Yellow Flash felt his throat dry.
His chakra hasn't increased…
But his body's performance just doubled.
Yuan's voice echoed faintly through the chaos—
"The Eight Gates… First Gate—Open."
The battlefield fell silent for a fraction of a second.
Even Kakashi's eye trembled.
The Eight Gates Formation.
A forbidden technique that releases the body's limiters.
A technique known only to a few—
Like Might Dai.
And perhaps—
Might Guy.
Now—
Uchiha Yuan had opened it.
And this time—
He would not be holding back.
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