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Xuan not going to Madara's aid immediately wasn't a mistake; it was a calculated decision. He knew full well that even if the two of them teamed up, they could only suppress the enemy Jōnin. Killing him outright was virtually impossible.
To actually kill a Jōnin, a B-Rank Jutsu wouldn't cut it. He absolutely needed an A-Rank Jutsu.
And to get one, he had to buy it right now. He remembered that in the System, an A-Rank Jutsu cost exactly 5,000 Points. Slaying a Special Jōnin rewarded 2,000 Points. That meant if he killed one more Special Jōnin and just one Chūnin, he would amass enough Points to afford the upgrade, finally giving him a real fighting chance to kill the squad leader.
"Fire Style: Flame Slash!"
The second Hyuga Special Jōnin, fully engrossed in his intense duel with Hayate, was completely blindsided by Xuan's flank attack. The fiery blade slashed directly toward him. In the most critical split-second, he unleashed Rotation, narrowly deflecting the flames before they could incinerate him.
Xuan bounded over, landing lightly beside Hayate.
"Let's finish this quickly," he said flatly. "The kill is mine."
Hayate, however, wasn't listening. He was staring dead at the three tomoe spinning in Xuan's eyes. His brain practically short-circuited. He was so utterly shell-shocked he couldn't even form words.
He knew Xuan was a prodigy—perhaps a genius on par with Madara. But even Madara had only awakened his Sharingan at age five, and it was still stuck at a single tomoe.
How did Young Master Xuan suddenly possess a fully matured, three-tomoe Sharingan?
What kind of monster was he?!
Hayate stood frozen in place, feeling like he was trapped in a bizarre dream. A five-year-old with a three-tomoe Sharingan? This was unprecedented in the entire history of the clan!
Xuan couldn't care less about Hayate's existential crisis. In his eyes, the enemy Special Jōnin was nothing more than a walking bag of Points.
The exact moment the Rotation dispersed, Xuan closed the distance. The three tomoe in his eyes spun frantically, instantly triggering his newly created Genjutsu, the Fox Beheading Jutsu.
The Hyuga ninja's vision blurred.
In an instant, the chaotic battlefield vanished, replaced by an endless, desolate desert.
With nothing but swirling yellow sand in every direction, his heart sank. He instantly realized he had fallen into an illusion.
Back in reality, Xuan saw the vacant, lost look glaze over the enemy's eyes as his body went completely rigid.
Without a second thought, Xuan slapped a Paper Bomb squarely onto the man's chest and instantly retreated.
BOOM!
The deafening explosion ripped the Special Jōnin to pieces.
Ding! [Killed a Hyuga Clan Special Jōnin. Reward: 2,000 Points.]
The System's prompt chimed right on schedule.
Xuan let out two heavy pants. A wave of exhaustion radiated from his eyes. Casting the Fox Beheading Jutsu twice in such rapid succession was taking a severe toll, even with the visual prowess of the Sharingan.
His custom Jutsu had two major drawbacks.
First, the sheer strain it placed on the optic nerves was massive.
Second, it was only effective against opponents of relatively similar strength. If the power gap was too large, the target could forcefully shatter the illusion, running the severe risk of triggering a psychological backlash on the caster.
I'm still 1,000 Points short, Xuan muttered, quickly calculating the time in his head.
He hadn't held anything back just now. Slaying this Special Jōnin had taken him exactly two minutes.
Xuan is a ruthless point-farming machine right now! Are you ready for Part 2 to see him hunt down the remaining Chūnin and grab that A-Rank upgrade?
Approaching the completely dumbfounded Hayate, Xuan pointed toward the distant Chūnin and said,
"Go help them. Finish off the three Chūnin currently pinned down, and then go rescue the kids."
Without waiting for a response, he ignored the man and dashed in Izuna's direction. He could already see his final 1,000 Points waving at him.
"Yes, Young Master Xuan!"
Hayate hastily replied. Originally, given his rank as a Special Jōnin, he had no need to act so respectfully toward a child. But this world fundamentally worshipped the strong.
The sight of Xuan instantly slaughtering an enemy Special Jōnin had burned an indelible impression into his mind.
Without even realizing it, Hayate had already placed Xuan on the pedestal of a true powerhouse, hence his absolute deference.
Furthermore, the moment he saw the boy's three-tomoe Sharingan, he immediately recognized him as a figure demanding utmost respect. Among their clan, the maturation level of one's Sharingan was the ultimate symbol of status.
Izuna was gasping for air.
His right hand, gripping his katana, throbbed with a sickening ache and had long since gone completely numb.
His bones creaked with every movement, feeling as if his entire body might fall apart at any second.
His Chakra reserves were bone-dry; he couldn't squeeze out another drop even if his life depended on it.
His vision was blurring, reducing him to parrying the enemy's attacks on pure, unconscious instinct.
He felt like he could die by the enemy's blade at any given moment.
Just as he was gritting his teeth and forcing himself to hold on, a figure suddenly materialized in front of him.
It was none other than Xuan.
After casually blocking the enemy's katana with his kunai, Xuan glanced back at Izuna. Seeing the kid still clenching his jaw and fighting to the bitter end, Xuan nodded inwardly.
No wonder he manages to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan in the future.
Even if his raw talent falls short of Madara's, his sheer willpower and endurance are truly extraordinary.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. He needed to eliminate this Chūnin immediately.
Every second he delayed pushed Madara one step closer to the grave.
Closing the distance to the Hyuga Chūnin in a flash, Xuan flicked his wrist, scattering a volley of shuriken into the air.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
One by one, the shuriken ignited with roaring Chakra flames as they bombarded the Chūnin from multiple angles.
This Hyuga Chūnin was an elite tempered on the battlefield.
With a rapid sweep of his Byakugan, he miraculously dodged every single fireball.
A lone kunai then shot straight toward him.
Naturally, under the omnidirectional vision of the Byakugan, it couldn't escape his sight.
He sidestepped smoothly, evading the projectile with a sneer.
You really think a hidden weapon like that can hit me? the Hyuga Chūnin thought smugly.
But in that exact moment, he noticed something tied to the tail end of the kunai.
What is this...?
Chakra wires?!
His heart skipped a beat.
Whipping his head around, he was horrified to discover that, at some point, he had been completely surrounded by a massive, intricate web of Chakra wires.
Standing below, Xuan clenched his fist, snapping all the wires taut.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
A massive torrent of fire raced up the conducting wires, instantly engulfing the Chūnin in a blazing inferno.
Ding! [Killed a Hyuga Clan Chūnin. Reward: 1,000 Points.]
The System's flat voice chimed.
Xuan let out a long, heavy exhale.
With this, he finally had enough Points to afford an A-Rank Jutsu.