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A sky full of crows fluttered chaotically, converging in the distance to reform into Xuan's figure.
He looked at the Hyuga Jōnin with an indifferent gaze.
What kind of Jutsu is this? Genjutsu? A Clone Jutsu?
Watching the black feathers drift to the ground, the Hyuga Jōnin was genuinely taken aback. He had been on countless missions and fought ninjas from every clan imaginable, but this was the first time he had ever witnessed such a bizarre technique.
"Does our Uchiha clan even have a technique like this?" Madara was also stunned.
He realized he could see through his cousin less and less. He had originally thought that by hiding his own strength, he was securely the number one expert of the new generation. But now, it seemed his cousin was truly unfathomable.
"Madara, snap out of it! Let's kill him together!"
The moment Xuan reformed, his hands blurred into seals. He opened immediately with a B-Rank Jutsu.
"Fire Style: Flame Slash!"
A massive greatsword formed of condensed Chakra flames slashed down vertically. With a deafening boom, a large section of the meeting hall's roof was blown away.
"When fighting the Hyuga, do not engage them in Taijutsu! Kite him with ranged Fire Style!" Xuan roared.
Watching the opponent leap high into the air, Xuan's Sharingan locked onto his every movement.
His hand signs completed in an instant.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
"No close combat? Naive..." the Hyuga Jōnin sneered.
While in mid-air, he suddenly accelerated, turning into a blur of afterimages as he dodged the massive fireball.
In the same breath, he closed the distance to Xuan.
By the time Xuan registered the movement, the long katana was already at his neck. The blade hadn't even touched him yet, but the razor-sharp wind pressure alone sliced a bloody line across his throat.
Clang!
In the nick of time, another sword intercepted the killing blow.
Uchiha Madara had arrived.
Despite never having coordinated before, the two displayed extraordinary chemistry.
The moment Madara blocked the Jōnin's blade, Xuan ducked low and lunged forward. His left hand was hidden behind his back, while his right hand wielded a kunai in a reverse grip, thrusting straight for the Jōnin's throat.
"Hmph!" the Hyuga Jōnin grunted coldly.
With a burst of force, he knocked Madara back. In a flash, he reversed his grip and stabbed his blade backward, piercing straight through Xuan's chest.
However, there was no sensation of hitting flesh.
Poof!
Amidst a puff of white smoke, Xuan's body turned into a log.
A Substitution Jutsu? When did he weave the signs?!
The thought flashed through the Jōnin's mind, but he had no time to dwell on it.
Xuan had already reappeared directly behind him, driving a kunai toward his heart with extreme speed.
At the exact same time, Madara completed his hand signs nearby.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Attacked from both the front and back, the Jōnin suddenly spun like a top.
"Rotation!"
A massive, spinning dome of blue Chakra erupted.
Xuan grunted as he was blown backward by the force. The Great Fireball slammed into the barrier and was similarly neutralized.
"He's strong. Completely different level from a Special Jōnin," Xuan remarked with a hint of emotion as he landed next to Madara.
If he hadn't pulled back the instant he sensed danger, slamming headfirst into that Rotation would have done a lot more than just knock him back. Even with the Crow Clone Jutsu, he would have taken at least minor injuries.
"Nonsense. Otherwise, how could he have pushed me this far? But this is what makes it challenging!"
Madara grinned, the battle intent in his eyes burning even hotter.
The Chakra glow of the Rotation faded, revealing the Jōnin once more.
This time, however, his breathing was noticeably heavier than before. The relentless assault from the duo was finally starting to pressure him.
"Brat, let me ask you: when did you weave the signs for that Substitution just now? With your current strength, you shouldn't be able to cast it without hand signs," the Jōnin asked sharply.
Xuan let out a cold sneer.
He was just about to open his mouth to mock the Jōnin—after all, what kind of idiot reveals their trump card in the middle of a fight?
But to his horror, Madara beat him to the punch.
With a tone dripping in arrogance, Madara boasted,
"A lowly clan like the Hyuga really is ignorant. That is my cousin's original One-Handed Seal technique. In the entire Uchiha clan, he is the only one capable of using it. If you commit suicide now, you might still save some face."
Xuan stared blankly at Madara, screaming internally.
You did that on purpose, didn't you? You definitely did that on purpose! You're taking revenge for me making you hold out for that extra five minutes and throwing those Paper Bombs, aren't you?!
That has to be it. Otherwise, who sells out their teammate like that?!
"One-handed seals, is it? I truly didn't expect that," the Hyuga Jōnin noted with a nod.
With a poof, his body vanished into smoke, revealing it was a clone.
The real body instantly materialized behind the two boys.
"Pity. You're still too green. You didn't even spot such a simple Clone Jutsu! Gentle Fist: Twin Wolf Howl!"
Two massive, wolf-shaped blasts of Chakra roared toward them.
At this range, there was absolutely no room to dodge.
"Tch! Who exactly is the green one here?"
Smirks of ridicule appeared simultaneously on Xuan and Madara's faces.
Poof!
Both of their bodies transformed into wooden logs.
Slapped onto each log was a Paper Bomb.
The instant the wolf-fists made impact, the tags detonated.
But that wasn't all.
The split-second the explosions went off, countless razor-thin Chakra wires snapped into existence.
Xuan and Madara reappeared on the left and right flanks, yanking the wires taut at the same time.
They bound the Jōnin in an instant, effectively sealing off his ability to use Rotation.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
Flames raced down the wires toward the center, promising to burn the bound Jōnin to ashes.
"These two brats... are they really children?"
A sweet taste rose in the Jōnin's throat as a trail of blood leaked from his lips.
Unable to spin for Rotation, he couldn't completely negate the damage from the Paper Bombs.
Combined with the rapidly encroaching flames, he finally felt a genuine sense of mortal crisis.
"Hah!"
With a sharp shout, the Hyuga Jōnin dared not underestimate them any longer.
He explosively expelled his Chakra, snapping the wires binding him before instantly using the Body Flicker Jutsu to escape the encirclement.
Xuan and Madara felt the tension on the wires slacken and knew he had escaped.
They immediately focused, their Sharingan darting around to locate him.
"Madara, on your side!"
Xuan's Sharingan, being at the three-tomoe stage, possessed dynamic vision two levels higher than Madara's. He shouted the warning immediately.
The instant Xuan's voice rang out, Madara swung his katana to the left on pure instinct.
A massive recoil shuddered through him, sending him flying backward.
Suspended in mid-air, the webbing of his hand tore open even further, adding a fresh coat of red to his grip.
"That's one down! 8 Trigrams Lion King Fist!"
The Jōnin punched out.
His Chakra was condensed to the absolute limit, taking the form of a roaring lion that threatened to swallow Madara whole.
Floating in the air, Madara had absolutely no leverage to dodge.
"It's an A-Rank Jutsu! Dammit!" Xuan cursed angrily.
The distance was too great; he couldn't make it in time to save him.
"A-Rank Jutsu, is it? I know one too!"
Mid-air, Madara's hands blurred through a complex set of seals.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Release Song!"
With a roar of dragons, three massive fire dragons erupted, crashing headlong into the Chakra lion.
In a deafening collision, the fire dragons actually suppressed the lion.
One dragon canceled out the attack, while the remaining two roared past and lunged straight for the Hyuga Jōnin.
Having a guy like him as a teammate really is reassuring sometimes. This is my chance!
Muttering internally, Xuan sprinted forward.
The tomoe in his eyes spun wildly, sending stabs of pain through his optic nerves.
His Genjutsu was primed and ready to fire.
He had decided: he would use this opening to end this once and for all.