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Chapter 80 is out on patreon
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Fujiwara Mines, inside the Uchiha outpost.
A flash of light flickered, revealing a figure dressed in the long robes of the Uchiha clan.
Uchiha Xuan exhaled a breath of stale air. He reached out to touch his chest, where a fresh wound was slowly dripping blood. The wound wasn't large—at most a minor injury—but it stung with a burning pain at the slightest touch.
Grimacing in pain, he muttered to himself, "I've been hunting wild geese all day, only to get pecked in the eye by one today. Speaking of which, since when did the Hyuga clan produce such a girl? Why have I never heard of her in the original story?"
He thought about it but couldn't figure it out, so he added, "Sure enough, it's all the System's fault. If this damn System hadn't suddenly issued that mission to draw out the mastermind, I wouldn't have foolishly jumped out there. Screw all these ambushes!"
"Wait... the System...?"
Xuan was suddenly startled. He remembered that the System had issued a second mission: escape the enemy's encirclement. Logically speaking, having used the Flying Thunder God to escape here, the mission should be complete. So why was there no reward notification?
At the same time, he keenly sensed that the entire house was too quiet—eerily quiet. He had suddenly appeared here; it was impossible for Uchiha Masa and the others not to react. It was also unlikely they were out at this hour, unless...
As this thought crossed his mind, the Sharingan in Xuan's eyes spun once more.
A cold light flashed.
Xuan's body was sliced in two at the waist.
"Target, Uchiha Xuan. Successfully eliminated." A flat voice came from behind. Even without turning around, Xuan could imagine the poker-faced, cool expression of the speaker.
"Screw you, Hyuga Tamamo! You actually set up a chain trap? Sooner or later, I'm going to tie you up and spank you!"
The Sharingan in his eyes began to spin madly. His body, which had been sliced in half, suddenly transformed into a flock of crows, spiral-flying outwards.
"What is going on?"
Hyuga Kazama, who had been lying in ambush here, watched the scene before him in astonishment. It was the first time in his life he had encountered such a bizarre situation.
"Is it a Sharingan Genjutsu?! But I've been very careful; I haven't made eye contact with his Sharingan from start to finish!"
The crows cawed loudly, flying out the window one by one. They converged on a distant tree branch, reforming into Xuan's body.
"Heh. Itachi's Crow Clone is truly an unrivaled skill for survival. Although it's only a C-Rank Ninjutsu, its practicality is definitely above A-Rank!"
His hands formed seals rapidly, his Sharingan glowing conspicuously in the night.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A fire dragon, condensed to the point of being tangible, spewed forth. Its target was the building below. Xuan had already placed Flying Thunder God formulas all around the area; this was now his home turf. By destroying the house that provided cover, the opponent would be like an insect falling into a spider's web—doomed to be slowly entangled until death.
Amidst the thunderous explosion, the house below was blasted to smithereens. A black shadow leaped high into the air, landing on the grass below. His Byakugan stared gravely at his opponent in the tree. He began to understand why two Elite Jōnin of his clan had failed to take this boy down. These unseen Ninjutsu were simply too bizarre.
"Yo, you dodge pretty fast!"
Xuan spoke in a mocking tone, then suddenly shifted gears. "To be honest, that girl from your clan has a decent IQ. This chain trap did exceed my expectations somewhat. But it doesn't matter. The plan was good, but unfortunately, she miscalculated one thing!"
"Miscalculated what?" Hyuga Kazama held his blade at the ready, his Byakugan scanning Xuan's surroundings, looking for the perfect moment to strike.
"She shouldn't have sent only a single Jōnin to ambush me here. If you were an Elite Jōnin, I definitely wouldn't be wasting so much breath on you. Now, let me teach you the true power of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. Damn it, the level gap between me and those Elite Jōnin was too big; that fight was frustrating as hell."
Before his voice had even faded, three kunai attacked the Hyuga ninja from three different directions.
Hyuga Kazama waved his blade to block two of them. With the vision of the Byakugan, he easily sidestepped the third one. He sneered, "Boasting shamelessly... Hmm?"
A light flashed.
Uchiha Xuan suddenly appeared right beside him, catching a kunai in a reverse grip and stabbing directly at him. Kazama hurriedly swung his blade to counterattack, but the opponent vanished instantly.
"Behind me?"
His Byakugan caught sight of the enemy. Hyuga Kazama quickly shifted his stance to intercept, but Xuan disappeared again, reappearing on his left side.
"It's that bizarre space Ninjutsu... It's these kunai?"
It was clearly one person, yet he was being attacked from three directions almost simultaneously. Hyuga Kazama suppressed his discomfort and dodged once more.
Watching the three kunai floating around him, he gritted his teeth. He swung his longsword in a circular arc, attempting to knock them away amidst a cacophony of clangs.
"How is this possible?"
To his shock, the three kunai remained orbiting him, undeterred by his strike. Meanwhile, Uchiha Xuan's relentless assault continued, already inflicting several minor wounds on his body.
"Is this... Chakra threads?"
Aided by the reflection of the moonlight, Hyuga Kazama finally noticed that the pommel of each kunai was connected to an incredibly thin, transparent Chakra thread wrapped around his body. No wonder he couldn't shake them off.
"Did you figure it out?" A cold sneer curled on Xuan's lips.
After realizing the three levels of the Flying Thunder God, he knew he couldn't yet mark opponents directly with the formula. So, he devised this method: if he couldn't mark them, he would simply tether the marked kunai to them.
The flashes around Hyuga Kazama never ceased. The attacks came like a violent storm. All Kazama could do was block endlessly; he couldn't even touch the corner of Xuan's clothes, let alone find a split second to cut the Chakra threads.
For the first time, he realized a Ninjutsu could be this terrifying—allowing a Special Jōnin to completely suppress a full Jōnin. If word got out, every ninja in the Warring States period would laugh. What kind of nightmare is this?!
"Rotation! (Kaiten)"
Finally unable to endure it, Hyuga Kazama gathered Chakra in his palms and spun instantly. If this assault continued, he wouldn't last much longer.
The Chakra dome appeared instantly, severing the threads connected to the three kunai. The reason he hadn't used Rotation earlier was that there was a momentary recovery period after the technique ended. Given his opponent's performance, he doubted Xuan would let such a golden opportunity slip by.
With a flash of light, Xuan teleported to a kunai not far away. His Sharingan spun slightly as he began calculating the duration of the Rotation. He had just fought two Elite Jōnin and was full of pent-up rage; this guy was the perfect punching bag.
"No, this Jutsu is too bizarre. I can't hurt him at all. The moment Rotation ends, I'll use the Body Flicker Jutsu to escape!"
The thought of retreat had taken root in Hyuga Kazama's mind. To become a Jōnin, he wasn't the type to stubbornly fight to the death. There was no shame in losing to a superior opponent; only a fool would persist when outmatched. Those kinds of people usually died when they were still Genin.
"Now! Body Flicker Jutsu!"
The moment Rotation ended, he saw a kunai shooting toward him. He didn't dodge, using that split second to forcefully recover his breath.
Suddenly, Uchiha Xuan appeared, caught the kunai in mid-air, and stabbed straight for his heart!
Squelch...
The kunai sank three inches into his flesh, but Hyuga Kazama activated the Body Flicker Jutsu just in time, transforming into a black shadow and speeding into the distance.
"Too slow!"
Xuan's Sharingan spun slightly. With a sneer, he vanished, already cutting off Kazama's path.
Hyuga Kazama flickered in another direction, but was intercepted again. After several failed attempts, he gritted his teeth and threw down two smoke bombs. A large cloud of white smoke rose, and under its cover, he Body Flickered away toward the horizon.
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
A massive sea of fire engulfed his escape route. Nothing was better suited for blocking a path than this large-scale A-Rank Ninjutsu.
"Goodbye, my Hyuga friend. I will remember your kindness in traveling a thousand miles just to give me your head. Rasengan!"
A massive, high-speed rotational tearing force exploded on his back. He felt all his internal organs being shredded instantly.
"There was clearly no kunai... how did he catch up?"
His Byakugan glanced down weakly. There, tucked under his armpit, was a kunai attached to a Chakra thread.
"When... did..."
A large mouthful of blood mixed with pieces of visceral organs spewed out. Those were the last words he could utter.
Xuan chuckled, understanding the question. He explained quickly, "When your Rotation ended, I actually threw two kunai!"
"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu... so that's it. To think I lost to such a basic D-Rank Ninjutsu in the end..."
This was his final thought before he closed his eyes forever.
Ding! [Successfully escaped the Hyuga Clan's encirclement. Reward: 3,000 Points!]
Ding! [Killed a Hyuga Clan Jōnin. Reward: 5,000 Points!]