Taking the absolute vanguard, Uchiha Tō drew the katana at his waist and shot forward like a fired cannonball. With a deafening boom, he crashed directly into the center of the banquet. His hands had already completed a blur of seals. "Fire Style: Great Dragon Flame Burst!"
The exact microsecond his feet touched the ground, a torrential inferno erupted from his mouth, surging toward the Clan Heads supposedly lying paralyzed on the floor. Following right behind him, the seven Peak Jōnin charged into the fray, each unleashing a high-level Ninjutsu into the mansion's courtyard. A chain of deafening explosions shook the night.
Xuan smoothly drove a marked kunai into the dirt at his feet before leaping down from the canopy, soaring into the courtyard like a great bird. The three tomoe in his Sharingan spun with demonic allure as he scanned the battlefield for weaker shinobi. Since he was already here, it would be a disservice to himself not to slaughter a few standard Jōnin to farm some System points.
However, facing Uchiha Tō's devastating fiery assault, the supposedly paralyzed Clan Heads suddenly snapped their eyes open. Massive surges of chakra violently erupted from their bodies, sweeping the flames away entirely.
"Kill...!"
A chilling roar pierced the air. Three figures suddenly lunged from the shadows, charging straight at Uchiha Tō. The moonlight glinted off their longswords, illuminating their faces. Seeing them clearly, Tō's pupils shrank.
Clang! Clang! Bang!
Uchiha Tō exchanged a lightning-fast blow with each of the three attackers, the clashes echoing like rolling thunder, before violently swapping positions to break out of their encirclement.
"Kimei Kon, Shokuka Moku, Akahane Sora... So it's you three," Uchiha Tō said coldly, the three tomoe in his eyes flashing a bloody crimson.
These three men were the secondary Peak Jōnin belonging to the three strongest clans of the coalition.
At that moment, Akahane Akira burst into wild laughter. Leaping forward to join the three attackers, he gripped his longsword and flanked Uchiha Tō alongside the Clan Heads of the Kimei and Shokuka clans, completely boxing him in.
"Uchiha Tō! I've been waiting for you for a long time!" Akira sneered. "Tonight, even if you sprout wings, you won't escape!"
This sudden, catastrophic shift shocked the entire Uchiha assault team. The five Shadow Guards and the two Uchiha Peak Jōnin immediately aborted their attacks and grouped together, their expressions turning grim as they surveyed the trap they had just jumped into. Xuan quietly landed among them.
"Kimura, Tsuruta, Nakai... You three bastards actually dared to sell me out?!" Uchiha Tō gritted his teeth, his Sharingan radiating freezing killing intent.
"N-No... I didn't..." Clan Head Kimura turned deathly pale, completely baffled by what was happening. The enemy had clearly drunk his poisoned wine! Why were they completely fine?!
In truth, Uchiha Tō was equally confused. He had personally used his Sharingan's Genjutsu to verify their defection. If their surrender had been fake, he would have exposed them instantly.
"Hmph! Uchiha Tō, don't waste your breath. You are destined to die here tonight!" Akahane Akira sneered. He then shifted his gaze. "Kimura, Tsuruta, Nakai... If you turn back right now, you are still members of our twelve-clan alliance. If you refuse, prepare to have your clans utterly erased from the Land of Fire by tomorrow morning!"
With a single sentence, Akira brilliantly drove a wedge into the battlefield. Profound struggle and hesitation warped the faces of the three traitorous Clan Heads. In the current situation, the twelve-clan coalition clearly held the absolute tactical advantage. If they fought to the death for the Uchiha now, they would likely be slaughtered.
Being cowards with zero conviction to begin with, they only hesitated for a brief second before shouting, "We return to the alliance! We are still members of the twelve clans! Today, the wicked Uchiha will die by our hands!"
Standing on the sidelines, Xuan cast a sidelong glance, sneering internally. Fickle, treacherous rats like them are the most detestable. The alliance only needed their combat strength for tonight, which was why Akira was temporarily stabilizing them. Once tonight was over, regardless of who won, those three clans were absolutely going to be butchered.
Uchiha Tō was so furious he nearly coughed up blood. He desperately wanted to hack those three shameless cowards to pieces right this second, but now was not the time to settle scores. The absolute priority was breaking out of this death trap.
"They have the numbers! Do not take them head-on! Break through the encirclement first!" Tō roared.
With blinding speed, his chakra violently erupted as he slashed his katana directly at the Kimei Clan Head.
Clang!
The heavy strike was blocked. "Go kill the other Uchiha!" the Kimei Clan Head roared to his subordinates. "Clan Head Akahane and I will pin him down!"
With that, his longsword swung with the force of wind and thunder, launching a furious counter-offensive. Akahane Akira immediately flanked him, seamlessly coordinating to pincer Uchiha Tō.
The twelve-clan coalition currently boasted nine Peak Jōnin. Additionally, six of the clans were led by Elite Jōnin, and every single clan had brought an Elite Jōnin retainer. That meant they had eighteen Elite Jōnin on the field. This overwhelming military might vastly eclipsed the Uchiha strike team. It was more than enough to heavily cripple or slaughter the entire Uchiha squad present. Out of everyone here, perhaps only Uchiha Tō had the raw strength to forcefully carve an escape route.
The battle instantly exploded into total chaos. The coalition's seven available Peak Jōnin locked onto the Uchiha's seven Peak Jōnin. In the blink of an eye, the combatants exchanged dozens of lethal blows. With the enemy Elite Jōnin also swarming in to assist, the situation for the Uchiha Peak Jōnin turned incredibly grim.
Xuan sneered. This was exactly the outcome he had orchestrated. He cast a cold glance at Shinobi One, who was currently being violently ganged up on by one Peak Jōnin and three Elite Jōnin. You wanted to kill me, didn't you? Looks like you're going to die first tonight.
Suddenly, an enemy Elite Jōnin spotted Xuan. Without a second thought, he charged over and swung a vicious downward cleave. In his mind, this Uchiha brat was about to be sliced cleanly in half. He couldn't help but think, Did the Uchiha suffer brain damage? Why the hell would they bring a kid to a bloodbath like this?
However, his blade hit nothing but empty air. The child vanished instantly. In the brief microsecond the man froze in shock, a golden flash of light erupted right beside him.
"Big Ball Rasengan!"
A wildly rotating sphere of highly condensed blue chakra—the size of a basketball—was violently slammed directly into the Elite Jōnin's torso. The terrifying rotational force exploded, sending the man flying through the air like a broken kite. As he was launched backward, the Elite Jōnin subconsciously caught a glimpse of the ground beneath him; at some point, a weirdly marked kunai had been planted into the dirt.
Boom!
The Elite Jōnin crashed heavily into the distance, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
Xuan immediately opened his mental System interface. Seeing that his point balance hadn't changed, he clicked his tongue. Tch. Elite Jōnin really are tough to kill. He actually survived that?
In the distance, the Elite Jōnin slowly lowered his arms from his chest. Chunks of hardened rock crumbled away into dirt. "Earth Style: Rock Armor Jutsu."
He violently coughed up a massive mouthful of blood. The Elite Jōnin was utterly horrified, a deep surge of pure terror gripping his heart. Is that really just a kid?!
In truth, the Elite Jōnin had simply been too careless, and the Flying Raijin Jutsu was simply too unpredictable. Although he had reacted just in time to deploy a defensive Ninjutsu to save his life, his internal organs had still been severely ruptured. Even twitching a muscle sent agonizing, tearing pain through his body; he completely lost all combat capability.
Flipping his wrist, Xuan drew a kunai. The three tomoe in his Sharingan spun slowly as he prepared to step forward and finish the job. That's 10,000 points lying right there. Heaven will punish me if I don't take it.
Just as he was about to move, a sudden, freezing chill crept up his spine. His Sharingan darted backward. Ducking his head instantly, he narrowly dodged a lethal slash by a hair's breadth.
Turning around, he saw a young girl, roughly twelve years old, gripping a slender katana. She wore a tight-fitting shinobi uniform and possessed a remarkably elegant, ethereal beauty. It was easy to predict that she would grow up to be an absolute stunner.
"A twelve-year-old Jōnin? And a cute girl at that?"
Xuan raised an eyebrow, a look of genuine interest lighting up his face.
____
PLEASE SUPPORT ME ON PATREON:
Patreon.com/IndifferentVillain
Early Access and + 60 chapter ahead of webnovel monthly, ur support keeps me motivated...thanks and enjoy reading
Chapter 225 is out on patreon... please check it out and support the work
_____________