"Since that's the case, don't blame me for being rude to you husband and wife!" Uchiha Katsu said coldly.
As soon as he said this, Shima's face flushed red as she craned her neck and shouted, "Who's husband and wife with him!? We're just colleagues!"
Fukasaku couldn't help curling the corners of his mouth upward, but he said nothing.
Uchiha Katsu raised an eyebrow, as if he had no idea when these two had gotten married.
"That's not important!"
The moment Uchiha Katsu finished speaking, chakra exploded around his body like a burst dam.
The blood-red Mangekyo slowly rotated in his eyes, with complicated patterns appearing in both his left and right eyes at the same time.
Without the slightest hesitation, his figure vanished from where he stood.
"Too fast."
Fukasaku only felt his vision blur, and the boy had already appeared beside him. The middle and index fingers of his right hand were pressed together, sharp chakra condensing into a short blade that stabbed straight toward his throat.
Fukasaku's pupils shrank sharply. His tongue shot out like lightning, knocking the boy away at the critical moment.
At the same time, Shima formed hand seals with both hands and sprayed out a large amount of oil mist from her mouth.
"Sage Art: Toad Oil Bullet!"
Scalding oil mist instantly covered the entire clearing.
Uchiha Katsu merely sneered. He stepped forward and launched himself into the air, his body folding several times in midair as he precisely avoided most of the oil mist.
The remaining oil splashed onto the corner of his clothes, but he paid it no attention and rapidly formed hand seals.
"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
A blazing pillar of fire surged from his mouth. The instant it met the oil mist, it erupted into dazzling flames.
The entire forest of Mount Myoboku was instantly illuminated orange-red, and the high temperature distorted even the air.
"This Fire Release packs some power!"
Fukasaku and Shima retreated at the same time, both wearing solemn expressions.
"This brat... His Fire Release has already reached this level?"
Shima shouted in a low voice, rapidly forming hand seals with her tongue.
"Sage Art: Frog Song!"
A sharp sound wave came crashing over like a tangible force, shaking the leaves around them loose from the trees.
A sharp pain struck Uchiha Katsu's eardrums, and his steps paused for a moment.
At that instant, Fukasaku's tongue shot out like a venomous snake, directly wrapping around his waist before violently flinging him away.
Bang!
Uchiha Katsu's entire body was slammed hard into the ground. Dirt flew everywhere, and the ground cracked with spiderweb-like patterns.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his body had clearly suffered a serious injury.
Fukasaku and Shima exchanged a glance and were just about to press their advantage.
The next second, the body lying in the pit suddenly disappeared.
In its place, Uchiha Katsu stood three meters away, completely unharmed. His robes were neat, without even a trace of injury.
The Mangekyo slowly rotated in his eyes.
Izanagi.
"...What?"
Fukasaku's voice trembled slightly.
Uchiha Katsu raised his head, the corners of his mouth curving into a faint smile.
"Continue."
Before his voice had even faded, he charged forward again.
This time, he held nothing back. The Sharingan clearly captured every tiny movement the two made.
Shima's oil mist, Fukasaku's tongue, the sound-wave attacks, all of them were broken down in his eyes into trajectories that could be predicted.
He deliberately allowed a sound wave to hit him once. His eardrums ruptured, and blood flowed down his cheeks.
Then, he revived again.
His chest was struck by the tongue, his ribs broke, and his internal organs were injured.
Then, he revived again.
He was wrapped in the oil mist, then used Fire Release to ignite it, leaving half of his body charred black.
Then, he revived again.
The interval between each death and rebirth was no more than a blink.
The price of Izanagi was forcibly suppressed by him through some method. Or rather, in this world without Arisu, the burden his Mangekyo placed on Izanagi seemed to be lighter than in his previous life.
Fukasaku and Shima's expressions grew increasingly ugly.
They could clearly feel that the human before them was using an almost insane method to constantly test, constantly adapt, and constantly approach their limits.
"This guy... What kind of monster is he?!"
"Why can he do this?!"
Shima panted as she growled.
As they spoke, Uchiha Katsu once again pressed his advantage.
This time, his speed was even faster, and his chakra even more condensed.
The Sharingan locked onto Fukasaku's movement path. His left hand suddenly grabbed the tongue that was trying to wrap around him, while his right hand formed seals.
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
The close-range explosion blasted Fukasaku several meters backward. His skin was burned, and he let out a pained groan.
Shima immediately moved to support him, but Uchiha Katsu used Body Flicker to circle around to her side and back, striking the vital point at the back of her neck with a precise hand blade.
Bang!
The two toads almost simultaneously fell to their knees, their chakra thrown into disorder and their ability to fight temporarily lost.
Uchiha Katsu stood where he was, his robes rising and falling slightly, his breathing frighteningly steady.
The Mangekyo slowly contracted, returning to an ordinary Sharingan.
He lowered his head and looked at Fukasaku and Shima lying on the ground, his voice calm, "Lead the way. Or I'll go in myself."
Because in his previous life, Fukasaku and Shima had been a kind old married couple, and Uchiha Katsu had gotten along quite well with them, he did not want to kill them.
———
[Deep Inside The Main Hall Of Mount Myoboku]
The ancient stone hall was filled with rich natural energy, while the faint scent of moss and damp earth drifted through the air.
The Sage Hall in this life was naturally not as majestic and imposing as it had been in his previous life.
Frogmaru was lying on a huge stone platform with his eyes closed, taking a nap.
His body looked even older than the one in his memories from his previous life, and his skin was covered with the marks of time.
In his previous life, Arisu had once bestowed power upon Frogmaru, allowing Frogmaru to become immune to aging.
But this time, he had not, so Frogmaru naturally aged at a normal rate.
Suddenly, a small intelligence-gathering frog hurriedly hopped in, its voice carrying obvious panic.
"Great Sage! Great Sage! Outside... there's a human who forcibly broke in!"
Frogmaru raised an eyelid, and a sharp glint flashed through his murky pupils.
"Human?"
"Yes! The two young guards are already fighting the other side. The other side... seems to be able to revive infinitely! Fukasaku and Shima have already fallen!"
Frogmaru's entire body suddenly trembled.
"Revive infinitely?"
Frogmaru slowly stood up, his huge figure casting a shadow across the hall.
"Take me there.", Frogmaru's voice was low and commanding.
The intelligence frog immediately nodded before rushing out.
The next second, Frogmaru's enormous body had already turned into a blur, speeding toward the entrance.
The forest outside the stone hall trembled violently as he passed, while the branches and leaves of the towering ancient trees rustled.
Uchiha Katsu stood in the clearing that had been scorched by battle, looking at the stubbornly silent husband and wife, Shima and Fukasaku.
"Forget it. Since you won't speak, I'll have to use the Mangekyo."
Uchiha Katsu planned to forcibly control the two and make them lead him the way.
"Hmm!?"
Uchiha Katsu paused.
At that very moment, he keenly sensed it.
A chakra far stronger than Fukasaku and Shima's by countless times was rapidly approaching this place.
Uchiha Katsu raised his head, and the Mangekyo slowly began rotating once more.
The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.
'Finally, he's here.'
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