Asuka and Minato Namikaze fully demonstrated their overwhelming dominance on the battlefield, charging through enemy ranks as if they were walking through empty land.
Asuka raised his blade and cut down a Konoha ninja when suddenly a fireball shot toward him from the side.
With a swing of the bone blade in his left hand, wrapped in chakra, he split the incoming fireball cleanly in half.
As the flames dispersed, Uchiha Fugaku appeared behind the fireball, staring coldly at Asuka with his pair of three-tomoe Sharingan.
Looking at the man before him—who bore a slight resemblance to Sasuke—Asuka quickly recalled who he was.
Judging by the timeline, Uchiha Fugaku should have already earned the nickname "Wicked Eye Fugaku" during the Third Great Ninja War, so Asuka wasn't surprised to see him on the battlefield.
Several Uchiha Clan ninjas stood around Fugaku. Their eyes glowed red, each of them having awakened the Sharingan, though with fewer tomoe than Fugaku.
Seeing that Fugaku's Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique had failed, two of the Uchiha immediately formed hand seals together.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
The two techniques merged with perfect coordination.
Wind fueled the flames, and in the blink of an eye a massive wall of fire surged toward Asuka.
Seeing this, Asuka didn't dodge. Instead, he quickly formed hand seals.
Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!
A massive torrent of water burst from his mouth.
His single technique completely blocked the combined attack of the Uchiha ninjas.
When the two techniques collided, thick white steam filled the battlefield.
Using the cover of the mist, the remaining Uchiha charged toward Asuka.
Leading them was Uchiha Fugaku, wielding his sword with the famous Uchiha Style Kenjutsu.
Uchiha Style: Sword of Fire!
His ninja sword was wrapped in blazing flames as he attacked Asuka from the front, while the other Uchiha supported him from both sides.
One-on-one combat had always been the specialty of the Uchiha Clan.
There was even a saying in the ninja world:
Never face an Uchiha with a Sharingan alone.
An Uchiha who possessed a three-tomoe Sharingan was almost guaranteed to be at least elite jōnin level.
Of course, Asuka was completely unfazed.
Even against a three-tomoe Sharingan, his current mental strength meant ordinary genjutsu had virtually no effect on him.
However, the Uchiha coordinated with such precision that Asuka was briefly restrained by their combined assault.
Facing their attacks, thick bone spikes grew all over Asuka's body as he countered defensively.
But because he didn't deliberately avoid eye contact, Uchiha Fugaku finally found an opening.
The Sharingan spun.
Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!
Asuka's vision blurred.
In his mind, thick iron stakes suddenly nailed his body in place.
For a brief moment, his movements stopped.
However, after feeling the effect of the genjutsu, Asuka quickly broke through it using his powerful spiritual strength.
From the outside, Fugaku saw Asuka freeze and believed the genjutsu had succeeded.
Just as his sword was about to strike—
Asuka suddenly moved again.
Fugaku's eyes widened.
At that moment, countless dense bone spikes erupted from Asuka's body.
Seeing this, Fugaku hurriedly withdrew his sword to defend.
But his speed was still slower than the bone spikes shooting from Asuka's body.
Although his desperate defense saved his life, his body was pierced in many places by the spikes.
As previously mentioned, when the Hedgehog mutant ability combined with the Shikotsumyaku Bloodline Limit, the speed and power of Asuka's bone spikes far surpassed ordinary ninjutsu.
They were even faster than most seal-less techniques, making them extremely difficult to dodge at close range.
While Fugaku barely avoided the fatal blow thanks to his combat experience, the other Uchiha ninjas around him weren't so lucky.
The sudden large-scale attack left them no time to react.
One after another, they screamed and collapsed to the ground.
Uchiha Fugaku fell to one knee.
His body was riddled with bone spikes.
Seeing the tragic fate of his clansmen, his eyes burned with fury.
But before he could even react—
Asuka had already appeared in front of him.
Bone blade raised.
Without giving him a chance to speak, Asuka swung down mercilessly.
Crack!
But the expected sound of flesh being cut never came.
Instead—
The ground split apart.
In the distance, Minato Namikaze appeared, holding the injured Uchiha Fugaku.
The only thing left where they had stood was the deep fissure created by Asuka's bone blade.
Minato leaned Fugaku against a nearby tree.
Then he slowly stood up.
His gaze locked onto Asuka, filled with intense vigilance.
As for why Minato Namikaze had appeared here—
The story had to return briefly to the Hidden Mist battlefield.
Although Minazuki Murasaki had created a defensive perimeter using Ice Release, it proved ineffective against Minato's assassinations.
Minato could still freely rampage outside the ice walls.
The reason the tactic had worked previously was because Minato had voluntarily withdrawn to avoid wiping out the Land of Water investigation team.
But this time was different.
This was war.
Retreating was not an option.
Even though Minato felt pained by the casualties suffered by Konoha, he still chose not to withdraw.
Hōzuki Mangetsu, who remained outside the ice barrier, quickly realized the situation.
If Minato continued like this, the Hidden Mist casualties would far exceed those of Konoha.
Without hesitation, Mangetsu bit his finger and smeared blood across his palm.
After forming hand seals, he slammed his hand onto the ground.
Summoning Technique!
With a loud poof, a Giant Clam appeared on the battlefield.
Mangetsu leapt onto the clam and quickly formed seals.
Then he activated a genjutsu.
Demonic Illusion: Steaming Multistory Building!
The Giant Clam extended its tentacles and began releasing thick mist.
This was the result of Mangetsu's training.
Although he hadn't fully mastered the Second Mizukage Hōzuki Gengetsu's secret technique, Jōki Bōi, he had already mastered the Mizukage's summoned beast—the Giant Clam.
And Demonic Illusion: Steaming Multistory Building was a massive field-type genjutsu performed together with it.
The mist released by the clam could generate huge mirages, making it extremely difficult for enemies to locate the real target.
Even sensory ninjas couldn't detect the illusions.
They could only be dispelled through physical contact.
The Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu, had once relied on this genjutsu together with Jōki Bōi to achieve a mutual kill with the Second Tsuchikage, Mū.
Normally, Gengetsu only used the technique to conceal himself.
After all, using Jōki Bōi consumed enormous amounts of chakra and left him weakened.
So he typically used the mirage only on himself.
But Mangetsu's goal this time was different.
He wanted to expand the illusion's range as much as possible—until it covered the entire Hidden Mist battlefield.
As the thick mist spread, the illusion gradually expanded across the battlefield.
Minato Namikaze, who had been continuously assassinating Kirigakure ninjas, quickly noticed something was wrong.
After striking several enemies, he realized something strange.
The Kirigakure ninjas in front of him were all illusions.
His attacks passed straight through them.
Meanwhile, using such a large-scale genjutsu drained Mangetsu's strength greatly.
He quickly retreated inside the ice barrier created by Minazuki Murasaki, directing the surviving Kirigakure ninjas to regroup within the defensive perimeter.
After several attempts, Minato realized he couldn't quickly determine the cause of the phenomenon.
He attacked the ice walls—
Only to discover that they too were illusions.
Even when he expanded his sensory perception, he still detected nothing.
After thinking it through, Minato made a decision.
He abandoned the assassination strategy.
Although he could eventually locate the real targets through repeated attempts, it would consume far too much time and chakra.
So he chose a different option.
Reinforce the Konoha side first.
And when he returned to the battlefield—
He saw Asuka just as she was about to kill Uchiha Fugaku.
Without hesitation, Minato Namikaze intervened.
Saving Fugaku in the nick of time—
And once again standing face-to-face with Asuka in a tense standoff.
---------------Author---------------
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