Chapter 3: Blazing Flames and Furious Winds
The Third Great Ninja War between Konoha Village and Iwagakure had lasted over a year.
After the brutal baptism of war, both sides had become extremely familiar with each other's techniques—truly knowing each other inside and out.
Seeing the enemy hide behind the tree, Iwagakure jōnin Fujino slightly narrowed his eyes, his gaze filled with calm confidence.
He clasped his hands together, forming the "Ren" seal. Instantly, atop the earth dragon's head, an Earth Release: Earth Clone condensed into form.
Then, this earth clone shot forward like lightning at astonishing speed toward the large tree.
However, before the earth clone could get close, a sudden "rustling" sound came from the treetop as branches shook.
A bizarre figure with two heads and four arms leaped out like a phantom, tracing an arc through the air and appearing in everyone's view.
"This… what the hell is this thing… Does the Uchiha have this kind of ninjutsu?" One of the chūnin standing behind the Iwagakure jōnin had his mouth slightly open, his face full of disbelief.
Iwagakure jōnin Fujino frowned and said: "Idiot, don't look at his eyes! Beware of Sharingan genjutsu!"
In mid-air, Uchiha Sanpō looked down at the three stunned figures, the corners of his mouth curling into a wicked smile. The Three Tomoe Sharingan in both heads spun rapidly, light flowing through his eyes:
"Sharingan: Genjutsu!"
An invisible force spread out like ripples, like an intangible net enveloping the Iwagakure group.
Fujino's alarm bells rang instantly. Years of teetering on the edge of life and death gave his body faster reflexes than his mind.
His body instinctively shifted to the left, feet slamming the ground hard. Like an agile leopard, he dodged a strike coming from behind. Turning quickly, he saw his two disciples staring blankly, bodies out of control—they had clearly fallen victim to the Sharingan genjutsu.
He hurriedly gathered chakra in both palms and struck them on their bodies. Powerful chakra surged from his hands into the two chūnin, instantly jolting them awake from the genjutsu.
The chūnin on the left snapped back and saw his right hand gripping a blood-dripping kunai.
The middle chūnin, Yamagitsune, felt sharp pain in his back. Reaching behind, his hand came away covered in blood. His face turned extremely ugly, eyes filled with rage and unwillingness: "Am I going to die like this?"
"Sorry, Yamagitsune, I didn't mean to!"
Yamagitsune's body swayed. Gritting his teeth, he cursed: "Oishi, it's not your fault. I know you were under the opponent's genjutsu!"
Chūnin Oishi wasn't good with words. He could only support Yamagitsune and mutter: "Damn evil Uchiha!"
As they spoke, fury and unwillingness burned in their eyes.
At that moment, Uchiha Sanpō in mid-air gave them no chance to recover. He let out a wild laugh: "Hahaha, with only this level of skill you dare fight me? Die!"
As he spoke, his four arms moved like nimble octopus tentacles. His hands rapidly changed seals, chakra flowing between his fingers.
With the seals complete, both heads worked in unison. The right head suddenly opened wide and roared:
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball erupted from his mouth, carrying rolling heat waves. The scorching temperature distorted the surrounding air with crackling sounds.
At the same time, the left head opened wide and shouted:
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Several fierce gusts howled from his mouth. The winds acted like sharp blades, pushing the fireball forward and reshaping it. In the blink of an eye, the fireball transformed under the wind's force into a surging, overwhelming wave of flames that swept toward the four Iwagakure ninjas.
The Earth Release: Earth Clone saw the danger and immediately halted. Crouching low, its hands flashed through seals before slamming the ground:
"Earth Release: Earth Wall!"
A thick earth wall rose rapidly from the ground in front of the four Iwagakure ninjas.
The wall was over 7 meters tall and about 8 meters wide—enough to fully shield them.
But the blazing fireball combined with the violent winds came crashing in with unstoppable momentum.
In an instant, a deafening boom echoed, as if the entire forest trembled.
"Boom… Boom… Boom boom…!"
The scorching flames and furious winds hammered the earth wall. Under the dual assault of wind and fire, the wall shook violently, cracks spreading across its surface as chunks of earth peeled away.
It held for barely two seconds before it could no longer withstand the force—"Crash!"—and collapsed completely.
The shattered earth wall turned into countless debris, swept along by the raging wind-fire combined ninjutsu, surging toward the four Iwagakure ninjas behind it.
Iwagakure jōnin Fujino reacted decisively. Hands flashing seals:
"Earth Release: Earth Submersion Technique!"
Chakra formed a vortex beneath his feet. With a slight tremor, he and his three disciples rapidly sank into the ground, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Watching the four Iwagakure ninjas flee pathetically underground, Uchiha Sanpō showed a satisfied smile: "The power of this combined ninjutsu is truly formidable!"
A pure Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique would only cover about ten meters. But combined with Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, it became a wind-fire fusion ninjutsu, expanding the range to over thirty meters with destructive power on another level.
In the current ninja world, few could perform combined ninjutsu solo. The most famous were the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who could wield combinations of Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water alone, and the Akatsuki bounty hunter… Kakuzu.
While Uchiha Sanpō basked in the joy of victory, admiring the might of his ninjutsu, the Earth Release: Earth Clone that Fujino had left on the surface did not give up its counterattack.
It rushed forward, hands forming seals:
"Earth Release: Rock Cannon!"
From its mouth, it spat out chunks of rock. The moment they left its mouth, the stones rapidly enlarged and shot toward Uchiha Sanpō in mid-air.
Uchiha Sanpō frowned slightly, displeasure flashing in his eyes. He drew two kunai tagged with explosive notes. His left and right arms swung—one forward, one back—throwing them with precision.
"Boom!" "Boom!"
Two deafening explosions rang out. The powerful shockwaves from the blasts whipped up a storm in the air. Nearby trees shook violently, leaves raining down.
Immediately after, Uchiha Sanpō's four arms clasped together like wings, flapping vigorously to increase drag and slow his descent, allowing him to dodge the incoming stones as his body began to fall from the sky.
Though the Earth Release: Earth Clone had substance, its durability was low. The shockwaves from two explosions and the flying debris had already shattered it.
After landing, Uchiha Sanpō immediately went on high alert, carefully scanning the surroundings.
He was still in the Land of Earth—more Iwagakure ninjas could arrive at any moment. He needed to leave this place quickly.
Before departing, he checked his status: Chakra: 81 / 996, Pupil Power: 72 / 958...
Looking at the pitifully low remaining chakra and pupil power, he sighed helplessly, then turned and sped off toward the southwest…