Chapter 4: Escape and Using a Borrowed Knife to Kill
Iwagakure jōnin Fujino led his three chūnin disciples and fled to a distant safe area.
With a grave expression, he looked at his disciples and said: "Aoiwa and Oishi, you two take Yamagitsune back to the outpost for treatment. Also, bring the intelligence from here back with you and have them send another jōnin for support. I will continue pursuing that Uchiha ninja. This mission is extremely important—no room for failure!"
Iwagakure chūnin Oishi frowned slightly, asking with some doubt: "Sensei, from what I observed, the opponent seems only sixteen or seventeen years old. Is he really that strong? Do we need another jōnin for support?"
Iwagakure jōnin Fujino explained seriously: "He used that 'two heads, four arms' ninjutsu and easily performed combined ninjutsu. Even more troublesome, he can cast two Sharingan genjutsu at the same time—equivalent to performing four ninjutsu simultaneously. The power and strategic value of this technique are far beyond imagination. And a Konoha genius like him is exactly the type of target we prioritize eliminating."
Hearing this, Iwagakure chūnin Aoiwa nodded: "Understood, Sensei. We'll take Yamagitsune back for treatment right away and deliver the intelligence!"
Fujino gave a slight nod, then used Body Flicker Technique and vanished from the spot.
Watching their sensei leave, Iwagakure chūnin Aoiwa turned to his two comrades with a serious face: "Oishi, carry Yamagitsune on your back. We need to hurry back to the outpost."
Iwagakure chūnin Oishi patted his chest: "Sorry, Yamagitsune—bear with the pain. I'll carry you back for treatment right now!"
With that, he crouched down, carefully lifted Yamagitsune onto his back, and quickly headed north at high speed.
On the other side, Uchiha Sanpō had only been fleeing for ten-odd minutes when he sensed someone pursuing him.
The pursuer was naturally Iwagakure jōnin Fujino. He didn't bother hiding his presence—instead, he stuck like an annoying leech, launching occasional attacks to harass. Whenever Uchiha Sanpō tried to counter, Fujino would swiftly burrow underground and escape at high speed, making him extremely slippery and frustrating to deal with.
Facing such an elusive opponent, Uchiha Sanpō felt irritated but could only carefully think it through.
"The enemy is an experienced veteran jōnin, and we're still in the border region of the Land of Earth. His reinforcements will arrive soon. His attacks are just meant to disrupt my escape rhythm… If this keeps dragging on, I'll die… I'll die!"
The headwind gave him some inspiration, and his furrowed brows relaxed a little.
He thought of a plan: cut straight through the heart of the Land of Grass. Though it would attract attacks from many Kusagakure ninjas, at least there was still a chance of survival.
During the Third Great Ninja War, the main battlefield between Konoha and Iwagakure was actually in the Land of Grass—this was the helplessness of a small nation.
Kusagakure ninjas outwardly showed respect to both Konoha and Iwagakure. But secretly, they were fence-sitters: selling Iwagakure intelligence to Konoha, and Konoha intelligence to Iwagakure. If they encountered a lone ninja from either side, they would ambush or kidnap them.
When Uchiha Sanpō changed direction and headed toward Kusagakure, Iwagakure jōnin Fujino immediately guessed his intention. His expression darkened slightly. After leaving some hidden signals on the ground, he continued the pursuit.
The border of the Land of Grass was covered in various types of green grass. Even the scattered trees were not tall, so there weren't many good hiding spots.
While sprinting at full speed, Uchiha Sanpō glanced sideways at the pursuer behind him. The Iwagakure jōnin was extremely cautious—Sharingan genjutsu required eye contact to activate. Yet even after chasing for over two hours, the opponent hadn't given him a single chance to use it.
As they approached Kusagakure's alert zone and the pursuer still showed no sign of giving up, Uchiha Sanpō popped a soldier pill into his mouth to restore some stamina and chakra.
Soon after, three Kusagakure ninjas appeared not far ahead. They held kunai in defensive stances and shouted: "This is Kusagakure territory! Leave immediately!"
Uchiha Sanpō activated his Three Tomoe Sharingan for a quick scan and saw they were only three genin. He threw six shuriken.
Ding… ding… ding!
Several clashes of metal rang out. The three Kusagakure genin clutched their throats, twitching as they collapsed—clearly not surviving long.
After dealing with the Kusagakure genin, he glanced back at the pursuer, who clearly had no intention of stopping. Gritting his teeth, he pressed deeper into Kusagakure territory.
The Sharingan's detection ability wasn't as strong as the Byakugan's, but it was still decent. Soon after, Uchiha Sanpō spotted nine Kusagakure ninjas in the distance.
"Three chūnin, six genin… maybe worth a try!"
With that, he ignored the six genin and stealthily approached the three Kusagakure chūnin.
120 meters… 50 meters… 30 meters… the distance closed rapidly…
Hiding in the shadows, Uchiha Sanpō activated "Divine Demon Transformation: Two Heads Four Arms Technique," then suddenly charged toward the three Kusagakure chūnin.
A monstrous two-headed, four-armed figure abruptly rushed at them. The three chūnin froze for a moment, then inwardly cried: "This is bad!"
"Genjutsu: Sharingan!" "Genjutsu: Sharingan!"
Two of the Kusagakure chūnin, now under genjutsu, gripped their kunai and stabbed toward the one in the middle. Instantly, that chūnin clutched his lower back and fell. As he went down, he struggled to shout: "Enemy attack!"
The shout quickly drew the attention of nearby Kusagakure ninjas. At that moment, Uchiha Sanpō hid himself.
Then, he controlled one of the genjutsu-affected chūnin to yell loudly: "Four o'clock direction! There's a lone Iwagakure jōnin! He killed Chūnin Aoi Mimi—I want revenge for him!"
Unable to just watch anymore, Iwagakure jōnin Fujino formed seals and slammed the ground: Rat – Tiger – Ox…
"Earth Release: Earth Stone Dragon!"
A dragon over ten meters long burst from the earth. He quickly jumped onto its head and shouted down from above: "I didn't kill anyone! I'm pursuing an Uchiha! If you know what's good for you, get out of my way!"
The two genjutsu-controlled Kusagakure chūnin ignored his words and continued charging at the Iwagakure jōnin.
As the distance closed, Fujino naturally noticed something wrong. The eyes of those two Kusagakure chūnin had turned into the shape of Sharingan—clear signs of being under Sharingan genjutsu.
Realizing persuasion was useless, he could only attack with ninjutsu: Rat – Horse – Dragon – Tiger…
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
The massive earth dragon opened its mouth wide, firing a barrage of earth projectiles. Instantly, one Kusagakure chūnin was struck by several and collapsed motionless, blood quickly soaking his clothes.
Seeing this, the remaining controlled chūnin shouted: "Damn it! Chūnin Hanagiku has been killed too! I'll avenge her!"
With that, he charged forward and detonated the explosive tags on his body. Boom… boom boom… boom…
Explosions rang out continuously.
Witnessing such a brutal death, the surrounding Kusagakure ninjas felt their blood boil. They no longer hid, quickly surrounding the Iwagakure jōnin and drawing their ninja tools to attack.
Though the plan succeeded, the six Kusagakure genin couldn't hold things up for long. Fortunately, the continuous explosions had already caused a commotion—more and more Kusagakure ninjas were rushing toward the blast zone…
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