"Uchiha Isamu?"
"Uchiha?"
"So you're a shinobi of the Uchiha Clan from Konohagakure in the Land of Fire?"
"No, no, no."
"You only got half of it right."
"I am an Uchiha…"
"…but I'm not one of Konoha's Uchiha."
"So…"
"How about joining me?"
"I rarely recruit people."
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
The leader snorted.
"Hmph."
"Since you know who the Xuanyuan Clan is…"
"…then you should also know we're mercenaries."
"We enjoy our freedom."
"Why would we become someone's dogs?"
"Stop dreaming."
Isamu sighed dramatically.
"Now that's unfair."
"Who said anything about being dogs?"
"If you work for me…"
"I'll treat you like brothers."
"I won't order you around like everyone else."
"You speak well."
"But we've lived freely for too many years."
"We won't serve anyone."
"So stop trying."
Isamu shook his head helplessly.
He genuinely appreciated their abilities.
Still…
Expecting them to give up years of freedom in a few words had always been unrealistic.
"So…"
"You're absolutely certain?"
"We won't reconsider."
"Our answer won't change."
Isamu sighed.
"I knew it wouldn't be that easy."
"There are trees upon the mountain, and branches upon the trees."
"I value you greatly…"
"…yet you don't appreciate it."
"In that case…"
"I suppose I'll have to use force."
His playful smile disappeared.
His expression became serious.
The Xuanyuan Clan immediately became alert.
One member whispered,
"Boss…"
"This guy doesn't seem willing to let us leave."
The leader nodded.
"Our commission was almost finished…"
"…and yet an unexpected obstacle appeared."
"He dares look down on the Xuanyuan Clan."
"He'll pay for that."
"Prepare for battle!"
The five immediately spread out into formation.
Watching from the side, Karura frowned.
Although these people were fairly strong…
…they weren't powerful enough to warrant Isamu recruiting them so insistently.
What exactly is he planning?
"Grandma Karura…"
"Can Grandpa beat them?"
"They don't seem easy to deal with."
Karura smiled and gently patted Itachi's head.
"Don't worry."
"Your grandfather is the strongest person in the world."
"Defeating them will be easy."
Hearing that…
Itachi finally relaxed and focused on the battlefield.
"Heh."
"You even formed up."
"Not bad."
"Come."
"Attack with everything you've got."
"Don't disappoint me."
"Attack!"
At the leader's command…
The two front-line members transformed simultaneously.
One became a massive water dragon.
The other transformed into a blazing fire dragon.
They charged straight toward Isamu.
"Oh?"
"The Hydrification Technique of the Hōzuki Clan…"
"…and the Land of Fire's secret elemental assimilation technique."
"Interesting."
"Very interesting."
Although surprised…
Isamu merely raised his left hand.
When the dragons came within half a meter—
"Shinra Tensei."
Boom!
An overwhelming repulsive force erupted outward.
The fire and water dragons were blasted away instantly.
They reverted to human form and skidded nearly five meters before finally stopping.
Instead of fear…
Both of them smiled.
Just then…
Every hair on Isamu's body stood on end.
An intense killing intent engulfed him.
Swish! Swish!
Two black shadows with glowing crimson eyes suddenly appeared at his sides.
Kunai stabbed directly toward his heart.
"Hm."
A skeletal Susanoo arm materialized instantly.
Bang!
The skeletal arm swept through both attackers.
The shadows disappeared.
Shadow clones?
No…
The real killing intent is still here.
Suddenly—
A figure burst from Isamu's own shadow.
Kunai shot toward his head.
Isamu tilted slightly.
The fatal strike missed…
…but the blade still sliced across his cheek.
A thin line of blood appeared.
Touching the blood on his face…
Isamu looked at the assassin.
"The Shadow Assassination Technique."
"Not bad."
"You've taught me something today."
The assassin sneered.
"You underestimated us."
"Now you'll pay the price."
Isamu smiled.
"You're right."
"Underestimating an opponent always comes at a cost."
"I was careless."
"But…"
"…this ends here."
"Universal Pull."
The assassin had never encountered such an ability.
His body was violently dragged toward Isamu.
Isamu caught him by the throat.
"Human Path."
The King of Hell appeared behind him.
The Human Path instantly extracted the assassin's soul.
Only Isamu…
…and the dying assassin…
…could see the King of Hell.
The other Xuanyuan Clan members only watched helplessly as Isamu grabbed their companion's neck…
…and he suddenly died.
After extracting the soul…
Isamu tossed it into the King of Hell's mouth.
The body collapsed lifelessly onto the ground.
The remaining members were horrified.
"You…"
"You killed Third Brother that easily?"
"What exactly did you do?"
"Why don't you experience it yourselves?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
Isamu narrowed his eyes.
He glanced across the remaining enemies.
One of them disappeared…
Interesting.
"Fourth Brother!"
"Fifth Brother!"
"Fall back!"
At the leader's roar…
His entire body suddenly erupted with dazzling white light.
The blinding radiance forced even Isamu to shield his eyes.
At the same time…
He couldn't help but admire them.
Elite Jonin-level strength…
Near-perfect teamwork…
Even a Kage from one of the Five Great Nations would struggle against this squad.
They realized I rely heavily on my eyes…
So they deliberately used intense light to blind my vision before launching another assassination attempt.
Heh…
These people really do have some clever tricks.