Chapter 353: You were the ones who used Ninjutsu first!
"Special Combat Unit,
Advance!!"
"Ambush Unit, flank from the side!!"
"Disruption Unit, cover the rear! Be ready to reinforce if the line collapses!"
"Don't let him get past this point!"
"Ten minutes! Even if it costs us our lives, hold the line for these ten minutes!"
"Behind us stands our nation! Our final dignity!"
"Kill!!!"
The thunderous roar echoed across the battlefield, instantly rallying the morale of the Cloud side.
Countless Cloud shinobi surged forward like a tidal wave, roaring as they charged toward the lone figure—Uchiha Ci!
"Uarghhhh!!"
"Kill!!!"
The two sides clashed in an instant!
The vanguard was a Cloud squad proficient in swordsmanship. They formed a blade formation to halt Uchiha Ci's charge, obstruct his vision, and create an opening for the second squad behind them to spring out from the rear and attack from above and behind.
However—Uchiha Ci simply stared at their movements with cold detachment. With his Sharingan, he silently took in every action, every subtle detail.
And then—
He chose the most direct response: he picked up speed, suddenly accelerating even further!
Pshk! Pshk! Pshk!
He charged straight through the formation, absorbing the impact of three incoming blades with brute strength, crashing into the crowd with such force that six men were sent flying.
In that moment, he drew his blade from his waist with one hand, lunged low, and thrust diagonally into the middle of the stunned squads.
With a spinning slash—Solar Eclipse Slash—he felled six in an instant.
Uchiha Ci tossed aside his now-chipped blade, braced himself with one arm and spun into a leap. Midair, he drew two more swords from his waist and hurled them—striking down two Cloud shinobi attempting to ambush him from front and rear.
Before the bodies even hit the ground, he swept four kunai from a fallen enemy's pouch, attached steel wires, and flung them to the ground.
His right hand yanked the wires taut and drew them up over his face, igniting sparks—forming a wire-blade composed of four burning steel strands!
Clang!
He immediately blocked two heavy slashes coming from the front, then drove a vicious left hook into one opponent's gut. As that shinobi's eyes bulged in pain, Ci stomped him aside, snatched his weapon, and stabbed it backward into another ninja's throat.
He yanked the blade out in one swift motion, leaped high off the fallen enemy's shoulder—
And midair, his gaze locked onto a young A, standing deep within the ranks behind a thousand men. Uchiha Ci flashed him a cold smile—
Then, with his blade raised, he continued slashing forward through the enemy formation.
The dawn's first light reflected off the arcs of his blade, spraying crimson across the battlefield.
Enemies before him fell one by one.
Through battle after battle, Uchiha Ci had honed his taijutsu to perfection. Combined with his mastery of multiple combat disciplines and the [Foreknowledge] effect of Uchiha-ryu swordsmanship—
The world before him appeared dissected, a web of intersecting rays predicting every incoming attack. Each strike was just a "line" on this tangled grid—a trajectory not yet complete.
All he had to do was follow each thread to its origin, and sever it before it could reach him.
In that moment—
Blades flashed in the dust cloud, sparks bursting in every direction!
Icy winds sliced outward from the center, chilling the hearts of the Cloud forces rushing in to fill the gaps. Their grips on their weapons grew weaker by the second.
Without using any ninjutsu—only taijutsu—
In under a minute,
Uchiha Ci had rampaged three hundred meters forward, cutting a straight path through the army, and was now face to face with the young A, his chipped sword dripping blood.
Staring at this utterly absurd sight, young A felt a chill race down his spine.
2000 versus 1—and the lone man was tearing through their formation like a blade through paper.
This kind of overwhelming suppression through sheer "skill" alone…
was even more terrifying than raw power.
Unless Uchiha Ci allowed it, almost no one could touch him.
He truly was a man who could pass through ten thousand blades—untouched by a single leaf.
Realizing that morale would soon collapse at this rate, A narrowed his eyes and glanced sideways. His gaze met that of a ninja hidden among the front ranks—white-skinned, purple braided hair, yellow scarf, three lower lashes on each eye, and a scroll in his mouth.
"We can't let him get any closer!"
"Toroi! If you're ready, do it now!"
Toroi nodded at once, forming the Dragon seal. A series of square shuriken shot from his feet and scattered across the battlefield.
A moment later—
Hundreds of Disruption Unit shinobi behind him roared in unison:
"Combined Ninjutsu—Lightning Release: Thunder Dragon Scroll!!"
Connected through Magnet Release wielded by the Cloud Village's users, a hundred shinobi unleashed Lightning Release at once. The square shuriken shaped the energy into a tightly condensed Thunder Dragon!
In an instant—
"ROAARRR!!!"
A ten-meter-long Thunder Dragon exploded forth, hurtling down toward Uchiha Ci, who had just launched himself above the last row of troops!
Boom!
The dragon struck dead on, clamping onto Uchiha Ci and smashing him with incredible force!
Thousands of square shuriken hidden within the dragon simultaneously tore through the air, raining down upon him.
The explosive power of the Thunder Dragon, combined with the piercing barrage of shuriken, erupted in unison—
Blasting Uchiha Ci clean out of the formation!
Young A watched every moment with bated breath, fists clenched tight. He muttered through gritted teeth:
"Lightning Release beats Earth Release…
With that hit, he won't be able to use Earth Spear anymore. The Thunder Dragon's force can even affect my Lightning Release Armor, so it should've broken through his skeletal defense too."
"With that attack…
There's no way he's unscathed."
"I don't need to kill him—just force him to begin regenerating. If the Lightning Release paralysis effect kicks in, then the battle shifts to our rhythm!"
However—
The next second, before A's desperate eyes—
Uchiha Ci, dragged dozens of meters through the earth, carved a trench with his heels—simply brushed the dust off his cloak, and stood up calmly.
Not a single wound on him.
"What… the hell!?"
A stared, wide-eyed, at Uchiha Ci's completely untouched cloak—not even a single wrinkle.
At that moment—
Uchiha Ci frowned slightly, retracting the final remnants of his Tailed Beast Cloak back into his body.
He cast a cold glance at A and the more than two thousand Cloud shinobi standing before him.
"Don't blame me for not playing fair. After all—"
Without another word, he raised his hand and formed a single Tiger seal.
In a flash—Fire Style: Chakra Mode—Activate!
The veins around his eyes bulged, pupils sharpened, and his entire form entered Sage Transformation: Cursed Mark Level 2!
From the Eight Trigrams Seal on his stomach, Eight-Tails chakra surged forth and gathered in his hand!
Adding in the chakra nature of the Two-Tails—
Fire Style: Heartflame Blade and Wind Style: Vacuum Blade—simultaneously activated!
In an instant—a searing beam of flame shot skyward from his palm!
A hundred-meter-long flaming blade, entwined with a spiraling fire dragon—rose higher and higher into the sky, as the stunned Cloud shinobi gazed upward as if witnessing a god.
"You really like dragons, huh?"
"Then… here's one for you."
Facing them all, Uchiha Ci's eyes were icy cold. In a low, echoing voice, he said:
"Sage Art: Blaze Release—Great Sword of Annihilation: Flame Dragon Dance!"