A voice suddenly called out. Uchiha Nagi turned to see that a ninja had launched a sneak attack, using the Shadow Imitation Jutsu to capture the combat-inexperienced Kimimaro.
The Nara clan ninja laughed sinisterly. "Heh heh, you seem to care a lot about him. You wouldn't want anything to happen to this child, would you?"
Uchiha Nagi narrowed his eyes. If it were anyone else, this would be a headache. But this particular ninja had no idea who he had just captured.
Although Kimimaro was bound by the Shadow Imitation Jutsu and couldn't move, his Shikotsumyaku was still active. Trying to kill him with a kunai was a pipe dream.
However, the distance was a bit far. To kill the Nara shinobi…
"Flame Breathing, Third Form: Blazing Universe—"
With Uchiha Nagi's soft murmur, his Nichirin Blade shot towards the Nara ninja with unmatched speed.
The man was terrified. Doesn't he care about this child? Can't he see that the boy's life is in my hands?
"In that case, don't blame me!" The animal-masked Nara ninja hardened his heart, threw several kunai at Kimimaro, and, at the moment they should have pierced the boy, released the Shadow Imitation Jutsu and leaped backward.
Uchiha Nagi didn't even glance at Kimimaro. His own look had been enough for Kimimaro to understand his intent. If the boy lacked even this much combat intelligence, Nagi would have considered his death no great loss.
The Third Form, Blazing Universe, was a downward slash performed at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye. The slash was accompanied by an arc of brilliant flames, and even if the blade didn't touch the enemy, the sword's pressure would scorch them.
The Nara ninja, who had leaped back, looked down at his body in astonishment. He was wounded.
"Chakra metal…"
He didn't understand. It wasn't that chakra metal didn't exist, but blades made from it would visibly display a chakra blade when infused with chakra during combat. Yet, with Uchiha Nagi's technique, there was no visible extension of chakra from the sword.
"Sorry, it's not chakra metal. It's swordsmanship. Rest in peace," Uchiha Nagi said calmly, turning away. As he turned, the Nara ninja's body split in two and fell to the ground, blood splattering everywhere.
Nearby, little Kimimaro had already nonchalantly pulled the several kunai from his body. His torn clothes revealed the white, bone-like skin beneath.
The five remaining ninja all appeared to be Jonin, and all were taijutsu masters with high agility.
One of them nodded to Aburame Torune and used a wind jutsu. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Uchiha Nagi frowned. The jutsu wasn't powerful enough to defeat him, and he dodged it easily, but in the next second, he understood its purpose.
As his comrade used the Wind Style, Torune bit his own finger and sprinkled a little blood forward. A rancid stench immediately filled the air within the wind blast.
Nano-sized venomous insects…
Nagi wasn't foolish enough to engage Aburame Torune in close combat. The man's entire body was poison. A minor infection was already this severe; a close-range infection would mean instant death.
Uchiha Nagi clutched his stomach. The discomfort was growing. It seemed the nano-insects were multiplying frantically inside his body. Although the initial dose was small, if this continued, he feared he would die before he even reached his prime.
"I have no choice. I need to end this fight quickly." Uchiha Nagi crouched down, gripping his Nichirin Blade and began to gather his strength.
"Heh heh, you've figured it out? Too late." Aburame Torune smiled faintly and formed a seal with his middle and index fingers.
The nano-insects could enter the body not only through blood but also through respiration and the skin.
From the very beginning, Torune had planned to use his nano-insects to deal with Uchiha Nagi.
Nagi could already feel the sickness taking hold. Therefore, he decided to eliminate the remaining five—no, six—in one go.
"Destructive Death—Disorderly Type!"
After gathering his power, Uchiha Nagi ultimately chose the long-range Destructive Death technique for its immense power.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Fortress Wall!"
Two Jonin immediately combined their efforts, casting the defensive earth jutsu that resembled a castle wall.
Hundreds of Destructive Death shockwaves slammed into the earthen wall, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
At that very moment, a voice as cold as ice came from behind the group.
"Destructive Death—Annihilation Type…"
Annihilation Type was a single, astonishingly powerful blow. With the user at the center, it unleashed hundreds of strikes in an instant, each carrying immense impact, spreading out in all directions.
"Damn it, how did he suddenly get behind us?"
"How is that possible?"
"Flying Thunder God?!"
But it was too late. At such a close distance, not even the Body Flicker Technique could guarantee an escape. In an instant, the several hundred blows killed all five ninja, sending severed limbs flying. Two of them were directly turned into meat paste.
After one move, all the Jonin were dead. Aburame Torune was cut in half at the waist, his hands gone, barely clinging to life.
"Flying Thunder God?! You… The nano… insects have already spread, and I'm the only one who can undo the jutsu. If I die, no one can cure you. You're doomed, haha…" Torune coughed up blood as he spoke, as if in a final burst of life.
Just as Torune finished speaking, the bodies of the dozen or so ninja who had died earlier suddenly exploded, releasing a purple mist into the air.
Evidently, Torune had also implanted nano-insects in his own teammates. Once they died, their bodies were not wasted but used as breeding grounds for the insects, to be detonated.
"There is no jutsu in this world that cannot be undone, and that includes your nano-insects… coughcough…" Uchiha Nagi coughed lightly, spitting out a bit of blood.
Uchiha Nagi shook his head. Just now, he had unleashed his other dojutsu, Teleportation. The instant he transported himself into the middle of the group, the results were unexpectedly good.
Because it was a spatial ninjutsu that, unlike the Flying Thunder God, didn't require coordinates, the enemy was completely unprepared. He had instantly appeared behind them and wiped them all out.
The glass-cannon nature of ninja—high attack, low defense—was starkly evident in that moment.
"There's still one rat left…"
Damn it, thought the fox-masked man hiding in the shadows. He immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to escape, but as he turned his head, he saw a pair of red pupils.
The Flying Thunder God Technique?!
No, that's not right. He doesn't even use markers.
Before he could figure it out, his mind went dizzy. When he came to, he found himself in the world of genjutsu.
This person was from the Yamanaka clan, the same one who had used the Mind Body Switch Technique to trick him when he escaped from Konoha.
Nagi didn't know if this was Danzo's prized Yamanaka Fu, but it didn't matter. Danzo had poached several people from the Yamanaka clan, and Nagi couldn't care less.
"Sorry, this is Teleportation, not the Flying Thunder God…"