On the other side.
Countless shuriken flew out from the mist.
Uchiha Fugaku swiftly swung his blade, deflecting the incoming shuriken. With his other hand, he threw several shuriken into the fog, but they vanished without a trace.
The mist was a realm of the unknown.
No enemy figures could be seen, and the effectiveness of his attacks remained uncertain.
This was the terror of Kirigakure's assassination squad—forcing their victims to die in the fear of the unknown.
Yet, not a trace of fear showed on Fugaku's face, even though this was his first encounter with such an ambush.
As the future clan head of the Uchiha, how could he feel fear?
How could he be weak?
Sensing someone emerging behind him, Fugaku had already completed a one-handed seal.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
He turned and spat out a violent fireball, colliding with the figure that had appeared. Instantly, the figure dissolved into a puddle of water—a Water Clone—vanishing without a trace. Only the steam from the clash of fire and water thickened the surrounding mist.
"Clang! Clang!" The fierce sound of clashing weapons rang out.
Fugaku's blade intercepted two kunai thrusts.
One of the mist-ninja who had appeared locked eyes with him.
In the crimson depths of the Sharingan, three tomoe spun.
The ninja before him abandoned all defense, and three shuriken thrown by Fugaku's other hand struck his forehead, throat, and heart. He collapsed, clearly beyond saving.
The other mist-ninja retreated swiftly into the dense fog.
"You're no ordinary shinobi," a woman's voice echoed from the mist.
Her voice carried a strange allure, like a pair of soft, warm hands caressing the body, inducing relaxation and a faint pleasure.
For a moment, Fugaku's gaze wavered, and his movements slowed.
Hidden in the mist, the woman giggled, her laughter causing her body to sway enticingly. If not for the fog, the sight would have been a feast for the eyes—after all, her "headlights" were quite prominent.
This woman, known as Enki (Seductive Demon), was a genjutsu specialist.
Her voice was her weapon, the medium for her techniques.
Most men couldn't resist it easily.
Merely hearing her voice signified death.
Seeing Fugaku gradually grow sluggish, she swiftly made a hand sign to finish him off, all while maintaining her auditory assault.
"It's rare to see someone from Konoha last this long against us," she cooed.
This was the truth.
The pervasive mist was a killing field, yet he had held out this long and even counter-killed one of their own.
An average Konoha jōnin couldn't have managed it.
Just as she was about to speak again, a mosquito-like buzz gathered in her ear, forming words:
"Be careful!!"
Suddenly, the world around her flipped upside down.
"Genjutsu: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change!"
Fugaku, who had been distant moments ago, appeared before her like shattered glass.
She saw the spinning tomoe in his Sharingan clearly, along with his expressionless face.
The blade was already at her throat—she could even feel its sharpness.
"Uchiha!!"
As death loomed, a man's figure materialized behind Fugaku, his hands completing a rapid series of seals.
If Fugaku continued his strike, he wouldn't escape the man's technique either.
The next instant, time seemed to resume.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Fang!"
Water gathered before the ninja, morphing into a fierce torrent that surged toward Fugaku.
"Thud!"
Fugaku's form turned into a log, taking the hit.
The woman seized the chance to retreat into the mist, using the Hiding in Mist Technique to conceal herself.
"This Uchiha... he's trouble," she panted heavily, certain she had just brushed with death.
The ninja who had cast the technique also vanished into the fog.
Before the woman could recover, she felt an intense gaze upon her, as if crimson Sharingan eyes had materialized before her, their spinning tomoe radiating an enigmatic allure.
Her pupils dilated.
A blade pierced her back, emerging from her chest.
"Guh—!"
Blood sprayed from her mouth.
"How...?!"
She didn't understand. She had escaped—why had she been caught?
"Before these eyes, there is no escape."
Fugaku stood behind her, planted a foot on her back, and yanked the blade free.
He had merely hidden himself with genjutsu.
The woman convulsed twice before collapsing, her eyes wide with unwillingness as her life ended.
Fugaku turned his gaze to the shrouding mist.
The mist-ninja within felt a chill.
Enki, one of the Three Demons and leader of the assassination squad, had died so easily.
Now they understood:
This Uchiha had to be treated as an elite jōnin.
The next moment, countless kunai and blades shot from the mist, sealing off Fugaku's surroundings, denying him any chance of retreat.
Fugaku's sword moved like lightning, his eighteen years of singlehood granting him no lack of speed.
"Clang! Clang!" He deflected the mist-ninja's attacks.
Such a dense assault would overwhelm most shinobi, yet these mist-ninja couldn't land a single hit on Fugaku.
But their next wave was already prepared.
All weapons vanished again.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
The mist-ninja chanted in unison.
A massive water dragon surged from the fog, lunging at Fugaku.
Fugaku barely had time to raise his sword in defense before the dragon sent him flying.
Glancing at the ground below, he knew a direct hit would mean the end.
With one hand gripping his sword to brace against the dragon, his other hand flew through seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
He exhaled forcefully, and a fire dragon—smaller than the water one—plunged into its center before exploding violently.
The water dragon dispersed into mist, obscuring everything.
Even the mist-ninja lost sight of Fugaku momentarily.
In the fog, one mist-ninja revealed himself, bait to lure Fugaku out.
And as expected, Fugaku appeared behind him.
But the mist-ninja didn't anticipate the blade already slicing through his neck.
His head fell.
Yet the mist-ninja's prepared attack was complete.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" ×N
This time, it wasn't one concentrated dragon—smaller water dragons erupted from all directions, converging on Fugaku.
His expression darkened. He hadn't expected Kirigakure to unleash so many dragons at once, nor for their techniques to be chained so quickly.
How did they all have so much chakra?
His hands moved in a blur.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Protective Technique!"
A fiery dragon coiled around him, forming an impenetrable barrier.
The water dragons crashed down, engulfing him.
"Did we get him?"
The mist-ninja watched as fire and water collided, erupting into steam.
...
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(End of Chapter)