Only Baki, an elite Jōnin, reacted in time. He instantly felt the murderous intent closing in from behind.
With his index and middle fingers pressed together, he unleashed a slender, razor-sharp wind blade, spinning as it clashed with the oncoming sword strike.
"Wind Style: Wind Blade!"
Clang!!
Steel and wind collided in an explosive burst.
The moment Baki turned, his heart sank. The three Chūnin who had accompanied him to Konoha lay with crimson lines across their throats. Blood gushed out like broken faucets, staining the ground.
The sword had been ruthless—and terrifyingly precise.
Three Chūnin, slain in an instant.
When Baki finally locked eyes with his attacker, his expression froze. His voice trembled with fury and shock:
"You… Uchiha Kenya!"
Konoha had long since placed a bounty on Kenya's head, and with the infamous Uchiha name attached, his reputation had spread across the entire shinobi world—no less infamous than Uchiha Itachi himself.
Bang!
Their blades clashed again, releasing a violent shockwave. Both men were forced back—Kenya only two steps, Baki nearly ten.
The difference in strength was clear.
"What do you want, Uchiha Kenya?!" Baki snapped, already forming hand seals.
If Kenya had simply been hiding in the Land of Wind to evade Konoha's pursuit, Baki might have understood. But to openly attack a senior member of Sunagakure?
Was he not afraid of being hunted down by both the Fire and Wind countries at once?
Kenya's lips curled into a calm smile.
"I need you, Baki. You'll open the gates of Sunagakure for me… and serve as the stepping stone for my complete control of your village."
Baki's face darkened. Control Sunagakure? That alone was reason enough to kill him here and now!
"Delusional!" Baki roared, his hand seals snapping into place.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
A furious gale erupted from his lungs, shredding nearby rocks into dust as it tore toward Kenya.
Kenya's Sharingan gleamed, his sword Kyōka Suigetsu dancing in a blur of silver. Each arc sliced apart the raging wind pressure, scattering it harmlessly.
Baki's eyes widened.
Such flawless swordsmanship… it was reminiscent of the man who once struck terror into Sand Shinobi during the Second Great Ninja War—Konoha's White Fang.
Kenya's voice broke his daze.
"Sorry… I don't plan to waste time on you."
In a flash, Kenya's body vanished—Shunpo.
Baki's pupils shrank as killing intent exploded behind him. Wind chakra surged to his fingertips, condensing into a deadly blade. He slashed backward with everything he had.
But Kenya was faster.
"The Fourth of Hadō: Byakurai."
Kenya's right index finger extended. A lance of white lightning erupted point-blank, piercing through Baki's waist.
"Guahhh!!"
Blood sprayed as Baki staggered forward, coughing crimson. Yet even mortally wounded, he refused to fall back.
If he was going to die, he would drag this man down into the depths with him.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Severing Wave!!!"
He roared, channeling every last ounce of chakra into his strongest technique.
But this "attack" never reached reality.
Instead, what Kenya saw in his Sharingan was the future—Baki's hands forming the seals, the gusts of chakra building, the deadly wind blades ready to tear him apart.
Kenya smirked. The Aizen template had amplified his pupil power beyond natural limits. Even without awakening the Mangekyō, his Sharingan now skirted the edge of precognition.
In the real world, Baki finished his seals and shouted:
"Wind Style: Vacuu—"
"Shatter… Kyōka Suigetsu."
Kenya's blade flashed, releasing a fleeting silver-blue light.
For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Baki sneered, convinced it was a bluff.
"Cheap trick! Die!! Wind Style: Vacuum Severing Wave!"
The storm erupted, a raging tornado devouring everything in its path. Yellow sand whirled violently, engulfing Kenya completely.
The storm howled for over ten seconds before subsiding.
Breathing heavily, Baki allowed himself a grim smile. "No one has ever survived that jutsu."
Puchi!
A searing pain stabbed through his chest.
Baki staggered, eyes wide in disbelief. He looked down to see a blade piercing straight through his heart, the steel glinting in the sunlight.
"No… impossible…"
Slowly, he turned his head.
Behind him stood Kenya, his Sharingan cold and unblinking.
Blood filled Baki's throat as he choked out his final words:
"I… I didn't even see… how you escaped…"