Uchiha Hayato's lips curved into a faint smile, a hint of playfulness flashing in his eyes—if they thought they could bully him because of his youth, they were sorely mistaken.
He swiftly swung the long sword in his hand, Lightning Release Chakra surging into the blade like an electric arc, the edge shimmering with brilliant blue light.
He Lock-On the swiftly approaching Kirigakure Ninja and charged forward without hesitation.
Hayato's goal was to stall for time. Flying in the sky for too long would easily reveal his true intentions, so he had to fight them eventually.
Over the past two years, he had not been idle. Besides training Monferno, his own strength had also grown rapidly.
And this was why he focused on raising a single Pokémon—if he had nurtured a few more, his own strength might not have been sufficient, and he might still only be a Chunin.
The battlefield gave Hayato no time to ponder. A Kirigakure Ninja lunged with a short sword, hatred glinting in his eyes.
On the battlefield, Hayato had no time for deep thought. A Kirigakure Ninja, eyes full of hatred, lunged at him with a short sword.
Uchiha Hayato paused, a chill running down his spine: Had they not heard Dodai's warning just now?
How dare he meet the gaze of an Uchiha Ninja with a Sharingan!
Blood-red tomoe spun, the light of the Sharingan swirling in Hayato's pupils.
The Ninja's vision suddenly blurred, then became indistinct, as if his world instantly collapsed—the next second, Hayato appeared behind him like a ghost.
"Die!"
The Uchiha Hayato in front of him looked at him with an expression of disbelief, clutching the wound in his abdomen as he fell, and then, everyone around him transformed into Uchiha Hayato.
The Kirigakure Ninja's eyes were bloodshot: "Die, die, die! Why won't you die?!"
"Don't look into his eyes!"
"Hirosuke has gone mad, kill him!"
Hayato's lips curved into a smile, the light of his Sharingan growing more intense.
At this moment, in the eyes of the Ninja named Hirosuke, all his comrades had turned into himself, and he—was the only teammate.
Psybeam: Attacks the target with a peculiar ray. Sometimes confuses the target.
And this move, when fused with Sharingan Genjutsu, could achieve a 100% confusion rate against enemies who couldn't dispel Ninjutsu!
Hayato easily retreated, skillfully dodging an enemy's slash, then swept his long sword horizontally, and electricity instantly pierced the enemy's heart.
The enemy had no chance to react, his eyes still wide with shock as he fell.
"Everyone, get out of the way, you useless bunch. Staying here is just asking to die. Munashi Jinpachi, let them see the true lethality of a ninja sword."
Munashi Jinpachi grinned: "It's about time."
He unwrapped the bandages from his ninja sword, revealing a strange greatsword wrapped in scrolls, a cruel smile on his face.
"Die in the explosion of Shibuki!"
"That brat is in trouble," Dodai looked into the distance, his tone slightly regretful, "Too bad he's not from our Hidden Cloud Village. If he dies, and we can study something from his corpse, it might be worth it."
Hayato had already engaged two ninja sword wielders.
"Without Genjutsu, your strength is nothing special!" Munashi Jinpachi laughed wildly after a few probing exchanges.
Judging a Ninja's actions by sound and body movements was a skill almost all Kirigakure Jonin possessed. Kirigakure Ninja, who specialized in killing in the mist, wouldn't dare call themselves Kirigakure Ninja if they couldn't do even that.
Hayato's expression was calm as he clashed his sword fiercely with Tōsō Noerujin's greatsword, then another giant hammer slammed down hard. The powerful impact made Hayato unsteady, and the ground beneath his feet trembled and cracked.
Amidst the friction of sparks, it narrowly grazed Hayato's head.
Hayato straightened up, his arm numb, almost devoid of strength.
Indeed, he still couldn't underestimate Jonin. Everyone who became a Jonin had their own unique skills.
Tōsō Noerujin's Blunt Sword: Kabutowari had a strange attack method; even if the greatsword's attack was blocked, a giant hammer would still come crashing down.
He knew the gap between himself and a Jonin; in terms of strength, he still seemed a bit naive when facing adult Ninja.
Just as he was regrouping, preparing to attack again.
Suddenly, a faint flash of fire erupted, and in an instant, the surroundings were engulfed in flames.
Munashi Jinpachi laughed: "Let me show you the power of the Explosive Blade: Shibuki!"
Nakayoshi breathed a sigh of relief. There was no longer any sign of Chakra flow in that area. It seemed Uchiha Hayato was indeed dead.
"Wait!" Ai's eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light, his intuition telling him something was wrong.
"That technique is..."
"Munashi Jinpachi, where are you looking?"
An overwhelming force suddenly came from behind him, Munashi Jinpachi's smile instantly froze, and his body was sent flying like a cannonball.
How could this be?
Shouldn't he have been blown up by my Explosive Blade? When did he appear behind me?
Munashi Jinpachi propped himself up with the Explosive Blade, struggling to his feet, his gaze fixed on Uchiha Hayato, who was confronting Tōsō Noerujin.
Azure Chakra shimmered around the young man, electricity crackling and hissing on his body, and his hair stood slightly on end.
He turned to the Kumogakure Ninja who were observing the battle, a flash of anger in his eyes: "Isn't this a forbidden Jutsu of the Hidden Cloud Village? What's going on?"
Ai's face also showed anger. He also wanted to know what was going on. How dare the Hidden Mist Ninja provoke them? The Kumogakure Ninja were already stronger than them.
He glared at Munashi Jinpachi, his tone firm: "Although it looks very similar, it is not Lightning Release Chakra Mode. I can confirm that no one from an outside village would ever learn this Ninjutsu."
Hayato plunged his long sword into the ground, stretched, and said in a relaxed tone: "Sorry, I wasn't going all out just now. Munashi Jinpachi, are you alright?"
He had a playful smile on his lips, "Of course, if you leave now, you can still live."
Munashi Jinpachi gritted his teeth: "Damn brat, don't get cocky too soon!"
The scrolls wrapped around the blade unfurled, covering Tōsō Noerujin as well. "Explosive Blade Art: Fukuho Retsu Jushii!"
He didn't care about the other Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist; it was enough for Uchiha Hayato to die in front of him.
After the explosion, Tōsō Noerujin stood outside the blast radius, looking at Munashi Jinpachi with anger. If Munashi Jinpachi didn't know how to respect his seniors, then after Uchiha Hayato was killed, he would be next.
Munashi Jinpachi panted, a hint of doubt in his eyes: "He's... dead?"
"Watch out, he's behind you!" Nakayoshi's voice was filled with urgency.
Munashi Jinpachi whirled around, but only saw a blurry figure.
"You don't seem to... have learned your lesson."
Munashi Jinpachi's hair stood on end. Before he could even swing his blade, his body was kicked fiercely, sent flying like a helpless sandbag, repeatedly struck and utterly defenseless in mid-air.
Nothing less could extinguish Hayato's anger. Even civilians were to be killed; indeed, he was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, infamous for his ruthlessness.
"Damn it, even if I die, you're coming with me!"
Munashi Jinpachi gritted his teeth, and Shibuki's scrolls exploded at close range.
This time, Hayato was covered in some dust and coughed a few times. After the flames dispersed, Munashi Jinpachi was seen lying on the ground with a severed arm, his fate unknown.
"Foolish."
Tōsō Noerujin silently evaluated his teammate's incompetence, a wary glint in his eyes as he stared at Uchiha Hayato.
His Blunt Sword could indeed destroy anything, but if he couldn't even hit his target, then even the strongest weapon was useless.
"Lord Tōsō, this move of his consumes too much Chakra; he can't maintain it for long."
Hayato glanced at Nakayoshi in the distance. He was right; it did continuously consume Chakra, but he could still fly and restore his condition in the air using items.
Instantly, Hayato's vision flickered, and a lightning-fast hand chop struck towards him.
"Let me show you what 'true Lightning Release Chakra Mode' is!"