As soon as he arrived at the edge of the battlefield, Uchiha Riku smelled the strong scent of blood in the air.
"The downside of having extremely sharp senses is... this."
Frowning, he instinctively tried to suppress his sense of smell.
To his surprise, it worked.
The pungent stench that had overwhelmed him became much milder. He hadn't expected that his perception could be controlled so easily.
He landed lightly from a high point onto a big tree and quickly surveyed the battlefield. The situation was clear at a glance.
About 20 Konoha ninjas had been attacked, most of them non-combat personnel from the logistics unit.
After the attack, they suffered heavy casualties. Most had died on the spot, while a few were seriously injured but still resisting.
Five Mist Ninja were still aggressively fighting the remaining Konoha forces.
"Reinforcements?!"
One Mist Ninja noticed Uchiha Riku approaching. The others quickly became alert too.
Though they were in mid-air, Riku could clearly read their movements—where they would land and how they would attack. It was all obvious to him, thanks to his enhanced perception.
Just then, a kunai came flying toward him at high speed.
Without hesitation, Riku blocked it with one of his own and formed hand seals midair.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
All his actions were completed fluidly in one go—it was a natural counterattack.
Normally, a Great Fireball would be around three meters in diameter. But this time, Uchiha Riku's chakra condensed so tightly that the resulting fireball was much larger and hotter.
It surged toward the Mist Ninja at terrifying speed.
The Mist Chuunin hadn't expected this newcomer to be so powerful. They had thought he was just a weak backup.
Not only had he blocked the first attack, he had also retaliated with great force.
The Mist Ninja dodged instinctively, retreating in fear of death.
Even while forming hand seals, Dali was observing the enemy's movements.
"Yin… Sui… Water Style Ninjutsu?"
He immediately identified what technique the enemy was trying to use and scoffed:
"Too late."
By now, the fireball was almost upon them. The temperature was so high it could even evaporate water-style ninjutsu.
Even if it didn't kill the enemy directly, it would severely injure them.
As Dali attacked, a prompt echoed in his mind:
[Ding! You've witnessed enemy use of water-style ninjutsu. You've now automatically learned the full range of water escape techniques, from D-level to S-level.]
Just like that, he gained a deep understanding of water-style chakra usage and chakra-saving techniques.
"Awesome!"
Riku was no longer surprised. It all happened so fast.
The fireball hit the enemy head-on.
"Boom!"
The Mist Ninja caught in the blast didn't even have time to use a water jutsu. He was instantly consumed in flames and burned to death.
Riku calmly observed, confirming the ninja had been killed, then turned his attention to the others.
By now, the remaining Mist Ninja were already surrounded and restrained by Konoha's logistics team.
The Mist and Konoha sides were evenly matched. No one could gain the upper hand.
The remaining four Mist Ninja were cautious and didn't dare fight Dali directly.
The leader among them shouted:
"This guy is a member of the Uchiha Clan. Be careful! Retreat!"
At the same time, he used a short knife to kill the Konoha ninja who was fighting him, then turned to escape.
Three other Mist Ninja quickly followed him and retreated.
Konoha's support team didn't chase.
Everyone was exhausted or had used up their chakra.
If they chased now, it might not end well.
Just as they were hesitating, Uchiha Riku walked forward.
But before they could say anything, Dali had already dashed off in pursuit.
"You kill our men and think you can run away? Not that easy!"
He quickly caught up and attacked.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Technique!"