Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
The moment Haori's words fell, the kunai in his hands shot out at high speed.
At first glance, they seemed to be thrown in complete chaos—some even collided with each other midair as their flight paths crossed.
But Kari dared not lower his guard in the slightest.
He had already been outplayed once by Haori. There was no way he would believe that this brat was doing anything meaningless.
Nor did he curse Haori as "scheming" or the like.
A shinobi was supposed to make full use of their advantages, using any means necessary to defeat the enemy.
What he was truly cursing were the Iwagakure higher-ups who had sent him here.
They hadn't even figured out who the opponent was, nor what his configuration and abilities were—this was practically sending him to his death!
Clink—clink—clink!
After colliding in midair, the kunai suddenly altered their trajectories, enclosing Kari from all directions without leaving a single blind spot.
Kari's expression changed. He immediately drew his ninja blade.
As a jōnin, even if he preferred relying on his kekkei genkai, it didn't mean his swordsmanship was lacking.
Facing the rain of kunai, Kari danced his blade in dazzling arcs. Amid the screech of metal on metal, the incoming weapons were deflected one after another.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Haori didn't pause for a second. His hands flew through seals, and a massive fireball roared toward Kari.
"Hmph!"
Kari snorted coldly. While deflecting the kunai, he thrust out his left hand, chakra rapidly gathering within it.
"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"
Violent chakra surged, and an invisible shockwave burst forth, smashing directly into the fireball.
In an instant, sparks and flames scattered everywhere—the fireball was destroyed mid-flight.
But Kari felt no satisfaction at all.
Instead, a chilling realization crept over him: this Uchiha brat might have already grasped his weakness.
Explosion Release could be used in many ways—long-range bombardment or close-combat detonations—everything depended on the user's fighting style.
Kari favored close-quarters combat. As a result, his Explosion Release only truly shined at close range.
And that was exactly the problem.
To gain the advantage, he needed to get close—but his opponent was a three-tomoe Uchiha.
Worse still, the boy seemed to have noticed his combat style and was deliberately maintaining distance, fighting with ranged attacks.
And Kari wasn't entirely confident about closing in.
"This is just awful… those damn idiots."
For a moment, he found himself stuck between advance and retreat.
Aside from cursing the people who had sent him here without proper intelligence, he truly had few options.
Still, his mindset remained steady.
This was, after all, Iwagakure's territory. Reinforcements would arrive sooner or later.
And Haori was just a kid—there was no way his chakra could sustain this kind of fighting style for long!
Unfortunately for him, that assumption was doomed to fail.
Haori had indeed identified the issue, and while his current tactics were chakra-intensive, they were far from unsustainable.
As an Uchiha, his powerful spiritual energy ensured a deep chakra reserve—he wasn't someone who would collapse after casting a few jutsu.
More importantly, Haori had no intention of dragging this out.
He needed to find an opening and finish Kari as quickly as possible.
For a time, the two fell into a tense back-and-forth.
Kari tried to wear Haori down while constantly looking for a chance to close the distance, while Haori countered with shuriken, kunai, and ninjutsu to keep him at bay.
ROAR—
In the midst of their fierce exchange, a beast-like roar suddenly echoed through the forest.
At the same time, an eerie chakra spread throughout the entire area.
Sensing it, both Haori and Kari paused, their expressions shifting in different ways.
"That's… tailed-beast chakra?"
Haori murmured. Though he had never personally witnessed a tailed beast's power erupt, this chakra carried an unmistakable presence that made its nature instantly clear.
"So the jinchūriki has been deployed to guard the rear…"
Only now did Haori truly grasp what his actions behind enemy lines had done to the overall course of the war.
Before this, the impact hadn't fully sunk in.
Yes, Minato had been forced to arrive late, and Kakashi had faced even greater danger—but everything had ultimately been resolved.
Afterward, Minato's protection had allowed Haori to operate with relative ease, without constantly feeling on the brink of death.
But the sudden appearance of a jinchūriki told him the truth—
Their situation was far more dire than he had imagined.
"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"
Almost the instant Haori's focus wavered, a feral grin appeared on Kari's face.
He charged forward, his fist wreathed in chakra, slamming straight toward Haori!
Haori seemed momentarily dazed, but his attention never truly left the battle.
In fact, that brief lapse was deliberately shown to Kari.
With a jinchūriki now in play, he had to end this fight faster than ever!
The moment Kari struck, Haori sidestepped swiftly, reaching out to grab Kari's wrist at the same time.
Kari kept his head slightly lowered, never giving Haori a chance to make eye contact—making Sharingan genjutsu impossible.
But that very caution restricted his movements, allowing Haori to deal with him more calmly.
The deterrent power of the Sharingan was on full display.
"Hmph!"
Kari was no novice. He instantly sensed Haori's intent, and the chakra on his fist swelled violently, ready to detonate.
Seeing him about to trigger Explosion Release at point-blank range, Haori halted his grip, spun sharply, and drove a kick into Kari's abdomen!
BOOM!
A thunderous blast rang out in midair as Kari was sent flying backward.
Though searing pain ripped through his stomach, he quickly regained his footing.
"You brat—you've got no chance left!"
Watching Haori stand still, Kari spoke coldly, eyes full of vigilance.
"I don't know how many of you there are, but in our rear territory—do you really think you can escape?"
"That I don't know," Haori replied, staring straight at him.
When he saw Kari instinctively tilt his head away again, Haori let out a soft chuckle.
"But there's one thing I'm certain of."
"You won't live to see the final outcome."
As his words fell, Haori suddenly raised his hand.
In that instant, Kari felt his body tense up against his will.
"This is—?!"
His face changed drastically.
Reflected in the firelight around them, he finally saw it—
Fine steel wires had somehow wrapped around his body.
They were nearly invisible to the naked eye, carried in earlier by the kunai and shuriken.
"You—!"
Kari's expression twisted in shock. He finally understood why Haori had immediately followed his barrage of thrown weapons with ninjutsu—to drive him away before he could notice the wires.
From the very beginning, he had been completely played.
"Trying to bind me like this? In your dreams!"
Kari roared, chakra surging wildly through his body. A chakra glow reappeared around his fists.
But Haori manipulated the wires, forcibly lifting Kari's head.
"Don't struggle. The moment you face the Sharingan, your fate is already sealed."
In an instant, the three-tomoe Sharingan filled Kari's vision.
A strange, invasive force pierced directly into his mind.
Within his consciousness, the world was utterly transformed.
The sun in the sky had become a massive, blood-red three-tomoe Sharingan, slowly rotating.
At the same time, Haori rapidly formed seals.
Flames surged along the steel wires, turning into roaring fire dragons that lunged toward the entranced Kari.
When the fire converged—
Scorching flames swallowed him whole.
"AAAGH!"
The excruciating pain tore Kari out of the genjutsu.
His shrill scream, like something dragged straight from hell, echoed across the wilderness.
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