"Hoo…"
Thinking back on those shocking scenes, even Yu Ye couldn't help but feel a sense of longing.
Before long, he finished severing the heads of the ten shinobi and sealed them into a scroll.
The ordinary civilians of the merchant caravan had all perished earlier, caught in the shockwaves of battle.
Not a single survivor remained.
Such was the tragedy of ordinary people without power.
"This time… we really did something incredible together," Might Dai said at last, having mostly calmed down.
His body, however, was still weak and sore, pushed far past its limits.
"In the future, we'll face even more incredible things," Yu Ye replied with a faint smile, supporting Dai as they walked.
"Yeah! Let our youth burn even more fiercely!" Dai declared enthusiastically.
Yu Ye nearly tossed him into the river.
But he held back, wearing a helpless expression instead.
After opening the Sixth Gate, Dai's muscles hadn't torn—but they were severely overstrained.
He'd need several days to recover at minimum.
Yu Ye had no intention of abandoning him. With the entire Kirigakure squad wiped out, resting for a few days in a nearby town before returning to Konoha was perfectly reasonable.
Unfortunately, things rarely went as planned.
As Yu Ye and Might Dai moved forward, a small river ran alongside their path, and they followed its course downstream.
It was autumn. The weather was cool, and the occasional breeze diluted the lingering stench of bloodshed.
The river was crystal clear, carrying a refreshing chill.
Step by step—
That chill grew heavier.
Coolness turning heavy meant only one thing.
Cold.
And cold often meant killing intent.
Yu Ye and Might Dai stopped.
Because ahead of them stood a lone figure—
A person carrying a sword on his back.
In the shinobi world, such a figure looked ordinary.
But Yu Ye's gaze instantly turned icy, cold enough to freeze blood.
Because that figure wore a Konoha forehead protector.
And within his eyes, three tomoe rotated slowly.
There was no need to guess his identity.
An Uchiha.
Might Dai was just about to speak—
But the instant he met those Sharingan eyes, his gaze went blank.
Yu Ye, however, was unaffected.
He stood calmly, fearlessly returning the stare.
"Not even bothering to hide… Is this the Uchiha clan's arrogance and confidence?"
Yu Ye drew in a deep breath and spoke coldly.
The timing of this man's appearance made his purpose painfully clear.
He was here—
To kill Yu Ye.
Yet he wore no mask.
He hadn't even changed his clothes.
A Konoha forehead protector, a Konoha jōnin uniform.
This wasn't confidence.
It was contempt—treating everything as beneath notice.
"Why bother hiding anything from the dead?" the man said calmly.
He slowly drew the sword from his back.
A cold gleam flickered across the blade, as if the surrounding temperature dropped another few degrees.
The sword resembled the Kusanagi Blade—a seemingly ordinary katana.
In the shinobi world, there was no strict distinction between swords and blades; long swords like this were often called "swords" regardless.
The Kusanagi itself was technically a katana.
Uchiha Yue's weapon looked plain—
But as he lifted it, a streak of chilling light ran from hilt to tip, shining like starlight.
This was no ordinary blade.
It was a ninja sword.
And certainly not a mass-produced one.
A murderous aura spread through the air.
Yu Ye narrowed his eyes slightly, then gently pressed a hand against Might Dai's shoulder.
Dai immediately snapped out of the genjutsu.
After using the Eight Gates, Dai was completely drained, with little chakra left.
Falling under genjutsu was only natural.
If he were still in an Eight Gates state, ordinary genjutsu wouldn't affect him at all.
"This guy… is an enemy," Dai said, his expression turning serious.
Though he could be goofy, Might Dai was not foolish.
Staring at Uchiha Yue, his face darkened.
At first, he might not have known about the conflict between Yu Ye and the Uchiha clan—but over time, even someone as disconnected as him couldn't remain ignorant.
What Dai hadn't expected—
Was that the Uchiha would go this far.
To directly send a jōnin to assassinate Yu Ye.
Such darkness filled Dai with fury.
"Yes. Definitely an enemy," Yu Ye nodded calmly.
"You're not in good condition. I'll handle this."
"But this guy… he's a jōnin," Dai said, taking a deep breath, anger burning in his eyes.
To kill Yu Ye, they'd actually dispatched a jōnin.
Ruthless.
Uchiha Yue made no attempt to hide it. He wore a Konoha jōnin's uniform—his rank was obvious at a glance.
"We still have to try," Yu Ye replied evenly.
"…Alright," Dai said at last, his tone firm.
"Don't worry. As long as I'm here, those Uchiha bastards won't hurt you."
He was already prepared to open the Seventh Gate.
If not for Yu Ye's earlier feat of slaughtering nine chūnin, giving Dai at least some confidence, he would've opened it without hesitation already.
Even so, Dai's confidence was limited.
In his eyes, asking Yu Ye to face a jōnin head-on was still far too dangerous.
Yu Ye was, after all, still a young boy—
A green leaf meant to be protected.
Even if opening the Seventh Gate came at a terrible cost…
It was Dai's limit.
Once opened, his condition would likely resemble Lee's after the Chūnin Exams.
But there was no other choice.
"'Eternal Genin' Might Dai…" Uchiha Yue said indifferently.
"I think I've heard of you. Big words for someone like that."
A trace of disdain surfaced on his face.
Dai currently looked half-crippled.
Whatever had drained him so badly, the fact that he'd fallen to a single genjutsu earlier told Yue everything he needed to know.
Just an ordinary Eternal Genin.
Not worth worrying about.
As for Yu Ye—
The same.
Killing Uchiha Han meant nothing in Yue's eyes.
He could kill ten of Uchiha Han without breaking a sweat.
Uchiha Yue raised his sword, finally extending his arm fully.
The blade pointed straight at Yu Ye.
At that moment—
The killing intent thickened.
The battle began.
Uchiha Yue used neither genjutsu nor ninjutsu.
He simply charged straight at Yu Ye, sword in hand, its icy edge slashing down.
"So he's a sword-specialist type… like the White Fang of the Leaf?"
Yu Ye's expression grew solemn—
But not afraid.
A jōnin did not yet have the right to terrify him.
If this man wanted to kill him—
Then they would fight.
PS: I've been releasing chapters daily . Honestly, it hurts seeing almost no support on Patreon after all that work.
complete fic (all chapters ) are already up on P@treon → patreon.com/FinalArcHero789
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