At this moment, Uchiha Yue could only grip the sword in his hands, his gaze flickering as he stared fixedly at the ground beneath his feet.
The slightest disturbance—and he would react instantly.
That brat Yu Ye being able to block his sword strike was impressive, no doubt.
But that was as far as it went.
Once he took things seriously, relying on the power of the ninja sword Star, he could block all of Yu Ye's attacks.
That kid had no chance of victory.
Cold confidence filled Uchiha Yue's heart. Both hands clenched tightly around Star as chakra continuously surged through the blade, ready for a thunderous counterattack at any moment.
The next instant—
The three tomoe of his Sharingan flickered sharply.
Within a裂缝 ahead, a fleeting shadow flashed past.
"There you are! Die!"
With a low shout, Uchiha Yue burst forward. His sword slashed down in a single motion, a chilling blade of light erupting instantly.
Shhk!!
The sword light tore through everything.
The ground was already split open, and within that fissure, Yu Ye's figure seemed to be moving stealthily forward.
The blade swept across—
And cut straight through the crack at Yu Ye's position.
The fissure split again, forming a cross-shaped gash, with Yu Ye right at its center.
He had clearly been hit!
Uchiha Yue's sword remained extended in its downward arc as he snorted inwardly.
So what if you use tricks like this?
As long as you try to get close, there's no hiding from the Sharingan!
However—
In the very next moment, the Yu Ye that had been struck suddenly turned into a puff of white smoke and vanished.
"A clone?!"
Uchiha Yue froze.
This should have been an extremely common ninjutsu.
Ever since awakening the Sharingan, no one had ever managed to use a clone in front of him without being detected.
He should have seen through it instantly.
But this time was different.
The Sharingan could pierce through mist—but it could not see underground.
Because of years of habit and confidence, he had grown careless.
"A clone… so what?"
Uchiha Yue's thoughts raced as he tightened his grip on the sword, showing no fear at all.
Even if he'd been tricked, he wasn't afraid.
Yu Ye's attacks could all be blocked by his blade.
He was prepared for anything Yu Ye might do next.
And then—
From the pitch-black fissure directly in front of him, something floated up.
A bubble.
Or rather—
It looked more like a star.
The outer layer rotated slowly, while the core shone with an intensely bright white light.
This was Yu Ye's Shock Release ultimate technique—
Collapse
It appeared at the exact moment when Uchiha Yue had just finished slashing apart the clone and was about to swing his second strike.
"That thing—!!"
With the Sharingan, Uchiha Yue instantly perceived the terrifying power contained within that technique.
But there was no time to think about how Yu Ye could use such an attack.
No time to think about anything at all.
The attack was already upon him.
He could only meet it head-on.
The sword came down.
HUMMMMM—!!!
The instant Star struck Yu Ye's Collapse, the bubble-like sphere shattered.
Collapse was inherently unstable.
The moment it made contact with matter, it would immediately detonate.
And what followed—
Was a high-frequency, rotational shockwave.
An invisible wave that obliterated everything in its path.
So fast, so formless—
That it could not be seen.
Could not be perceived.
The world fell silent.
Uchiha Yue's expression.
His gaze.
His movements.
All froze in that single instant.
A breeze passed by.
There was no explosion of flesh.
No spray of blood.
Only drifting dust.
Jōnin Uchiha Yue—
Before Yu Ye's S-rank ultimate technique, Collapse, had no ability to resist at all.
His entire body turned into fine ash, scattering across the shattered ground.
Even more shocking—
The earth beneath him was silently eroded, collapsing into a half-spherical crater.
Clink!
The ninja sword Star was not completely destroyed, but its luster had dimmed significantly.
As Uchiha Yue disintegrated, the blade fell lifelessly to the ground.
In the distance, Might Dai—who had been knocked dizzy earlier by the Earth Tremor—finally recovered.
Just in time to witness this scene.
He froze completely.
"T-this…"
Disbelief filled his eyes.
What… just happened?!
Uchiha Yue—
Was dead just like that?!
Sometimes, this kind of silent disappearance was far more terrifying than any earth-shaking explosion.
Might Dai knew very well—
Even opening the Sixth Gate, he couldn't completely pulverize a person like this.
He would need the Seventh Gate at minimum!
Power comparable to the Seventh Gate…
That attack just now was absolutely an S-rank ultimate jutsu!
"Cough…"
A slightly exhausted cough came from within the fissure.
Yu Ye climbed out awkwardly—unable to leap out cleanly due to the immense chakra consumption of using Collapse.
"Yu Ye!"
Seeing Yu Ye unharmed, Might Dai finally snapped out of his shock, relief flashing across his face.
"Are you alright?!"
He couldn't help asking.
Yu Ye waved his hand casually.
"I'm fine. I just need to rest for a bit."
As he spoke, Yu Ye slowly walked forward and picked up the ninja sword left behind by Uchiha Yue.
"So even a weapon of this grade can't fully withstand shockwave power…"
He looked at the blade in his hand.
Its light was clearly dulled—evidence of damage.
Of course, the power of Shockwave Slash and Collapse were on entirely different levels.
The fact that this sword could survive a direct hit from Collapse at all meant it was already top-tier.
As for where Uchiha Yue obtained it—
That didn't matter.
It happened to be perfect for Yu Ye's current use.
"This sword is mine now."
As for the Sharingan—
Even if it were intact, Yu Ye wouldn't transplant it.
He had no interest in spreading his focus.
As long as he pushed Shock Release and the True Eight Gates to their limits, they would never be inferior to any other power.
After weighing the ninja sword in his hand, Yu Ye strapped it to his body.
Many people would surely recognize this blade.
But so what?
The Uchiha clan dared to send someone to assassinate him—
And now that person had been killed in return.
What right did the Uchiha have to bring this up?
The conflict between Yu Ye and the Uchiha clan had already reached the point of no reconciliation.
And now—
Yu Ye was no longer someone the Uchiha clan could deal with at will.
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