Asuma, Dead

Asuma, Hyuga Yu, Akimichi Tu, and Chiriku witnessed the scene, their pupils widening and expressions turning grave, yet they had not recovered from their shock.

Everything was too surreal.

That was a jonin of the Inuzuka Clan.

One slash!!

With a single slash, he had cleanly cut a jonin and his ninken in half. Until death, neither of them had even managed to dispel their ninjutsu.

This was the confidence Ingetsu had in killing Danzo!

This was the confidence Ingetsu had in defecting from the Leaf Village!

The two jonin from the Hyuga and Akimichi Clans felt their hair stand on end. They had originally attacked alongside the Inuzuka Clan jonin.

Seeing that the situation had taken a turn for the worse, the two were horrified and felt a chill run down their spines. They immediately retreated to Asuma and Chiriku's side.

Drip--

Blood dripped from the blade. Ingetsu stood expressionlessly amid the giant wolf's corpse, his white clothes dyed red with blood. He gripped the blade in his right hand and stood solemnly before the four.

After cutting down three wolves, the ninja blade could no longer bear the strain. Multiple chips had been knocked out of its edge.

The previously dim Eight Thousand Spears Kaleidoscope in Ingetsu's eyes now glowed a vivid blood-red, emanating an eerie, frigid aura. Anyone who looked directly into them felt as though they were facing an abyss.

"Haah--"

Asuma took a deep breath and adjusted his condition. Although he had yet to swing his blade, the result of doing so probably would not have been much better than the corpses of those three wolves.

The victor had been decided.

Asuma and Chiriku exchanged a glance and decided to stake everything on a desperate fight. They stamped on the floor, shattering the wooden boards, and charged toward Ingetsu from both sides with overwhelming momentum.

The two jonin from the Hyuga and Akimichi Clans attacked head-on. Their dense rain of Gentle Fist strikes and cannonball-like giant fists hammered forward in succession.

The four turned into black shadows, flashing like arcs of electricity.

"So this is the Mangekyo at full strength!"

Ingetsu stood where he was, unmoved.

As soon as he finished speaking,

The blade-shaped patterns in his pupils rotated. Blood vessels spread across the whites of his eyes as Yin Release Chakra surged forth. His scarlet gaze swept across the four with nothing more than a glance.

Yin Release Chakra, like a surging tide, raised towering waves and crushed the boost to the four's spirits provided by the sutras' Brahma Sound.

This Eight Thousand Spears Kaleidoscope Chakra poured into the four's pupils, causing the mark of the Eight Thousand Spears Kaleidoscope to appear in their eyes.

Humm--

In the four's hands, the Wind Style Chakra Blades, the fists wrapped in Buddha light, the Gentle Fist strikes capable of sealing acupoints, and the enlarged iron fists all came to a halt.

Clearly... all they needed was to advance another millimeter.

The Chakra Blade could pierce Ingetsu's heart.

The Buddha-light fist could smash into Ingetsu's temple.

The Gentle Fist could sever the chakra points in Ingetsu's chest.

The iron fist could smash through Ingetsu's kidneys.

But this time, Ingetsu had complete control over the four's minds and chakra. He withdrew his gaze from them and turned to walk toward the door.

The four stared at his back, despair filling their hearts!

When Ingetsu took his first step,

Thump--thump--thump--

The Akimichi jonin's face turned ugly, his features twisting. He still maintained his punching posture, but a thunderous, drumbeat-like rhythm resounded beside his ears.

His chest began pounding uncontrollably. His chakra flowed like a stream joining a river, surging madly into his heart. It seemed as though his heart was about to leap out of his chest!

Bang--

A massive amount of chakra accumulated, creating immense pressure. His heart could not withstand it and exploded inside his chest.

The Akimichi jonin's eyes bulged with rage. With his face twisted, he collapsed and died.

Their heartbeats became the countdown to their deaths.

Ingetsu took three more steps.

Bang--

Bang--

Bang--

The hearts of the Hyuga jonin, Chiriku, and Asuma exploded in exactly the same way, one after another, blooming in their chests with vivid crimson.

This was the ultimate control the Eight Thousand Spears had over another person's chakra: drawing on someone else's chakra to take their life.

Thud--

The three dropped to their knees. Until death, they could not believe that they had failed to touch even the hem of Ingetsu's clothes before permanently losing consciousness, their thoughts ceasing as they sank into eternal sleep.

Asuma slowly closed his eyes.

Ingetsu did not look back at them.

Life and death were fated.

Since Asuma had decided to hunt him down, he should have considered the consequences of failure when the two sides met.

Ingetsu could infer that their pursuit had not been a manhunt ordered by the Leaf Village for this ninja squad.

First, Sarutobi Hiruzen would never send his only remaining son on such a dangerous mission.

Second, when Kurenai Yuhi withdrew from the mission, no one blamed her, and no one cared.

As ninjas, they placed missions above all else. If a mission had been assigned by the Shinobi Village High-Level, refusing to carry it out would be equivalent to betraying the shinobi village.

Thus, it was clear.

This was an interception and hunt that Asuma had launched of his own accord. His purpose was to capture this Uchiha Squad that had defected from the Leaf Village and bring them to justice.

It was a tremendous achievement!

Its nature was the same as Orochimaru's defection back then.

Eliminating Orochimaru for the Leaf Village!

Asuma did not have the nerve to deal with Orochimaru, but with the entire Fire Temple backing him, he had the courage to deal with Uchiha Ingetsu, who was exhausted from fleeing and had yet to recover his strength.

If the Leaf Village had still been hesitating over whether to issue a full manhunt for this Uchiha Squad,

Then after tonight,

The Leaf Village, centered around Sarutobi Hiruzen, would launch the most frenzied, unrelenting reprisal against the Uchiha Squad that had defected!

Ingetsu walked out of the wooden house and looked up at the full moon suspended in the night sky. Its pure moonlight spilled across his face, outlining his handsome features and his complete indifference to it all.

A text notification appeared in his mind.

Side Mission: Heavenly Punishment

Options:

Kill Sarutobi Asuma, Hyuga Yu, Akimichi Tu, Inuzuka Akiyama, and Yukimaru.

Mission complete!

Reward: Weapon--Dark Moon.

Ingetsu raised his brows slightly. Focusing his mind, he was pleasantly surprised to find a straight, slender black blade standing quietly inside his Storage Space.

The black blade seemed to have been formed as one flawless whole. Its hilt and blade were as black as ink, while its edge was razor-sharp, as though night itself had been refined into steel.

"So this is Dark Moon..."

Ingetsu temporarily closed the Storage Space.

He suppressed the urge to summon Dark Moon.

He slowly raised his head and stared at a certain area of the distant mountain. The Eight Thousand Spears Kaleidoscope seemed to ignore distance, piercing through the pitch-black forest and settling on the Masked Man.

Ingetsu focused his mind and gave it a try.

It was too far away.

With the current strength of his Eye Power, he could not control someone with a Mangekyo from a distance of a thousand meters.

The Masked Man's watchful hostility was why Ingetsu had previously dared to use only thirty percent of his Mangekyo Yin Release Chakra instead of exerting himself fully.

In the distance.

On a tree branch.

The Masked Man sensed an inexplicable pressure. The patterns in his pupils rotated, revealing the Kamui Mangekyo Sharingan. Beneath his mask, his twisted face formed a cold smile.

"The Mangekyo's ability is to control others. As expected, you're a dangerous man.

If you don't have a second trump card,

then tonight,

I'll take the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan stored with you, as well as your Mangekyo!"

As he spoke, the Masked Man raised his right foot and lightly tapped the branch, seemingly sending some kind of signal.

Outside the wooden house, the sutras' Brahma Sound remained loud, echoing through the night sky above the mountain stronghold.

The Jaeger family, Doctor Nakku, and Kurenai Yuhi had all succumbed to the torment of the Brahma Sound and fainted one after another.

Only the Uchihas present were still struggling to hold on.

Nonō lay on the ground, covering her ears with both hands and rolling wildly. She was on the verge of losing consciousness.

But at that moment,

Ingetsu walked out through the gate, causing all the monks of the Fire Temple to stop chanting the sutras. They all looked up at the wooden house.

As the Brahma Sound stopped,

The Uchihas slowly recovered from the brink of mental collapse and saw the scene inside the wooden house clearly.

It was a complete mess.

Corpses lay everywhere.

Ingetsu came to Nonō's side. Looking at the pale-faced woman, he handed her a Soldier Pill.

"Continue saving people!"