Ikezu's Tragedy

A blade formed from wind-nature Chakra rode the force of its descent, savagely cleaving down at Fugaku's head.

Throughout the Shinobi World, aside from a select few, no one could withstand this attack with their flesh alone. Fugaku was no exception.

Although Fugaku noticed the attack at the very last moment, he, along with the Kunai he had raised to block it, was split in two.

Yet the Sand Shinobi showed no joy at all. Instead, his face was filled with terror.

Because with a "bang," Fugaku's "corpse" vanished into smoke.

"Shadow Clone Technique..." the Sand Shinobi murmured fearfully. At the same time, those were the last words he left in this world.

"Crackle, crackle..." The sound of lightning gathering suddenly rang out.

That sound was unique to lightning-nature Chakra being condensed to its limit.

"Urgh..." As Fugaku suddenly burst out from the rubble, the Sand Shinobi clutched his chest and slowly collapsed.

Fugaku had killed him in a single strike.

"Haa..." Dispelling the lightning from his Kunai, Fugaku could not help but gasp heavily.

Even someone as strong as him now felt waves of dizziness in his head.

Fugaku knew clearly that it was caused by excessive blood loss.

But he still could not fall.

The enemies who had gone after them had yet to return. That meant Kyosuke and the other one had not been defeated. As their captain, how could he collapse first?

Forcing his body onward, Fugaku stood again and used his Sharingan to look at the remaining Sand Shinobi.

But then, the powerful perception granted by his Three-Tomoe Sharingan unexpectedly revealed Kyosuke hiding in the trees.

Though Fugaku still looked like he was at the end of his strength on the surface, a monstrous wave had already risen within his heart.

He succeeded. He really took down a jonin all by himself. Fugaku screamed inwardly.

Only after a while did he finally calm down.

I don't know how much strength Kyosuke has left, but since he came here, he must still be able to fight. Then... Kyosuke's unexpected arrival successfully restored some of Fugaku's strength.

Moreover, the situation had now changed drastically from before.

He had gone from one against two to two against one, and his companion was hidden in the shadows, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any time.

Under these circumstances, Fugaku needed to take the initiative and create an opening.

An opening that would let Kyosuke strike a lethal blow!!!

With that in mind, Fugaku made a slight adjustment and charged toward the Sand Shinobi.

Carrying the murderous aura of someone who had already slain several jonin, Fugaku's charge completely suppressed the enemy's momentum.

The enemy even began considering retreating first.

Possessing jonin-level strength meant this Sand Shinobi was no fool.

His subordinates who had gone in pursuit had been gone for so long without returning. Something must have happened.

Whatever that something was, it was probably not good news for him.

Even if more enemies suddenly appeared now, he would not find it surprising.

I have to retreat. The more the Sand Shinobi thought about it, the more terrified he became. Before Fugaku could even reach him, he turned and left.

Fugaku slowly came to a stop: "..."

Kyosuke, hidden in the tree and waiting for an opportunity: "..."

Before either of them could give chase, a suddenly arriving figure drew all their attention.

At the same time, the Sand Shinobi who noticed this immediately stopped fleeing and slowly walked back.

That figure was the Sand Shinobi who had gone after Uchiha Ikezi.

And Ikezi... was now disheveled and covered in blood, held in his hand.

Fugaku stared at the scene before him with eyes wide enough to crack. He unconsciously clenched the Kunai in his hand, producing a cracking sound.

Up in the tree, Kyosuke also stared at the Sand Shinobi with a grim expression.

His earlier bad premonition had come true. Ikezi had been captured by the enemy.

Then Fugaku... Thinking of that, Kyosuke could not help glancing at him and sighing inwardly.

Then his hands rapidly formed seals.

Kyosuke was preparing to force his way in.

At this moment, he had no mind to consider whether saving Ikezi would affect the birth of those two brothers.

After all, this was a human life. A life whose worth could not be measured against things that had not yet happened.

Setting everything else aside, just for the delicious meal she had made—now that he thought back on it—Kyosuke had to save her.

After a brief series of hand seals, Chakra burst from beneath Kyosuke's feet, and he suddenly charged toward the Sand Shinobi who had not yet fully returned.

At the same time, he instantly unleashed the highest-level Ninjutsu he had mastered.

Earth Release: Earth Flow River.

The ground beneath the Sand Shinobi suddenly liquefied, then swept him away like ocean waves and surged toward the distant forest.

Though he had successfully hit the enemy, Kyosuke received no prompt from the system.

That meant this attack was not enough to kill the jonin.

But Kyosuke had already achieved his goal.

His sudden assault caught not only the Sand Shinobi being swept away off guard, but even the other Sand Shinobi holding Ikezi hostage was stunned by his unexpected appearance for several seconds.

However, there was one person whose focus would absolutely not be disturbed by anything else.

That person was Fugaku Uchiha, who was completely focused.

At the instant the Sand Shinobi holding Ikezi hostage shifted his attention to Kyosuke.

Fugaku suddenly moved, reaching the enemy's side almost instantly.

Body Flicker Technique.

A Ninjutsu of very low rank, but not one that ordinary shinobi could master.

Aside from a rare few, only shinobi who had reached jonin level could even make basic use of it.

Moreover, while many jonin had mastered it, aside from a handful of people, few could use it exceptionally well.

The Body Flicker Technique Fugaku used now was the same.

Because time was so tight, he had no spare time to form hand seals and then mobilize his Chakra.

So, to save time, he used an almost self-destructive method to forcefully erupt his Chakra, pushing his movement speed to its limit.

This method resembled that of the "Fourth Raikage," using lightning-nature Chakra to stimulate the cells and activate them, thereby drastically enhancing all aspects of the body.

The reason no one in the Shinobi World aside from the successive Raikage could use this method.

Was because it was extraordinarily harmful to the body. Aside from the successive Raikage, whose base physical constitution was immensely powerful, no one else could use it.

Not to mention that the successive Raikage had their own corresponding training methods that allowed them to freely use this ability.

That method was the famous Ninjutsu, Lightning Release Armor.

Therefore, Fugaku's actions now truly carried a sense of throwing caution to the wind.

Fortunately, after paying such a great price, Fugaku finally reached Ikezi before the enemy could react.

But what greeted him was not Ikezi's delighted gaze.

Instead, her expression was full of terror. Though she could not speak because her mouth was covered, every look in her eyes seemed to be saying:

"Don't come over!"