Mind Body Switch

A chilling, murderous aura permeated the surrounding air.

Uchiha Hikari frowned slightly, her expression growing grave. "Anbu? Or Root?"

She had noticed long ago that after shaking off the first group of pursuers, another group had begun following her. Their tracking skills were a cut above Uzuki Yugao and the others'; even though Hikari had laid several false trails along the way, she had failed to shake them off. Instead, it had slowed her down and allowed them to stay firmly on her trail...

So...

Konoha had finally decided to make a move against her?

Judging by their lineup, Root was more likely—Sarutobi Hiruzen had personally taken one of her Tsukuyomi. If these were Anbu, then the Third Hokage should have come himself.

A brief standoff lasted only seconds.

The Root ninja leading them drew his blade and rasped, "The order is... kill her! Bring back the Sharingan!"

Those words were clearly a signal.

The next instant, every Root ninja moved at once. A dense barrage of shuriken and kunai shot out from every direction, raining down on Uchiha Hikari like a downpour!

"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!"

As the "rainstorm" descended, the ground beneath Uchiha Hikari suddenly burst apart. A black-gloved hand reached out from below, grabbing straight for her ankle in an attempt to drag her underground!

At the critical moment, Uchiha Hikari sprang into the air with a quick step. She first flicked out several kunai, forcing the ninja below to raise his arm and block. Then Scarlet Three Tomoe appeared in her eyes, spinning into the shape of three-bladed pinwheels the instant they formed.

"Susanoo!!"

In an instant.

A dark red aura emerged around her, swiftly linking together into the shape of a skeleton!

From Root's attack to Uchiha Hikari leaping into the air and activating Susanoo, everything happened in the blink of an eye. The next second, the rain of shuriken struck her and collided head-on with the newly formed Susanoo. Sparks burst through the air in a chain, followed by explosions that echoed throughout the forest!!

Boom boom boom...!!!

The thunderous blasts were unceasing!

A considerable number of those shuriken and kunai had Exploding Tags attached to them. They detonated all at once, and the violent flames instantly swallowed Uchiha Hikari together with the Susanoo around her. The massive cloud of smoke and dust created by the explosions rose like a mushroom cloud, temporarily obscuring both sides' vision.

"...Did it work?"

"No... She's still alive!"

Amid the dispersing smoke and dust.

A dark red Susanoo arm suddenly reached out, its several-meter-wide palm opening in midair as it grabbed for the nearest Root ninja. With that movement, the smoke from the explosions scattered slightly, revealing Uchiha Hikari sheltered within Susanoo.

Compared to before, she was almost unchanged. Only her eyes had turned fiery red, chilling killing intent brewing within those three-bladed pinwheels, poised to strike.

"Phew..."

Uchiha Hikari let out a long breath and activated her ocular power. As her gaze swept over the area, the Sharingan's dynamic vision was pushed to its limits, taking in every movement around her.

"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

"Earth Release: Heavenly Descent of Clay!"

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"

Several Root ninjas completed their hand seals simultaneously. Within dozens of meters, the hard earth suddenly cracked and rolled like liquid, while a massive opening split apart in the sky overhead, sending huge quantities of clay tumbling down toward Uchiha Hikari!

Facing the overwhelming killing intent, Uchiha Hikari darted and leaped between the rising mounds of earth, evading every incoming shuriken and senbon. As she raised her hands, her hand seals moved so quickly they left afterimages.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Wall Technique!"

Boom—!!

A blazing wall of fire shot into the sky, soaring more than ten meters high before crashing into the descending clay and unleashing a heatwave of over a thousand degrees.

Swept by the heatwave, the clay high in the air began to harden and deform. Then the scorching wind carried it howling in every direction, as though a rain of mudslides had fallen from the sky.

Trees and shrubs began to burn as the raging flames spread. Dust filled the sky, turning the entire area hazy!

With their vision obscured, the Root ninjas' assassination rhythm was briefly interrupted.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Hikari charged directly at the Root ninja in front of her with Susanoo active, moving as fast as an arrow loosed from a bow!

Boom!!

Another explosion rang out as one Root ninja's Dragon Fire Technique struck Susanoo, then quickly split toward both sides. The crimson flames flared and swiftly ignited the surrounding trees, turning the area into a sea of fire.

Faced with these ninjutsu attacks, Uchiha Hikari could not even be bothered to dodge. She simply smashed them apart head-on while forming hand seals.

"Hell Viewing Technique!"

"Fire Release... Great Fire Annihilation!"

As Uchiha Hikari opened her mouth and exhaled, a line of fire erupted from her lips, transforming into a raging sea of flames that engulfed dozens of meters ahead!

The several Root ninjas stationed there were first startled by the horrifying illusion created by the Sharingan genjutsu. Before they could react further, the oncoming flames swallowed them whole.

On the other side, a Root ninja wielding a long sword rushed forward to engage her in fierce close combat. Another person some distance away raised both arms and released a dense swarm of insects that spread rapidly through the air. In moments, they formed a mass of insects like a black storm and swooped down on her!

"...Someone from the Aburame Clan?!"

Uchiha Hikari kicked the Root ninja away in midair, then breathed out a burst of flame that incinerated the insect swarm. Her eyes began searching in several other directions—

With Susanoo protecting her, ordinary ninjas' techniques were almost meaningless against her. Even dense explosions from Exploding Tags could at most leave superficial wounds. But it was different with clan ninjas who possessed secret Yin-Yang Release techniques. Even being restrained for a fraction of a second could bring extremely serious consequences. Though she was fairly confident in her mental strength, Uchiha Hikari did not want to take that risk.

Since the Aburame Clan was here, then...

What about the Yamanaka Clan?

Suddenly!

Uchiha Hikari seemed to sense something. She abruptly turned her head, her gaze falling on the direction behind and to her side. There, dozens of meters away, a Root ninja with orange-yellow hair had pressed his thumbs and index fingers together in the shape of a heart, aiming at her from behind.

"Secret Technique: Mind Body Switch Technique!"