Single Blade

Amid the mountain forests, a squad of Sand Ninja moved in stealth.

The disappearance of any organization's leader had an enormous impact on that organization.

Let alone the disappearance of a village's Kage.

In Sunagakure's eyes, the most likely ones to have acted against the Kazekage were the neighboring Konoha.

Only Konoha had the ability to make the Kazekage vanish without a trace!

Otherwise, could it have been someone from their own village? That was the strongest Kazekage!

This squad of Sand Ninja was led by the jonin Pakura. Their goal was to create chaos in the Land of Fire.

Once Konoha's forces were scattered, it would be easier for them to search for the Third Kazekage.

Suddenly.

Pakura raised a hand, signaling everyone to stop.

An eagle's cry rang out in the distance as a massive black eagle dove straight toward them.

The giant eagle flapped its wings and hovered in midair, revealing a boy standing on its back.

His face was pale, carrying an eerie chill. His eyes were deep, like bottomless abysses.

"Nice to meet you, everyone from Sunagakure."

"I'm Kagami Uchiha."

Pakura's brows furrowed slightly as she sneered.

"Kid, you're wearing a ninja forehead protector, yet you haven't even learned the most basic ninja rules?"

Ninja were assassins who lurked in the shadows. Did he really think this was some honorable profession?

Whoosh!

A crimson fireball swept toward the giant eagle in a strange arc.

The fireball was not particularly fast, but it was exceptionally stable and carried an extremely high temperature.

This was her Kekkei Genkai, Scorch Release.

Both Wind Nature and Fire Nature emphasized offense. The nature transformation created by fusing these two types of chakra was terrifyingly powerful.

Once that fireball got close, it would instantly evaporate the water in a ninja's body and turn them into a dried corpse.

Pakura had no time to play ninja games with this brat. Since he was an Uchiha, it was best to kill him quickly.

Bang—

Kagami Uchiha released the summoning, and the spreading smoke obscured everyone's vision.

Whoosh—

A shuriken shot out from the smoke, then became two, two became four...

Until they filled the sky, visible to the naked eye!

Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"

Pakura hurriedly used Earth Style, raising a thick earthen wall to block the incoming storm of shuriken.

As a jonin, knowing a few standard ninjutsu was only natural.

She had no idea why Konoha had dared to send a brat like this to intercept her.

Since they knew of their movements, they should have at least sent a few famous jonin!

Just as Pakura inwardly criticized Konoha's command for its mistake, she heard the sound of sharp weapons piercing flesh.

"Ah!!!"

By the time Pakura whirled around in alarm at the scream, more than ten of her subordinates had already fallen into pools of blood!

How was that possible...

They were all the village's elite chunin!

Even a jonin could not have killed all of them!

When she finally saw the scene before her clearly, bone-deep cold engulfed Pakura's entire body.

Kakashi pulled the short blade from the Sand Ninja's heart and walked over to Minato Namikaze.

"Sorry. It still took me two seconds to finish the fight."

The scream just now had come from the opponent Kakashi had chosen.

As for the others...

They had died before they could even feel pain.

Minato Namikaze, who had just personally slain more than ten people, still wore a gentle smile. "That was already incredible. You're even better than I was at your age."

Kakashi knew Minato was comforting him. He knew that at roughly the same age, Minato Namikaze had rescued Big Sis Kushina from a squad of Cloud Ninja.

Boom!!

Pakura's Earth Flow Wall shattered with a thunderous crash.

Kagami Uchiha walked through the dust, looking somewhat impatient. "Against opponents like these, was there really any need for a diversionary tactic?"

"This was to teach you how ninja fought."

"Teacher Jiraiya asked me to take good care of you. I think it's necessary for you to learn how to fight."

Pakura gripped her kunai with both hands, her eyes scanning from side to side.

She recognized Minato Namikaze. A Konoha jonin who had mastered the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique.

She rapidly assessed the situation.

In a direct fight, she would not fear Minato Namikaze. But every village possessed clear intelligence on what the Flying Thunder God Technique was.

Space-time ninjutsu was incredibly difficult to learn. Mastering the Flying Thunder God meant that blond-haired man could fight whenever he wanted and retreat whenever he wished.

His ability to instantly kill more than ten chunin showed that his mastery of the Flying Thunder God was no joke. If she let him kite her, he could very likely drag her to death.

Then...

There was only one way!

Pakura twisted on her ankle and charged at Kagami Uchiha at top speed.

Capture this Uchiha brat and force that Flying Thunder God ninja to retreat!

"Instead of running away, you chose to approach me?"

A smile appeared on Kagami Uchiha's lips.

He really was... being underestimated.

For his first battle to make a name for himself, he would get a little serious.

Sode no Shirayuki was like a slowly flowing river of stars, radiating an indescribable brilliance.

Four fireballs circled Pakura's body as she remained on guard against Minato Namikaze.

If that Flying Thunder God ninja dared to come near, she would burn him into a dried corpse!

You used a diversionary tactic, so I'll attack what you must protect.

Pakura knew exactly what the Uchiha name represented. No matter what, he was a descendant of Konoha's greatest clan. Surely they would not just stand by and watch!

"Minato Senior Brother..."

"It's fine. Kagami can handle her."

Minato did not rush to act.

Back when Kakashi had not known, he had fought Kagami many times.

It could be said that if not for the incredible mobility granted by the Flying Thunder God Technique, he might very well have been defeated by Kagami.

Compared to Minato Namikaze, anyone else paled in comparison.

Jiraiya had once said those words often.

But he rarely said them now.

"That guy is a true genius!" Minato sighed sincerely.

Genius...

That word had followed Kakashi ever since he began training, and he had always been the object of envy among the ninja academy students.

But compared to Kagami Uchiha and Minato Namikaze, he clearly realized...

He was still far too far from being a true genius.

Sukuna's slashes included "Dismantle" and "Cleave."

Dismantle was an ultra-high-frequency slash.

Cleave was a sure-kill strike.

After Kagami Uchiha absorbed and digested some of Sukuna's slashes, he developed Thousand Blade Flowing Scenery Severity from Dismantle, a targeted high-frequency slashing attack.

In truth, its form and method of attack resembled Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin.

"Cleave" adjusted itself according to the difference in cursed energy and the target's strength, a slash capable of killing with a single strike.

Unless Malevolent Shrine was deployed, using Cleave required Sukuna to make physical contact with the target.

Kagami Uchiha activated his Sharingan.

Pupil power was an extension of Uchiha power. As long as he could see the target, that was enough to activate the technique.

Pakura's movements slowed, as if she were moving through amber. Every tiny motion was infinitely magnified.

She noticed it too.

But it was useless.

She was less than ten meters from that Uchiha boy, yet that distance was like an insurmountable chasm before her.

The blade's radiance was cold as frost and snow, bright as a crescent moon.

He merely swept the blade horizontally before him. It was clearly such a simple movement, yet to Pakura, it was utterly incomprehensible.

It was as though countless pieces of junk information were flooding into her mind, bringing her thoughts to a halt.

In an instant, all information converged.

Whether important or not, whatever it was, it was forcibly crammed directly into her mind.

In the end... only the harsh, miserable chirping of cicadas remained.

Sukuna observed the outside world through the Seal.

He knew Kagami Uchiha had been developing this technique, but he had not expected him to truly succeed.

"The Sharingan... does it rely on those eyes..."

The Jujutsu World also had a pair of eyes similar to the Uchiha Sharingan, but whether from Sukuna's own senses or the information he gathered from outside...

These eyes could still evolve and possessed potential even greater than the Six Eyes!

And Sukuna knew that this brat was suppressing those eyes' evolution himself...

This body... was simply more suited to be my vessel than even Fushiguro Megumi!!

But... this damned Seal! Why can't I slash it apart?!

If this brat keeps getting stronger, I really won't be able to escape!

Outside.

Kagami Uchiha's body shifted from solid to ethereal, like a wisp of smoke.

Accompanied by the blade's radiance, he passed through Pakura's body.

"Severance Release - Single Blade: Cicada's Lament"