Black Flash!!

The Earth Release: Mud Wall shattered, and the scorching wave of fire dried up the swamp.

The ninjas still trapped deep in the mud had no time to escape.

Most used ninjutsu to protect themselves. A few, too panicked to react, were roasted into charred corpses by the flames.

Before the ninjas who had successfully blocked the fire could breathe a sigh of relief, their hard-practiced Earth Release was torn apart by pitch-black claws.

Whoosh—

Faced with the black wolves lunging at them, they could only raise their kunai to block.

But...

The black wolves passed straight through their bodies!

Faintly visible on the vicious wolves' fangs and claws was a pale blue glow.

That seemed to be... souls!!

"Bastard! Who the hell are you?! Why are you attacking us?!"

"Damn it! I can't hit these things at all! What kind of monsters are they?!"

The team's Jonin quickly analyzed the key to the technique and shouted:

"Don't panic! These wolves aren't very fast. We can dodge them completely. Don't confront them head-on—"

He could not finish.

"I don't fucking want to fight them head-on either! Why don't you come save me?!"

Kagami Uchiha naturally knew the weakness of his own technique. This Yin Release had an ability similar to Kamui, allowing it to pass through the flesh and directly tear at the soul.

Such a terrifying ability naturally had an obvious flaw.

Its movement speed was very slow.

An ordinary Chunin could kite it around until Kagami Uchiha no longer had enough chakra to maintain it.

So the solution was obvious: restrict the enemy's movement first.

He had taken inspiration from the famous Cage and Fire Tactic.

And combined it with the Surround and Strike Reinforcements Tactic.

Kagami Uchiha deliberately spared seven or eight ninjas. Several wolves surrounded each one, waiting for their Jonin to come rescue them.

Ordinary ninjas still shared deep bonds.

After all, they came from the same village, grew up together, and studied together.

Those who went out on missions together were usually masters and disciples, or close friends.

The three Jonin were fully capable of escaping on their own, but with their companions seemingly still salvageable, they could not possibly retreat.

"Bastard!! What kind of evil technique is this?!"

Da Shi's eyes were wide with fury as he glared at Kagami Uchiha, as though fire might burst from them.

"Can't you come up with anything new? You only know those two insults. They don't hurt at all."

Kagami Uchiha kept five black wolves circling around him, preventing them from making any rash moves.

"And... our clothes and eyes are so obvious, yet you're still asking who I am. You block of stone, is your brain made of stone too?"

At that, Da Shi carefully looked at the eyes of Kagami Uchiha and the other man.

"No!! Those are the Uchiha's Sharingan! Don't look directly into those eyes!!"

The heart-wrenching warning came too late.

Whoosh—

Da Shi froze for an instant. A black wolf passed through his body, tearing out a pale blue spiritual form.

"No!!!"

The female Jonin among the three cried out miserably and frantically drew chakra.

Earth Release: Earth Split Turning Palm!

She slammed a palm against the ground. Thunderous rumbling erupted as a massive fissure spread toward Kagami Uchiha and his companion.

Crack.

Kagami Uchiha bit his fingertip and swiftly formed hand seals.

With a puff, a giant eagle beat its wings and soared into the air, carrying the two of them as it circled overhead.

There were not many ninja in the shinobi world capable of flight. At the very least, the few below were not among them.

A height of nearly a hundred meters was already beyond the range of their techniques. The earth-loving Iwagakure ninja had no way to deal with the eagle in the sky.

Of course, the Third Tsuchikage was an exception.

Kagami Uchiha looked somewhat drained atop the eagle's back.

The previous two large-scale ninjutsu had nearly consumed as much chakra as an adult Kakashi possessed.

Yin Release: Day-Chasing Fierce Wolves cost roughly four or five Kakashis' worth of chakra. That was merely the construction cost; maintaining it also consumed mental energy.

Fortunately, it was Yin Release, with mental energy making up the bulk of the cost. If it had been ordinary nature-transformed chakra, Kagami Uchiha would not have been able to endure it yet.

This Yin Release could only be considered an experiment.

Before the intensity of the war escalated, Kagami Uchiha needed to familiarize himself with his abilities as quickly as possible and apply them on a real battlefield.

Training and killing were two different things. He knew he would have to face the Third Tsuchikage, the Nine-Tails, Nagato, and even those monsters of the later era.

This war was important. He needed to transform through it, awaken the Mangekyo in his best state, and tame Sukuna.

Only then...

Would he have a chance to lead the Uchiha Clan and survive in this chaotic age.

Swish, swish, swish!!

Minato's group, who had originally intended to form an encirclement, revealed themselves one after another upon seeing the scene in the field.

"What kind of technique is that..."

"It resembles our Shadow Imitation Technique somewhat. It's Yin Release too... but it's far stronger than the shadow techniques!"

"As expected of the Sharingan... That's Da Shi, an Iwagakure Jonin. I've seen him before. I never expected Kagami to kill him..."

"Large-scale Earth Release, and that bizarre Yin Release ninjutsu..." Fugaku recalled the battle from last year.

This guy... his strongest technique should be that secret slashing technique!

The Uchiha were a clan of geniuses.

Fugaku had become clan head, and from childhood to adulthood, he had always been the exemplary child others spoke of. His talent stood at the top among his peers.

Yet as he looked at Kagami Uchiha, whose face still retained a trace of youthfulness, he felt his own mediocrity.

What he feared was not the power of Kagami Uchiha's techniques. To put it bluntly, if he went all out against Kagami Uchiha, it was still uncertain who would win.

What frightened him was the talent Kagami Uchiha had displayed.

He could quickly learn any ninjutsu and had even developed several secret techniques of his own.

Once he awakened those legendary eyes...

What right would I have to remain the Uchiha clan head?

"They're Konoha ninja..."

"Why is Konoha attacking us?!"

"This is the border of the Land of Earth! Are you trying to declare war by doing this?!"

The team leader tried to remain calm as his gaze swept around.

"Some things become meaningless when stated too plainly."

Kagami Uchiha spoke coldly. "Stop pretending to be confused. That old man Ōnoki sent you to investigate the border situation in the Land of Fire, didn't he?"

"You dare address Lord Tsuchikage like that?!"

The leading Jonin immediately flew into a rage, his face twisting. "Shameless Uchiha! Lord Tsuchikage will definitely learn of your despicable ambush!"

"Your entire clan will bear Lord Tsuchikage's wrath!"

"Hehe."

Kagami Uchiha laughed. "Didn't your Tsuchikage tell you that he and his master were both beaten senseless by members of my Uchiha Clan?"

"If Uchiha Madara hadn't been kindhearted, that old man would have died long ago."

Madara... kindhearted?

The Konoha ninja familiar with that name found those words hard to understand.

"Arghhh!! Damn it!! Bastard!!"

The enraged leading Jonin leaped toward Kagami Uchiha.

Like Icarus, trying to touch the unattainable.

Kagami Uchiha curled his lips into a mocking smile.

Guiding the giant eagle beneath him, he dove toward another direction, passing by the man in midair.

Once he was in the air, it was too late for the leading Jonin to turn back.

Kagami Uchiha fixed his gaze on a particular spot.

The earth there bulged unnaturally, like a mole tunneling underground.

The instant the Konoha ninja appeared, the leading Jonin realized he could not save his trapped companions. He signaled the other female Jonin.

I'll hold them off. You run.

"Very good."

Minato Namikaze murmured with a smile.

He had noticed the fleeing Jonin as well. He did not rush to act, wanting to see how Kagami Uchiha would perform.

Prioritizing the pursuit of the fleeing enemy and leaving the stronger opponents to one's seniors—an accurate judgment.

Kagami Uchiha leaped from the giant eagle, predicting the route of the Earth Release user traveling underground.

He took a deep breath.

He clenched his fist.

He focused completely.

He found the spatial distortion produced within 0.000001 seconds of physical impact and chakra impact.

The tomoe of his Sharingan spun madly, nearly bleeding.

Crack—

A piercing sound rang out.

Kagami Uchiha's right fist stretched to its utmost, his waist twisting to an angle no normal human could achieve.

The air trembled.

Space... warped.

Before everyone's horrified eyes, a bolt of black-red lightning exploded from his fist!

Black Flash!!!!