Naruto: Choosing from Birth

"If you kill yourself right now, then even if you served the wrong master, I, Yuto, will still acknowledge you as a loyal old dog, one worthy of the Uchiha name!"

Uchiha Yuto's mouth fired off like a cannon, his torrent of words making Da Pu's old face flush crimson.

Uchiha Rinne had originally wanted to throw a few barbs at Da Pu herself. But with Yuto rattling on like firecrackers, she could not get a word in edgewise.

Her mouth hung wide open as she tried to speak, stopped herself, then tried again—until she forgot what she had wanted to say!

"Young master, go back and seek reinforcements first. Even if I, Uchiha Yuto, die, I'll cut off that old bastard's right hand too and turn him into a human stump."

"No. I won't abandon you. The three of us are enough to deal with him."

As Uchiha Cheng spoke, he unsealed the Sealing Scroll, revealing a dense array of ninja tools. Every single one was tied with Exploding Tags.

Suzune stared, wide-eyed, at his side. Vice-Captain Cheng was loaded. Was this really burning Exploding Tags? No, this was burning money.

"So you don't want to leave? Then stay here, all of you. Let me show you what this old bastard is truly capable of!"

"In Konoha, there was only one man whose swordsmanship surpassed mine!"

"And this is the strongest technique I created over decades in my pursuit of the Kage-level! This is only the second time in my life that I've used it."

Uchiha Dai Boku raised his sword toward the heavens. Moonlight from hundreds of meters around was drawn toward it, as though the entire world had darkened.

The Chakra throughout his body was drawn toward the tip of his sword like flowing water, making the surrounding air ripple. It rose from beneath his feet to the palm above his head, forming an oval circuit of Chakra before all of it poured into the brilliant blade.

"This is bad. That technique...? The old bastard is going all out. Let's get farther away," White Zetsu said gravely. He immediately used the Mayfly Technique, his body merging into the earth as he moved swiftly backward with the ease of swimming through water.

The sneak attacks Yuto and Suzune had launched just then had failed to break through that oval barrier.

"Our attacks weren't strong enough. This time, attack together!"

Uchiha Cheng warned them.

His hands turned into blurs as countless kunai and Shuriken flew forth, colliding repeatedly in midair.

They formed enormous nets that blotted out the sky.

A new technique created through the ninja world's number one Shuriken Throwing Technique:

Ninefold Net of Heaven and Earth!

Nine layers of hidden weapons, combined with Exploding Tags, formed an inescapable net centered on Da Pu and covering a radius of one hundred meters around him.

Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet! (Shadow Clone)

Water Release: Water Surge Wave! (Suzune)

Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique! (Yuto)

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough! (Shadow Clone)

The combined ninjutsu of three different elements unleashed berserk energy that swept toward Uchiha Dai Boku like a flood.

"What is the pinnacle of a ninja—the Kage?"

Uchiha Dai Boku had sought that answer his entire life, yet no one could tell him.

The master he had followed, the man who had once fought a world-shaking battle against the God of Shinobi at the Valley of the End, had once said:

"Kage? When the entire ninja world fears you, then you are a Kage!"

The Konoha White Fang, who had always stood above him in the way of the sword, had answered during their unpublicized final duel:

"I never wanted to become Hokage. But when my sword wishes to protect someone, even the Five Kage hold no fear for me!"

"What is a Kage?"

Among countless Genin, Chunin, and Jonin, only a scant few had become Kage-level powerhouses.

Perhaps their strength was not merely strength of power! Perhaps it lay even more in their state of mind!

In that brief instant, countless thoughts flashed through Uchiha Dai Boku's mind, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

The radiance drawn to his sword tip had long eclipsed the moonlight above, shining with a soul-stirring brilliance.

"Secret Art: Mirage Moon Wheel!"

It was as if the sword tip held up a moon, then smashed it viciously forward.

Last time, he had lost to the Konoha White Fang!

This time, victory was certain! No one could stop him!

Faintly, everyone and everything around them was drawn into that light...

Buzzz!

The light exploded in an instant, sending rings of luminous waves surging outward.

BOOM!!!

The Ninefold Net of Heaven and Earth exploded directly in midair. The light waves and the blasts from the Exploding Tags ground each other away layer by layer.

The combined ninjutsu of three elements struggled against the light waves, only to be crushed and swallowed whole.

The entire hill was slowly shaved away by layer after layer of light waves, while the herd of cattle in the nearby pen was reduced to dust.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The tremendous roar and quake completely jolted awake Konoha, which had only just settled down in the distance.

PS: There was a meeting this afternoon. The boss was vividly explaining issues he had already talked about before. The author quietly immersed himself in his own little world and accidentally slipped into Yuto's character. With a furious shout, he yelled: "Bullshit! You're worse than pigs and dogs!"

Sigh, I was supposed to get off work at six-thirty. Now I'm working overtime alone until ten-thirty at night.

Enough said. To urge updates, I'll be staying up tonight and writing until late...*

Earth Release: Earth Flow Rampart!

Water Release: Water Formation Wall!

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Faced with that unstoppable blow, everyone retreated from the hill. But they could not outrun the encroaching light waves.

They could only run while casting defensive or offensive ninjutsu to wear down the light waves.

When the three finally reached the foot of the hill, near its edge, they were swiftly swallowed by the light waves...

The entire hill had vanished, yet the scene from before the clash of ultimate techniques remained atop it.

Amid the billowing dust, everyone and the herd of cattle still stood quietly upon the hill.

Like a mirage!

"What happened? We're not dead?"

The three had thought that once those terrifying light waves struck them, they would surely be reduced to dust as well.

Yet they had not suffered the slightest injury.

"Could it be that old bastard's Chakra ran out, and everything after that was just some illusion created by light and shadows?"

"That's right! If I had been able to use that technique in my youth, all of you would have turned to dust in an instant."

Uchiha Dai Boku's voice rang out as a figure gradually emerged from the massive cloud of dust.

Aside from his missing left arm, he had no other injuries. Yet the sword in his hand had lost all its glow, and he looked as though he had aged ten years, tottering on the verge of collapse. His Sharingan had closed once more.

Yet his presence had become even more imposing. His eyes, which should have been clouded and dim, shone ever brighter.

No one dared think that he was at the end of his rope. They only felt that he had returned to simplicity, like a pearl stripped of its grime.

"I actually entered this realm at the final moment of my life."

"I can die without regrets."

"Still, killing you before I die should not be difficult..."

Uchiha Yuto immediately jumped out. "Old dog! Quit bluffing. Can you even hold a blade anymore? Come on, come on! I, the great Uchiha Yuto, will take you on!"

Da Pu stared at Yuto and smiled faintly. "Very well. You it is!"

The sword in his hand, devoid of any radiance, slowly rose.

"Yuto, get out of the way!"

Electric currents wrapped around Uchiha Cheng's entire body! The two tomoe in his Sharingan spun rapidly as a third tomoe gradually separated out.

Secret Technique: Eclipse Shadow Slash!

Water Release: Water Formation...

"Madara Uchiha!"

SPLURT!!!

A sword technique faster than a shadow crossed ten meters in an instant. Before the Water Release could be unleashed, it had already pierced Uchiha Yuto's chest.

But because of Uchiha Cheng's sudden shout, Da Pu faltered slightly, allowing Yuto to avoid a vital spot.