Distinguished Battle Achievements

Uchiha Gen jumped down from the tree and retrieved the shuriken he had fired, putting them back into his ninja tool pouch.

It was not Kakashi and Rin Nohara's first time seeing this, yet they still sighed inwardly at how thrifty he was. He really did not seem like a genius from a prestigious clan.

There was no helping it. Uchiha Gen's explanation was that this was the Uchiha Clan's unique shuriken and kunai throwing technique; if he did not retrieve them, the souls would be wasted for nothing.

Though they were low-level Homies, even a mosquito leg was still meat.

"Come on. Keep moving."

Uchiha Gen darted forward, with Kakashi and Rin Nohara following behind to form a triangular formation.

Before long, two Kumo Ninja appeared ahead. Upon spotting them, they fearlessly charged at the trio.

Lightning Release: Thunder Snake!

The two Kumo Ninja immediately formed hand seals and unleashed ninjutsu. Blue-white lightning covered both their hands as four thunder snakes shot forth.

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

Uchiha Gen rapidly formed hand seals and spat out clusters of golden-orange flames. The scorching fire collided with the violent lightning, explosions ringing out one after another as shockwaves swept outward.

Kakashi and Rin Nohara leaped into the air and hurled shuriken and kunai down from above.

Blue-white Lightning Release Chakra emerged all over the two Kumo Ninja's bodies, dramatically increasing their speed. They charged through the shockwaves while avoiding the kunai and shuriken.

Lightning Release Armor was not an especially profound ninjutsu. It was a B-rank Nintaijutsu, and quite a few ninja in Kumogakure could use it.

But like the Eight Gates, it was a secret art that was easy to learn but difficult to master. It required extraordinary talent; not just anyone could train it to the level of the Third or Fourth Raikage.

Within Kumogakure, the Fourth Raikage's clan possessed a physique best suited to the Lightning Release Armor.

The Third Raikage had trained the Lightning Release Armor to the absolute limit. He could hold off ten thousand alone, clash head-on with a tailed beast, and exhaust its stamina. He was simply inhuman!

Although the Fourth Raikage was somewhat faster, his overall strength was inferior to the Third Raikage's.

The Eight Gates offered a greater burst of power and a higher ceiling, but its endurance and defense could not compare to the Lightning Release Armor.

What was most important for a man?

Endurance!

In his previous life, what Uchiha Gen had wanted most was the Third Raikage's physique. With that kind of body, he would not need to work hard—he could simply live off a rich woman and reach the pinnacle of life.

Watching the enemies charge at him with murderous intent, Uchiha Gen calmly flashed backward while forming hand seals in midair.

Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!

A thread of fire shot from his mouth, transforming under the control of his Chakra into a golden-orange sea of flames. The fire wave scorched leaves, ignited trees, and warped the air.

The two Kumo Ninja avoided the most powerful center of the fire wave. Relying on their Lightning Release Armor for protection, they charged in through its edges, closing in from the left and right.

Seeing that Kakashi and Rin Nohara's vision was blocked by the flames after they landed, Uchiha Gen had a thought.

The next moment, Zhurong flew from his left forearm. Its tiny dragon mouth opened, and a thread of fire merged into the flame Uchiha Gen had exhaled.

In an instant, the golden-orange flames transformed into golden-yellow fire. The temperature abruptly rose by one hundred degrees Celsius, while the sea of flames suddenly expanded to both sides. There was no longer any difference in power between its center and edges.

"Arghhh..."

The two Kumo Ninja's half-baked Lightning Release Armor was burned away by the flames. The surging inferno instantly swallowed them, their screams shrill and miserable.

Zhurong returned to his arm, and the flames dispersed. Two charred, steaming corpses fell from the trees, while the sickening stench of burnt flesh filled the air.

Under such circumstances, the Substitution Technique was completely useless. The Substitution Technique was not a space-time ninjutsu, but a deception technique that made enemies believe their attack had succeeded, creating an opening for a counterattack.

The Substitution Technique was merely a basic ninjutsu learned at the Ninja Academy. It was utterly ineffective against mid- and high-level ninja. Without ocular techniques or sensory abilities, it was still easy to see through.

In mid- and high-level battles, the various Clone Techniques were generally more useful. The strongest clone techniques were the Shadow Clone and Wood Clone.

Looking at the blazing fire rising into the sky before them, Kakashi and Rin Nohara could not help comparing it to Obito's Fire Release...

Though their bond with Obito was much deeper, they had to admit that the two were not on the same level when it came to Fire Release.

Fire Release of this caliber could not be completely blocked even by an ordinary Jonin using Water Formation Wall, unless they took advantage of the terrain.

Watching this scene, Uchiha Gen revealed a satisfied smile.

Kumo Ninja with this level of strength were at least Special Jonin. Wiping out two at once was not bad.

With Kumogakure's conspiracy exposed, the large-scale war was about to end, at most continuing as scattered small-scale conflicts.

He needed to be promoted to Jonin before the Third Great Ninja War ended.

First, becoming a Jonin during peacetime would be much harder, and he did not want to waste that time.

Second, he needed to establish influence within the Uchiha Clan—not the influence of a genius, but the influence of a genius Jonin, someone who formed the backbone of the clan.

Only with that level of influence would the Uchiha higher-ups take his words seriously.

Throughout this war, he had been the secondary carry, while Kakashi had taken most of the spotlight. It was time for him to make a high-profile appearance before the Konoha Ninja.

"Kakashi, Rin, let's go."

After calling out, Uchiha Gen skirted around the sea of fire. The three of them then charged at the Kumo Ninja together, supporting the Konoha Ninja.

Clang!

Just as a Konoha Ninja was about to have his chest pierced by a Kumo Ninja, Uchiha Gen arrived in time, his ninja sword knocking aside the Kumo Ninja's attack.

He looked up, meeting the Kumo Ninja's eyes. A powerful genjutsu instantly caused the Kumo Ninja to lose himself, and Uchiha Gen drove his sword through the man's chest with a backhand thrust.

"Thank you."

The rescued Konoha Ninja froze slightly before thanking him.

"You're welcome. We're from the same village."

Leaving those words behind, Uchiha Gen rushed toward another battle.

"Get out of the way!"

Seeing reinforcements arrive, the Konoha Ninja hurriedly moved aside.

Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!

A golden-orange fire dragon—or, more precisely, a fire dragon's head—erupted from Uchiha Gen's mouth. The air twisted in its path, and the temperature rapidly rose.

The Kumo Ninja was alarmed and immediately burst out at his maximum speed to evade. Yet under Uchiha Gen's Chakra control, the fire dragon seemed to possess a will of its own.

More precisely, the Sharingan had predicted the Kumo Ninja's evasive direction, making him seem as though he had deliberately run into it to commit suicide.

"Arghhh..."

A shrill, agonized scream rang out as the fire dragon slammed the Kumo Ninja into the ground. Dirt flew everywhere, flames billowed, and he was burned directly into charcoal.

"S-So powerful..."

Watching the opponent he had been unable to defeat after a long battle get eliminated by a single ninjutsu, the Konoha Ninja muttered to himself.

After taking down one enemy, Uchiha Gen left without any delay.

Seeing Uchiha Gen acting so actively, Kakashi wanted to tell him to slow down—Rin could barely keep up—but he swallowed the words when they reached his lips.

Gen was a genius too. His brilliance should not be obscured by Kakashi's.

Let Gen do as he pleased. With Gen's strength, nothing unexpected should happen.

Kakashi only needed to fight the enemies behind him while protecting Rin.

After taking down another Kumo Ninja, Uchiha Gen suddenly realized his teammates had not caught up, so he looked back.

Several dozen meters away, Kakashi and Rin Nohara saw Uchiha Gen looking over and nodded in unison.

Uchiha Gen understood. He returned a brilliant smile, then resumed his support and slaughter.

During the support effort, he primarily used genjutsu, with Fire Release as a supplement. Comparatively speaking, genjutsu consumed less Chakra and was more efficient.

As long as someone made eye contact with the Sharingan and had no teammate nearby to promptly dispel the genjutsu, they were as good as dead.

Genjutsu based on ocular techniques generally could only be broken by another person disrupting the target's Chakra flow.

As time passed, Uchiha Gen gradually became the most eye-catching guy on the battlefield, his presence impossible to ignore!

By the time the battle ended, ten Kumo Ninja had already died by Uchiha Gen's hand: six Chunin, three Special Jonin, and one Jonin. His battle achievements were truly outstanding!

Of the Kumo Ninja assault force of over fifty, only a handful escaped by sheer luck—and even they still had to face pursuit from the Konoha Ninja at the front lines.

Elsewhere, Minato Namikaze fought the A-B Combo just as in the original story, forcing the pair to retreat.

With that, Kumogakure's opportunity had completely vanished.

Friends reading this book, please do not let it sit in your libraries! The editor said Naruto fanfiction needs either the potential to become a major hit or one to two hundred active readers while going without promotion before it can be signed. You do not want your bookmarks, recommendation votes, investments, and time to go to waste either, right? (sniffle)