Minazuki and Kaguya

"Ah..."

The Mist ninja let out a scream, but he did not die immediately. The Kusanagi Blade had pierced his right chest rather than his heart.

The Kusanagi Blade retracted. Uchiha Gen dropped swiftly, stomping one foot on the Mist ninja's sword arm and the other on his throat. With a crack, his throat bone was crushed. Having suffered repeated heavy blows, he died on the spot.

Water Release: Water Turbulence!

A surging torrent tore through the forest, followed by several Shuriken and two Kunai with Exploding Tags attached to their handles.

As Uchiha Gen retreated to evade, he flicked his left hand. The Kusanagi Blade extended back to its normal length, its edge flashing.

The two Shuriken he sent flying struck the Kunai, altering their trajectories. With the Sharingan's assistance, he easily deflected the incoming Shuriken with the Kusanagi Blade as well.

Boom! Boom! Two bursts of flame exploded in midair as four Hidden Mist Ninja darted between the treetops in succession, closing in to surround and kill Uchiha Gen.

Uchiha Gen remained calm. He sheathed his sword, formed hand seals, and vanished from where he stood.

Earth Release: Camouflage Concealment Technique!

"Watch out!"

Seeing Uchiha Gen disappear into thin air, the Hidden Mist Chunin leading the group hurriedly warned the others.

At the same time, he flung Shuriken toward where Uchiha Gen had vanished. Unsurprisingly, they missed, embedding themselves in the soil instead.

The other three Mist ninja immediately halted their advance and gathered around their Chunin leader. The four stood back-to-back, guarding against a sneak attack.

Little did they know, this formation was perfect for Uchiha Gen to wipe them all out at once...

Nirvana Temple Technique!

Hidden behind a tree, Uchiha Gen formed hand seals with both hands. Dense white feathers drifted down from the sky, carrying a power that made people unbearably drowsy!

Even with their vigilance at its peak, the overwhelming gap in strength made the three Hidden Mist Genin shut their eyes instantly and collapse to the ground with thuds.

The Hidden Mist Chunin swayed on the verge of collapse as well, but at the last moment, he bit down fiercely on his tongue and formed hand seals to dispel the genjutsu, regaining consciousness.

Unfortunately, at that very moment, a Kunai with an Exploding Tag attached rapidly enlarged before his eyes. There was nowhere to dodge.

With a squelch, blood burst from his throat. Then, with a boom, a fireball engulfed all four of them, sending red and white fragments flying everywhere.

The Hidden Mist Genin were forcibly jolted awake by the excruciating pain. Their bodies were severely burned, and they instinctively rolled on the ground, howling in agony.

Uchiha Gen's expression remained indifferent, his heart utterly unmoved. He threw three Kunai, ending their suffering.

By then, Kurenai Yuhi and the other two had also dealt with their enemies and quickly leaped to Uchiha Gen's side as he revealed himself.

"To take down two Chunin and three Genin in such a short time... as expected of our captain."

Hayama Shirakumo held his blood-dripping sword in a reverse grip and spoke with admiration.

Uchiha Gen did not respond. He pulled out a stack of Exploding Tags from his ninja tool pouch and handed it to the three of them.

"The fighting ahead will only grow more brutal. I may not be able to look after you in time, so split these Exploding Tags among yourselves."

"Also, the three of you must not separate. Together, you'll have some ability to protect yourselves even against a Jonin."

Kurenai Yuhi looked at the stack of at least twenty Exploding Tags, pursed her lips, and said, "Captain, if you give all the Exploding Tags to us, what about you?"

"Captain, you should keep some for yourself."

"Yeah, Captain."

Hyuga Tokuma and Hayama Shirakumo spoke up one after the other.

"I have far more Chakra than you do. Exploding Tags are not that useful to me, but you need them more."

"Besides, I still have some."

As he spoke, Uchiha Gen pulled another stack of Exploding Tags from his ninja tool pouch. Though it was not as thick as the last stack, it still contained more than ten.

Kurenai Yuhi: "..."

Hyuga Tokuma: "..."

Hayama Shirakumo: "..."

What a filthy rich bastard. Thirty or forty Exploding Tags—was the Uchiha Clan really this wealthy?

Each of them had no more than five Exploding Tags on them...

Ordinary Uchiha ninja naturally were not as filthy rich as Uchiha Gen. But who could blame him? The clan valued him greatly, and he was also Orochimaru's disciple.

It was understandable for him to have a few more Exploding Tags.

Seeing that their captain was so filthy rich, the three did not stand on ceremony. They took the Exploding Tags and divided them up.

The power of a single Exploding Tag was roughly equivalent to a C-rank ninjutsu, while the Chakra required to activate it was negligible. They were truly excellent tools for killing enemies and saving one's life.

"Enemies are coming. They're very strong—one Jonin and three Chunin!"

With his Byakugan active, Hyuga Tokuma's face turned grave as he quickly shouted a warning.

The next moment, four figures appeared in sight—three men and one woman. Two of them were particularly eye-catching, because their combat uniforms bore the emblems of the Yuki Clan and the Kaguya Clan.

The Yuki Clan, also known as the Snow Clan, possessed the Ice Release bloodline ability. The Kaguya Clan, meanwhile, was a bloodthirsty, warlike clan capable of controlling their bones.

"Well, Uchiha and Hyuga Clan ninja. What a coincidence."

A handsome young man in a snow-white, form-fitting combat uniform, wearing a Kirigakure forehead protector and exuding a cold temperament, grinned.

"Heh heh... I love killing Hyuga Clan ninja most of all."

A rough-faced young man in a moon-white combat uniform, with an odd hairstyle and two red dots on his forehead, wore a sinister grin.

Both the Hyuga Clan and the Kaguya Clan were renowned Nintaijutsu clans in the ninja world. There had always been endless debate over which was the foremost Nintaijutsu clan, and the two sides had long been rivals.

"Hmph. I also love killing Kaguya Clan ninja most of all," Hyuga Tokuma said coldly.

"Heh heh, is that so?"

"Then let's settle life and death today."

Without another word, the Kaguya Clan ninja charged out like a reckless brute.

Uchiha Gen immediately formed hand seals, his hands leaving afterimages with their speed.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Golden-orange flames formed into a roaring fireball and hurtled forward. The extreme heat distorted the air, scorching everything around it. The Kaguya Clan ninja's expression shifted slightly as he hurriedly changed direction to evade it.

His exceptional taijutsu and the Shikotsumyaku bloodline ability gave the Kaguya Clan ninja reaction speed and movement speed far beyond those of an ordinary Chunin.

Vacuum Sword!

Hayama Shirakumo swung his sword, sending a white wind blade slicing swiftly toward his opponent's neck.

The Kaguya Clan ninja crossed his arms to block. His flesh split apart as bones rapidly extended, becoming like steel under the infusion of Chakra. The wind blade left only a faint mark when it struck them.

"Damn it, are you people just going to stand there and watch?"

The Kaguya Clan ninja landed on a tree branch and cursed in frustration.

From beginning to end, the Hidden Mist Ninja had only watched. They had not used a single ninjutsu, nor had they even thrown one Shuriken.

There were three reasons for this. First, Kirigakure's warped elite policy had made its ninja emotionally distant from one another.

Second, the Kaguya Clan was an ostracized bloodline clan, so the two orthodox Kirigakure ninja could not be bothered to act.

Third, the Kaguya Clan was rather disliked within Kirigakure, making even the Yuki Clan, another bloodline clan, unwilling to help.

"Move. We can't let Konoha's ninja laugh at us any longer."

Upon hearing their superior's order, the Hidden Mist Ninja had no choice but to act, no matter how much they disliked bloodline clans. Defying a legitimate order from a superior meant certain death, no matter how they struggled.

Seeing the Hidden Mist Ninja make their move, Kurenai Yuhi and the other two immediately picked their opponents and met them head-on.

The Hyuga and Kaguya naturally clashed in taijutsu. The other two pairs lacked intelligence on one another, so they began by probing with taijutsu as well.

As the six fought, they gradually moved away from the two Jonin...

"This is my first time encountering a Yuki Clan ninja. Give me your name, and I'll let you die quickly later."

Uchiha Gen looked over with great interest.

"Hehe, Kiyoshi Minazuki. If you tell me your name, sir, I'll extend the same courtesy to you."

Kiyoshi Minazuki chuckled softly. His expression was calm, and with his eyes lowered to avoid meeting the Sharingan's gaze, he formed hand seals.

"Uchiha Gen."

Seeing his enemy form hand seals, Uchiha Gen immediately followed suit while politely giving his name.