Do You Know the Masked Man?

"How is that possible?!"

The threat attacking from behind terrified Uchiha Hikoichi out of his wits.

He was a powerhouse nearing the level of an Elite Jonin. Even if he was in poor condition and his focus was less than sixty percent of its peak—

Silently closing in on him was not something an ordinary ninja could accomplish.

He forcibly twisted his entire body around by exerting strength through his waist.

At the instant the blade reached him, he ultimately managed to block the attack with a kunai.

Staring at the masked enemy, Uchiha Hikoichi swiftly formed Hand Seals and demanded, "Who are you?"

"A stupid question." A hoarse voice sounded. Kyosuke frowned slightly, thinking that this guy truly was troublesome.

Using the Space Coordinates on the ground, he had approached to within less than two meters.

By all rights, no one should have been able to evade his sudden strike.

Yet the other man had forcibly blocked it, and he did not even seem to be in particularly good condition.

"The further one advances, the wider the gap in strength between people of the same rank becomes."

If the enemy had been in perfect condition, Kyosuke probably would not have been able to take him down even at the cost of exposing his identity.

At most, they would have reached a stalemate. With the Flying Thunder God, Uchiha Hikoichi would have had no way to deal with him either.

But this guy had just gone through a brutal battle and had nearly lost his life on the battlefield.

With his stamina and Chakra below the danger line, a one-on-one fight was not necessarily unwinnable.

After forming a simple seal, Kyosuke instantly appeared at the enemy's rear flank.

"What?!" Uchiha Hikoichi's eyes widened as he forcibly interrupted his ninjutsu.

Using the Shisui-style Body Flicker Technique, Kyosuke appeared at the enemy's side, giving him no chance to use ninjutsu.

One slash, two slashes, three slashes—in an instant, he struck seven times in succession. His blade flashed with chilling sharpness, successfully carving a bloody gash across the enemy's left shoulder.

Of course, Kyosuke was not doing well himself. He took a heavy kick to the abdomen, and it felt as though he had been hit by a car.

He rolled more than ten meters away before finally stopping when he crashed into a large tree.

"Cough." Spitting out the bloody foam in his mouth, Kyosuke slowly rose to his feet, his eyes brimming with killing intent.

He had long known that the Naruto World was a place where people devoured one another.

No, every world was like that. It was simply more nakedly apparent here.

Ever since he had personally dealt with the prisoners of the Three Clans, he had secretly made a resolution. No matter who it was, anyone who dared stand in his way would die! Shaking the blood from his blade, Kyosuke lowered his body like a jungle panther watching its prey.

"You're from the Uchiha Clan?!" Uchiha Hikoichi's eyes widened as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

A face could be concealed, and a build could be disguised, but the traces of his swordsmanship had ultimately betrayed him.

Even if he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run. With so many subordinates under his command, there were always some who specialized in swordsmanship.

"I see. Good, very good." The blood-soaked man wore an expression of madness.

Rat—Tiger—Dog—Ox—Rabbit—Tiger! His hands rapidly completed the Hand Seals. In an instant, clusters of flame resembling phoenix sage fire seeds appeared, covering the entire thirty-meter area ahead.

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique! These flames were controlled by the user's Chakra, making them difficult for ordinary people to evade completely.

The enemy's combat experience was extraordinarily rich. In only two exchanges, he had deciphered most of the operating principles behind the Flying Thunder God.

Especially after seeing the symbols inscribed on the ground, he instantly understood the technique's principle.

"Continuously teleporting around the symbols? What a terrifying ninjutsu." Uchiha Hikoichi sneered. He wanted to see who was trying to deal with him.

A ninja's battle was a battle of intelligence.

Even something as powerful as the Rinnegan could not avoid being countered once its abilities were revealed, much less the Flying Thunder God, which was currently bound by so many limitations.

The Phoenix Sage Fire Hikoichi had unleashed had already covered every coordinate point.

Other than taking the attack head-on, the assassin had no way to break through it.

Boom! Fireballs rained down like a storm. Kyosuke truly had nowhere to hide, and if he chose to withstand them head-on, he would likely face a terrifying follow-up attack.

But who had said that the coordinate points existed only nearby? With a simple flicker, he arrived at a riverside two kilometers away.

After washing his hands in the stream and rubbing his still-aching abdomen, Kyosuke formed Hand Seals and returned to the battlefield.

Seeing this, Uchiha Hikoichi's brow furrowed deeply.

"Looks like the technique's range is quite extensive." What had just happened made him realize that if the other party wanted to leave, there was absolutely no way he could keep him.

However, the assassin's swift return also made him understand something else.

In truth, he did not need to worry at all. The other party was the one who should be anxious.

If he could not win, then he could just leave. Such a powerful ninjutsu surely consumed a great deal of Chakra.

In other words, the opponent could not use it frequently. If he wanted to kill him, he had to risk approaching him.

Only then would he have a chance to turn the tables and kill him.

Very quickly, Kyosuke sensed the enemy's intention.

"A bunch of old foxes. They're fucking hard to deal with." He had to admit that none of these Jonin who had made names for themselves over the years were simple opponents.

His previous successful kills had involved more or less some outside factors, along with a great deal of luck.

Only now, in a direct confrontation, did Kyosuke realize just how troublesome the older generation of Jonin truly was.

The enemy was clearly waiting for him to come, practically telling him outright, If you want to keep me here, come fight me head-on.

For a moment, Kyosuke wanted to use Chidori to force a kill, but he quickly abandoned that idea.

Chidori emphasized long-range rushing assaults. It worked every time against outsiders, but before a clansman who also possessed the Sharingan, its effectiveness immediately dropped by more than a tier.

Not to mention, he still had to worry about concealing his identity.

The existence of the Flying Thunder God would be exposed sooner or later. If Chidori rang out today, it would be the same as openly revealing that he had ambushed and killed a comrade.

"Bastard. If you want to die, I'll grant your wish." Knowing there was no other way, Kyosuke's gaze darkened as he steeled himself.

Without another word, the Chakra within him erupted with full force, and he drifted to the enemy's side like a phantom.

Unfortunately, before the Three Tomoe Sharingan, he was not yet fast enough to be impossible to react to.

Lowering his body to avoid the blade slashing down at an angle, Hikoichi turned, knocked aside the assassin's guard with his kunai, and forcibly drove it into his opponent's abdomen.

Aside from combat experience, the gap in strength between the two also became apparent.

Hikoichi could easily brace against the blade, while Kyosuke, despite sensing his opponent's intent, ultimately lost out in raw strength.

Pulling out the bloodstained kunai, the man spun and sent him flying with a heavy kick.

Before he even hit the ground, surging flames were already bearing down on him.

Just as expected, despite suffering grave injuries, Kyosuke still forcibly used the Flying Thunder God.

Bang! He crashed to the ground in a miserable state, barely avoiding being swallowed by the Great Fireball.

Enduring the intense pain, he looked up at his enemy. Their eyes met, and both gazes carried a trace of amusement.

The battle is over. Kyosuke and Hikoichi had the same thought at the same time.