Mutually Setting Traps

Aside from the unfamiliar face, the other two were Sarutobi Asuma and Yūhi Kurenai.

"Hahaha..." Uchiha An pointed at Sarutobi Asuma and burst out laughing. "Did you come to avenge your nephew?"

"Sarutobi Hiruzen lost a grandson and still hasn't learned his lesson. Does he want to lose another son?"

"Uchiha An, so you really are still alive!" Asuma's face darkened, murderous intent spilling from his eyes. "You're a monster! Konohamaru is just a child!"

"A child?" Uchiha An shrieked, frantic. "Your children count as children, but Uchiha children don't?"

"Who ordered the Uchiha clan's extermination?"

"Don't you fucking pretend to be a good person!"

"If we're talking about monsters, your father's an old monster, and you're a little one!"

Asuma was cursed out, but he couldn't find a word to say in reply.

He wasn't quite like his father, Sarutobi Hiruzen. He was still young, and his skin wasn't thick enough to say things that twisted right and wrong.

The Uchiha massacre had originally been kept highly secret. The informed shinobi of every clan had been sworn to silence, and the subject was treated as taboo.

The village had pinned the blame on Itachi, and most of the villagers had foolishly believed it.

But after Uchiha An's rampage left so many dead in the village, the gag order no longer held much weight.

Many shinobi made their living by gathering intelligence. It had become second nature to them to seek out information, and when something unexpected happened, they couldn't help wanting to learn the whole story.

As a result, anyone in the village with even a little access to information learned the truth about the Uchiha massacre.

That sparked controversy throughout the village.

The shinobi clans that had lost members were especially critical of the village's actions.

"Enough, Asuma. He's a rogue ninja now. There's no point arguing with him. Let's move!" Yūhi Kurenai hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

Asuma silently fitted his chakra trench knives onto his fists, then charged forward without a word, swiftly forming Hand Seals.

"Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning!"

Gray-white smoke billowed from between Asuma's teeth. The superheated particles rapidly expanded into a cloud in the air, faint glimmers of fire flickering within it, and swept toward Uchiha An.

The other two attacked from either side at the same time.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"

A cluster of trees burst through the ground beneath Uchiha An's feet. Thick vines grew rapidly, wrapping around his legs and climbing up his body, while the gray smoke and flames from both sides came crashing down over him.

Uchiha An remained calm and simply burst out laughing.

"Hahaha..."

"What gave you the nerve to use Genjutsu in front of an Uchiha?"

"Just because you have a pair of red eyes doesn't mean you have the Sharingan!"

At a thought from him, the so-called trees vanished in an instant, revealing Yūhi Kurenai.

Uchiha An paid no attention to Yūhi Kurenai's little trick. Susanoo surged up from the ground and enclosed him.

The two Fire Style attacks slammed hard into Susanoo.

The flames ignited the smoke, triggering a violent explosion. Fire surged into the sky, smoke billowed everywhere, and shock waves rolled out in every direction.

Even the relentless rain evaporated into mist in the blast. Fog clouded the entire area, making it nearly impossible to see.

But the energy giant hadn't even wavered. It stood firm, as immovable as a mountain.

"Even Ino-Shika-Cho fell here. Who gave you the confidence to come here and avenge them, the three of you?"

Uchiha An shouted mockingly as he swung his Scepter down hard at Asuma.

But Asuma didn't dodge. He held one palm upright before his chest and pressed his other hand down beside his waist, striking an odd pose.

"Raijin Thousand-Hand Kill!"

A flash of golden light flickered. Behind Asuma, a Buddha statue resembling the Thousand-Armed Kannon appeared out of nowhere. It was smaller than Susanoo, but it too was an energy giant.

The statue brought its hands together over its head with a Loud Noise, and actually caught Susanoo's attack head-on.

Then the statue clenched its hands and grabbed Susanoo's Scepter, holding it tight.

"Now!"

At Asuma's shout, the earth beneath Uchiha An's feet suddenly bulged upward. The unfamiliar shinobi sprang out of the ground, a flash of cold steel in his hand as his short sword slashed toward Uchiha An.

The strike was as swift and fierce as a bolt of lightning. The man was clearly a top-notch swordsman, specially selected for the job.

After several battles, both sides knew the weakness of the half-body Susanoo lay in the hollow space around its abdomen.

Anyone who couldn't break through Susanoo's defenses would almost always choose to burrow through the ground and attack from there.

Uchiha An was happy to set traps there, dealing with his enemies as quickly as possible.

Seeing someone fall into his trap again, Uchiha An couldn't help grinning.

He'd already seen people charge in to die, blow themselves up, and use poison. Now he wondered what trick they'd come up with this time.

Could it be the Reaper Death Seal?

He stayed on guard and looked down. The man was swinging his sword at him, but his head was slightly bowed, and he watched Uchiha An only from the corners of his eyes, avoiding his gaze. He was clearly wary of Uchiha An's Genjutsu.

But Sharingan Genjutsu wasn't so inconvenient that it required eye contact.

Uchiha An drew his short sword and swung forward, as if to block the attack. But the blade tilted, and its mirror-bright surface reflected the light, bringing their eyes into alignment.

The Mangekyo in his eyes shifted slightly. Without a sound, he cast Genjutsu on his opponent.

It wasn't a Mangekyo Dojutsu, but that didn't mean just anyone could break free of Sharingan Genjutsu!

The man's movements instantly stiffened, and he stood frozen in place.

"Hahaha... Die!" Uchiha An laughed loudly, bringing his short sword down to cut the man in two.

But to his surprise, the moment the blade fell, a puff of white smoke burst out with a poof. The sword split a wooden post in two, and the man had vanished.

Substitution Technique!

Hadn't he fallen under Genjutsu?

How could he have used the Substitution Technique?

How had he broken free of the Genjutsu so quickly?

Uchiha An froze. Then he felt streaks of lightning flare behind him, accompanied by a shrill cry like a bird's. A powerful gust of wind rushed toward him.

Before the attack even arrived, the Electric Current had already begun to numb his body.

Chidori!

The name flashed through Uchiha An's mind. He hurriedly lunged forward, leaving Susanoo's protection, while slashing backward with his short sword.

With a sharp clang, the two short swords met. But the crackling lightning spread along the blade, covering Uchiha An's entire body in an instant.

In that split second, Uchiha An had already seen clearly.

The shinobi before him had canceled the Transformation Technique and returned to his original appearance, revealing a face Uchiha An knew very well.

Short, white hair and a blood-red Three Tomoe Sharingan.

"Kakashi!" Uchiha An roared.