Digging Holes for Each Other

Besides the stranger, the other two were Sarutobi Asuma and Yūhi Kurenai.

"Haha..." Uchiha An pointed at Sarutobi Asuma and burst into laughter. "Are you here to avenge your nephew?"

"Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't learn his lesson after losing a grandson, and now he wants to lose a son?"

"Uchiha An, you really aren't dead!" Asuma's face darkened, killing intent overflowing in his eyes. "You're a beast! Konohamaru is just a child!"

"A child?" Uchiha An shouted madly. "Your children are children, but Uchiha children aren't?"

"Who ordered the extermination of the Uchiha clan?"

"Stop pretending to be a good person, damn it!"

"If we're talking about beasts, your father is an old beast, and you're a little beast!"

Asuma was thoroughly berated, but he couldn't retort.

He and his father, Sarutobi Hiruzen, were not quite the same. He was still young and his skin wasn't as thick; he couldn't spew out words that turned black into white.

Originally, the Uchiha clan extermination was carried out very secretly. All ninja who knew about it were sworn to secrecy, and it was a taboo subject.

The village pinned the blame on Itachi, and most people in the village foolishly believed it.

But because of Uchiha An's commotion, and with so many people dying in the village, the original gag order became somewhat ineffective.

Many ninja were people who made a living by gathering intelligence. Gathering information had become instinctual, and when encountering an accident, they couldn't help but want to understand the cause and effect.

With this back and forth, anyone with a bit of inside information in the village knew the truth behind the Uchiha clan extermination.

This, in turn, caused controversy within the village.

Especially the ninja families who had lost loved ones, they had quite a few criticisms of the village's actions.

"Alright, Asuma, he's already a rogue ninja. There's no need to argue with him about principles. Let's fight!" Yūhi Kurenai quickly intervened to smooth things over.

Asuma silently put on his chakra-infused knuckle knives, then charged forward with a sullen expression, rapidly forming hand seals.

" Fire Style: Ash Pile Burning! "

Ash-grey smoke and dust erupted from between Asuma's teeth. These high-temperature particles rapidly expanded into a cloud in the air, with faint glints of fire within, sweeping towards Uchiha An.

The other two also launched attacks from the sides simultaneously.

" Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique! "

" Genjutsu: Tree Binding Death! "

A cluster of large trees broke through the ground beneath their feet, and thick vines rapidly grew, coiling and spreading up Uchiha An's legs. The grey mist and flames from the sides also descended upon him.

Uchiha An, however, was not flustered. He simply burst into laughter.

"Haha..."

"Who gave you the guts to use genjutsu in front of an Uchiha!"

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

With a thought, the so-called large trees instantly vanished into smoke, revealing Yūhi Kurenai's figure.

Uchiha An completely ignored Yūhi Kurenai's little trick. Susanoo rose from the ground, enveloping his body.

The fire jutsu from the sides struck Susanoo heavily.

The flames ignited the dust and smoke, immediately causing a violent explosion. Flames soared into the sky, smoke and dust filled the air, and shockwaves rolled out in all directions.

Even the continuous rain was evaporated into mist by this explosion. The field of vision became hazy, and visibility dropped drastically.

But the energy giant didn't even sway; it stood tall and unmoving like a mountain.

"Even the Ino-Shika-Cho are down here, who gave you the confidence to come here and seek revenge, the three of you?"

Uchiha An mocked loudly, swinging his staff and smashing it down heavily at Asuma.

Asuma, however, did not dodge. Instead, he placed one palm flat against his chest and the other hand pressed down at his waist, striking a strange pose.

" Raijin Thousand-Hand Kill! "

A flash of golden light appeared. Behind Asuma, a Buddha-like statue resembling Kannon with a thousand hands suddenly materialized. Although it was smaller than Susanoo, it was also an energy giant.

The statue clapped its hands together above its head with a loud "Dong!" sound, actually blocking Susanoo's attack.

Immediately after, the statue clenched its hands, grabbing Susanoo's staff tightly and refusing to let go.

"Now!"

Asuma shouted. The ground beneath Uchiha An's feet immediately bulged, and the stranger ninja suddenly sprang out from there. A cold light flashed in his hand, and his short sword cut towards Uchiha An.

This strike was like thunder and lightning, fast and vicious. This person was clearly a carefully selected master of swordsmanship.

After several major battles, both sides knew that the weakness of this half-body Susanoo was in the abdominal cavity.

Anyone who couldn't break through Susanoo's defense would almost always choose to break through from there using Earth Style.

Uchiha An was happy to set a trap here and deal with the enemy as quickly as possible.

Seeing that someone had fallen into the trap again, Uchiha An couldn't help but grin.

He had already seen those who rushed in to die, self-destruct, or use poison before. This time, he wondered what tricks they had up their sleeves.

Could it be the Reaper Death Seal?

He cautiously guarded himself. Looking down, he saw that although the man attacked with his sword, he kept his head slightly bowed, only observing him from the corner of his eye and not daring to meet his gaze. He knew then that the man was guarding against his genjutsu.

However, Sharingan genjutsu wasn't that inconvenient; it didn't necessarily require eye contact.

He drew his short sword and swung it forward as if to block, but his blade shifted. Under the mirror-like reflection, their eyes met.

The Mangekyo in his eyes spun slightly, and without a sound, he cast genjutsu on the opponent.

Even if it wasn't a Mangekyo pupil technique, Sharingan genjutsu wasn't something just anyone could break free from!

The man's movements immediately stiffened, and he stood frozen.

"Hahaha... Die!" Uchiha An laughed heartily. His short sword fell, about to cleave the man in two.

But to his surprise, as the sword descended, with a "poof," a puff of white smoke emerged. A wooden post was cut in half, and the man had vanished.

Substitution Technique!

Didn't he fall for the genjutsu?

How could he possibly use the Substitution Technique?

How did he break free from the genjutsu so quickly?

Uchiha An was stunned. He suddenly felt flashes of lightning behind him, accompanied by a screeching sound like a bird's cry. A strong gust of wind suddenly struck him.

Before the attack even landed, the electric current made his body feel somewhat numb.

Chidori!

The name flashed into Uchiha An's mind. He hurriedly lunged forward, breaking free from the Susanoo's vicinity, and simultaneously slashed his short sword backward.

With a crisp "clang," two short swords clashed, but the flickering lightning spread along the blades, engulfing Uchiha An's entire body in an instant.

But in this flash of lightning, Uchiha An had already seen clearly.

The ninja opposite him had canceled his original Transformation Technique, revealing his original face—a face Uchiha An knew very well.

Short white hair and a pair of crimson Three Tomoe Sharingan.

"Kakashi!" Uchiha An roared.