Kamizuru was a small Bug User clan, but it held a respectable position among the Rock Ninja. In this war, its members had played an important role as scouts.
They used bees to spread out over a wide area and gather intelligence. Since bees were so common, no one suspected such tiny creatures. In this clash with the Hidden Leaf, the tactic had proved almost infallible and earned them considerable merit.
A bee landed on a young Bug User. She was only fifteen or sixteen, with a baby-fat softness still lingering in her youthful face.
Her black hair was cut into a neat, practical bob that reached her ears.
The bee crawled around her palm several times...
"The target is just ahead—we got the intel right. Move out—" She leaped forward first, and the dozen or so Rock Ninja behind her quickly followed.
These Rock Ninja looked markedly different from the Hidden Leaf's. They were usually short and stocky, with thick legs and arms, giving them a solid, sturdy appearance.
Like blocks of rock.
The group of Rock Ninja soon appeared in the black-and-white chakra vision of the Byakugan. Uchiha Kin wasn't surprised. So this is the backup plan Ken prepared? A difficult battle, then I intercept some of the enemy while he escapes and makes it back to camp.
He immediately pictured the "script." He had to admit, the plot was moving, with the romantic feel of one of the Hidden Leaf's tragic heroes.
A sacrifice born of "bonds"—that was the Will of Fire the people of the Hidden Leaf loved most. Under the heroic narrative, it was enough to make people overlook its inconsistencies.
But...a smile curled at the corner of his mouth. Now, I'm the protagonist of this story.
He encountered the Rock Ninja.
The dozen or so Rock Ninja spread out and surrounded him.
One of them spotted Uchiha Kin, and his eyes lit up. "Uchiha Kin, the 'Man Who Steals Souls from Death.' Looks like we've caught a big fish this time."
Six Rock Ninja crouched and pressed their hands to the ground. Six stone walls surged up, trapping Uchiha Kin in their midst. A red-haired, red-eyed kunoichi said, "You're no match for us. Surrender peacefully...
"As a Medical Ninja, you'll be kept safe if you surrender!"
"You seem to be underestimating me..." Uchiha Kin looked up, a wicked grin tugging at his lips. A huge cluster of nerves suddenly sprouted from underground and shot toward one of their feet.
Another Rock Ninja hurriedly slashed at them with a kunai, averting the danger. But the severed nerves withered as soon as they hit the ground, vanishing in an instant.
More and more nerves emerged from underground, growing wildly like coral. Several of them had kunai attached to their tips.
Ten kunai in all were connected to the nerves, which served as puppet strings, sending the weapons flying in every direction.
The kunai whistled through the air, swift as shooting stars. Their intricate black flashes were brief and brilliant, each weapon moving in concert with the others. It was an exceptionally refined Uchiha style of controlling kunai and shuriken.
With such precise coordination, one person seemed like ten, bringing about an unbelievable transformation.
He couldn't activate his Sharingan, but when he used his nerves to control ten flying kunai like a puppeteer, he was every bit as formidable as anyone else!
The Rock Ninja struggled to fend them off with their own kunai. One of them simply used the Hardening Technique, making his arm as hard as rock. Choosing to force his way in, he blocked a kunai with his arm and charged forward.
"Go!"
The others coordinated with him, hardening their arms as well.
Uchiha Kin's nerves suddenly drew together, then shot downward and grew wildly, forming pillars that hurled the Rock Ninja into the air.
Once they were more than ten meters up, the pillar-like bundle of nerves abruptly spread apart. A dense web of nerves unfurled, and Uchiha Kin formed the hand seal for the Clone Technique, creating two clones at his sides.
The nerves split into three identical masses. His three figures—one real, two false—merged and separated in midair, spinning as they moved. After a simple turn, the dense web of nerves became impossible to tell apart from the fakes. Then it plunged toward the group.
The Rock Ninja tried to cut through the web of nerves, but Uchiha Kin's kunai blocked them. Some of the nerves managed to land on the Rock Ninja.
The nerves silently pierced their bodies and began to grow. They could only desperately hack at them.
But most of the nerves were merely illusions.
Uchiha Kin plunged down. He seemed unable to dodge; a kunai sliced open his arm, but he cut open his opponent's throat in the same instant.
Using that opening as a breakthrough point, he created enough space to escape, then vanished in a sudden burst of speed.
A group of Rock Ninja hadn't managed to take down a single Medical Ninja. Worse, they had let him get away.
And one of their comrades was dead.
It was a disgrace. They didn't need to say a word to understand each other's intent; they immediately gave chase.
"Stop!" One of the Rock Ninja spotted the trap Uchiha Kin had set. They carefully went around it, but after only a few steps, they heard a "boom."
A burst of flames exploded just a step behind them. One person's back was blown to pieces, and he collapsed unconscious.
"Damn it, that despicable Uchiha!" the red-haired woman gritted out. She had never seen such a shameless, contemptible, low-down Uchiha.
"Yan Liu, take care of him. We'll keep chasing—" Leaving the red-haired woman to tend to the wounded, the group of Rock Ninja set off again.
"Looks like they've left!" A voice spoke from behind Yan Liu. The mottled bark on a tree trunk rippled, and a large web of nerves peeled away from it, gathering into a ball. Uchiha Kin appeared from the treetop.
"You!" Yan Liu was shocked—Uchiha Kin had been hiding there... "That's impossible. At this distance, I would have sensed you."
Perched above her in the tree, Uchiha Kin wove the nerves into a cage. "What a surprise. Aside from that one person, you're the second person I've met with such vast, vigorous chakra.
"Red hair—you're from the Uzumaki Clan?" Chakra like hers was unmistakable.
Now that he had the Byakugan, Yan Liu's chakra stood out even more clearly, with an exceptionally distinctive signature.
Yan Liu's heart lurched, but she denied it outright. "You're mistaken. I'm Yan Liu of the Land of Earth. I don't know any Uzumaki."
Uchiha Kin gave an "Oh," but made no comment. "Actually, whether you admit it or deny it doesn't matter much. You're going to die.
"But I'll give you a choice. If you willingly become my vessel, I'll spare your comrade."
Would she choose to "sacrifice" herself? Uchiha Kin was curious...
Before you continue