Hyuga Ken's Contingency

The Kamizuru: A modest clan of Bug Users, they held a respectable position among the Rock Ninja. In this war, they played a crucial role as reconnaissance ninja.

Using bees for large-scale dispersal and reconnaissance, they were nearly unstoppable in this clash with Konoha—since bees were common, no one would suspect such a small creature. They had earned no small merit.

A bee landed on a young Bug User, no more than fifteen or sixteen, her face still carrying the soft baby fat of youth.

Her black hair was cut cleanly to her ears, neat and sharp.

The bee circled her palm several times...

"Target ahead—our intel was right. Move out—" She leaped forward first, and the remaining dozen or so Rock Ninja followed swiftly.

These Rock Ninja were distinctly different from Konoha's shinobi... Their builds were often short and stout, with thick legs and thick arms, giving them an unusually solid, sturdy appearance.

Like lumps of rock.

This line of Rock Ninja soon appeared within the black-and-white chakra vision of the Byakugan. Uchiha Kin wasn't surprised, thinking to himself: So this is the backup he prepared? A hard fight, then I intercept part of the enemy while he completes his escape and returns to camp.

He immediately saw the "script," and he had to admit, the plot arrangement was quite touching, carrying that tragic, heroic romance so beloved by Konoha.

Sacrifice based on "bonds"—that was the Will of Fire Konoha people cherished most. Under the narrative of heroism, it was enough to make people overlook the dissonance.

But... a smile curled at the corner of his mouth. Now, the protagonist of this story is me.

He met the Rock Ninja.

The dozen or so Rock Ninja spread out, surrounding him in an encirclement.

One Rock Ninja's eyes lit up at the sight of Uchiha Kin: "Uchiha Kin, called the 'Man Who Steals Souls from Death'—looks like we've caught a big fish this time."

Six Rock Ninja crouched, pressing their hands to the ground. Six earthen walls rose up, trapping Uchiha Kin in the center. A female Rock Ninja with red hair and red eyes said, "You're no match for us. Surrender now...

"As a Medical Ninja, if you give up, we'll guarantee your safety!"

"You seem to underestimate me a little..." Uchiha Kin looked up, a strange smile curling at his lips. Suddenly, a large cluster of nerves burst from underground, wrapping around one man's ankle.

Another ninja quickly cut it with a kunai, barely resolving the crisis. The severed nerves withered on contact with the ground and dissipated within a breath.

More and more nerves emerged from the earth, growing wildly like coral. Several of them even linked to kunai at their tips.

A full ten kunai, connected by nerves, were controlled like puppet strings, flying chaotically in all directions.

With sharp whoosh whoosh sounds, the kunai moved like shooting stars, their complex, fleeting black gleams brief yet brilliant, each evolving and coordinating—an unmistakably high-level Uchiha technique for manipulating kunai and shuriken.

Under such exquisite coordination, one man fought like ten, producing an incredible qualitative change.

He couldn't open his eyes, but when he used nerves to manipulate the ten kunai like puppets, he was no weaker than anyone!

The Rock Ninja blocked with their own kunai, struggling to keep up. One ninja simply used the Hardening Technique, turning his arm as hard as rock, choosing to fight head-on. He blocked a kunai with his arm and charged forward.

"Go!"

The others coordinated smoothly, hardening their arms as well.

But Uchiha Kin's nerves suddenly contracted, growing wildly downward like pillars, lifting him high into the air.

At over ten meters high, the pillar-like nerves abruptly spread out. The dense neural network expanded, and Uchiha Kin formed the hand seal for the Clone Technique, splitting into two clones left and right.

The same nerves split into two sets as well. One real, two fake—three figures separated and spun in the air. With the dense nerves twisting after a simple rotation, it became impossible to tell them apart as they suddenly descended toward the group.

The Rock Ninja tried to cut the neural network, but Uchiha Kin's kunai blocked them. Some nerves successfully landed on their bodies.

The nerves silently pierced into their flesh and began to grow. They could only frantically cut at them.

But most of the nerves turned out to be illusions—not real.

Uchiha Kin dove down. He didn't seem to dodge completely, and a kunai slashed a gash across his arm, but he also cut open the other's throat in one stroke.

Then, using that as a breakthrough point, he created an opening to escape, instantly Shunshining away.

A group of Rock Ninja couldn't capture a single Medical Ninja—and even let him get away.

They'd also lost a comrade.

It was a sheer disgrace. Without needing to speak, they all understood each other's intent and immediately gave chase.

"Stop!" One sharp-eyed Rock Ninja spotted a trap Uchiha Kin had set. They carefully circled around it, but just a few steps later, a boom rang out.

A ball of flame exploded a step behind them. One man's back was torn bloody and raw. He collapsed face-first and fell unconscious.

"Damn it, that sneaky Uchiha!" The red-haired woman gritted her teeth. She had never seen such a shameless, despicable, low-down Uchiha.

"Yan Liu, you take care of him. We'll keep chasing—" Leaving the red-haired woman to tend the wounded, the rest of the Rock Ninja pursued again.

"They seem to have left, huh?" A voice sounded from behind Yan Liu. The mottled bark on the tree trunk rippled, and a large mass of neural network peeled away from it, coiling together. Uchiha Kin's figure emerged from the canopy.

"You!" Yan Liu was shocked—Uchiha Kin had been hiding here... "Impossible. So close—I couldn't sense you at all."

Uchiha Kin stayed in the tree, looking down as he wove a cage of nerves. "What a surprise. Aside from that one person, you're the second person I've met with such vast, such vibrant chakra.

"Red hair—you're from the Uzumaki Clan?" That kind of chakra was far too distinctive.

Especially now that he had the Byakugan, Yan Liu's chakra signature was even more pronounced, highly recognizable.

Yan Liu's heart lurched, but she denied it outright: "You've mistaken me. I'm Yan Liu of the Land of Earth. I don't know any Uzumaki."

Uchiha Kin gave an "oh," noncommittal. "Honestly, whether you admit it or deny it doesn't matter much. Because you're going to die.

"But for now, I'll give you a choice. If you willingly become my vessel, I'll spare your comrade."

Would she choose "sacrifice"? Uchiha Kin was curious.