The pale-yellow, radial network of nerves was like a web torn from a slab of pork fat, or the roots of a plant, and it spread all over the Rock Ninja's back.
The wound on the Rock Ninja's back stopped bleeding and began to scab over. Uchiha Kin then withdrew his hand.
"What are you doing?" Uzumaki Mikayo asked.
"Heh... Making sure he doesn't die just yet, of course." Uchiha Kin spoke as casually as if the Rock Ninja hadn't been caught in his trap. "I told you: if you agree to be my vessel, I'll keep him alive."
He raised his head and smiled at Uzumaki Mikayo. There was an inexplicable warmth in that smile, and her heart skipped a beat.
"Of course, I'm only keeping him alive. I won't give him any further treatment. I think you understand what I mean." He rose to his feet, leapt onto a high branch, and said, "I'm leaving. Do your best to stay alive, vessel..."
"Make sure you don't die before me. Otherwise, all my effort will have been for nothing." With that, Uchiha Kin vanished in a flash.
The forest was like an enormous hunting ground. A group of Rock Ninja who fancied themselves hunters searched for their prey, but they couldn't find any trace of Uchiha Kin.
Night had fallen when a buzzing sound drew near. Uchiha Kin reached out and caught a bee.
"Idiot. At this hour, bees should be back in their hives asleep. Who goes out to gather nectar at night?" A thin nerve wormed into the bee's body and built a more complex system around its simple nervous system.
Then he let the bee go. Night was when his "shadows" could work most easily.
The bee carried a thin strand of shadow with it, blending into the darkness as it flew back to the Bug User of the Kamizuru.
"We've found the target. Move out!"
The group darted through the forest. The bee led them to a tree, then suddenly stopped. The Rock Ninja hurriedly performed their techniques, raising earthen walls from the ground to encircle the tree. Then, without even looking, they threw Explosive Tags inside.
"Boom!" "Boom!" Explosions rang out, but Uchiha Kin was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly, ten kunai targeted one person. They attacked the Rock Ninja from behind, coming from different angles and following different trajectories and speeds, all in coordination.
Someone realized what was happening and shouted, "Watch out!" A blade came down, severing a cluster of nerves. Another person instantly threw a shuriken, striking a kunai and knocking it slightly off course.
But it only veered for a moment. A twitch of the nerve tugged it along, sending it looping around in a circle before it stabbed toward its target again.
Kunai were much heavier than shuriken. After that looping turn, they struck with even greater force. One punched through the target's back, piercing muscle and entering the lung. The nerve tugged again, making the victim stumble.
"Pff." One kunai pierced a kidney. "Pff." Another stabbed into the heart. "Pff." A third went straight through the brain.
The rest were intercepted for a moment, but it was already too late.
As the saying went, "Two fists can't beat four hands." When Uchiha Kin used kunai in such an unreasonable way, the Rock Ninja had no good way to deal with them—especially with Uchiha Kin ambushing them from the shadows and giving them no time to prepare their techniques.
Kunai, shuriken, ninja blades, senbon—there was a limit to the damage these weapons could inflict... Unfortunately, this Rock Ninja wasn't strong enough to surpass that limit.
A bird's "cheep, cheep" suddenly rang through the still night. The Rock Ninja's faces changed, and they all cried out inwardly, This is bad!
Unfortunately, they didn't have time to shout. A dazzling streak of azure lightning tore through the forest darkness. The Kamizuru Bug User at the front was impaled through the chest by a hand, leaving a hole as large as a soccer ball.
His chest was suddenly hollow. The thing he had once been so proud of had vanished, and the area grazed by the lightning was charred black.
The smell of burnt meat spread through the air.
Suddenly, a mass of flames swelled into view, driving away the darkness. A huge fireball rolled toward the Rock Ninja in an instant.
Uchiha Kin's figure, hidden in the darkness, was exposed by the firelight. Nerves extended from his hands, thick as cables, then split into ten strands, giving him a sinister, grotesque appearance. The firelight fell across his profile, revealing a stern expression.
"You useless guy who can't even activate your Sharingan! I'm here to save you!" Obito stood where the fireball had come from. He panted twice, adjusted his goggles, and tried to strike a handsome pose.
So they finally came, Uchiha Kin thought. That's right—he had deliberately set this scene up.
Since he had been gone for so long, the camp would surely send people to search for him. The explosions he had deliberately caused here would inevitably draw attention, too. Once his actions had been witnessed by "someone who was there," plenty of things would be easy to explain.
The mass of nerves withdrew into Uchiha Kin's body through his hands, and the kunai slid back into his weapon pouch.
Nohara Rin hurried over and asked, "Are you all right, Kin-senpai?"
"I'm fine... I may be a Medical Ninja, but they underestimated me." When Nohara Rin saw Uchiha Kin's wound, she moved to treat it, but he didn't want to use up his cells' potential. "Just bandage it. Don't worry about anything else."
Medical Ninjutsu worked by using the Mystical Palm Technique to increase the rate of cellular metabolism, thereby speeding up the healing of wounds.
But a person's cells could only metabolize a limited number of times. In a sense, every use meant one less.
Elsewhere, the streak of lightning changed direction, tracing a straight line through the night sky. Gradually, it formed three sharp turns, which meant that three more people had died at Kakashi's hands. Uchiha Kin readily praised him: "That technique of Kakashi's is amazing."
Chidori, the Lightning Release technique Kakashi had created himself, had many flaws. For instance, he had to charge straight at his target, and the dazzling lightning gave away his position.
But its advantages were just as obvious—especially at night. The sudden flash of lightning could blind an enemy. That instant of blindness was enough for him to charge in a straight line and kill them.
It was the ultimate expression of violent beauty!
Once he obtained the Sharingan...
That violent beauty would eventually reach its peak in his hands... The flaw of being easy for enemies to dodge would be almost entirely corrected by his eyes.
"Kakashi's really strong," Nohara Rin said, her face showing a touch of admiration and pride.
Minato Namikaze appeared here out of nowhere. Though this wasn't the first time Uchiha Kin had seen the Flying Thunder God, he was still amazed.
That technique was far too uncanny!
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