Uchiha Style: Lightning Flame Sword

In the valley.

"Enemy targets spotted!"

The young Iwagakure Ninja's expression changed, and he spoke in a hushed voice.

The three immediately stopped. The young Iwagakure Ninja closed his eyes and focused on sensing for a moment. Then he opened them and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good. There are only three of them."

Mm, this shouldn't be a problem.

"Only three? Looks like Konoha really is about to lose the war."

Team captain Tsuchikawa sneered as his hands flashed through Hand Seals. "You two hang back for a bit. I'll go take them out first."

As he spoke, his figure warped and blurred, then vanished completely.

Ninjutsu: Camouflage and Invisibility Technique!

With this invisibility technique, he'd taken out opponents with ease many times before.

Even a jōnin had once let his guard down and been caught off guard by Tsuchikawa sneaking up while invisible. One strike had been enough to kill him!

Hidden by Camouflage Concealment Technique, Tsuchikawa advanced carefully, making no sound as he crept toward Qingye and the others.

Before long, the three young people came into view.

Two of them were chatting and laughing, while the third sat nearby with his eyes closed, resting. None of them had noticed Tsuchikawa's approach.

Holding a Kunai, Tsuchikawa held his breath and focused. A vicious look crept across his face.

Die!

Just as he was about to stab Qingye with his Kunai, Hyuga Himon suddenly opened his eyes. The veins at his temples bulged, and four Explosive Tags came flying toward the hidden Tsuchikawa.

At the same time, Qingye and Yūhi Kurenai, who had been chatting as if they hadn't noticed Tsuchikawa at all, leaped away in a flash.

"What?!"

Tsuchikawa's face changed drastically.

They'd spotted him in advance?!

Did they have a Sensory Ninja too? When had they found out?

With no time to think, Tsuchikawa swiftly formed Hand Seals and used Earth Style Ninjutsu to harden his right arm. He threw it up in front of himself, barely managing to withstand the blast.

"Too bad, Himon. You were still a little too slow."

Qingye had already leaped back onto a branch of a huge tree, looking down at Tsuchikawa, whose clothes had been torn to shreds by the explosion.

Yūhi Kurenai sounded regretful too. "If only you'd thrown more Explosive Tags, Himon."

Even if the man had managed to react, enough Explosive Tags would have wounded him—maybe even left him seriously injured.

"Yeah. Let this be a lesson. Next time we get an opportunity like this, we can't skimp on Explosive Tags."

Hyuga Himon was just as disappointed.

Judging by the chakra signature, this was a jōnin!

What an achievement it would be to kill a jōnin from an enemy village!

"Byakugan!"

Tsuchikawa looked at Hyuga Himon's eyes and suddenly understood.

No wonder the kid had kept his eyes closed earlier!

This Byakugan-wielding Hyuga Ninja must have spotted all three of them long ago, then pretended not to notice. He'd even kept his eyes closed as if resting, so Tsuchikawa wouldn't find out!

"Fine! Fine!"

Tsuchikawa laughed in fury.

He'd been played by three Konoha ninjas barely into their teens.

His hands flashed through Hand Seals. His right arm swelled, turning rock-hard, and he leaped toward Hyuga Himon.

Earth Style: Rock Fist Technique!

Hyuga Himon's expression changed. He couldn't withstand that kind of force.

He quickly assumed a Gentle Fist stance and pushed both palms forward. A tremendous force struck his hands. Hyuga Himon felt his arms tremble, and even after the Eight Trigrams Palm had weakened the blow, it sent him flying backward.

Tsuchikawa was about to keep pursuing him when he caught a flash of a blade from the corner of his eye. He quickly stopped.

"I'll handle him. Kurenai, Himon, go deal with the other two."

Qingye held a Tachi and stood in Tsuchikawa's way. He added, "If you can, try to take them alive and question them for information."

The two didn't hesitate. They immediately went around Tsuchikawa.

Tsuchikawa didn't try to stop them. He kept his eyes fixed on Qingye.

The other boy was only a teenager, yet Tsuchikawa felt an immense threat from him.

What a joke!

"Who are you?"

Tsuchikawa watched him warily. "I've heard Konoha has a Kakashi Hatake, the son of the famous Konoha White Fang. Is that you?"

"..."

Do I look like that white-haired Kakashi?

Qingye had no intention of wasting time talking to his enemy. He surged forward, raised his Tachi, and slashed.

Tsuchikawa snorted. He dodged the strike and retreated a short distance, then formed Hand Seals and used Camouflage Concealment Technique again.

Qingye: "..."

Did this guy leave home without checking his horoscope today?

Qingye held his long blade in front of him, looking cautious and alert. But in the next instant, his eyes flashed crimson. In the Sharingan's vision, a blurry figure appeared clearly to his front right.

Uchiha Style: Sword Leap Flame!

Qingye swung his Tachi toward Tsuchikawa, sending a streak of fire flying from its tip.

"Sharingan?!"

Tsuchikawa's eyes widened.

What kind of luck am I having today?

Both of Konoha's great dōjutsu Bloodline Limits could see through his Camouflage Concealment Technique—and he'd run into both of them!

But after his earlier failed attempt at a sneak attack, Tsuchikawa had learned his lesson. He'd already used Earth Style: Earth Spear to harden his left arm, holding it up to block the Flame Slash.

The sleeve on his left arm was instantly burned away. The Earth Style-hardened arm was scorched black, and a faint burning pain accompanied it.

"Are you a genius of the Uchiha Clan? Kid, tell me your name!"

Tsuchikawa finished speaking, only to see Qingye completely ignore him. The Body Flicker Technique activated, and Qingye vanished from where he stood. One Flame Slash after another came slicing at him from every direction.

Uchiha Style: Sun Halo Dance!

"Is that all you can do?"

Tsuchikawa held an Earth Spear in his left hand and a Rock Fist in his right. After blocking three Flame Slashes in a row, his right arm swelled even further. He sprang forward and smashed it down at Qingye.

With his Earth Style Defense, the other guy's Fire Style Swordsmanship was basically useless!

He had the advantage in this fight!

Qingye's expression didn't change. He picked up speed and easily dodged the blow.

"...You're pretty fast," Tsuchikawa said, somewhat surprised.

With Three-Tomoe Sharingan, that Fire Style Swordsmanship, and speed that had just outmatched his own, Qingye could probably handle an ordinary jōnin without much trouble.

Konoha's geniuses really did make a person jealous.

At the thought, Tsuchikawa's killing intent grew even stronger.

Let's see how many more times you can dodge!

Tsuchikawa's huge fist chased Qingye around, smashing wildly. The fist strengthened by Rock Fist Technique could knock over a giant tree and shatter rocks with a single blow. Qingye could only rely on his speed to keep out of reach, occasionally sending a Flame Slash his way.

Seeing this, Tsuchikawa felt more confident.

"Give up. With your talent, you probably don't want to die on the battlefield at such a young age, do you?" Tsuchikawa said as he chased him.

Across from him, Qingye suddenly tightened his grip on his Tachi.

He poured Chakra into the blade, aimed at Tsuchikawa, and sent another Flame Slash at his right arm!

Tsuchikawa sneered to himself and raised his arm to block it as before.

Has he lost his nerve?

He really is too young!

When the Flame Slash came close, Tsuchikawa raised his enormous Rock Fist arm to defend himself. But then he noticed faint sparks of lightning flickering within the flames.

With lightning coursing through it, the Rock Fist on Tsuchikawa's right arm shattered instantly!

"I forgot to tell you."

Qingye smiled at Tsuchikawa, who was howling in pain. "Compared to Fire Release, I'm better at Lightning Release."

That move had been designed specifically for Iwagakure ninjas. Qingye had taken Sword Leap Flame, a traditional Uchiha-style sword technique, and added Lightning Style Chakra, using the flames to conceal the lightning.

Qingye had even given the move a name:

Uchiha Style: Lightning Flame Sword.