Asuma, Death

Asuma, the Hyuga, the Akimichi, Jiriku, and Fourth Watch witnessed this scene. Their pupils dilated, their expressions grave, yet they had not even reacted.

Everything had been too surreal.

That had been a Jonin of the Inuzuka Clan.

One slash!!

With a single slash, he had cleanly cut a Jonin and his Ninja Hound in half. Until their deaths, neither man nor hound had even managed to dispel their jutsu.

This was the confidence Ingetsu had in killing Danzo!

This was the confidence Ingetsu had in defecting from Konoha!

The two Jonin from the Hyuga and Akimichi Clans felt their hairs stand on end. They had originally intended to attack alongside the Inuzuka Clan Jonin.

Seeing that the situation had gone terribly wrong, both were horrified, chills running down their spines as they immediately retreated to Asuma and Jiriku's side.

Drip—

Blood dripped from the blade. Ingetsu stood impassively amid the giant wolves' corpses, his white clothes stained red with blood. He gripped his sword in his right hand and stood solemnly before the four of them.

After cutting down three wolves, the ninja blade could no longer bear the strain, its body chipped with multiple notches.

Ingetsu's previously dim Yachihoko Mangekyo now glowed a crimson brighter than blood, emanating an eerie, frigid aura. Those who looked directly into it felt as though they were facing an abyss.

"Ha—"

Asuma took a deep breath and adjusted his state. Though he had yet to swing his blade, the outcome of doing so would likely not have been much better than that of the three wolf corpses.

At this point, the outcome had already been decided.

Asuma and Jiriku exchanged a look and decided to fight with their backs against the wall. Their feet struck the ground, shattering the wooden floorboards. With overwhelming momentum, they charged at Ingetsu from the left and right.

The two Jonin from the Hyuga and Akimichi Clans attacked head-on. Gentle Fist strikes dense as rain and giant fists like cannonballs came crashing forth in succession.

The four turned into black shadows, flashing like Electric Arcs.

"This is the Mangekyo at its peak!"

Ingetsu remained where he stood, utterly unmoved.

As soon as he spoke.

The blade-like patterns in his eyes spun, blood vessels spreading through the whites of his eyes. Yin Release Chakra surged forth as his scarlet gaze swept over the four of them with only a single glance.

Yin Release Chakra, like a Tidal Wave, raised a terrifying surge and crushed the spiritual enhancement granted to the four by the Buddhist chants.

This Yachihoko Mangekyo Chakra entered their pupils, causing the Yachihoko Mangekyo pattern to appear in all four pairs of eyes.

Buzz—

The wind-nature Chakra blades in their hands, the fists wrapped in Buddhist light, the Gentle Fist strikes capable of sealing acupoints, and the enlarged iron fists all froze in midair.

Clearly... they only needed to advance another millimeter.

The Chakra blade could have pierced Ingetsu's heart.

The Buddhist light fist could have struck Ingetsu's temple.

The Gentle Fist could have severed the acupoints in Ingetsu's chest.

The iron fist could have smashed through Ingetsu's kidney.

But this time, Ingetsu had complete control over all four of their minds and Chakra. His gaze withdrew from them, and he turned to walk toward the door.

The four watched his retreating back, despair rising in their hearts!

When Ingetsu took his first step.

Thump—thump—thump—

The Akimichi Clan Jonin's expression turned ugly, his features twisting. He still maintained his punching stance, but a thunderous, drum-like rhythm rang beside his ears.

His chest pounded wildly out of control. His own Chakra flowed like streams converging into a river, frantically flooding into his heart, as though it were about to leap from his chest!

Bang—

A massive amount of Chakra accumulated and created immense pressure. His heart could not withstand it and exploded inside his chest.

The Akimichi Clan Jonin's eyes bulged with rage. His twisted face frozen in place, he fell to the ground dead.

The beating of their hearts had become a countdown to their deaths.

Ingetsu took three more steps.

Bang—

Bang—

Bang—

The hearts of the Hyuga Clan Jonin, Jiriku, and Asuma exploded one after another in exactly the same manner, each blooming with a vivid splash of crimson in their chests.

This was Yachihoko's ultimate control over others' Chakra—drawing upon another's Chakra to take another's life.

Thump—

The three knelt on the ground. Until their deaths, they could not believe that they had not even touched the hem of Ingetsu's clothes before permanently losing consciousness, their thoughts ceasing as they fell into eternal sleep.

Asuma slowly closed his eyes.

Ingetsu did not look back at them.

Life and death were fated.

When Asuma had decided to hunt him down, he should have considered the consequences of failure should the two sides meet.

Ingetsu could infer that this pursuit had not been a mission assigned to this ninja squad by Konoha.

First, Sarutobi Hiruzen would not have sent his only remaining son on such a dangerous mission.

Second, when Kurenai Yuhi withdrew from the mission, no one blamed her, and no one cared.

For ninja, missions came first. If it had been a mission designated by the village's higher-ups, refusing to carry it out would have been equivalent to betraying the ninja village.

This made it clear.

This pursuit and interception had been an operation Asuma had led on his own initiative. Its purpose was to bring their Uchiha squad, which had defected from Konoha, to justice.

It was an enormous achievement!

Its nature was much like when Orochimaru had defected.

Deal with Orochimaru for Konoha!

Asuma did not have the nerve to deal with Orochimaru, but with the entire Temple of Fire behind him, he had the nerve to deal with Uchiha Ingetsu, who had been running for his life and had yet to recover his strength.

If Konoha had still been hesitating over whether to issue a full-scale wanted order for their Uchiha squad before this—

Then after tonight—

Konoha, centered around Sarutobi Hiruzen, would launch its most frenzied, relentless retaliation against the Uchiha Rogue Squad!

Ingetsu walked out of the cabin and looked up at the full moon hanging in the night sky. Pure moonlight spilled over his face, outlining its graceful contours and his unconcerned expression.

A text notification appeared in his mind.

[Side Quest]: Heavenly Punishment

[Objective]:

Kill Sarutobi Asuma, Yu Hyuga, Tu Akimichi, Akiyama Inuzuka, and Yukimaru.

Mission Complete!

[Reward]: Weapon—Dark Moon.

Ingetsu raised an eyebrow. Focusing his mind, he was delighted to find a long, straight black blade standing quietly inside the Storage Space.

The black blade seemed naturally forged as one whole. Its hilt and blade were black as ink, its edge sharp, as though tempered from the night itself.

"So this is Dark Moon..."

Ingetsu temporarily closed the Storage Space.

He suppressed the urge to summon Dark Moon.

Slowly raising his head, he stared directly at a certain area on the distant mountain peak. His Yachihoko Mangekyo seemed to ignore the distance, piercing through the pitch-black forest to settle on the Masked Man.

Ingetsu focused and gave it a try.

The distance was too great.

With the current strength of his Pupil Power, he could not remotely control another guy who also possessed a Mangekyo from a thousand meters away.

The Masked Man's watchful gaze was precisely why Ingetsu had not dared to use his full power earlier, when he possessed only thirty percent of his Mangekyo Yin Release Chakra.

In the distance.

On a tree branch.

The Masked Man felt an inexplicable pressure. The patterns in his pupils spun as his Kamui Mangekyo emerged. Beneath his mask, his twisted face revealed a cold smile.

"So the Mangekyo ability is controlling others. You really are a dangerous guy.

"If you do not have a second trump card—

"Tonight—

"I will take the Uchiha clan's Sharingan stored with you, along with your Mangekyo!"

As he spoke, the Masked Man lightly tapped the branch with his right foot, seemingly sending some kind of signal.

Outside the cabin, the Buddhist chants remained loud and resounding, echoing through the night sky above the mountain stronghold.

Yager's family, Doctor Nak, and Kurenai Yuhi were unable to endure the torment of the chants any longer and fainted one after another.

Only the Uchihas present were still struggling to hold on.

Nonō lay on the ground, clutching her ears with both hands and rolling around wildly. She was on the verge of passing out.

But just then—

As Ingetsu stepped out through the main gate, every monk in the Temple of Fire stopped chanting their sutras and looked up toward the Wooden House.

As the Buddhist chants ceased.

The Uchiha gradually recovered from the brink of mental collapse and finally saw the scene inside the Wooden House.

It was a complete mess.

Corpses lay everywhere.

Ingetsu approached Nonō, looked at the pale-faced woman, and handed her a Ration Pill.

"Keep saving people!"