Uchiha Kei pulled back his Kunai and stared coldly at the corpse on the ground. He waited in silence for a long while, and only after confirming that there were truly no signs of life did he finally relax a little.
Ninja, no matter how strong or weak, could never be underestimated. Every Ninja probably knew how to feign death and launch a surprise attack—even a superstrong fighter like Uchiha Madara had done it before.
Feigning death wasn't something they taught you at the Ninja Academy, but it was something you had to learn for yourself. Uchiha Kei had fallen for that trick once, when he'd first gone to the battlefield.
If he hadn't been lucky—if his opponent hadn't overdone the act and gone hungry for at least three days, making Uchiha Kei dodge when he stabbed with his Kunai—Uchiha Kei would probably be long dead by now.
Uchiha Kei waited a little while, watching Han's corpse. Then he threw the Kunai in his hand straight at him.
The Kunai sank straight into Han's left chest. Seeing that, Uchiha Kei finally relaxed a little. Even if Han had been faking, he was surely dead now.
Some people were born with their hearts on the right, but Uchiha Kei had initially stabbed him in the right chest. Now he'd pierced his left chest as well.
"Looks like he's really dead." Uchiha Kei nodded. But just then, the ground began to shake violently.
Uchiha Kei tilted his head. The trees blocked his view, but he could still see the green smoke billowing into the air. It was coming from the direction of Kannabi Bridge.
Uchiha Kei furrowed his brow. He couldn't tell whether the disturbance was caused by Namikaze Minato or by that unlucky bastard, Imai Kenta.
But Uchiha Kei didn't care. It made no difference whether it was Namikaze Minato or Imai Kenta.
Namikaze Minato could definitely handle a Five-Tails Jinchuriki. He was the Golden Flash who could even take down the A-B Combo.
And if Imai Kenta really had walked into a trap Han had set, then he deserved to die. If he couldn't handle a problem like that after eight years on the battlefield, then he was truly beyond saving.
Uchiha Kei quickly formed Hand Seals. The next moment, a fireball appeared over Han's corpse. As Han turned to ash in an instant, Uchiha Kei turned and left.
He thought he remembered who this guy was, but Uchiha Kei didn't give him another thought. If he hadn't been so exhausted back then, and if he'd had the chance, he would have wanted to kill Kitsuchi too.
Uchiha Kei hurried toward Namikaze Minato. He felt safe only when he was near him.
That wasn't because Uchiha Kei trusted Namikaze Minato all that much. It was because Namikaze Minato had a Ninjutsu that could get him out of this hellhole. Besides, they still had pursuers on their trail.
"Most importantly, the medicine seems to have reached its peak."
As Uchiha Kei moved, he quietly gauged his condition. "Next, my Chakra recovery should return to normal, and the fatigue in my body will gradually catch up with me. It's forcing me to end this quickly."
At that thought, Uchiha Kei sped up again. But just then, another powerful explosion erupted not far from him.
The shock wave from this blast covered a much wider area. Uchiha Kei was nearly sent flying by it, which showed just how fierce the battle must be.
But Uchiha Kei didn't stop. After dodging the shock wave, he hurried on again.
It didn't take long for Uchiha Kei to spot Namikaze Minato fighting a red-skinned creature that looked something like a four-legged reptile.
Had he transformed into a Tailed Beast?
Uchiha Kei wondered silently. He didn't rush out. Instead, he quietly found a place to hide.
The Five-Tails Jinchuriki wasn't in very good shape. He could sever a giant tree with a casual swipe of his claws, and leave a deep crater in the ground with a single punch!
But the problem was that he couldn't hit Namikaze Minato at all. Minato was too fast. With his incredible Body Flicker Technique and Flying Thunder God Technique, he had the Five-Tails Jinchuriki running in circles.
Namikaze Minato kept moving around him. If the Five-Tails Jinchuriki hadn't had such powerful regenerative abilities and decent defenses, Minato would have finished him off long ago.
But it was only a matter of time now. Namikaze Minato looked completely confident.
The two continued fighting. The Five-Tails Jinchuriki threw another lightning-fast, powerful punch at Namikaze Minato.
Namikaze Minato stayed calm. As he made a light backward step, he suddenly vanished from the spot.
Flying Thunder God Technique. Namikaze Minato had used the Ninjutsu so often that it was nearly instinctive.
But at that moment, Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, made a strangely abrupt turn. His unbelievably fast punch locked onto the spot where Namikaze Minato suddenly appeared!
"Been hit enough times to learn from experience?" Uchiha Kei froze for a moment, unsure whether he should step in.
But while Uchiha Kei hesitated, Namikaze Minato showed off his top-tier reflexes. Even though he'd just used the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport, it hadn't slowed him down in the slightest.
The Five-Tails Jinchuriki's punch struck empty air again. The terrifying force of the blow flattened every tree and rock in its path.
That strength was terrifying. And that wide, powerful movement had clearly left an opening. There was no way Namikaze Minato would let the opportunity pass!
Namikaze Minato appeared from an impossible angle, a Rasengan in his hand.
He thrust the Rasengan forward. Uchiha Kei could clearly see several marks left by Rasengan impacts at that spot!
The sight left Uchiha Kei shaken. The marks showed that Namikaze Minato had been focusing his attacks on one place, and somehow he'd managed to hit that same spot every time.
"What a terrifying man." Uchiha Kei thought to himself. "The Rasengan is already incredibly powerful, and now Namikaze Minato's been hammering one spot over and over. That guy must be at his limit. But why isn't he going for the kill?"
Namikaze Minato really wasn't trying to kill him. Under the Rasengan's impact, Han couldn't even maintain his Tailed Beast form. The Tailed Beast Chakra slowly receded, revealing Han beneath it.
A little blood trickled from Han's mouth as he quickly put some distance between himself and Namikaze Minato. Honestly, this was the best chance to kill the Jinchuriki.
After thinking it over for a moment, Uchiha Kei understood. Namikaze Minato clearly had something else in mind.
Perhaps he'd thought of his wife, who was also a Jinchuriki, though that seemed very unlikely.
Uchiha Kei thought the most likely reason was that Namikaze Minato was considering Konoha's interests. Killing a Jinchuriki wasn't exactly a good idea.
At that, Uchiha Kei knew what he had to do. He leaped forward and charged out. Before Han could react, Uchiha Kei was already right in front of him.
Their eyes met. A strange power gleamed in Uchiha Kei's scarlet eyes.
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