The Final Battle (Five)

Uchiha Kei panted as he stared at the four Iwa Ninja before him. He realized he'd finally met his match.

If he'd fought these four one-on-one, taking them down wouldn't have been easy, but he certainly wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state.

That was right—Uchiha Kei felt thoroughly battered. The four weren't perfectly coordinated, but they worked together with remarkable precision.

The Ishi-mizu-shu Squad had earned its reputation as a team that had caused Konoha plenty of trouble in the Land of Grass. Their teamwork was excellent, and their tactics were clearly designed to counter Uchiha Kei's Sharingan.

One of them always kept Uchiha Kei occupied from the front, while the other three attacked from the sides and behind.

No matter how Uchiha Kei turned or tried to draw them out of position, they kept circling him in the same formation.

And the man facing him always seemed eager to keep him occupied. He didn't care about killing Uchiha Kei himself; his job was simply to keep Uchiha Kei from observing his surroundings.

This kind of pressure left Uchiha Kei with few options. The best way to deal with the Uchiha was to overwhelm them with numbers and prevent them from using their Sharingan to its full advantage.

"What a troublesome bunch."

Uchiha Kei thought bitterly. These guys had taken shamelessness to the extreme. It was a perfectly sensible tactic, but it still made him feel miserable.

If the Akimichi Clan's medicine hadn't restored his chakra, and if years on the battlefield hadn't taught him how to keep his energy up for long stretches, Uchiha Kei would probably already be lying on the ground, unable to move.

Not because the four Iwa Ninja had beaten him, but because Uchiha Kei had worn himself out.

But the Akimichi Clan's medicine had worn off some time ago. Uchiha Kei hadn't yet felt the full force of his weakness, but he knew it was only a matter of time.

Once the medicine stopped suppressing it, or his chakra ran out, he'd be finished.

He'd been locked in combat with the Iwa Ninja for several minutes, and the wounds on his body were steadily adding up. Even Uchiha Kei couldn't come away unscathed when four powerful Ninja ganged up on him.

More importantly, his muscles were aching badly. He could dodge some of their weapons, but there was no way to avoid every punch and kick.

He was strong enough to hold his own against some Jonin, and even defeat them. But he was still young, and his body had its limits.

With his Sharingan and keen speed, he'd managed to keep the damage from the Iwa Ninja to a minimum. None of his wounds were serious enough to affect his fighting ability.

But if this went on, Uchiha Kei knew he'd be in real trouble. He took a deep breath, and his expression turned dangerous.

He'd been prepared to use his Mangekyō's power for some time, but he'd stuck to the principle of "avoid using it if possible, and wait for Namikaze Minato to come to the rescue." That was why he'd kept fighting the four men until now.

But Uchiha Kei knew he couldn't keep thinking that way. He could sustain this high-intensity fight, but as a Ninja, he knew the four Iwa Ninja had probably figured out his limits by now.

The wounds on his body were proof enough. If they could keep inflicting minor injuries like these, then given enough time, they could land a fatal blow.

He was just hesitating over which eye's ability to use, his left or his right. Either one seemed like it would let him deal with these men fairly easily.

As for using both eyes' abilities, Uchiha Kei thought it was best not to try that lightly. His first attempt had left him with a terrible impression, and this wasn't yet a desperate, life-or-death situation!

With that thought, Uchiha Kei raised his Kunai and blocked an Iwa Ninja's sneak attack from behind. But the next second, his expression stiffened.

At some point, another Iwa Ninja had taken advantage of his evasive move and suddenly lunged forward, kicking him hard.

Thud!

The tremendous force struck Uchiha Kei in the back. He felt as though all his organs were about to come spewing out.

Uchiha Kei flew backward, but halfway through the air, he planted one hand on the ground and shoved himself back hard, narrowly evading several incoming Kunai.

He'd lost count of how many times he'd faced this level of coordination. Uchiha Kei landed steadily, forcing down the blood in his throat. His face flushed bright red, then quickly turned pale. He lowered his head and took a long moment to catch his breath.

"You're strong," one of the Iwa Ninja said suddenly. "To hold out against all four of us at your age—you really are a member of the Uchiha Clan. We'll study your corpse thoroughly. Take him down!"

"Yes!" the other three Iwa Ninja shouted. The four of them immediately spread out and charged Uchiha Kei from different directions, surrounding him once again and leaving him nowhere to escape.

"Ha."

Just then, Uchiha Kei let out a cold laugh. He suddenly raised the head he'd kept bowed and stared icily at the Iwa Ninja in front of him. In his blood-red eyes, a strange triangular rhombus slowly turned.

"You think you can beat me?"

As he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan once more, Uchiha Kei felt something he'd never experienced before: an ultimate sense of control over his own body.

He realized that although his speed couldn't increase any further, his coordination could improve. If he'd used these eyes from the start, those men probably wouldn't have landed so many punches.

But in return, he could feel his chakra pouring away like floodwaters unleashed from a dam. It was draining several times faster than when he used the Three Tomoe Sharingan—perhaps even more than ten times faster!

"Time Leap!"

Uchiha Kei could handle this rate of drain, but not for long. At once, he used his Dojutsu on himself.

In an instant, Uchiha Kei felt his speed increase. Just as the fastest Iwa Ninja was about to bring down his Kunai, Uchiha Kei seized his arm with unbelievable speed.

He twisted his right hand slightly, and the Kunai slipped from the man's grasp.

Uchiha Kei caught the falling Kunai in midair, then drove it into the man's heart at a speed too fast for the eye to follow.

Then Uchiha Kei spun around. The strange triangular rhombus turned slightly, and the second Iwa Ninja's body suddenly stiffened.

The Mangekyō's Genjutsu was in a league of its own compared to the Three Tomoe Sharingan. Uchiha Kei showed no mercy. He pivoted again and grabbed the third Iwa Ninja, who was holding a Kunai.

He twisted his right hand hard, turning the Iwa Ninja's body and making the Kunai in his hand stab the second man in the chest with unerring precision.

As the third Iwa Ninja realized something was wrong, Uchiha Kei pulled out his Kunai and slashed at the man's throat.

"One left."

After taking down three Iwa Ninja in a row, Uchiha Kei felt his left eye begin to swell slightly. It was within the normal range; as long as it didn't bleed, he was fine.

The bad news was that his chakra was draining far too quickly. Using this Dojutsu made it disappear even faster, and the special substance in his eyes was also beginning to diminish, extremely slowly.

But this wasn't the time to dwell on that. Uchiha Kei hurled the Kunai in his hand and charged forward at the same time.

As the Kunai struck the last Iwa Ninja, Uchiha Kei grabbed him by the throat!

"Do you want to dance too?"

Uchiha Kei clamped his right hand around the man's throat. Amid the sharp roar of an explosion and the constant trembling of the ground, he twisted and yanked hard. Blood slowly trickled from the last Iwa Ninja's mouth.