The kunai in his hand lightly brushed across the Jonin's throat. He had used just enough force to kill, and Uchiha Kei had grown quite practiced at this technique.
After all, he had been here for so many years, and he had spent just as long making his way on the battlefield.
Although he still wasn't used to it, given his modern sensibilities, he had at least developed a calmness to match.
Through his own self-suggestion and hypnosis, killing them had come to feel much like grinding monsters for levels in a video game in his previous life. It wasn't that he felt no burden at all, but at least it was much lighter.
That was just how the ninja world worked: either you died, or I did. Uchiha Kei had kept forcing himself to adapt.
This Jonin wasn't particularly capable—or rather, he wasn't well-rounded. He had been ready for Kei's ambush, but Kei was simply too fast.
Still, Uchiha Kei wasn't the least bit proud. He knew exactly how talented he was. He wasn't especially quick at learning anything, and even with the Sharingan, he had only reached the ordinary level of a "genius."
And although Kei was incredibly fast with the Body Flicker Technique, he knew that even without the Flying Thunder God Technique, Namikaze Minato's Body Flicker Technique was probably unrivaled in the Ninja World.
Leaving that monster aside, there was also Uchiha Shisui among the younger generation of the Uchiha Clan. The fact that he would eventually earn the name Body Flicker Shisui spoke volumes about how fast his Body Flicker Technique was.
Of course, Uchiha Kei figured that his Mangekyō Sharingan probably played a considerable part in that, too.
Turning around, Kei looked over the battle. After dodging for a while, Imai Kenta suddenly accelerated and charged at a Chunin.
His speed was astonishing, like a streak of flowing light. The Chunin seemed completely unable to adjust to it.
Facing Imai Kenta's lightning-fast strike, the Chunin couldn't dodge in time and had no choice but to raise the kunai in his hand to block it.
Just as the blade and kunai were about to meet, Imai Kenta's hand shifted slightly. The blade in his hand seemed to come alive, slipping around the kunai and slicing across the man's throat.
Their figures crossed, and a splash of crimson bloomed in the air!
The strike was clean and decisive!
On the other side, Hyuga Aya was fighting another man, the two of them darting through the woods as blurred figures.
With her Byakugan and Gentle Fist, she could hold her own even against a Jonin, and for quite a while at that—let alone a Chunin.
Just as expected, after a fierce exchange, Hyuga Aya caught her opponent off guard and struck out with her palm.
He immediately spat blood and flew backward like a bullet, crashing through a tree before finally coming to a stop.
The battle was nearly over. One Jonin and two Chunins had been taken care of, and Imai Kenta had also been caught off guard by Kei and killed a Genin ahead of time.
Only two Genin remained. They stood rooted to the spot, shaking as they clutched their kunai, completely terrified.
Looking at them, Uchiha Kei was reminded of himself a few years ago, when he had first gone to war. He felt a little pity for them, but he knew better than to take that feeling seriously.
"Clear the battlefield. The smell of blood is too strong." Kei sighed inwardly, but his expression remained calm. "Also, everyone, please be more decisive next time."
"Yes, Captain." Imai Kenta flashed his harmless smile once again, seemingly having completely forgotten that the man before him had just caught him off guard.
"Hmph." Hyuga Aya gave a cold snort. Her Byakugan stared straight at Uchiha Kei. "Kei-kun's strength really is beyond imagination. With a Body Flicker Technique that fast, you'd be an impressive ninja even without activating your Sharingan."
"Ha, the Sharingan is a good thing. Even people who aren't from the Uchiha Clan would want one." Uchiha Kei didn't mind Hyuga Aya's sarcasm at all. He teased, "But more important than that, I think, is freedom. Don't you, Aya?"
When it came to sarcasm, Uchiha Kei feared no one. Besides, what she said couldn't hurt him in the slightest.
It wasn't as if Uchiha Kei didn't have the Sharingan; he simply didn't want to draw too much attention to himself. As for freedom, that was a sore point for a member of the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family.
Sure enough, Hyuga Aya's face darkened. Even the chakra around her slender hands began to ripple.
"What's the point of putting on a show? If you really wanted to fight, you wouldn't leave your Byakugan deactivated." Uchiha Kei wasn't fazed at all. In fact, he even smiled. "Sorry, I was too blunt. Maybe I should have expressed my opinion more subtly."
"Captain, Aya, what should we do with these two?" Just as Hyuga Aya's eyes grew more dangerous, Imai Kenta scratched his head and interrupted them. "They're Genin, but I think we could get some information out of them, right?"
"Hmph. Kill them," Hyuga Aya said, withdrawing her chakra. She gave the two Iwa Genin, who were already scared out of their wits, a cold look. "The Chunin isn't dead yet. There's no point questioning these two when we can question him instead. Now we get to see Kei-kun's Genjutsu. Don't disappoint us."
As she spoke, Hyuga Aya walked up to the two Genin and, without giving them a chance to react, struck both of them in the chest with her palms.
Uchiha Kei didn't even need to look to know that the two Genin were probably dead. It seemed the woman had taken all her anger at him out on them.
Uchiha Kei had nothing to say about it. It didn't matter to him in the slightest.
He walked over to the Chunin. Sure enough, the man was alive, though he wasn't in much better shape.
In reality, lower-ranking ninjas weren't as useless as they were in the manga. Even a Jonin needed time to kill a Chunin who didn't make any foolish mistakes.
Unfortunately, this Chunin had run into a Bloodline Ninja like Hyuga Aya. Bloodline Ninjas couldn't be judged by ordinary standards.
On top of that, his teammates had been killed one after another, and even their Jonin had had his throat cut by Uchiha Kei. What fighting strength could he have left?
After a quick examination, Uchiha Kei was fairly sure the man wouldn't wake up anytime soon. In that case, they would have to take him along.
With that thought, Uchiha Kei stood up and looked toward Imai Kenta.
"Kenta-kun, I'll leave this guy to you. He won't wake up anytime soon, so we'll take him with us," Uchiha Kei said.
"Ah, all right. Understood." Imai Kenta hesitated for a moment, then immediately put on his signature goofy smile.
"And Aya, please find us a cave. We can get some proper rest there." Seeing Imai Kenta's expression, Uchiha Kei turned to Hyuga Aya.
"Hmph, leave it to me." Hyuga Aya gave a cold snort but nodded. Then, puzzled, she asked, "What are you going to do?"
"Me? I'm going to think carefully about what we should do next. Besides, I need rest too. Don't forget, I was the one who killed that Jonin."
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