"Whew..."
Uchiha Sou took several heavy breaths, then reached up and rubbed his brow hard.
His eyes felt swollen, and the faint, intermittent pain made him extremely uncomfortable.
But when he looked over at Suikazan Fuguki, who had collapsed nearby, a deep gash cut across his throat, blood steadily spilling from it, and his eyes staring blankly into death—
And at the flames that roiled nearby, radiating scorching heat, he couldn't help but nod slightly.
All that repeated use of his dojutsu had been worth it, especially using Yomotsu-Hirasaka at such intensity!
Neither Suikazan Fuguki nor Munashi Jinpachi had been easy opponents. The same went for Jinin Akebino, whom he had taken out in an instant.
After all, anyone who could become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist was undoubtedly capable.
But in this battle, he hadn't been injured at all during the actual fighting. It was worlds apart from his last encounter with Juzo Biwa and the others!
Even if he looked a little battered now, that was only because he had used Yomotsu-Hirasaka to forcibly distort Shibuki's blast radius and block Munashi Jinpachi's escape route.
In the end, he had used Ame-no-Iwato to leave the area and appear behind Suikazan Fuguki, only to be caught in the edge of Shibuki's massive explosion.
Munashi Jinpachi had been blown to pieces by the power of his own Shibuki, while Uchiha Sou had slit Suikazan Fuguki's throat himself!
It was fair to say that if Munashi Jinpachi hadn't been among Uchiha Sou's opponents this time, he would have performed even better.
"Perhaps that's the difference between having the Mangekyo and not having it."
After catching his breath for a while, Uchiha Sou finally recovered somewhat and straightened up.
His Chakra Refining Technique had already reached A rank, but