When You Face the Sharingan (Seeking Follows)

Swish, swish, swish—

The moment Haori finished speaking, the kunai in his hands were already launched in a rapid volley.

These kunai appeared to be thrown in a chaotic mess, even colliding with one another in mid-air due to their erratic flight paths.

However, Gari dared not show the slightest bit of carelessness; he had already been tricked by Haori once, and he absolutely refused to believe that this brat would perform any meaningless actions.

Nevertheless, he did not curse Haori as "insidious" in his heart.

A ninja should always utilize their own advantages, and at the same time, use every means necessary to defeat the enemy!

He was, however, cursing the Iwagakure higher-ups who had sent him here.

Not even knowing who the opponent was, nor what their capabilities were—this was simply a death trap!

Clang, clang, clang—

After a series of collisions in the sky, the kunai instantly shifted their flight trajectories, surrounding Gari completely with no blind spots.

Seeing this, Gari's expression changed, and he quickly drew a ninja blade.

He was a Jonin, after all; even if he preferred using the power of his Kekkei Genkai, that did not mean his swordsmanship was lacking.

Watching the sky full of incoming kunai, Gari danced his blade, creating brilliant arcs of steel. Accompanied by the harsh sound of metal clashing, he blocked the kunai one by one.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Haori did not pause; he quickly formed hand seals, and a massive fireball roared toward Gari.

"Hmph!"

Gari let out a cold snort. While blocking the kunai, he raised his left hand, and chakra instantly concentrated in his palm.

"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"

Violent chakra surged within him, and an invisible shockwave instantly expanded, striking Haori's fireball.

In an instant, flames scattered everywhere as the fireball was destroyed midway.

Yet, Gari felt no joy, for he sensed that his weakness might have been grasped by this Uchiha brat.

There were many ways to use Explosion Release, whether through long-range detonation or close-quarters combat, all evolving based on individual fighting habits.

Gari was someone who leaned toward close-quarters combat; therefore, his Explosion Release could only exert its true advantage at a closer range.

However, the awkward problem he now faced was that while he needed to close the distance to utilize his strengths, his opponent was an Uchiha with Three Tomoe.

Furthermore, the opponent seemed to have noticed his fighting style and was consciously keeping his distance, leaving Gari not daring to rush in recklessly.

"This is truly terrible, those bastards."

For a moment, he found himself in a dilemma.

Aside from cursing those who had sent him here without providing any intelligence, he really had no other options.

However, his mindset remained steady; this was their territory, after all, and reinforcements would arrive before long.

Besides, Haori was just a kid; his chakra surely couldn't sustain this kind of fighting style!

But unfortunately, his assumption was clearly about to fall through.

Haori had indeed seen through his problem, and although the tactics Haori was using were resource-intensive, he could absolutely sustain them.

He was an Uchiha, after all; the strength of his mental energy meant his chakra reserves were not small, and he would not reach a point where he couldn't hold on after just a few jutsu.

Moreover, Haori had his own plans; he could not afford to waste time here with Gari, and he needed to find an opportunity to finish this guy off as quickly as possible!

For a time, both of them were locked in a frequent tug-of-war.

While Gari drained Haori's stamina, he constantly tried to close the distance to end the fight, while Haori continued to retaliate with shuriken, kunai, and ninjutsu.

Roar—

Just as their fierce battle was in full swing, a roar like that of a wild beast suddenly erupted from within the forest.

At the same time, a bizarre chakra instantly spread throughout the entire forest.

Feeling this chakra, both Haori and Gari paused, their expressions shifting in different ways.

"That is... Tailed Beast chakra?"

Haori muttered. Even though he had never witnessed the eruption of a Tailed Beast's power, this kind of chakra seemed to strike deep into one's soul, making it instantly clear what it was.

"A Jinchuriki has come to guard the rear. This change..."

Haori felt as if he were experiencing firsthand the impact that everything he had done behind enemy lines had brought to the entire war!

Before this, his perception of it had not been very deep.

Although he had forced Namikaze Minato to be late and made Kakashi face more enemies, everything had been resolved smoothly.

After that, he had also received the protection of Namikaze Minato, allowing him to live relatively easily without feeling like he was surrounded by crises.

But now, this suddenly appearing Jinchuriki told him that their situation was even worse than he had imagined!

"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"

Almost the moment Haori's attention drifted, a sinister grin suddenly appeared on Gari's face.

He lunged forward in an instant, his fist glowing with the halo of chakra as he struck straight toward Haori!

Haori appeared to have a moment of distraction, but his focus remained entirely on the battle.

In fact, one could say this trace of distraction was a performance staged specifically for Gari.

With a Jinchuriki having appeared, he had to end this fight as quickly as possible!

Almost the moment Gari made his move, Haori's body shifted rapidly to the side, and at the same time, he reached out to grab Gari's wrist.

Gari kept his head slightly lowered, refusing to give him any chance to make eye contact, which prevented Haori from using the genjutsu of his Sharingan.

However, this also restricted Gari's movements, allowing Haori to face everything with greater composure.

The deterrent power of the Sharingan was evident!

"Hmph!"

Gari was no novice; he immediately realized Haori's intent, and the chakra on his fist instantly began to expand and erupt.

Seeing that this guy was about to detonate his Explosion Release directly, Haori paused his wrist, then quickly spun around and kicked Gari in the stomach!

Boom—

A roar echoed through the air, and Gari's body flew backward. Although a sharp pain radiated from his stomach, he managed to regain his footing quickly.

"Kid, you don't have a chance anymore!"

Watching Haori warily as he stood still, Gari suddenly spoke in a cold voice.

"Although I don't know exactly how many of you there are, with our reinforcements behind us, do you really think you can escape?"

"I don't know about that, but I can be sure of one thing."

Haori stared straight at Gari, and noticing the man turn his head away again, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"You won't be around to see the final outcome!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Haori suddenly raised his hand, and in a split second, Gari felt his body tense up involuntarily.

"This is..."

Gari's expression changed drastically. Under the reflection of the surrounding firelight, he realized for the first time that his body had been wrapped in thin steel wires without him even noticing!

These steel wires were nearly invisible to the naked eye, having been brought into position by the previous Kunai and Shuriken.

"You..."

Gari's face turned pale. He now understood why Haori had used ninjutsu to drive him back immediately after throwing the Kunai—it was to prevent him from noticing these wires.

It could be said that he had been calculated from the very beginning!

"You're dreaming if you think you can trap me like this!"

Gari roared, his chakra surging wildly within him, and a halo of chakra appeared on his fist once more.

However, Haori manipulated the steel wires, forcing Gari to lift his head involuntarily.

"Don't struggle. The moment you faced the Sharingan, your fate was already sealed."

Almost instantly, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared in his vision, and a bizarre power forcibly pierced into his mind.

Within his consciousness, the world had completely changed.

The sun in the sky had transformed into a crimson, slowly rotating Three-Tomoe Sharingan!

At this moment, Haori quickly formed hand seals, and flames surged along the steel wires, turning into a fire dragon that lunged straight at the dazed Gari.

As the fire dragon converged, the scorching flames instantly swallowed him whole!

"Ah!"

The intense pain forced Gari out of the genjutsu, and his shrill scream sounded as if it had come from the depths of hell, echoing across the wilderness.

PS: The war in the Land of Grass is finally coming to an end; it's time to go back and prepare, and also go recruit some people.

A newbie begging for your continued readership. Current follow-up rates determine everything for a book; letting it sit in your library without reading can easily kill it.

Thank you to all the big bosses! Onz