Explosion Release Ninja: Gari

Relying on the dynamic vision of her Sharingan, Uchiha Hezi used every ounce of her strength to flee.

However, the speed of the Explosion Style: Landmine Fist was not something a Konoha genin could withstand.

The Explosion Style ninja drove his fist directly through the fragile abdomen of the Konoha genin, Matsumoto Takahiro.

The Explosion Style chakra blasted the Konoha genin, who had just escaped death, into bloody fragments no larger than chess pieces.

Flesh, sinew, bone, and organs...

Following the explosion, they rained down like a torrential downpour.

Even Uchiha Hezi and the genin Hatake Jiangyi were sent flying a great distance by the bloody shockwave mixed with gore and chunks of meat.

"Matsumoto!"

Ugh.

Earlier, Hatake Jiangyi had nearly vomited all over the ground upon seeing the severed head of a Sand Ninja.

Now, seeing his own teammate blown into bloody chunks at such close range caused him such terror that his body spasmed uncontrollably!

Just as Naruto was unable to move his body when faced with the fear of Zabuza, Hatake Jiangyi now felt his legs refusing to obey him.

The blast wave had not caused him serious injury, but his trembling legs made it impossible for him to stand, no matter how hard he tried.

"Yo, little bug, you're quite lucky. Blown that far away and you still aren't dead." The enemy seemed to find Hatake Jiangyi's fearful, trembling state highly amusing.

He did not pursue Uchiha Hezi, who was suffering from a mild concussion and spinning in a daze.

Instead, he walked step by step toward the half-grown boy who was too terrified to stand.

The Explosion Style ninja waved his right hand lightly, "Explosion Style..."

Before he could launch another attack, a kunai wreathed in blue-white electric light arrived on the wind.

The Explosion Style ninja was extremely cautious; this time, he did not use his explosive fist to counter. Instead, he used the simplest Body Flicker Technique to distance himself as much as possible from Mikoto's Lightning Style: Kunai.

As expected of a jonin, his combat experience is incredibly rich; he won't fall for it at all!

Mikoto grew increasingly anxious.

Because of electromagnetic control, her Lightning Style: Kunai could change speed and direction.

This allowed her to bypass an opponent's defense and launch a surprise attack with a serpentine flight path.

But the opponent's vast experience led him to use the Body Flicker Technique to retreat immediately, causing all of Mikoto's plans to fall through.

Watching her teammates about to be slaughtered one by one, Mikoto could not think of a single solution.

What do I do?! Mikoto's brain raced frantically.

The Explosion Style ninja approached Hatake Jiangyi once more, but the boy's body remained unresponsive.

"Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique!"

A flash of blade light.

A thick arm, trailing blood, soared into the air.

The Explosion Style ninja looked as if he had seen something terrifying, his remaining left hand frantically tearing at the mask on his face.

Only after he ripped away his goggles and mask could Mikoto and the others see the true appearance of this ninja.

Brown hair, gaunt cheeks, and an expression of extreme coldness!

The Explosion Style ninja fell into a brief state of chaos, nervously searching all around for the enemy who had ambushed him.

Clutching his severed right upper arm with his left hand, the Explosion Style ninja let out a crazed roar from his throat!

"Come out! You bastard, come out!"

The surviving Mikoto and the others were filled with immense joy!

"It's Lord Fucheng! It's Lord Fucheng who has come to save us!"

This near-death experience gave Mikoto and the others a profound sense of salvation.

Their worship and gratitude toward Uchiha Fucheng were particularly intense.

[Follower marked, current loyalty at 88%]

It was likely the Hell Viewing Technique that had triggered the enemy's mental breakdown. Although this jutsu lacked raw attack power, as an opening Sharingan genjutsu to confuse the opponent, its practical combat effectiveness was excellent.

Uchiha Fucheng's three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly.

Taking advantage of the fact that the opponent was still spinning in place, he launched another surprise ninjutsu.

Snake-Dragon-Rabbit-Tiger.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

A nearly transparent wire connected to the leg of the panicked Explosion Style ninja.

As Uchiha Fucheng unleashed the Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu, the flames surged up from beneath the opponent's feet like a homing missile.

The massive flames rose even higher than the surrounding trees.

"You cannot kill me! Explosion Style: Clone Explosion."

From the center of the inferno, an even more powerful blast erupted.

A shockwave!

A massive, circular ring of white air pressure.

It instantly dispersed the raging Fire Style flames.

A blood-soaked figure was thrown from the center of the explosion along with the white shockwave, landing in a disheveled heap on a dirt mound in the distance.

Mikoto, Hezi, and the Hatake ninja were also blown back seventeen or eighteen meters by the immense shockwave.

They felt as if their internal organs were being crushed by pain.

Uchiha Fucheng, having hidden in the treetops, avoided the brunt of the shockwave.

However, the tree beneath his feet could not escape the fate of being snapped in two by the blast.

Leaping down from the canopy, he flung five specialized kunai at the Explosion Style ninja from afar.

Uchiha Kunai Throwing!

Utilizing the observation and predictive capabilities of the Sharingan, Fucheng could make the kunai collide in mid-air to change their trajectories.

His throwing skill was very close to the technique Itachi once demonstrated to Sasuke.

This unique Uchiha Throwing Technique made it extremely difficult for the target to dodge.

The Explosion Style ninja Gari was now in a critical state, missing an arm and an eye, with a fractured leg.

It was even harder for him to evade this barrage of kunai.

As a representative of aggressive, head-on ninjas, the Iwagakure Explosion Style possessed immense power.

However, to a certain extent, he had sacrificed the inherent defensive capabilities of Earth Style.

Facing a high-level Fire Style sneak attack, he had only been able to use an explosion for "emergency damage control."

Although the injuries from the blast left him nearly crippled, the intense physical pain allowed him to break free from the confusion of the Sharingan genjutsu.

The shockwave had also successfully allowed him to escape the sea of fire, avoiding sustained damage from the high heat.

Even at the cost of an eye, it was a tactically sound choice.

"Earth Style: Body Hardening Technique!"

Unable to dodge, the Explosion Style ninja Gari ultimately chose to tank the hit.

This choice was exactly the option Uchiha Fucheng had intentionally left for him.

Because Fucheng intended to become a stationary damage-dealer, he was about to ramp up his output.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Barrage!"

Three consecutive massive fireballs, like a string of cannonballs, followed the kunai and slammed into the Explosion Style ninja who was rooted to the spot using his hardening technique.

If not for the Senju bloodline talent he had just acquired from Nawaki, Fucheng would never have dared to use such a chakra-intensive ninjutsu.

The massive flames and the three thunderous, violent explosions made Mikoto and the others, who had fled to a distance, feel the danger.

The three injured ninjas hurriedly retreated even further away.

Uchiha Fucheng watched the site of the Great Fireball Barrage with a smile on his lips.

Instead of approaching to observe, he moved even further away.

"Gari of Iwagakure! I know you aren't dead yet!" Fucheng probed.

"Don't you want to leave some final words? You infiltrated disguised as a Sand Ninja, and now that you're about to die, I bet you're feeling quite unwilling."

He used the intelligence he was familiar with to test the black, struggling figure within the flames.

"Bastard, how do you know my name?!" Gari, amidst the inferno, shifted from terror to grief and indignation.

He suspected that someone had leaked his intel.

"If I can't live, you're coming with me!"

Seeing that Uchiha Fucheng refused to fall for the trap and approach him, Gari—now burned almost entirely black—charged at Fucheng like a madman.

With only half a charred arm remaining, he naturally could not perform hand seals.

He shoved his blackened forearm into his own mouth, where his jawbone was already exposed, and began to gnaw on it frantically.

"Explosion Style: Bloodthirsty Self-Detonation!"