"You naturally evil Uchiha brat, you can't stay invisible forever or keep gloating forever. You've been marked. You've become a target that some faction is determined to kill."
Hearing Tobirama Senju make light of the situation, Kawadera Uchiha thought:
"Lord Second, what good would it do you if I died? If I die, you'll disappear for good and never be able to contribute to Konoha again!"
"I won't be threatened. I believe in Konoha, and Konoha will continue to grow stronger."
Kawadera was speechless. He'd thought he could really get Tobirama under his thumb, but it turned out Tobirama didn't care whether he lived or died.
After running another few dozen meters, Kawadera made sure that Seigetsu Senju and the others couldn't see him, then turned to face the three assassins.
The situation changed in an instant. The three spread out in perfect unison: one willingly charged straight at him as bait, another circled around to the left, and the last slipped behind a tree trunk and vanished from sight.
His fingers twitched. These three must have wanted to kill their snake-poisoned captain to silence him too. They were simply confident they could kill Kawadera first and silence the captain afterward.
Maybe... Kawadera guessed. Maybe he ranked higher than the captive captain.
You can look down on me, but how can you look down on the Eight Inner Gates...
This was a technique that could have kicked off the finale right in the first episode of Naruto.
I only thought the strain would be too much, but I could open the Sixth Gate too.
When Tobirama gave him the Forbidden Technique, he had also passed on all his memories and insights from training in the Eight Inner Gates.
In other words, from the moment Kawadera acquired the Eight Inner Gates, he could open the Sixth Gate just like Tobirama. The strain on his body was simply immense, the duration short, and the consequences unpredictable.
"Gate of Pain! Open!"
His skin flushed red, veins bulged, and the sweat evaporating from his body became green chakra steam!
Kawadera's three Taijutsu stats—Constitution, Strength, and Speed—all increased by 2.
This degree of improvement far exceeded the assassins' intel.
For instance, Kawadera's [Speed] went from 6.1 to 8.1. How could they possibly have anticipated that?
Boom!
The third assassin was hiding behind a great tree, watching the battle from the side and waiting to deliver a fatal blow at the crucial moment. Suddenly, he felt a heavy strike land on his back.
Someone had kicked the tree in half, sending him flying.
Only then did the other two assassins realize that their target had disappeared. They hurriedly searched for Kawadera.
Amid a flurry of flying wood chips, Kawadera's short blade slashed toward the assassin's lower back.
The assassin tried to dodge, but a wood chip happened to block his eyes.
He felt as though the chip was flying so slowly, so very slowly.
So slowly that it seemed like slow motion.
No!
It was a genjutsu!
By the time he disturbed his own chakra, it was already too late.
Pfft!
The Ninja Blade pierced his waist.
He tried to fight back, but found himself staring straight into a pair of Sharingan at close range.
The two Tomoe in the Sharingan turned slowly. His resistance was useless against the genjutsu.
Just then, an assassin came rushing over and reached Kawadera's side.
His Kunai slashed toward Kawadera's throat.
Kawadera turned and used genjutsu again.
However, through the eyeholes of the assassin's Black Dog Mask, he couldn't see any eyes—only a pitch-black void. The assassin must have used some method to conceal them.
Their intel was pretty thorough. This man actually knew how to avoid Sharingan Genjutsu.
However, Kawadera's Taijutsu was on a completely different level now.
He raised one leg and delivered a horizontal kick at incredible speed.
The ninja at his side hadn't even finished swinging his Kunai when his ribs took a devastating blow, sending him flying.
Crack, crack!
He seemed to hear his own ribs breaking.
Before he could hit the tree trunk in the distance, three Kunai followed close behind and stabbed into his side.
With no ribs to stop them, the Kunai sank in deep—very deep.
Seeing this, the last man charged forward without the slightest fear of death.
Kawadera began forming Hand Seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The ninja was still bracing himself for the Great Fireball Technique when his vision suddenly went black. He couldn't see anything at all.
What kind of genjutsu was this?
The eyeholes on his mask were fake. The Sharingan staring at them was useless.
In the darkness, a powerful hand clamped around his throat.
Crack!
His throat was crushed.
In his final moments, he was still thinking that the intel was completely wrong. The target wasn't a genjutsu specialist. Taijutsu wasn't his weakness either. The target was clearly a Taijutsu specialist!
Genjutsu was just the icing on the cake.
After killing all three in a matter of seconds, Kawadera tossed their bodies together and used a Great Fireball Technique.
Anyone who killed people regularly knew that you had to destroy the bodies afterward.
The scorching flames burned the three corpses to a crisp.
The Great Fireball Technique might not be good for killing people, but it was excellent for roasting their brains. Their brains must have been boiling, like water in a kettle.
The flames died out, and the area fell abruptly silent.
Kawadera heard his body groan. Even walking made his bones creak.
The strain of the Eight Inner Gates was immense. His muscles had torn, and his joints felt worn down.
In the original story, Might Guy and Rock Lee were both Taijutsu geniuses. Even with the Eight Inner Gates and Tobirama's experience and insights, Kawadera could only make up for his shortcomings in Taijutsu for a short time. He couldn't open the later gates with ease.
When he returned to the captive captain, who was still suffering from snake venom, he leaned against a tree root to rest.
A minute later, Seigetsu Senju finally arrived at Kawadera's side, gasping for breath.
"Kawadera! Are you all right? I saw three very powerful ninjas charge at you!"
She crouched down anxiously, afraid that Kawadera might have some terrible wound.
At a glance, he didn't seem to have any major external injuries.
Kawadera said, "I burned those three to death with a Great Fireball Technique. Their bodies are over there. What about you? How did your fight go?"
Seigetsu Senju said, "It took us a while. Ken Aburame's Kikaichū got the first win. Once he was free, he helped us deal with the enemies one after another."
The Aburame Clan was as dependable as ever.
Kureya Inuzuka and Ken Aburame landed one after the other and saw Kawadera.
Even standing up seemed difficult for him. His slight hunch made it obvious that he'd overexerted himself and torn his muscles.
"Captain Seigetsu, it looks like I held you back. If you don't treat my torn muscles, I won't be able to travel."
Kureya Inuzuka said, "How could you say you held us back?
"Other than the captive captain you were guarding, all the other captives were silenced. They were very professional. They damaged their brains when they silenced them."
Ken Aburame said, "They didn't just silence the captives. The assassins we defeated all chose to self-destruct, leaving us without even a body.
"This style is a bit like the Anbu. I wonder if they're Iwagakure Anbu or Amegakure Anbu."
Kawadera thought, You're still too young. Why couldn't they be Konoha Anbu?
Seigetsu Senju said, "We'll move to another hiding place and set up traps. I'll treat Kawadera's torn muscles as soon as I can."
The Eight Inner Gates were useful for basic physical training and making up for shortcomings, but he wasn't a Taijutsu genius. Using them in battle was still a bit too much for him.
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