Helpless Four Shadows

Within the circle enveloped by white light, the atmosphere was as heavy as lead.

Danzō said coldly, "Truly arrogant, but it matters not; your death is merely a matter of time."

Uchiha Du Yang stood alone in the center, facing the pinnacle of Konoha's current combat power: Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hokage advisor Shimura Danzō, the Sannin Jiraiya and Tsunade, and two elite Anbu squads.

Hiruzen and Jiraiya in his base state were at the high-Kage level, while Jiraiya in Sage Mode could even touch the threshold of the super-Kage level.

Danzō and Tsunade could by no means be viewed as ordinary Kage-level fighters either.

Not to mention, there were two troublesome elite ninja squads present.

Therefore, this opponent could truly be called the peak combat power of present-day Konoha.

Having already performed two shares, Uchiha Du Yang was not some invincible ninja.

Because his own chakra reserves were limited.

Like Kakashi and the current Hiruzen, his chakra level was only at a proficiency of 6.

Clone Technique, Transformation Technique—even the lowest E-rank ninjutsu required a certain amount of chakra to execute each time.

In a sense, those who possessed extraordinary power in this world could only be ninjas.

Because, at the time, only one Chakra Fruit was born, and it was consumed by Kaguya.

Moreover, even someone as strong as the super-Kage level Uchiha Madara, and the Six Paths level Otsutsuki Kaguya, had they not been defeated back then?

Without a protagonist's halo, you are just an ordinary person.

Uchiha Du Yang did not have the luxury of wasting chakra.

Of course, he only intended to kill one person, then frame Danzō and find a way to plunge Konoha into chaos.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze toward Uchiha Du Yang changed completely, and he said with intense killing intent, "Uchiha Du Yang, you have incited rebellion, murdered your own kin, held clansmen hostage to defect, and now you spout such nonsense here."

"Surrendering and accepting Konoha's judgment is your only way out."

Uchiha Du Yang swept a calm gaze over Hiruzen and chuckled, "Ridiculous. It is clearly you who gave the Uchiha no path to survive."

"Silver-tongued." Danzō snorted coldly, a cold glint flashing in his single eye. "Hiruzen, why waste words with such a traitor? Anbu, take him down first."

Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment and gave a slight nod.

Upon receiving the order, the two Anbu squads immediately sprang into action.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

One of the Anbu squads formed hand seals in unison, and several scorching fire dragons roared out from the left, center, and right, snarling toward Uchiha Du Yang.

The members of the second squad occupied the four corners of the perimeter, rapidly launching kunai and shuriken attached with explosive tags toward him.

At the same time, Uchiha Du Yang formed hand seals in an instant.

The next moment, he entered the state of Triple Inverse Life, his entire body turning into Qi.

"Disperse."

Uchiha Du Yang uttered the word coldly and struck out with his palm, instantly generating a wall of Qi.

Those several ferocious, roaring fire dragons, upon hitting the Qi wall a few feet in front of him, suddenly stagnated, then dissipated silently like smoke blown away by a gale, not even a single spark splashing out.

"What?!"

The Anbu ninjas who released the Fire Style had their pupils shrink; they did not know what ninjutsu Uchiha Du Yang had used, or how it could dissolve Fire Style so cleanly and efficiently.

At the same time, the explosive tag-laden tools flying in from all directions were surrounded by white Qi as they entered within three meters of his body. The seals on the explosive tags suddenly dimmed, as if they had lost all chakra reaction, turning into ordinary scraps of paper.

The ninja tools themselves also seemed to lose most of their kinetic energy, clattering to the ground without posing any threat.

Two Anbu ninjas preparing for a sneak attack suddenly burst forth from Uchiha Du Yang's blind spot.

Yet Uchiha Du Yang seemed to have anticipated their movements; he shifted slightly, narrowly avoiding their attacks, while his hands brushed across their wrists like a butterfly flitting through flowers.

"Hm?"

The two Anbu retreated instantly.

But after they stabilized their footing, they only let out a muffled groan before realizing their chakra flow had been thrown into instant chaos, followed by bleeding from their seven orifices as they died.

In the blink of an eye, the Anbu's first probing attack was effortlessly neutralized, failing to even force Uchiha Du Yang back a single step.

The four Kage-level powerhouses saw all of this.

In their eyes, the ninjutsu Uchiha Du Yang displayed was far too bizarre.

"There is indeed something strange about it." Tsunade clenched her fists, her spirited eyebrows arching. "The ninjutsu he uses can decompose chakra at a material level; those things that look like white gas must not be touched."

Jiraiya also observed with a grave expression, "Not only that, his whole body appears to be in the form of white gas. It seems ordinary ninjutsu cannot harm him."

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a chill in his heart and quickly changed his strategy. "Do not engage in close combat. Use long-range ninjutsu coverage and observe his method of response."

"Test him with a sealing technique."

Instantly, four Anbu ninjas stood at the four corners of Uchiha Du Yang, formed hand seals rapidly, and shouted in unison, "Sealing Technique: Four Violet Flames Formation."

Four purple flame light walls rose from the corners and quickly closed in toward the center, intending to temporarily trap Uchiha Du Yang within a smaller area and restrict his movements.

Du Yang swept his arms horizontally, shattering the four walls of purple flame in an incredibly short span of time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi formed hand seals:

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet."

The ground heaved as a mud dragon head emerged, lunging to swallow Du Yang whole.

Tsunade meanwhile channeled chakra into her feet, sending a shockwave rippling through the ground toward Du Yang.

Jiraiya coordinated his attack as well; he opened his mouth to spray a massive volume of viscous toad oil, though not directly at Du Yang.

This served a dual purpose: to disrupt Du Yang and to facilitate his own follow-up Fire Style jutsu.

With a cold snort from Du Yang, a layer of light rippling like water expanded from his feet, instantly enveloping him in a radius of several meters to form a barrier-like domain.

As Hiruzen's Earth Dragon Bullet entered the domain, its speed slowed visibly to the naked eye, fine cracks appeared across its surface, and it was disintegrated into nothingness in an instant.

The shockwave from Tsunade's attack traveled through the ground, but upon touching the radiance of the Triple Inverse Life, it vanished like a clay ox entering the sea, failing to affect Du Yang's stance in the slightest.

Jiraiya's toad oil splashed against the luminous barrier but failed to penetrate; instead, it slid down the membrane of light and pooled at the perimeter, likewise unable to breach the defense.

"I have a feeling his current state is quite peculiar, almost like he is immune to all techniques," Tsunade analyzed. "But maintaining such a state must consume a massive amount of chakra. Let's see how long he can hold out."

Hiruzen Sarutobi made a swift judgment: "Increase the intensity and frequency of the attacks. Wear him down."

"Jiraiya, prepare that technique. Danzo, keep him pinned down."

Danzo nodded and began forming seals, summoning Cursed Binding Chains to coordinate with the Four Violet Flames Formation, constantly harassing and striking at Du Yang from every direction.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also intensified his offensive, alternating between Wind, Fire, and Earth Style jutsu, yet all were blocked by the radiance.

They moved like the most seasoned hunters, circling the perimeter of an unknown beast's territory, probing, exhausting, and searching for its weakness.

"Have you finished testing me?" Du Yang spoke up. "If this is the extent of your power, then it is my turn."

The domain of light, which had been static and defensive, suddenly contracted and condensed inward, before violently expanding and erupting outward.