I Am Willing to Submit

"Ah, I didn't expect to be discovered so quickly."

"Those eyes!"

"So it's the Uchiha Clan. No wonder."

Voices fell from all directions.

As the leaves rustled, figures emerged atop the treetops. They looked as though they had been lying in ambush for a long time, with branches and leaves tucked into their various ninja outfits.

Arata did not answer.

Although more than a dozen ninja had entered his field of vision, forming a fairly formidable force, the Sharingan saw far more than that.

For example—

This one hiding underground!

Kujo Sho's vision blurred. The youth who had been sitting beside him, wiping his blade, had already vanished.

Spirit Bind: Red Plum Under Snow.

Ice surged forth, and snowflakes drifted down.

Before the ninjas blocking the road could finish their opening remarks, Arata had already made his move.

"Kagerou, watch out!"

The lead ninja's expression abruptly changed, and he immediately issued a low warning.

He had never expected a mere Konoha brat to show no fear when facing dozens of ninjas. He had even launched the first attack.

Who exactly was robbing whom here, and who had surrounded whom?

Ripples of sound spread through the air.

"Ninjutsu: Cicada Shell Technique."

The ninjas blocking the road were clearly no ordinary people. Though the youth's actions had caught them off guard, they remained calm. Even as they stayed alert, they worried that he was merely probing and had not truly discovered their companion hidden underground.

But how could a group of foreign ninjas possibly fathom the abilities of the Sharingan?

If Arata truly ignored that vast mass of blue chakra, it would have been disrespectful to these ninjas.

The ground froze over, and a saber coated in ice crystals stabbed straight into the earth.

Almost at the same instant, a bloated, ugly figure burst out from underground, scattering dirt, rocks, and shattered ice.

The blade grazed his arm, drawing a spray of blood.

Arata did not stop after failing to land the blow. He pulled out his saber and used the force of the ground to pursue him.

By then, no matter how slow the roadblockers were, they had completely realized that Uchiha Clan ninjas simply could not be reasoned with!

"Ninjutsu: Wind Spider Technique."

A gust of wind suddenly rose.

Countless white spider threads came riding on the wind. Looking closely, there were tiny spiders hanging beneath every strand!

In an instant, Arata's path of attack was completely sealed off, costing him his best chance to pursue.

"Hehehe, my little babies' threads aren't something blades can cut through so easily."

On a treetop, a bald man with an unfriendly face spoke with a sinister grin. The scar over his right eye added an extra touch of ferocity to his appearance.

"Satsu, just surrender obediently. Otherwise, if we accidentally kill you, that won't do us any good either."

"After all, we only want to borrow a little money."

The companion beside him added this, a huge, crude paper cutter bound to his right hand. It appeared to be his personal ninja tool.

But the only response they received was a raging blaze.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Surging flames instantly swept across the web blocking the path. Before the countless little spiders could struggle, they were all reduced to ashes.

What Uchiha ninja could not use Fire Release?

What a joke.

"You! My precious spiders!!"

A miserable howl escaped the bald man's mouth.

It seemed that these spiders were undoubtedly the medium through which he cast his ninjutsu.

Arata still did not say a word.

He had only one goal on this journey:

Battle!

Endless battle!

Anyone blocking his path was an enemy!

After all, he did not know what kind of bloody trials Itachi had once endured.

All he could do was frantically hone himself in this increasingly cramped span of time, allowing himself to adapt to this world of blood and fire as quickly as possible!

Before the web had completely burned away, Arata charged straight through it, allowing bright sparks to fall around him.

"In any battle, what you need to control most is your own rhythm. Make the enemy follow your pace, and only then can you take command of the battlefield."

"But what kind of fighting style you should have still needs to be forged through real combat."

This was the advice Brother Shisui had given him.

Although Arata had yet to fully establish his own combat system, perhaps starting with his strongest stance and delivering a thunderous blow to his opponent was the style he wanted.

"Stop him!"

Kagerou, who had barely retreated back into the formation, growled.

His voice was truly unpleasant, like an old woman wailing at a funeral. His ugly appearance was no less grotesque than Sasori's Hiruko, though his Earth Release could be considered quite accomplished.

"Truly useless. You couldn't even deal with a little brat."

"Leave it to me."

A rough voice came from behind the three of them. A burly figure suddenly leaped down along Arata's path, and at the same time, the great sword on his back swung into motion.

"Fuma Ninja Sword: Horse-Slaying Blade!"

A fierce gale swept in with a powerful roar.

Yet Arata continued along his intended route as though he had noticed nothing.

The sight immediately brought cruel grins to the faces of the roadblockers. Did he really think a child's strength could withstand Hanzaki's full-force strike?

Being cut in two by a single blow was inevitable.

All that remained was to erase every trace of what had happened here.

The man wielding the paper cutter instinctively looked toward the small merchant caravan parked outside the forest path. They had originally only intended to snatch a little wealth for themselves.

"Goodbye!"

Fuma Hanzaki declared with a savage grin.

They had indeed guessed how the clash would begin. The slender Arata was easily torn apart beneath the Fuma greatsword, utterly unable to resist.

But what had been torn apart was merely a Shadow Clone!

"Idiot, Hanzaki, watch out!!"

That ugly fellow named Kagerou roared again. He seemed to be the leader of this group of ninjas, and both his perception and strength were fairly good.

But such belated warning was already too late. Arata silently brushed past another clone.

It was Konoha-Style Kenjutsu: Dance of the Crescent Moon!

A flash of blade light passed by, and a huge cross-shaped wound tore across Fuma Hanzaki's back. Blood and a miserable scream burst forth together.

Of the four ninjas whose chakra could be detected, one was already out of commission. Though he was not yet dead, he could no longer form any effective fighting strength.

"I'll do it!"

The man wielding the paper cutter gritted his teeth and prepared to meet the enemy.

After all, among the remaining companions, he was the only one capable of close combat.

The clansmen he led could only throw a few shuriken, fire a few crossbow bolts, and bolster their numbers. Against a true ninja like this, they could not pose even the slightest obstruction.

But before he could make a move, a whisper reached his ear.

Arata had somehow already entered the center of the enemy formation!

"Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique."

A curtain of darkness descended. Everyone within ten meters fell into lightless blackness.

From that moment onward, this area completely became Arata's domain, and screams rose one after another.

Though the power of the Body Flicker Technique was less than half that of his true body, and these people were no match for the earlier bandits, without their vision, they could only become lambs awaiting slaughter.

During that time, Kagerou had forcibly broken free from the genjutsu's confusion.

But what met him was the scarlet Sharingan. Kasegui no Jutsu instantly suppressed all of his following movements.

The stench of death began to spread through the surroundings.

"Please, spare us. I am willing to submit. Please spare my clansmen!" The ugly man struggled to speak beneath the immense mental pressure.