Although Kakashi had been promoted to Chunin at six, how many Kakashis were there in the vast Shinobi World?
Itachi lowered his body into a slight crouch.
He assumed the optimal combat stance.
He drew a sharp kunai from his person.
His eyes, like a hawk's, remained fixed on his opponent.
From his series of observations just now,
the Root ninja before him was roughly Chunin-level.
Meanwhile, Itachi was only slightly above Genin level. There was a definite gap in strength between them.
But Itachi would not submit without a fight.
He would fight to the death!
Seeing that his opponent still intended to resist stubbornly, the man's eyes flashed coldly. He charged forward, the katana in his hand gleaming with a chilling light as dozens of blade arcs instantly enveloped Itachi.
He was a Chunin skilled in swordsmanship.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The blade and kunai collided in midair.
The crisp sound of metal clashing echoed through the forest.
Interesting. He was slightly surprised. Itachi truly was quite strong.
"You lost!" He gave a cold smile, suddenly appearing behind Itachi as he slashed down.
"Bang!"
Itachi vanished.
Only a rotten log remained where he had been standing!
"What a fast Substitution Technique!"
Startled, he swung his blade backward, cleaving through Itachi on his left.
Still in midair, Itachi rapidly formed hand seals.
Then he spat out an enormous fireball.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique."
He was startled. The boy's combat experience was incredibly rich, each move linking seamlessly to the next.
But he possessed the strength of a Chunin.
How could he possibly fear a six- or seven-year-old boy before him?
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A water dragon surged forth as though roaring soundlessly.
Mist billowed from the collision of water and fire.
The battle continued.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The sounds of metal colliding rang out from time to time.
Itachi was only six years old, and his body was still developing. His stamina and chakra were quickly running low, and he swayed unsteadily.
One Fire Style technique alone was enough to consume more than half of the little chakra in his body.
Itachi had clearly realized this as well, so he wanted to end the battle quickly. But haste easily led to mistakes.
He caught Itachi's opening and viciously slammed the back of his blade into his chest, sending him flying three or four meters away.
Their purpose was to capture the Uchiha alive and bring him back.
Otherwise, that last slash might have taken Itachi's life.
Itachi fell to the ground.
The intense pain in his chest made his face turn pale, and his body would not stop trembling.
"You should've just obediently come with me. Resisting only earns you a beating. Why bother?" he sneered.
"Did Danzo order you to attack the Uchiha?"
Just then,
a voice as cold as ice rang out.
His body stiffened. When he turned around, he saw a middle-aged man with short black hair, wearing a Konoha Jonin vest. Three black tomoe appeared in his scarlet eyes.
In an instant, he fell under Genjutsu. His eyes went blank as he collapsed, foam spilling from his mouth.
Mikoto had said that Genya and Itachi had gone fishing for pike together. Fugaku happened to have time, so he came to watch, never expecting to witness this scene.
"Father, a Root ninja chased after Genya." Lying on the ground, Itachi endured the pain and pointed in the direction Genya had fled.
A chilling killing intent erupted from Fugaku!
Bloodlines Unleashed
At the very first moment of his escape,
Genya extracted the reserve chakra from the system, and power filled his entire body.
The Root ninja was at least Chunin-level. He and Itachi could hardly match him, so they could only rely on the powerful explosive force of the Sage Body to escape first and seek help afterward.
Genya transformed into an agile cheetah, weaving through the forest. For a time, the Root ninja could not catch up.
"Why is this brat so fast? Damn it!" the Root ninja Hei cursed under his breath.
He was a Root squad leader, proficient in Earth Style, but speed was not his specialty.
If this continued,
the Uchiha before him would escape back to the village!
"Earth Style: Rock Needle Technique!"
Hei formed hand seals and quickly spat dozens of tiny rocks from his mouth. They transformed into thin, bamboo-skewer-like needles and blanketed Genya.
The sound of something cutting through the air came from behind him.
Genya frowned, lightly tapping a branch with his toes before leaping high into the air and forming hand seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Roaring flames burst from his mouth.
Genya's Great Fireball Technique was a full zhang in diameter, while Itachi's was only one meter wide. Its power was far greater.
As the Ninjutsu collided,
the rock needles were directly melted by the surging flames.
Sparks scattered everywhere.
"What terrifying chakra reserves!" Hei was slightly shocked, but his hands did not stop moving.
"Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear!"
A large number of sharp earthen spikes suddenly thrust up from beneath Genya's feet.
If he had not reacted in time, his legs would certainly have been pierced through.
"Body Flicker Technique!"
The Body Flicker Technique was only D-rank.
But Genya had already trained it to perfection.
Though he could not compare to Uchiha Shisui, known as "Body Flicker Shisui," he was still extremely proficient with it.
Genya vanished like a ghost.
When he appeared again,
he was already beside Hei.
He leaped into the air.
Then punched toward Hei's chest.
"You actually dare to compete with me in taijutsu?" Hei gave a cold smile. He possessed Jonin-level strength, yet this six-year-old boy dared provoke him? He truly did not know his place!
Hei threw a punch as well.
The two fists collided.
Genya's body retreated by more than half a meter. A burning pain shot through the finger bone in his right hand. The Sage Body was only Level 1, so the changes it brought to his physique were not too great. He was at a slight disadvantage in this contest of strength.
After their initial exchange,
Genya judged that his opponent was likely a Jonin.
Although Genya possessed three Kekkei Genkai, he was only six years old and had not yet fully developed. He was therefore still at a slight disadvantage in a direct clash, and defeating his opponent would be quite difficult.
That did not mean he had no chance!
But if he exposed Wood Release, it would become a fight to the death.
Otherwise, if the other man escaped back to Root and revealed the secret, what awaited Genya would be a fate worse than death.
Genya steadied his breath and focused his mind.
The next moment,
he rapidly formed hand seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A roaring fireball burst forth!
"My chakra nature is earth. Fire Style is useless against me." Hei mocked.
Then Genya's voice followed.
"Wind Style: Gale!"
A powerful hurricane surged out.
Fire met wind.
The flames instantly swelled and exploded.
An incomparably massive blaze, like a transforming dragon, swept toward Hei amid the howling gale.
"He's so young, yet he knows Wind Style too!?" Hei was horrified, finally feeling genuine shock. He hurriedly formed hand seals and used a defensive Earth Style technique.
A thought also rose in his heart.
He would eliminate this Uchiha genius for Root!
"Earth Style: Earth Shore Return!"
He slapped the ground.
A rock wall over a zhang tall instantly rose up.
But the force unleashed by Fire Style combined with Wind Style was truly terrifying.
It crashed wildly into the rock wall.
Then the wall shattered.
"Such power!?" Hei thought in alarm and hurriedly dodged aside.
Just as Hei retreated beyond the attack's range, he discovered that Genya had somehow appeared behind him.
"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!" Genya's eyes turned scarlet.
A single black tomoe emerged.
"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique" was an advanced Genjutsu of the Uchiha clan. Only clan members who had awakened the Sharingan could use it. It was one of Itachi's signature techniques in the original story, and now Genya had mastered this Ninjutsu.
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