Fuso Uzumaki called out, and Mikoto Uchiha came over to Chonhua Uchiha's side, handing him a water bottle.
"Chonhua, have some water. You've worked hard all day."
Chonhua Uchiha put his thoughts aside, took the bottle, and drank a few mouthfuls of cool spring water. It was wonderfully refreshing.
He lowered the bottle and fixed Mikoto Uchiha with a sharp gaze.
Suddenly, Chonhua Uchiha swiftly raised his left hand and grabbed Mikoto's wrist. He twisted it, forcing her to lower the kunai in her hand.
But Mikoto Uchiha still wore a sweet smile, as though she couldn't feel any pain. She kept a firm grip on the kunai, straining to drive it into the back of Chonhua Uchiha's head.
Seeing this, Chonhua Uchiha's eyes grew colder. He worried about Mikoto's safety, but showed nothing on his face.
He braced himself against the ground with his right hand and swiftly rolled over. Keeping hold of Mikoto's wrist with his left hand, he bent his arm and pinned her neck to the ground with his elbow.
Chonhua Uchiha barked, "Who are you?!"
Chapter 38: Sudden Change
The sudden turn of events left everyone stunned.
Ono came to his senses and hurried to his feet. "What happened?!"
Everything had happened too quickly. Just a moment ago, Chonhua had been drinking the water Mikoto gave him. In the blink of an eye, he had her pinned down.
Bang!
A tremendous crash came from the other side. Hizashi Hyuga activated his Byakugan and looked over, his face paling in surprise.
He glanced at Mikoto pinned beneath Chonhua, then toward the source of the crash.
"There are two Mikotos—and that woman who went to use the bathroom."
At that, Ono immediately charged toward Fuso Uzumaki, but it was too late.
Fuso Uzumaki scooped up the dazed and bewildered Nagato Uzumaki. She sped away as if the wind were at her feet, running toward the capital of the Land of Whirlpools.
What was going on...? Had everyone from the Uzumaki Clan been fooled?
What had happened?
While Fuso Uzumaki carried Nagato away, the Fuso Uzumaki who had gone to use the bathroom emerged from deep in the woods, with Mikoto Uchiha following her. Behind them, Cloud Village and Mist Village ninja charged after them with murderous expressions.
"Damn it!"
Ono stopped, glanced at the fake Fuso Uzumaki, then gritted his teeth and doubled back, charging toward the Cloud Village and Mist Village ninja.
Chonhua Uchiha had also realized what was happening. He swiftly activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, then immediately shut it off. In that brief moment, he had cast Sharingan Genjutsu on the fake Mikoto.
"Heh heh, genjutsu doesn't work on me."
Pinned beneath him, the fake Mikoto Uchiha gave him a mocking look and grinned, revealing a sinister smile.
The next moment, the fake Mikoto Uchiha suddenly turned into a puddle of white mud that surged toward Chonhua Uchiha.
Chonhua Uchiha hurriedly leaped back and formed Hand Seals. His right hand became a palm blade, wreathed in Chidori lightning, and he swung it down.
But the strike had no effect. The puddle of white mud was unusually soft, flowing aside to evade Chonhua Uchiha's attack.
"In that case..."
Chonhua Uchiha dispelled the Chidori and formed Hand Seals. His chest swelled, and he exhaled a mass of dragon-shaped flames.
"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Boom!
Scorching flames engulfed the white mud. The dragon formed from the flames roared toward the sky, then crashed down and burst apart!
"Graaaah!"
The white mud couldn't escape such a wide-area Fire Release technique. It immediately began to burn, letting out a shrill scream.
Soon, the body of white mud couldn't hold its shape and was forced back into its original form.
When that form appeared, Chonhua Uchiha's expression changed.
Its skin was white all over, its hair short and green, and its eyes yellow. It wore no clothes, and its body was covered in jagged edges.
It was White Zetsu?!
Chonhua Uchiha whipped around, pushed off with his foot, and surged forward with lightning crackling around him, charging toward the fake Fuso Uzumaki.
He understood now. The moment White Zetsu appeared, everything became clear to Chonhua Uchiha.
The endless teams of Cloud Village and Mist Village ninja had been a mere distraction. Their real target was Nagato Uzumaki!
They wanted to kidnap Nagato Uzumaki... Was it for Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan?
Unlike in the original story, the Uzumaki Clan hadn't been caught off guard and wiped out, leaving only a handful of survivors.
With so many members of the Uzumaki Clan still around, Uchiha Madara was nevertheless targeting Nagato Uzumaki. That meant Nagato had some unique quality.
It was just like Kushina Uzumaki. Why had she alone been chosen as the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Because Kushina was special. She was the best medium for a Jinchuriki, with the highest compatibility with the Nine-Tails.
Following the same reasoning, Nagato Uzumaki was the ideal vessel for nurturing the Rinnegan!
"Chidori Sharp Spear..."
They were a little too far away. Chonhua Uchiha reached out with his right hand, intending to pierce the enemy with Chidori Sharp Spear and paralyze the fake Fuso Uzumaki with lightning.
The lightning shot from his hand, then dimmed and vanished beneath Chonhua Uchiha's astonished gaze.
Squelch, squelch, squelch!
A strange sound came from his body. Chonhua Uchiha looked down to see spores swelling one after another, wrapping around him and steadily draining away his chakra.
The spores absorbed it quickly, and Chonhua Uchiha soon turned pale.
His expression darkened. Damn it.
After a full day of fighting, his chakra was already running low. Even after replenishing it with Military Ration Pills, he was nowhere near his peak. If the spores kept draining him at this rate, they would suck him dry.
He suddenly released the chakra he had left, transforming it into Lightning Release. Bolts of lightning burst out, shredding the rapidly multiplying spores.
"Heh heh, it's no use. We're taking Nagato Uzumaki with us."
The White Zetsu, burned into a puddle by the Great Dragon Fire, gave a mocking laugh. Chonhua Uchiha looked toward the fake Fuso Uzumaki, but she had already vanished.
"Nagato!!!"
The real Fuso Uzumaki cried out and fainted.
Ono fought the enemy, watching the strange situation unfolding around Chonhua Uchiha with mounting anxiety.
"Let us old folks help you!"
The elderly members of the Uzumaki Clan stepped forward, tearing at the spores with kunai, short swords, and the chains of Adamantine Sealing Chains.
"Maybe we have to kill that monster!"
An elderly Uzumaki woman walked up to White Zetsu, raised her kunai high, and stabbed down.
But each thrust was like stabbing into cotton. The old woman cursed under her breath, utterly at a loss.
"Ah, my short sword is stuck."
"What do we do? This damn thing is still growing!"
The Uzumaki elders looked helplessly at the multiplying spores.
Mikoto Uchiha kicked an enemy away and looked anxiously at Chonhua Uchiha, trapped by the strange white creature. She had no idea what to do.
Her own enemy kept her occupied, giving her no chance to break away and help.
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
Hizashi Hyuga stood in front of the frightened members of the Uzumaki Clan and struck a Cloud Village ninja away with a rapid flurry of blows.
"Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation!"
With a series of clinks, Hizashi Hyuga spread his arms and spun. His chakra formed a rotating hemisphere that shielded everyone, deflecting every kunai and shuriken.
Then an explosion rang out. An Explosive Tag detonated, and Hizashi Hyuga stumbled, nearly losing his Rotation.
Hizashi Hyuga gritted his teeth, his expression grim, sweat pouring down his face.
The situation was dire. He had a sudden feeling he might die here.
"Damn it!"
He looked desperately toward Chonhua Uchiha. He considered him a chosen one. Could even someone so astonishingly talented be abandoned by fate?!
Chonhua Uchiha gave up trying to break apart the spores with Lightning Release. He realized it wasn't helping.
His Lightning Release couldn't keep up with the spores' rate of growth. If things continued like this, he would become nothing more than food for the spores.
These damn spores were surprisingly tough.
He changed tactics. Take out the leader and the rest would fall. Chakra surged, and a breeze stirred Chonhua Uchiha's hair.
He made a throwing motion with his right hand, aiming at the puddle of White Zetsu.
The others watched Chonhua Uchiha's inexplicable movement in confusion. Then came a deafening boom.
White Zetsu let out another agonized scream. Its cries grew weaker and weaker, until they abruptly stopped.
Take that, you damn monster! See how you like Lightning Style: Rasengan!
The spores fell away in chunks. Chonhua Uchiha staggered, nearly collapsing, but an elderly Uzumaki nearby caught him in time.
His eyelids felt unbearably heavy, and exhaustion washed over Chonhua Uchiha.
He looked up at the Cloud Village and Mist Village ninja around him. There had never been so many enemies in a single battle all day.
"Ha, this isn't looking good..."
Chapter 39: I Can't Tell!
At this critical moment, the rustling whistle of objects cutting through the air came from the woods.
Black, sharp kunai and shuriken shot out from among the trees.
Seeing this, the Cloud Village ninja drew their short swords and knocked the projectiles aside, watching the woods with grim expressions.
The next moment, Konoha ninja wearing Konoha Headbands and green flak jackets charged out of the woods and landed in front of Chonhua Uchiha and the others.
Ono and the others, still fighting, saw this and pulled back to regroup with their allies.
The Cloud Village and Mist Village ninja looked grim. They exchanged glances and surveyed the area. Four squads of Konoha ninja had arrived, outnumbering them.
Unwilling to give up, they glanced at the members of the Uzumaki Clan, then quickly turned and began to retreat.
Whoosh!
A silver-haired man suddenly appeared, darting between the Cloud Village and Mist Village ninja like a flash of lightning. A streak of white light flashed and vanished.
Hatake Sakumo continued toward Chonhua Uchiha and the others without looking back.
Behind him, the Cloud Village and Mist Village ninja hadn't even realized what had happened. Then their necks began to hurt, and warm liquid touched their skin. It felt awful.
They reflexively reached up to touch their necks. When they looked at their hands, their faces filled with fear at last!
"It's... kh—"
The last words the Cloud Village and Mist Village ninja left behind were broken, incoherent sounds.
Before their consciousness faded, they searched for the enemy who had killed them.
That distinctive silver ponytail, and the conspicuous armband.
Hatake... Sakumo... It was him?!
Thud. The bodies hit the ground.
Hatake Sakumo smiled warmly and apologized. "Sorry we're late. Is everyone all right?"
He came to Chonhua Uchiha and looked at his exhausted face, concern clear in his voice. "Chonhua, how are you?"
"Senior... A child from the Uzumaki Clan has been taken. Please... go rescue him."
When Chonhua Uchiha saw Hatake Sakumo arrive, he immediately relaxed. With a Kage Level expert here, the danger had passed in an instant.
Now that the tension had left him, exhaustion washed over him, and sleepiness crept in.
Before you continue