Rasengan

"System, exchange for Rasengan!"

After killing the enemy Chunin, Uchiha Shin did not dare to linger for even a moment. He immediately set off to support Uchiha Madara. Looking at the state of Madara, who was now covered in wounds, he reckoned that if he didn't arrive soon, he would truly only be left to collect a corpse.

"Rasengan, A-rank, requires 5000 points! Do you wish to exchange?"

"Yes!"

The system's calm, emotionless voice rang out. As a warm current flowed into his body, Shin knew he had mastered the Rasengan.

Shin had actually been contemplating which A-rank ninjutsu to exchange for throughout the entire fight, eventually locking onto this signature technique of Naruto from the original work.

One had to understand that to kill a Jonin, ordinary A-rank ninjutsu had little hope of success; only techniques with immense single-target lethality stood a chance. The lethality of the Rasengan was something witnessed by all in the original series.

Of course, there was one more crucial point: the Rasengan required no hand seals and could be unleashed in any form—whether one-handed, two-handed, or otherwise, it posed no problem. The reason Naruto needed Shadow Clones to assist him was simply due to his lack of chakra control.

And for Shin, the thing he was most confident in was his chakra control.

"Alright, let this Hyuga Jonin be the one to witness the first step of Uchiha Shin's rise in the Warring States period!"

Having learned the Rasengan, Shin's inner confidence surged, and the three tomoe in his eyes grew even more eerie. Looking into the distance at the two figures fighting, Uchiha Madara had completely lost the ability to fight back and could only passively endure the beating. His situation was even more miserable than Uchiha Izuna's had been just moments ago.

Shin chuckled softly; as long as he wasn't dead yet, it was fine. He raised his hand and threw six Kunai at the pair, taking the time to attach an Explosive Tag to each one.

The throwing of shuriken and Kunai was easy to learn but difficult to master. In this regard, Shin had put in hard work over the past two years, and the Kunai reached the pair in an instant.

"Move, Madara! Explode!"

Six consecutive explosions rang out. Amidst the violent noise, one could faintly hear Uchiha Madara's hysterical roar: "Uchiha Shin, you just wait for me..."

A figure was sent flying backward by the shockwave of the explosion. Shin hurriedly went up to catch him; it was indeed Uchiha Madara.

The moment he was caught by Shin, a large mouthful of blood surged out of him. The web between the thumb and index finger of his right hand, which was gripping his katana, had split open, and blood flowed uncontrollably. His clothes were tattered, and a long, deep sword wound on his shoulder was a shocking sight. His entire arm was dyed blood-red, with not a single patch of original skin visible.

Blood also spilled continuously from his face, and as it flowed over his Sharingan, it made the single tomoe within appear incredibly bloody. There were various wounds left by ninjutsu elsewhere on his body, especially on his left ribcage, which had collapsed inward significantly. According to Shin's estimation, it was caused by the opponent's Eight Trigrams Palm; at least nine of his twelve ribs were broken.

There were also countless tiny wounds on his legs, continuously oozing blood. The man was practically a blood-soaked mess.

Such heavy injuries made Uchiha Shin click his tongue in secret. If he had suffered such heavy injuries, he probably would have passed out from the pain long ago. How could he still be gritting his teeth and dragging the opponent down? Looking at it this way, in terms of willpower, both Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna were truly formidable.

"You damn bastard, you actually just threw the Explosive Tags over like that! Were you trying to blow me up along with him?" Coughing, Uchiha Madara asked angrily. It wasn't that he wanted to argue with Shin, but he simply couldn't swallow his pride. Who does that? They had agreed on a ten-minute delay, and Shin had unilaterally extended it by five minutes with a single sentence about the situation changing. It was fortunate that his own strength was formidable enough to hold out until Shin arrived to support him, only for Shin to immediately throw a string of Explosive Tags without distinguishing between friend and foe.

Shin smiled and explained, "I specifically chose the angle before throwing the Kunai. Although your position was within the range of the Explosive Tags, it was on the periphery. Most of the blast was absorbed by that Jonin, and with your reaction speed, you were just able to use the recoil to break free. See, everything went according to my plan, didn't it?"

Uchiha Madara was stunned. Upon closer reflection, it really was the case. Although he still held some lingering anger, he found it difficult to vent.

Shin's expression turned solemn. "Alright, enough nonsense. Six Explosive Tags aren't enough to finish him off. Can you still move? Let's take him down!"

"Of course, I am Uchiha Madara! By the way, when did you awaken the Sharingan? You're already at three tomoe; you hid that deep!"

Madara grinned. Even though he couldn't even stand steadily, he radiated an indescribable aura that made it impossible to ignore him.

During the time the two were speaking, the explosions in the distance finally ceased. After the smoke dissipated, the opponent's figure was revealed. Aside from looking somewhat disheveled, there were no obvious signs of injury.

"I have to say, you fought him for over ten minutes and were beaten to the point of having only half a life left, yet you didn't leave a single obvious wound on him?" Shin remarked. Although there was no special tone in his voice, it made Uchiha Madara blush, feeling mocked and becoming even more irritable.

"Stop talking nonsense, you'd be the same if you went up!"

This Hyuga Jonin did not immediately launch an attack on the two. Instead, he rolled his Byakugan and looked at the distant battlefield. Because of Shin's intervention before he arrived to support, the Uchiha clan had already gained the upper hand and was in the process of a final encirclement of the remaining six Chunin. However, because the six Chunin were cooperating well and supporting each other, it seemed difficult to take them down in a short time.

"You two, you surprise me!" the Hyuga Jonin said calmly. Without waiting for Madara or Shin to reply, he continued, "Originally, when I saw you gathering in one place waiting for us, I was afraid there might be an ambush. But not coming to check on such a good opportunity would have been inexcusable. When I confirmed there was no ambush, I was very happy, thinking that a group of children like you would be ours to slaughter."

He fell silent for a moment. "But I was wrong. You did a beautiful job—more beautiful than I expected. Especially you two. I find it hard to imagine what level you will reach once you grow up. But fortunately, I ran into you two today. I love killing the geniuses of rival clans; that feeling is truly exhilarating. Only by killing you two will all the losses from tonight be worth it!"

Following his words, his figure suddenly dissipated, appearing instantly behind the two. The long sword in his hand swept across with the force of wind and thunder.

"Eight Trigrams Horizontal Sword Slash!"

With a loud bang, the roof they were standing on was shattered by the strike. Uchiha Madara had already leaped horizontally the moment he appeared.

So fast... I can't dodge it! The thought flashed through Shin's mind. In terms of taijutsu cultivation alone, he was indeed no match for Uchiha Madara.

"One down!" A smug smile hung on the Hyuga Jonin's lips. At such close range, he didn't believe the opponent could dodge his full-force strike.

Caw, caw, caw...

Shin indeed could not dodge it, but he didn't need to...