Rasengan

"System, exchange for Rasengan!"

After killing the enemy Chunin, Uchiha Shin didn't dare linger. He immediately set off to support Uchiha Madara. Seeing the state Madara was in, covered in wounds, Shin figured that if he didn't hurry, he'd be left with nothing but a body to bring back.

"Rasengan, Rank A. Requires 5,000 points. Exchange?"

"Yes!"

The system's emotionless voice sounded, and a warm current flowed through Shin's body. He knew he had mastered the Rasengan.

Shin had been thinking about which A-rank ninjutsu to exchange for during the fight. In the end, he settled on this signature technique of Naruto Uzumaki's from the original story.

After all, ordinary A-rank ninjutsu wouldn't be enough to kill a Jonin. Only a technique with powerful single-target damage stood a chance, and the Rasengan's destructive power had been proven time and again in the original story.

Of course, there was another crucial point: the Rasengan required no Hand Seals and could be launched in any way—one-handed, two-handed, or otherwise. Naruto needed help from a Shadow Clone because he didn't have enough control over his chakra.

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

"Good. Let's have you, Hyuga Jonin, witness the first step in Uchiha Shin's rise during the Warring States Period!"

Having learned the Rasengan, Shin's confidence soared. The Three Tomoe in his eyes grew even more eerie. Looking toward the two fighting in the distance, he saw that Uchiha Madara had lost all ability to fight back and could only take hit after hit. His condition was even worse than Uchiha Izuna's had been moments ago.

Shin let out a quiet laugh. At least Madara wasn't dead yet. He raised his hand and threw six Wu Ku at the two of them, each with an Explosive Tag attached.

Throwing shuriken and kunai was easy to learn but hard to master. Shin had trained hard at it over the past two years, and the kunai reached the two of them in an instant.

"Get out of the way, Madara! Explode!"

Six blasts rang out one after another. Amid the deafening noise, Shin could faintly hear Uchiha Madara's furious roar: "Uchiha Shin, just you wait..."

A figure was hurled out by the force of the explosion. Shin rushed forward and caught him. It was Uchiha Madara.

As soon as Shin caught him, Madara spat out a mouthful of blood. The webbing between the thumb and forefinger of the hand gripping his Tachi had split open, and blood flowed freely. His clothes were in tatters, and a long, deep gash across his shoulder was horrifying to look at. His entire arm was stained red, not a patch of its original skin visible.

Blood kept spilling from his face, and as it ran over his Sharingan, the One-Tomoe within looked all the more gruesome. The rest of his body was marked with wounds from various ninjutsu. His left ribs were especially bad, caved in over a large area. Shin guessed the Hyuga Jonin had struck him with Eight Trigrams Palm; at least nine of his twelve ribs were probably broken.

His legs were covered in countless small wounds, blood constantly seeping out. He looked like a walking blood-soaked corpse.

The severity of his injuries made Shin click his tongue in astonishment. If he'd been hurt that badly, he'd probably have passed out from the pain already. How had Madara gritted his teeth and held the enemy off? When it came to willpower, both Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna were incredibly tough.

"You bastard! You actually threw Explosive Tags straight at us. Were you trying to blow me up too?" Madara coughed and immediately snapped at Shin. He wasn't trying to pick a fight; he was simply furious. Who did that? They'd agreed he would hold them off for ten minutes, and then Shin had unilaterally extended it by another five because "the situation had changed." Luckily, Madara was strong enough to hold out until Shin arrived—and then Shin had thrown a whole string of Explosive Tags at them without distinguishing friend from foe.

Shin smiled and explained, "I chose the angles carefully before I threw the kunai. You were within the Explosive Tags' range, but you were at the outer edge. The Jonin took most of the blasts, and with your reflexes, you could use the recoil to get clear. See? Everything went according to my plan."

Madara froze. Thinking it over, he realized Shin was right. He was still a little angry, but now he had nowhere to direct it.

Shin's expression turned serious. "Enough talk. Six Explosive Tags weren't enough to finish him off. Can you still fight? Let's take him down!"

"Of course! I'm Uchiha Madara, after all! By the way, when did you awaken your Sharingan? You've already got Three Tomoe. You've been hiding it well!"

Madara grinned. He could barely stand, yet his whole body radiated an imposing presence that was impossible to ignore.

As the two spoke, the explosions finally died down in the distance. Once the smoke cleared, the enemy came into view. Aside from looking somewhat disheveled, he showed no obvious injuries.

"So you fought him for over ten minutes and got beaten half to death, but couldn't leave a single clear wound on him?" Shin said. His tone wasn't especially pointed, but Uchiha Madara's face flushed as if he'd been mocked, and he grew even more furious.

"Stop talking. You wouldn't do any better!"

The Hyuga Jonin didn't attack the two of them right away. Instead, his Byakugan shifted as he looked toward the distant battlefield. After Shin had intervened before coming to help, the Uchiha Clan had gained the upper hand. They were now making a final attempt to surround the six remaining Chunin, but the enemy Chunin worked well together and supported one another, so it looked like they wouldn't be defeated anytime soon.

"You've impressed me," the Hyuga Jonin said calmly. Without waiting for Madara or Shin to respond, he continued, "At first, when I saw you gathered in one place waiting for us, I worried it was a trap. But it would have been hard to pass up such a good opportunity. Once I confirmed there was no trap, I was delighted. I thought a bunch of kids like you would be easy prey for us."

He fell silent for a moment. "But I was wrong. You did very well—far better than I expected. Especially you two. It's hard to imagine how strong you'll become when you grow up. But fortunately, I ran into you today. I love killing the geniuses of an enemy clan. The feeling is exhilarating. As long as I kill you two, all our losses tonight will have been worth it!"

As he spoke, his figure suddenly vanished. In an instant, he appeared behind the two of them, his long sword sweeping toward them with the force of wind and thunder.

"Eight Trigrams Horizontal Sword Slash!"

With a crash, the rooftop where the two had been standing was cleaved apart. The instant the Hyuga Jonin appeared, Uchiha Madara had already leapt sideways.

"So fast... I can't dodge!" The thought flashed through Shin's mind. His Taijutsu was indeed inferior to Uchiha Madara's.

"One of you dies first!" The Hyuga Jonin smiled smugly. At such close range, he didn't believe his opponent could evade his full-force strike.

Caw, caw, caw...

Shin really couldn't dodge. But he didn't need to...