It Was All Points

"Rasengan!"

With a tremendous boom, one of the Chunin watching from afar fell to the ground.

Ding! Killed a Chunin from the Autumn Wind Clan. Reward: 1,000 points!

"The Autumn Wind Clan? Shouldn't it be the Hyuga Clan?" Even in the blink of an eye, Shin had time to wonder about that. But thinking it over, those Chunin really didn't seem to have the Byakugan unique to the Hyuga Clan. What he didn't know was that the so-called Autumn Wind Clan was a small clan that depended on the Hyuga, much like a servant clan—its standing was even lower than that of an affiliated clan.

"He's over there."

The Elite Jonin immediately caught sight of Shin. He launched the Body Flicker Technique at full speed. To the naked eye, it was almost indistinguishable from teleportation. His sword came down where Shin had been, but once again, it struck nothing.

Even a seasoned Elite Jonin like him couldn't help growing furious. Being toyed with by an opponent far weaker than himself was so maddening it made him want to scream.

"Get out of here. Don't stay and get in the way, or you'll become his target," Hyuga Tamamo ordered. She lightly bit the tip of her finger, staring at Uchiha Shin, who kept appearing and vanishing below.

"Tenpu, can you tell how he's moving?" Hyuga Tamamo quietly asked the Elite Jonin beside her, Hyuga Tenpu.

Hyuga Tenpu had been watching carefully from the beginning. Now he slowly shook his head. "I can't tell. It isn't the Body Flicker Technique. With his strength, he couldn't keep using it for this long. His body would have given out and started breaking down. It's as if he moves directly from one place to another, without warning or pattern. I've never seen such a strange technique."

Below, Shin didn't dare stop using the Flying Thunder God Technique. He leaped between Kunai, vanishing in an instant and never pausing for even a moment.

The two Elite Jonin had been chasing him for so long, yet hadn't even touched the hem of his clothes. At last, they flew into a rage. Their Body Flicker Technique never let up, and the long swords in their hands were as fast as lightning. Only two Black Shadows could be seen, pursuing a single flash of light. Whenever Shin moved to another spot, they followed right behind him.

Three streaks of light crossed and weaved, making for a terrifying sight. In reality, none of the three had touched anyone's clothes yet.

"Hmm, those Chunin are running away! That won't do." Even in the middle of the chase, Shin had time to glance at the Chunin trying to escape.

The Flying Thunder God Technique sent him in a new direction. He appeared beside a fleeing Chunin, lightly slapped an Explosive Tag onto him, then vanished again and appeared in front of another Chunin.

A flash of cold light!

The Chunin was cut down with a single slash. Only then did the Explosive Tag roar to life. The last thing the Chunin left behind was a horrified look.

"No points?"

Shin glanced back in confusion and happened to see the Elite Jonin sheathing his sword. He even kills his own people? Does he have no humanity? Of course, Shin knew the man had killed the Chunin by mistake. That slash had been aimed at him.

Looks like I shouldn't show off with Explosive Tags next time. I'd better just kill them outright. That's points, after all. As he thought, he teleported beside another Chunin, near a Kunai. This time, he acted swiftly and cleanly. His Sharingan turned slightly, and when their eyes met, the Chunin's body went rigid, unable to move. The Kunai sliced across his throat.

Ding! Killed a Chunin from the Autumn Wind Clan. Reward: 1,000 points.

Shin moved incredibly fast, but every action still took time. No matter how quickly he acted, when a streak of sword light flashed by and he fled with the Flying Thunder God Technique, a palm-sized scrap of cloth fluttered down. It was a corner of Shin's clothes.

That was close. If I'd been an instant slower, that slash would have done more than cut off a piece of my clothes. I can't afford to be careless when fighting an Elite Jonin-level opponent. Shin thought with lingering fear.

He flashed from place to place with the Flying Thunder God Technique. Of the seven Chunin, one had been killed by the Rasengan, one had been accidentally killed by the enemy Elite Jonin, and one had been killed by Shin himself. The remaining four had run far away. Two had already left the area covered by his Kunai, and with the Elite Jonin pursuing him, Shin had no chance to catch up.

He teleported in front of another Chunin and killed him, earning 1,000 points. Then he hurried away before the Elite Jonin could catch up.

In the short time that had passed, another Chunin had reached the edge of the Kunai circle. By the time Shin teleported over, the man had already left his range. Shin didn't dare attack with any Fire Release Ninjutsu; it required Hand Seals. No matter how fast he formed them, he couldn't beat the Body Flicker Technique of the two Elite Jonin behind him. So he threw the Kunai in his hand at the Chunin and vanished, reappearing far away.

Distance always gave people a sense of safety. Though he didn't understand why his opponent had suddenly withdrawn so far, the Chunin instinctively relaxed. He turned to dodge the Kunai, but in that instant, he felt the wind pressure behind him shift. It was too late to turn around. A pain pierced his back, and he fell to the ground. With his last glance, he looked toward the distant spot where Shin had just appeared. There wasn't a soul in sight now.

Ding! Killed a Chunin from the Autumn Wind Clan. Reward: 1,000 points.

"I'll kill you!"

The Elite Jonin roared and charged in an instant, the veins bulging on his sword-gripping right hand. It was humiliating—an absolute disgrace. With two Elite Jonin attacking him, their opponent had still managed to kill four Chunin. It was a disgrace they could never live down.

Boom! The sword energy swept across the spot where Uchiha Shin had been, cutting through the railing of a distant camp and leaving deep cracks in its wake.

"If you want to kill me, saying it isn't enough, you know, weakling!" Shin appeared on the roof of another grass hut, his face full of mockery. His tone was enough to make anyone who didn't know him want to stab him.

"Die!"

The other Elite Jonin appeared behind Shin. His sword cleaved the grass hut apart, but still failed to graze Shin.

The three returned to their earlier chase. From a distance, it looked like a single flash of light weaving between two Black Shadows.

On the hill, Hyuga Tamamo bit down harder on her thumb. Her gaze moved repeatedly between the spot where the last Chunin had died and the place where Shin had stood earlier. At the same time, she recalled how he had scattered Kunai across the ground at the beginning, and how he had just thrown one of his Kunai away...

"I think I know the conditions for activating his technique," Hyuga Tamamo said calmly, lowering her hand.