Last Time I Held On Five Minutes Longer

Uchiha Shin could no longer remember how long he had been using the Flying Thunder God to teleport. Those two elite jonin were truly brimming with stamina; they hadn't stopped chasing him for a moment. If not for the fact that he was of the Uchiha Clan and possessed a massive reserve of chakra, he might have collapsed long ago.

After dodging a few more times, he took the opportunity to glance at Hyuga Tamamo on the distant hill. Seeing that the elite jonin beside her still had no intention of joining the fray, he couldn't help but frown, a desire to retreat forming in his mind.

It seems there's no chance to capture that girl. Better to pull back and try another time. To think she dared to scheme against me—I will make you pay for this.

Once again evading the pincer attack of the two elite jonin, Shin searched for the kunai he had left at the Fujiwara Mine Outpost, utilizing the unique connection of the Flying Thunder God technique while he dodged.

Just then, the elite jonin who had been guarding Hyuga Tamamo suddenly moved. He leaped off the hill and charged straight toward him.

At that moment, Hyuga Tamamo was left completely unguarded, and not far from her feet lay one of his Flying Thunder God kunai.

Lure, trap, carelessness...?

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Shin's mind, but there was no time to sort them out; his body had already reacted instinctively.

With a flash of light, he appeared on the hill. Opportunities are fleeting, and a ninja must seize every chance that appears before them—this was one of the lessons taught to every ninja in this world, and Shin, having transmigrated, had been receiving such education ever since, to the point where it had become instinct.

His Three-Tomoe Sharingan rotated slowly, taking in the positions of everyone present and instantly analyzing the current situation.

I am two meters from Hyuga Tamamo. I can close the distance within 0.2 seconds. Taking advantage of her reaction time, I can subdue her directly. The two elite jonin chasing me are 50 meters from the hill. Based on their speed during the pursuit, even at full use of the Body Flicker Technique, it would take them about 0.7 seconds to cover that distance. The elite jonin charging at me, accounting for momentum and turning time, will need at least 1 second to arrive. It's doable!

In a mere thousandth of a second, Shin had calculated the timing. He lunged at Hyuga Tamamo like a pitch-black panther, the kunai in his hand reflecting the moonlight as he pressed it directly against her neck. Even now, her face remained blank, as if she hadn't yet grasped what had happened.

"Got you!" Shin said coldly.

Whoosh... whoosh...

Two figures landed on the hill—the very elite jonin who had been chasing him. They looked at him with anxiety, and one of them roared, "Release the Princess!"

Shin tightened his grip on the kunai and sneered, "Release her? Are you joking? It took me so much effort to catch her. On the contrary, you two—if you want her to live, seal the flow of chakra in your own bodies first, or there's nothing to talk about!"

Shin felt he was developing a real aptitude for being a villainous boss. Despite this being his first time taking a hostage, he was surprisingly adept at it. Sigh... I've fallen since I transmigrated. It really is all the system's fault!

While thinking these irrelevant thoughts, his eyes remained locked on the two elite jonin, observing their anxiety and silently contemplating how to threaten them next.

Suddenly, he sensed something was wrong. Logically, the one who had been charging at him from the hill was also an elite jonin-level powerhouse; by the time he had finished speaking, that person should have arrived long ago. Why was there still no sign of him? Furthermore, the Hyuga Tamamo in his arms was far too quiet—unnaturally so.

One had to realize that even the calmest person, when held hostage with a blade to their throat, would exhibit a slight, involuntary tremor—it was a human instinct, unrelated to anything else. Yet, the person in front of him showed no such reaction; her heartbeat hadn't even quickened by a single beat.

"Damn it, it's a trap!"

By the time Shin realized it, it was already too late; he only had time to rotate the Three-Tomoe in his eyes.

"It is I who have caught you."

"Hyuga Tamamo" suddenly spoke, but the voice was not the cute tone of an eight-year-old girl; it was the voice of an adult man. Before the sentence was even finished, a kunai had already pierced through Uchiha Shin's chest.

With a puff of white smoke, "Hyuga Tamamo" transformed into an adult male of the Hyuga Clan—the third elite jonin, Hyuga Tenpu.

Meanwhile, the "Hyuga Tenpu" who had charged down earlier walked up slowly and stood beside the other two elite jonin. With a puff of white smoke, he transformed into the appearance of Hyuga Tamamo.

The two elite jonin looked at this transformation in astonishment, but clearly relieved, they said, "Princess, thank goodness you are unharmed. You scared us to death!"

Shin, pierced through the chest, looked at this scene in equal shock. He gave a bitter laugh and said, "To think it was a Transformation Technique. I was actually tricked by such a basic D-rank ninjutsu... cough... cough..."

Hyuga Tamamo chuckled. "Ninjutsu has no rank; the best ninjutsu is the one that can defeat the enemy, wouldn't you agree? However, the amount of trouble you've caused truly exceeded my expectations. That space-traveling ninjutsu is something I've seen for the first time. If you hadn't been so greedy, I'm afraid we really wouldn't have been able to do anything to you today.

Perhaps there are perfect ninjutsu in this world, but as long as the user is human, it will inevitably be imperfect, because the human heart always has flaws. I only hope you are more cautious in your next life.

However, I paid a heavy price for you, you know. Do you have any idea how much strain it puts on the body for a chunin to disguise themselves as an elite jonin and force the use of the Body Flicker Technique? My whole body is aching right now!"

Blood spilled from the corner of Shin's mouth, and he nodded earnestly. "Lesson learned. But there's no need to wait for the next life; I'll be careful next time. Also, your name is Hyuga Tamamo, right? I've suddenly become very interested in you. You'd best not leave the Hyuga Clan from now on. But even if you don't, one day I will break in. Just wait for me."

Even though Shin was clearly at the end of his rope, for some reason, Hyuga Tamamo felt a sudden palpitation and involuntarily took a step back.

"Hmph, what are you dreaming about? Your heart has been shattered by me; no one in this world can save you." Hyuga Tenpu maintained the motion of stabbing with the kunai, his arm still embedded in Uchiha Shin's body, blood dripping from the wound drop by drop.

A strange smile hung on the corner of Shin's mouth. "I'm the type of person who likes to leave myself a way out. If I wasn't certain I could escape even if it were a trap, I wouldn't have risked charging in. A ninja should seize every opportunity before them, fearless and undaunted. However, I am very afraid of death, so I suppose I'll never be a good ninja in this life. But being a good ninja isn't my goal anyway, so it doesn't matter.

Finally, a shattered heart does indeed mean death, but are you really certain you pierced my heart?"

As Shin spoke, his body underwent a startling change...

Caw... caw... caw...

A flock of crows circled and flew up, and Uchiha Shin's body completely disintegrated into crows that scattered in all directions.

"The boundary between reality and illusion is sometimes not so easy to distinguish. Tonight's events have taught me a great deal. Hyuga Clan, we shall meet again. And little Tamamo, I've remembered you."

Several crows gathered together on a tree trunk to reform Shin's body. Daring not to linger for a second, he immediately activated the Flying Thunder God and vanished.

"Eight Trigrams Air-Shattering Slash!"

"Eight Trigrams Mountain-Severing Slash!"

"Shintle Fist Lion King Roar!"

Three powerful blasts of energy struck the tree where Shin had been standing one after another. With a thunderous boom, the century-old giant tree was torn to pieces.

"He got away!" one of the elite jonin beside Hyuga Tamamo said.

Hyuga Tenko held the kunai before his eyes, looking at the blood dripping from it, and said in a low voice, "He didn't completely dodge my strike. He is already injured."

Hyuga Tamamo remained silent, looking into the distance, wondering what she was thinking. After a while, she said, "We are returning to the clan!"

"Oh my, you're leaving just like that? It's rare for you to visit our Uchiha Clan, and you won't even step through the front gate? Isn't that a bit impolite? If word gets out, people will think our Uchiha family doesn't know how to host guests!"

Suddenly, a voice rang out from the shadows of the forest. The three elite jonin were startled, instantly surrounding Hyuga Tamamo. Hyuga Tenpu said in a low voice, "Who is it? Come out!"

"Heh, isn't that exactly where I am?" A figure clad in wide robes appeared upon the tree trunk, the single tomoe in his eyes clearly visible as he gazed down at them from a position of superiority.

"Uchiha Madara?" Hyuga Tamamo's expression shifted. At the same time, five figures emerged from the shadows, surrounding them in the center. The three tomoe in each of their eyes were uniform, appearing chillingly cold under the moonlight.

"Four elite jonin, one peak jonin!" Hyuga Tenpu assessed the strength of the five men, his heart sinking continuously.

Hyuga Tamamo's face turned deathly pale. Unsure of where she had made a mistake, she asked with lingering resentment, "When did you arrive?"

Uchiha Madara held his head high and sneered, "When? From the very beginning, of course."

"Then why didn't you appear when we were surrounding and killing Uchiha Shin?" Hyuga Tamamo bit her lower lip and asked.

Regarding this question, Uchiha Madara looked up at the bright moon in the sky, let out two dry, mocking laughs, and offered no answer.

Come to think of it, that brat Shin told me to hold out for five more minutes last time... hmm, I believe that's what he said...