Friends Should Help Each Other

The elite Chunin named Jiang Yuanzhi realized that Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Hana, and Uchiha Sarina had spotted him.

He stopped hiding and crouched low, then kicked off the ground with all his strength.

In a flash, he pushed his speed to its limit and charged at the three of them like an arrow loosed from a bow.

"Cover me, Hana!"

"Sarina, look for an opening."

Uchiha Hana replied, "Understood, Lord Shin!"

Uchiha Sarina replied, "Yes, Lord Shin!"

Uchiha Shin wasn't intimidated in the slightest. He called to Uchiha Hana and moved in with her to attack Jiang Yuanzhi from both sides.

As for Uchiha Sarina, he left her to act on her own.

After all, Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Hana had always fought well together.

Bringing in a third person without warning might disrupt the rhythm of their attacks.

Uchiha Hana and Uchiha Shin moved in single file, one behind the other.

"Take this..."

"Shadow Leaf Dance: Charge!"

Uchiha Hana lowered her center of gravity and used her short stature to her advantage, darting straight toward Jiang Yuanzhi.

She closed in on him, then leaped up and drove a powerful punch into his chin.

"Not bad!"

Jiang Yuanzhi sneered and turned his head slightly, dodging the blow. Feeling the fierce rush of wind graze his ear, he was a little surprised.

As expected of a kid from the Uchiha Clan. She had some tricks up her sleeve.

"But you're too slow, and your moves are too predictable..."

"That's why I saw right through you!"

After missing her strike, Uchiha Hana immediately tried to retreat and put some distance between herself and Jiang Yuanzhi.

But she was fast—and Jiang Yuanzhi was faster.

"Thud!"

Jiang Yuanzhi struck before she could pull away, swinging his elbow hard at Uchiha Hana's stomach.

"Oh no!"

Uchiha Hana's heart lurched. Before she could recover...

Jiang Yuanzhi's left elbow lifted her whole body into the air.

"Hmph. Die!"

She was airborne, with nowhere to push off and escape.

Jiang Yuanzhi followed up with his right hand, holding a kunai as he slashed at Uchiha Hana's neck.

"Am I going to die?"

Watching the silver gleam draw closer, Uchiha Hana felt dazed for a moment.

Was this the difference in strength between a Genin and an elite Chunin?

Uchiha Hana smiled bitterly to herself.

"Hana, duck!"

Just as the silver gleam was about to reach Uchiha Hana's neck, she suddenly heard Uchiha Shin's voice behind her.

Trusting Uchiha Shin completely, Uchiha Hana immediately tucked in her neck and lowered her head without a second thought.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Three shuriken skimmed over Uchiha Hana's scalp, flying just above her head before colliding with the kunai Jiang Yuanzhi had swung at her.

"Hm?"

When Jiang Yuanzhi felt his kunai knocked off course by three shuriken thrown by a Uchiha kid, surprise flashed across his face.

Taking advantage of the opening, Uchiha Hana landed, rolled backward, and quickly escaped the reach of Jiang Yuanzhi's kunai.

Uchiha Shin had planned to work with Uchiha Hana...

He had intended for Uchiha Hana to charge first, using her as cover so he could catch their opponent off guard with shuriken.

But Uchiha Hana hadn't even been able to block a single attack. She had nearly died.

It seemed he had underestimated the gap between an elite Chunin and a Genin. Their enemy outclassed them in strength, speed, skill, and combat experience!

"What's wrong?"

"Scared already?"

Jiang Yuanzhi looked mockingly at Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Hana, and Uchiha Sarina. They each held a short blade or kunai and kept a safe distance, watching him warily.

"The battlefield..."

"A shinobi's life..."

"Is no child's game!"

"Heh!"

"Worthless!"

"If you're too scared to come at me, then I'll come to you!"

Jiang Yuanzhi burst into action again, charging at Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Hana, and Uchiha Sarina with his kunai in hand.

"Worthless?"

Uchiha Shin knew their opponent was trying to provoke them.

If it were really that easy, then he, Uchiha Hana, and Uchiha Sarina would have been killed in a single blow already.

On the battlefield, victory depended not only on strength, but also on mental toughness.

The first to let their emotions take control would be the first to show an opening—and the enemy would seize the chance to kill them.

A child's strength naturally couldn't match an adult's.

But Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Hana had trained in Strength of a Hundred, so they were no weaker than their opponent.

"Thump!"

Uchiha Sarina, the weakest of the three, was the first to be kicked away by Jiang Yuanzhi.

"Sarina!"

Seeing Uchiha Sarina kicked away, Uchiha Hana went berserk and began attacking Jiang Yuanzhi.

"Your strength isn't bad!"

"But you're too slow. If you can't hit your enemy, it's worthless!"

Jiang Yuanzhi dodged Uchiha Hana's attacks with ease.

Someone who couldn't even control her own emotions was no threat!

Jiang Yuanzhi immediately shifted his attention to Uchiha Shin.

Under the full force of an elite Chunin's Taijutsu, Uchiha Shin struggled to keep up.

He was just as strong as his opponent, but the other man's attacks came too quickly.

Before Uchiha Shin could strike, his opponent had already changed moves midway!

"Sharingan!"

With no other choice, Uchiha Shin gave up hiding it and quickly activated his One-Tomoe Sharingan.

With the dynamic vision of his One-Tomoe Sharingan, Uchiha Shin could finally see his opponent's movements clearly.

"The Sharingan?"

"You awakened the One-Tomoe Sharingan at your age."

"You must have a pretty important position in the Uchiha Clan, kid!"

"For the sake of the Daimyo, you'll die here!"

When Jiang Yuanzhi saw that Uchiha Shin had activated his Sharingan and was gradually keeping pace with him...

This wouldn't do. He had to finish the kid quickly, before anything could go wrong.

But before dealing with the kid, he had to take out the girl beside him.

Uchiha Hana's attacks were too slow to hit Jiang Yuanzhi, but she could still block attacks meant for Uchiha Shin!

Several times, Uchiha Hana had blocked his attacks and ruined what should have been killing blows.

With that in mind, Jiang Yuanzhi suddenly leaped backward, breaking off his exchange with Uchiha Shin.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Wave!"

Jiang Yuanzhi sprang into the air, his hands forming seals at high speed. Then his cheeks puffed out.

A transparent blade of chakra shot from Jiang Yuanzhi's mouth and slashed toward Uchiha Hana.

"This is bad!"

Uchiha Shin's expression changed. He tried to go to Uchiha Hana's aid, but he was too late.

"Hana!"

Just as Uchiha Hana was about to have her head severed by the blade of Wind Release chakra...

"Thump!"

Uchiha Sarina seized the chance to ram Uchiha Hana out of the way.

The blade of Wind Release chakra struck Uchiha Sarina squarely in the chest!

"Thud!"

The sound of Uchiha Sarina hitting the ground finally jolted Uchiha Hana out of the shock of escaping death.

"Thump!"

Another heavy body hit the ground.

The elite Chunin Jiang Yuanzhi, who had just been overpowering Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Hana, and Uchiha Sarina, had been taken down in an instant by the elite Jonin Uchiha Goichi, who had rushed over.

As for team leader Masai Shoichi and deputy leader Okune Daisan, Uchiha Goichi had already dealt with them.

That was why Uchiha Goichi had been able to get here in time.

"Lord Shin, are you all right?"

Uchiha Shin glanced at Uchiha Goichi and gave a small shake of his head.

Uchiha Goichi looked Uchiha Shin up and down. If anything had happened to him, Goichi would never have been able to answer to the clan leader.

Thankfully, he had arrived in time. Otherwise, Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Hana might really have lost their lives.

The battle in the gorge ended quickly.

Master Yamashita of the Fire Temple and the warrior monks who had come with him were all captured.

As for the Senju Clan shinobi, Senju Butsuma had managed to lead them in a breakout.

The shinobi of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire's Ninja Guard had all been killed.

"Sarina..."

"Why did you save me?"

Uchiha Hana knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face as she looked at Uchiha Sarina. The blood had soaked through the front of Sarina's clothes, and Hana's face was full of regret.

"Heh..."

"There's no saving me!"

"That Wind Release attack just now badly damaged my internal organs. I won't survive..."

Uchiha Sarina lay weakly on the ground. She managed a smile, then struggled to raise her hand and wipe away Uchiha Hana's tears.

"Besides, aren't we friends?"

"Friends should help each other!"

"Sarina... You..."