Although Root shinobi were exceptionally resilient, a genjutsu of this level could probably only hold him for a very brief time. But in a clash at this level, a moment's mistake meant the difference between life and death!
"What?!"
"The intel was wrong! He was prepared for us!"
The other two Root shinobi were shaken, but they were well trained and reacted immediately. One continued without hesitation, thrusting at Uchiha Ling's upside-down body, while the other tried to rouse their comrade and provide cover.
"Too slow!" Uchiha Ling's voice was icy.
As the genjutsu took effect, his body was already moving. His upside-down form twisted nimbly, as if weightless, deftly evading the kunai thrusting toward him.
He kicked off the ceiling with both feet and shot toward the Root shinobi caught in the genjutsu like an arrow loosed from its string!
"Spurt!"
The kunai in his hand sliced precisely across the man's throat, spraying warm blood!
[Root operative A's fear +40!] [Root operative B's shock and fury +30!] [Root operative C's despair and fear +300!]
One man killed in an instant, at the very first clash!
The two remaining Root shinobi were both shocked and enraged. According to their intel, their target was only a Ninja Academy student. He had awakened the Sharingan and was somewhat capable, but he had been seriously injured and should have been weak and bedridden.
Yet the target before them moved like lightning, struck with ruthless decisiveness, and had chakra to spare. He didn't look injured in the slightest!
"Kill him!" The two Root shinobi attacked even more fiercely without the slightest hesitation.
The cutting gusts formed by Wind Style: Vacuum Wave sliced through the air, while Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique swallowed half the hospital room in an instant. The deafening roar and explosions finally shattered the hospital's silence!
The alarm blared shrilly!
Uchiha Ling relied on the Sharingan's perceptiveness to dodge and weave through the cramped space, evading their combined attacks by the narrowest of margins each time.
After his recent spending in the system shop, two Root shinobi were no longer enough to take him down.
"They actually gave me 300 Emotion Points all at once just now. Is fear and despair right before death really that intense?" Uchiha Ling pondered the question.
Before this, the most Emotion Points he had received at once was only 80, from the surge of excitement when he had saved Kushina.
Thinking of this, Uchiha Ling deliberately left an opening, slowing down by half a beat as if he were running low on chakra. One of the Root shinobi took the bait and closed in, driving a kunai straight at his chest!
"Got you!"
Just as the kunai was about to reach him, Two-Tomoe suddenly appeared in Uchiha Ling's eyes.
The Root shinobi's gaze instinctively met the spinning tomoe. His mind faltered, and his movements stalled for the briefest instant once again!
Now!
Uchiha Ling twisted aside, narrowly avoiding a vital spot. The kunai sliced through his hospital gown, drawing a thin spray of blood.
But he ignored it. His other hand was already prepared, and he thrust out a shuriken charged with Lightning Release Chakra!
The blue, crackling shuriken plunged precisely into the man's heart!
[Root operative B's despair and unwillingness to accept defeat +300!]
The second Root shinobi fell!
Seeing this, the last Root shinobi knew the mission had failed. Their target was far stronger than expected, and his methods were strange and ruthless.
Without hesitation, he retreated, trying to smash through the window and escape!
"Trying to leave?" Uchiha Ling wiped the blood from his face. His crimson Sharingan fixed on the man's back. "Too late!"
Uchiha Ling formed Hand Seals rapidly. His Hardness proficiency made his seals exceptionally fast.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A huge fireball roared out, not aimed directly at the man but blocking every possible escape route! The scorching heat forced the Root shinobi to retreat and dodge.
That brief delay was all Uchiha Ling needed to close in behind him like a phantom!
Knowing he could no longer escape, the Root shinobi could only fight to the death.
But without his comrades to back him up, and facing Uchiha Ling—a perfectly healthy Sharingan user with an exceptionally vicious and unpredictable fighting style—he lasted fewer than ten moves. Uchiha Ling used a concealed Substitution Technique combined with a strike from behind, driving a kunai through the man's back!
[Root operative A's resentment and fear +300]
The battle was over.
The hospital room was in ruins. Flames burned and thick smoke billowed as three bodies lay in pools of blood.
The piercing alarm continued to blare, and hurried footsteps from the distance drew closer.
Uchiha Ling stood in the middle of the room, his hospital gown stained with blood and dust, several new wounds marking his body. He breathed heavily. His Sharingan slowly faded, leaving his black eyes cold and still.
Uchiha Ling walked over to the first Root shinobi he had killed and crouched down. Without hesitation, he removed the man's mask. Beneath it was an unfamiliar, pale young face, eyes wide open, still bearing the traces of shock and fear.
Uchiha Ling searched the man's clothes and ninja tool pouch carefully.
He soon found what he was looking for: a wooden token engraved with intricate runes. On its back was a tiny mark of the character for "Root."
He had the evidence.
Uchiha Ling tucked the token into his clothes.
Then he took a deep breath. The cold, murderous expression on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by the terror and weakness of someone who had just survived a disaster, along with overwhelming anger and... grievance?
He put on a full performance!
When the first wave of Anbu shinobi rushed into the wrecked hospital room, this was what they saw:
The young hero, Uchiha Ling, was covered in blood and pale as a sheet, slumped weakly against the wall. His body trembled faintly with "fear and shock," and tears of "grief and anger" welled in his eyes. Looking at the Anbu who had rushed in, he shouted in a hoarse voice full of sobs and disbelief:
"Why?! Why did the village send people to kill me?! What did I do wrong?! I just did the village a great service!!"
Uchiha Ling's voice rang with despair and accusation, echoing through the hospital room, thick with the stench of blood and burning.
The Anbu who had rushed in stared at the bodies on the floor, all dressed in Root uniforms, then at the "weak," "terrified," and "aggrieved" boy. For a moment, they all froze, exchanging stunned glances as their scalps prickled.
This... was getting serious!
[Anbu A's shock and bewilderment +30] [Anbu B's disbelief +30] [Anbu C's sympathy +30] [From...]
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