"Torune, same old tactic. Buy me some time." Yamanaka Fu leaped off the ship, stepping across the sea as he sprinted toward Mingyou and Nami from the side.
"Understood." Aburame Torune nodded slightly and raised his hands, several kunai sliding from his sleeves.
He flicked his wrists, sending the kunai clutched between his fingers shooting toward Mingyou and Nami.
"Nami, just as we discussed, I'll guide you from the side and help you gain real combat experience."
Mingyou and Nami rolled and leaped backward in opposite directions, dodging the incoming kunai.
"Got it." Nami nodded slightly. Her gaze sharpened, and her irises turned crimson as three black tomoe rapidly formed and spun within her eyes.
"Sharingan!"
At the same time, Yamanaka Fu had already sprinted behind Mingyou and Nami. He raised his hands before his chest, forming a heart shape and aiming it directly at Mingyou.
"Ninja Art—Mind Body Switch Technique!"
Buzz—
An invisible heart of Chakra shot toward Mingyou.
Mingyou's body seemed to vanish, merging with the sea beneath his feet as he slipped into the water without causing even the slightest ripple.
Once the Mind Body Switch Technique missed, Mingyou emerged from the sea again and stood steadily beside Nami.
"Nami, the red-haired one among them is from Konoha's Yamanaka Clan. He specializes in the Mind Body Switch Technique. If you're hit by it, your body will be controlled by him."
"I understand." As Nami listened intently, she turned and engaged Yamanaka Fu, who was charging in from behind.
Although Yamanaka Fu was a jonin, his secret technique was not especially useful in direct combat. Relying on the Sharingan's insight and predictive ability, Nami traded blows with him evenly and even showed faint signs of gaining the upper hand.
"Everyone, attack together! Kill the Uchiha Clan members! There are only two of them!"
At the same time, the remaining hundred-plus Root members on the deck leaped off the ship and rushed toward Mingyou and Nami.
"Whoa, quite the show of force. Planning to surround us? Heh."
Mingyou gave a disdainful laugh, pulled out a shuriken from his Ninja Tool Pouch, and flung it fiercely at them.
"Ninja Art—Shuriken Shadow Clone!"
As Mingyou completed his hand seals, the spinning shuriken in midair seemed to split apart.
One became two, two became four, and in the blink of an eye, countless shuriken blanketed the hundred or so people like a rainstorm.
"Ahhh!"
The clanging of weapons rang out, while many weaker Root ninja were struck by the dense rain of shuriken. They screamed miserably and fell into the sea.
"He can actually use a technique on the level of Shuriken Shadow Clone."
Aburame Torune's expression changed drastically. This was an S-rank or higher technique, and very few people in all of Konoha could use it now.
Even their Root leader, Danzo, could not perform it.
"Everyone! Kaede and I will hold these two back. Escape immediately! You must report the Uchiha Clan's exact location to Lord Danzo!"
Aburame Torune frowned deeply, turning toward the surviving Root members as he issued the order.
The remaining fifty-odd Root members had already been thoroughly intimidated by Mingyou's strength and had no desire to keep fighting.
Torune's words gave them a perfectly reasonable excuse to flee.
More than fifty people turned and sprinted toward the distant horizon across the sea, not even bothering with the large ship anymore.
"Oh? Are you planning to run all the way back to the Land of Fire over the sea? Heh."
Mingyou smiled helplessly. He did not believe these Root members could sustain themselves on Chakra for that long.
But he had no intention of letting them leave so easily. News of the Uchiha Clan could not be allowed to leak out.
"Amaterasu!"
A massive amount of Chakra gathered in Mingyou's right eye, and fine veins bulged across his eyeball.
As a streak of bright red blood slid down Mingyou's cheek, huge black flames erupted behind those Root members, igniting their backs.
"Ahh—"
Miserable screams rang out one after another. Large numbers of Root members rolled desperately across the sea's surface, trying to extinguish the flames on their backs with seawater.
But unfortunately, Amaterasu was an inextinguishable flame. Their efforts were completely futile.
Before long, the fifty-odd people ceased struggling and slowly sank into the depths of the sea.
The black flames followed them down as well, likely burning their corpses to nothing.
"What... what rank of ninjutsu is this?"
Watching more than a hundred people fall at Mingyou's hands, Aburame Torune knew he could not possibly be Mingyou's opponent.
But trying to flee now would be pointless.
He grabbed his collar with both hands and tore off his shirt in one motion.
Then, starting from his navel, large patches of black spread across his previously pale skin, rapidly climbing over his upper body.
Once even his head had turned black, Aburame Torune charged straight at Mingyou again.
"Oh? So these are the Nano-Poison Insects?"
Mingyou's expression shifted slightly in surprise.
Through the Sharingan's vision, he could see countless tiny black insects crawling over Aburame Torune's body.
Having read the original story, Mingyou knew just how terrifyingly poisonous these insects were.
As long as he made any physical contact with Aburame Torune now, he would immediately be infected by the Nano-Poison Insects.
The Nano-Poison Insects would then consume the victim's energy until they devoured the victim's entire body.
It had to be said, this method was rather similar to Amaterasu's inextinguishable black flames.
"Die!"
Aburame Torune threw a punch at Mingyou's face.
But his fist seemed to strike empty air, passing straight through Mingyou's body.
"What's going on? Is this genjutsu?"
Aburame Torune's expression flickered with surprise. He quickly spun around and stared at Mingyou with wary eyes.
"Since close combat puts me at a disadvantage, I'll use a long-range method instead."
Mingyou brandished a kunai. As a surge of immense Chakra poured forth before him, it quickly condensed into a crescent-shaped blade arc.
"Konoha Style—Crescent Shadow Dance Slash!"
With a sharp swish, the blade arc flew toward Aburame Torune with a howling gust of wind.
Aburame Torune truly was a jonin, and he had spent many years in Root. The moment Mingyou raised and swung his kunai, Torune recognized it as a sword technique favored by Anbu ninja.
He moved in an S-shaped pattern, quickly evading the crescent blade arc.
Then he flung several kunai clutched between his fingers as a feint while his real body charged directly toward Mingyou.
Before you continue