A charred smell filled the enormous cave.
Everyone looked toward the slender figure. Deep in their eyes, a trace of inexplicable fear flickered.
He had killed Yamanaka Tatsuya, who had the strength of an elite jonin, in a single move.
That kind of power—could he at least be at Kage Level?
"Are you still going to capture me?" Qin Yu asked the four Root Division ninjas.
The four Root Division ninjas' expressions changed instantly, and they hurriedly shook their heads.
"No. We were only following orders."
"Qin Yu, they had no choice either." Minato Namikaze hurriedly tried to dissuade him.
In their eyes, if Qin Yu went on a killing spree, it would be a nightmare.
"Hmph. Go back and tell Danzo not to provoke me. When I lose it, even I'm afraid of myself." Qin Yu snorted.
The four Root Division ninjas fled as if they'd been granted a pardon.
"Minato, Kuro Yoru, I'd like to talk to Qin Yu alone." Uchiha Fugaku suddenly spoke.
Gekko Kuro Yoru froze, about to say something, but Minato Namikaze reached out to stop him.
"Big Brother Fugaku, we're in the middle of a war. Be careful."
"Don't worry. We'll be back soon." Uchiha Fugaku gave Minato a grateful look, then turned to Qin Yu.
"Uncle Fugaku!" Qin Yu rolled his eyes helplessly. He knew what Uchiha Fugaku was thinking. "Let's go outside and talk."
Even after Uchiha Fugaku and Qin Yu left, the inexplicable oppressive feeling in the enormous cave still hadn't lifted.
"Do you want to ask why I didn't step in just now?" Minato Namikaze asked Gekko Kuro Yoru.
All the Konoha ninjas froze, question marks written across their faces.
Gekko Kuro Yoru nodded. "Minato, with your speed and strength, it shouldn't have been difficult to save Yamanaka Tatsuya in time. I'd like to know why you didn't help him. Do you hate Danzo?"
There were many political factions in Konoha.
But in the end, they boiled down to Danzo's Hawkish faction, the Third Hokage's Dove faction, and the Uchiha Clan, whose position was still uncertain.
Minato Namikaze was a disciple of the Third Hokage's student Jiraiya, so he was clearly part of the same faction.
"No, Senior Kuro Yoru. You're underestimating Qin Yu. His strength and talent are downright terrifying. No matter whether a ninjutsu is A-Class or S-Class, or what nature transformation it uses,"
"as long as he gives it a try, he can learn it in half a day."
"If you had to choose between a boy with such terrifying potential and Root, which is under Danzo, what would you do?"
The ninjas present fell silent.
Gekko Kuro Yoru looked especially astonished.
"Senior Kuro Yoru, I hope you won't let minor matters get in the way of Konoha's larger interests. We're at a crucial point in the war. Any unexpected variable could plunge Konoha into ruin." Minato Namikaze glanced at Gekko Hayate.
He had heard a little about Gekko Hayate's grudge against Qin Yu.
Gekko Kuro Yoru's expression darkened. "Minato, I know what I'm doing."
"Good. I'll go take a look outside." Minato Namikaze left after saying this.
"Dad, didn't you say you'd teach Qin Yu a lesson? With your strength, it should be easy to deal with him." Gekko Hayate's face was full of resentment.
"Shut up. I know what I'm doing." Gekko Kuro Yoru glared at him, then waved for the other ninjas to go rest.
The enormous cave was suddenly left with only Uzuki Cangwu and Inubou.
"Cangwu, I want to hear your assessment of that boy. Remember, this concerns the High Command's evaluation of Uchiha Qin Yu." Gekko Kuro Yoru spoke.
Uzuki Cangwu and Inubou exchanged a glance. "Don't provoke him."
The simple reply caught Gekko Kuro Yoru completely off guard. He instinctively looked at Inubou.
"Don't provoke him!"
The identical answer made Gekko Kuro Yoru freeze.
Rumble!
A violent explosion suddenly rang out inside the cave.
The next moment, a gale surged toward them like a rising tide.
The sudden turn of events made Gekko Kuro Yoru and the others' expressions change. Without time to think, they all sprang into action and rushed toward the source.
In a deserted clearing in the forest, ten thousand meters away.
Uchiha Fugaku followed Qin Yu there.
As he looked at the slender figure before him, his expression tightened—and then he vanished into thin air.
Body Flicker Technique!
Uchiha Fugaku suddenly appeared behind Qin Yu. A Kunai flashed into his hand, and he thrust it straight toward Qin Yu's back.
Clang!
Qin Yu instantly blocked the attack with the back of his hand.
Uchiha Fugaku's expression shifted. He pivoted on his right foot and kicked toward Qin Yu's head as fast as lightning.
At the same time, he reached to his waist with his right hand and flung out three Shuriken.
In an instant, three attacks sealed off Qin Yu from above, the middle, and below.
"Uncle Fugaku, this kind of test is boring." Qin Yu rolled his eyes helplessly.
A series of crackles rang out from his body as he immediately entered Chakra Mode.
Amid flashes of violent lightning, Qin Yu retreated more than ten meters like a ghost.
Uchiha Fugaku's kick missed.
The three Shuriken, wrapped in specially made metal wire, struck one another and ricocheted toward Qin Yu again.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Uchiha Fugaku's hands blurred through the seals, his battle experience exceptional.
He exhaled scorching chakra, which raced along the wires straight toward Qin Yu.
The blazing flames formed three hundred-meter-long fire dragons, their claws and fangs bared.
"Qin Yu, it's been a long time since we fought, uncle and nephew. Our Uchiha Clan excels at Fire Release Ninjutsu. Let me see how much you've improved."
Uchiha Fugaku spoke with a solemn expression.
"I only know the Great Fireball." Qin Yu rolled his eyes helplessly. "Forget it. Even though we're two levels apart, I'll show you anyway. Maybe then you'll give up."
Uchiha Fugaku couldn't help freezing at Qin Yu's cryptic words.
The next moment, he saw the hand seals flying through Qin Yu's hands like a wheel, too fast for the eye to follow—and his expression changed instantly.
No!
His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Qin Yu's hands suddenly stopped. The scorching chakra gathered in his mouth burst forth all at once.
A wave of heat surged out. The roaring flames instantly coalesced into a gigantic fireball dozens of meters in diameter.
No!
It was more like the sun.
The trees along its path snapped apart. Before the sunlike fireball, the three fire dragons looked minuscule.
The distance of a hundred meters vanished in the blink of an eye, and the attacks collided.
Rumble!
The fire dragons were crushed instantly. The Great Fireball, dozens of meters in diameter, only paused for a moment.
The next instant, it hurtled through the air toward Uchiha Fugaku, crushing everything in its path.
They were both Fire Release Ninjutsu. As the head of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Fugaku had thought he'd mastered Fire Release Ninjutsu to perfection.
He had never imagined that Qin Yu could make the Great Fireball feel like an S-Class ninjutsu with a single move.
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