Uchiha Chen saw his attack blocked, but showed no sign of disappointment.
After all, he had already used the fire dragon as cover to quietly close in on his enemies.
As the two opponents focused all their attention on defending against the jutsu, the kunai in Uchiha Chen's hand shot out like lightning, flying straight between them.
The kunai was easy to miss amid the violent clash of jutsu, but the sharp whistle it made as it cut through the air still caught the two enemies' keen ears.
At first, they planned to lean aside slightly to dodge it, then regain their footing and launch another attack.
But amid the swirling dust, a sudden hissing sound threw their plans into disarray.
They looked closely and realized it was an Explosive Tag!
With the Explosive Tag suddenly upon them, they had no choice but to retreat at full speed in opposite directions.
A deafening boom rang out as the tag exploded.
Uchiha Chen, who had been waiting nearby, fixed his gaze on the enemy blasted toward him and charged forward without hesitation.
His red-glowing Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun slightly. In an instant, he cast a genjutsu, pinning the enemy in place and leaving him unable to move.
Uchiha Chen immediately flung a kunai at the immobilized enemy before him.
Just as the kunai was about to take the man's life and Uchiha Chen seemed poised to claim the first victory, another kunai suddenly knocked it aside.
Uchiha Chen looked closely and saw that the shinobi in the distance had recovered.
Seeing his comrade on the verge of death, he had thrown a kunai without hesitation and successfully rescued him.
Then he swiftly formed Hand Seals and silently mouthed, "Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"
In an instant, a thick fog billowed out and swallowed all three of them. The sudden mist also interrupted Uchiha Chen just as he was preparing to attack again.
As he looked at the Hidden Mist Technique before him, Uchiha Chen grew increasingly irritated.
Neither of these two shinobi could hold a candle to his original self, whether in single combat or fighting as a team.
He should have been able to kill them with ease, yet for some reason, his usual methods of attack were completely countered.
His Fire Release was countered by Water Release, his Lightning Release was defended against with Wind Release, and his genjutsu could be interrupted easily by the pair working together. Even his powerful Sharingan had been rendered useless by the Hidden Mist Technique.
In short, these techniques had thoroughly countered the Uchiha Clan's abilities.
After a little thought, Uchiha Chen realized that this had to be the work of that old dog, Danzo.
He must have trained these shinobi specifically to counter the Uchiha Clan.
That meant that unless Uchiha Fugaku himself took action or Chen stepped in, any Uchiha who fought them would die.
The thought filled Uchiha Chen with helplessness.
He knew they weren't far from the village, and more shinobi could show up at any moment.
Though he had the Mangekyō Sharingan and could easily kill the two men whenever he wanted, if anyone witnessed it and discovered he had the Mangekyō, his plan to take control of the Konoha High Command would be ruined.
After all, no one wanted to live under the same roof as an Uchiha with the Mangekyō.
He had no choice but to rely on his Sage Body and use his powerful chakra to kill them.
Even if displaying his strength might make Konoha wary of him, that was still better than exposing the Mangekyō.
Besides, the Night of the Nine-Tails was fast approaching. If he revealed the Mangekyō now, he would inevitably be made the scapegoat.
Thinking of all this only deepened Uchiha Chen's hatred of Shimura Danzō. Damn it. This is the first time I've ever met you, and you've already sent people to ambush me. Once I'm in control, I'll make sure you get a taste of Tsukuyomi!
With his decision made, he focused on defense and waited for the attack. He wasn't skilled in Wind Release and couldn't blow away the thick fog. The chakra filling the mist prevented him from sensing the enemies, so for now he could only hold his ground and wait for them to come to him.
Sure enough, while Uchiha Chen focused on defending, the two men concealed in the mist attacked in perfect unison!
They started with a probing barrage of shuriken, but Uchiha Chen dodged them with ease.
A powerful Water Release: Water Wave came surging toward him.
But Uchiha Chen swiftly unleashed Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, successfully blocking the torrent.
At last, he sensed the two enemies' approximate positions.
Without hesitation, Uchiha Chen unleashed his vast reserves of chakra and casually created a Shadow Clone.
The two figures performed the Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame together, launching a fierce attack at their enemies.
They each breathed out a small flame, which rolled and swelled under the boost of chakra. The fire grew more and more ferocious, surging farther and spreading wider.
Majestic Destroyer Flame was only a B-rank jutsu, but with Uchiha Chen's powerful chakra sustaining it, its strength and range increased tremendously. After he expended a large portion of his chakra, a vast sea of fire stretching hundreds of meters appeared before him!
It wasn't as spectacular as Madara's Fire Release during the Fourth Shinobi World War, which had required an entire company using Water Release to counter, but it was still astonishingly powerful.
The two shinobi tried to defend themselves with Water Release, hoping to withstand the attack. But as the flames grew more violent and the temperature soared, their efforts came to nothing. In the blink of an eye, the fire swept over them, leaving both gravely injured.
After completing his attack, Uchiha Chen stood silently, looking at the two men who had been badly burned.
The flames had evaporated the mist. Stepping over the charred black branches beneath his feet, he slowly walked toward them.
The fire gradually died down, and the temperature began to fall.
When he reached them, Uchiha Chen asked slowly, "Who sent you?"
The two men, burned so badly they were almost unrecognizable, kept their lips tightly shut and said nothing.
Seeing this, Uchiha Chen's lips curled into a sneer. "No need to tell me. I already know that old dog Danzo sent you, right?"
Hearing the name they revered insulted in such a way, the two men flew into a rage, longing to leap up and tear Uchiha Chen limb from limb.
Unfortunately, they were gravely wounded and in terrible shape. Though anger blazed inside them, they could only struggle to keep it in check, lest they provoke him.
After all, they still had a plan. If they could take Uchiha Chen down with them, they could wipe away the shame of hearing him insult Lord Danzo.