Of Course

"Boom!"

A massive wooden python crashed down, completely swallowing the figure of Uchiha Yatsuhashi.

"Yatsuhashi-niisan!"

Yukimi stared at the sky filled with dust and smoke, covering her mouth in terror.

However, as the dust settled, the gruesome scene she had imagined did not appear.

From outside the laboratory, Yatsuhashi's calm voice rang out.

"I'm fine."

As the words fell, on the clearing beside the forest, Yatsuhashi's figure slowly emerged from the dust.

"Hahahaha! Good! Good! Good!"

Tenzō's wild laughter echoed from within the laboratory, and he slowly stepped out to stand before Uchiha Yatsuhashi.

The Root cloak on his body snapped in the wind, and Tenzō's youthful face was twisted with excitement.

"That move just now almost fooled my eyes! But if that's all the strength you have, you've still got a long way to go!"

Uchiha Yatsuhashi did not reply, merely watching the arrogant boy below in silence. His pitch-black eyes reflected Tenzō's figure.

"Are you ready?" Yatsuhashi asked softly.

Tenzō was stunned, and before he could react, a terrifying sense of oppression descended instantly.

It wasn't a Body Flicker Technique, nor were there any hand seals—it was a pure explosion of speed.

Yatsuhashi's figure vanished from where he stood, and the next second, he appeared before Tenzō, his fist whistling through the air with a fierce gale.

"Bang!"

Wood chips flew everywhere.

Yet, Tenzō's true body appeared unscathed a few meters away, brushing the dust off himself with a cold sneer.

What Yatsuhashi had struck just a moment ago was merely a clone. He had used a simple piece of wood to take the brunt of Yatsuhashi's attack.

Seeing that Yatsuhashi had taken the bait, Tenzō, not far away, formed hand seals and let out a loud shout.

"Wood Release: Tree Binding Eternal Burial!"

Suddenly, the surrounding trees seemed to come alive. Countless thick vines and roots, like giant pythons, instantly bound Yatsuhashi tightly, dragging him down frantically, vowing to bury him deep within the earth.

"Hahaha! Surrender now, won't you?!"

Tenzō laughed wildly, savoring the posture of a victor.

However, Yatsuhashi, bound by the trees, remained expressionless.

"Hmph!"

With a low shout, the countless trees wrapped around him seemed to encounter an invisible, immense force, instantly shattering inch by inch into a sky full of wood chips that rustled to the ground.

"This... how is this possible?!"

The smile on Tenzō's face froze.

Only then did he realize that this wasn't some powerful ninjutsu; everything was purely Yatsuhashi's raw power. Furthermore, he could clearly feel the quality of the chakra within his opponent undergoing a qualitative change.

Tenzō stared at Uchiha Yatsuhashi's blood-red Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Is this the power within you that has kept me on edge?"

Without waiting for a reply, Tenzō gritted his teeth, formed hand seals, and aimed his palms directly at him.

"Wood Release: Cutting Technique!"

Countless wooden spikes shot from Tenzō's palms toward Yatsuhashi.

"Yatsuhashi-niisan, watch out!"

Watching from afar, Yukimi couldn't help but exclaim once more.

She knew all too well how terrifying Tenzō's Wood Spikes technique was.

Following that, Yukimi was so frightened that she squeezed her eyes shut.

However, the sound of piercing flesh she had anticipated never came.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi dodged the wooden spikes shooting toward him with effortless ease.

In a flash, he closed the distance between the two of them.

Tenzō watched in horror as Yatsuhashi's figure wove through the sky full of wooden spikes.

His movements were as smooth as flowing water.

Without a hint of hesitation, in the very next second, Yatsuhashi appeared right in front of Tenzō.

"Oof!"

Tenzō took a solid punch from Yatsuhashi directly to the abdomen.

The immense impact sent him flying backward.

He crashed through several tree trunks along the way before finally embedding himself into the dirt in a sorry state.

Seeing this, a flicker of regret crossed Uchiha Yatsuhashi's mind.

After all, the opponent is still just a child. Did I go too hard just now?

Yatsuhashi relied on the unique dōjutsu of his Mangekyo Sharingan, [Return to Basics].

He condensed chakra into his fist and struck.

The chakra consumed by this blow was equivalent to that of an ordinary genin, yet it erupted with such astonishing destructive power.

Thus, Yatsuhashi secretly decided in his heart to name this move the Genin Punch.

This was different from Might Guy's Eight Inner Gates.

The Eight Inner Gates relied on breaking through the eight limiters within the body to exchange for immense physical power.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi's dōjutsu, [Return to Basics], simply consumed the chakra within his body.

The more chakra consumed, the greater the power exchanged.

It was a purer, more efficient conversion.

Furthermore, he could rely on chakra to unravel the ninjutsu others had painstakingly constructed, reverting them to their original state.

Uchiha Yatsuhashi had even imagined stacking the amplification of [Return to Basics] on top of the Eight Inner Gates.

Stepping on his own left foot to boost his right, he wondered if he could unleash world-shattering power.

But all of this was still just his fantasy; he had yet to take action.

"Cough... cough, cough..."

Tenzō crawled out of the dirt pit.

Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, yet he still laughed stubbornly: "Not bad! Only this kind of power is worthy of me going all out!"

"Tenzō!"

Yukimi rushed over. Having been worried about Yatsuhashi just a moment ago, she now looked at her younger brother with a face full of anxiety.

"Why don't you just give up! Didn't you say when you were little that Brother Yatsuhashi was the best person in the world to you?"

Tenzō wiped the blood from his mouth.

He glanced at Yatsuhashi with a complex look in his eyes, then let out a cold snort: "You know that was all in the past!"

"I am now the one bearing the fate of darkness! The savior who will rescue the Iburi Clan! Today, I will let you witness my true power!"

Before his words had even faded, his body began to turn ethereal, transforming into a mass of smoke.

This was the innate mist-ification ability of their Iburi Clan.

Tenzō still felt lingering fear regarding Yatsuhashi's power.

Last time, he hadn't even had the chance to use mist-ification before Yatsuhashi struck him.

At this moment, he directly turned his body into a cloud of smoke.

"The curse of our Iburi Clan makes us immune to all physical damage!"

Tenzō's cold voice emanated from within the smoke, "Now, let's see what you do!"

The smoke then surged toward Yatsuhashi like a tidal wave.

Tenzō attempted to unleash the Iburi Clan's unique Smoke Smothering Technique to burrow into his body.

Yatsuhashi simply stood his ground, his Mangekyo watching the approaching cloud of smoke in silence.

However, when the mist-ified Tenzō closed within three meters of Yatsuhashi, Tenzō discovered with horror that his ability to turn into mist was rapidly failing.

By the time he was a single step away from Uchiha Yatsuhashi.

Tenzō had completely solidified.

He even tried to secretly urge his innate mist-transformation ability.

But he was terrified to find that his ability to turn into mist had vanished.

It was as if it had never existed at all.

"Ugh..."

Looking at Uchiha Yatsuhashi, who was still standing right in front of him without having moved an inch, Tenzō swallowed hard, his body shrinking back involuntarily.

In his heart, he recalled the terrifying power of Yatsuhashi's punch from just a moment ago.

"Hiss, can we still reconcile now?"

Uchiha Yatsuhashi had never intended to get serious with the Tenzō before him.

After all, he had witnessed the siblings growing up bit by bit with his own eyes.

Yatsuhashi looked at the fear in Tenzō's eyes, then glanced at Yukimi, who stood to the side with a face full of worry.

"Of course!"

Tenzō turned his head away, "...Hmph."

Although he still sounded a bit unconvinced, the violent chakra surrounding his body quietly subsided significantly.