Facing the sudden burst of killing intent from Uchiha Fugaku,
Yatsuhashi, who had been steadily retreating,
unexpectedly stayed where he was this time, making no move to back away.
His gaze was icy as he looked at the paper bag in Uchiha Fugaku's hand.
The words "Okonomiyaki" were printed prominently on it.
It was the kind of bag used for takeout from a pancake shop.
Uchiha Fugaku set the bag of takeout okonomiyaki beside the front gate,
"What, not planning to run anymore?"
They were both shrewd men.
Yatsuhashi understood what Uchiha Fugaku meant in an instant.
After all, the last person who had dared threaten his family like this
had long since been reduced to ashes, with nothing left of him.
There was no one around here now.
If the two of them really fought,
Yatsuhashi would have a chance to keep Uchiha Fugaku here forever...
He sensed the aura of Yatsuhashi across from him
change noticeably in an instant.
Uchiha Fugaku gave a scornful smile. "Then..."
But before he could finish,
Yatsuhashi's figure suddenly vanished.
Uchiha Fugaku's expression shifted.
He spun around. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball blasted toward the space behind him.
The scorching flames instantly swallowed Yatsuhashi, who had just appeared behind Uchiha Fugaku to launch a sneak attack.
But faced with the raging flames, Yatsuhashi didn't choose to retreat.
He charged through the flames and punched!
"Thud!" A muffled impact rang out,
and Uchiha Fugaku, struck by Yatsuhashi, immediately turned into a puff of white smoke.
It turned out that this had been his Shadow Clone Technique.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
The real Uchiha Fugaku stood on a distant treetop,
forming Hand Seals.
Four thick earthen walls surged up from the ground, trapping Yatsuhashi in the middle.
Yatsuhashi looked up at Uchiha Fugaku, standing in a tree not far away.
The white cloth that had been covering his eyes was now gone.
Blood was still streaming from both of his eyes.
Those were the Mangekyō Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan.
Yatsuhashi, trapped by the Earth Style: Earth Wall,
had also activated the Mangekyō Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan.
Uchiha Fugaku looked at Yatsuhashi, who had faced the Great Fireball head-on without being injured.
"As expected, Fire Release doesn't work on you!"
"Hah..."
Yatsuhashi adjusted his breathing.
He knew that the Uchiha Clan's leader,
Uchiha Fugaku, wouldn't be that easy to take down.
Once his breathing steadied,
in the very next moment,
Yatsuhashi burst through the wall.
The tree Uchiha Fugaku stood in crashed to the ground with a tremendous boom.
The two figures tangled wildly in midair.
The longer they fought, the more astonished Yatsuhashi became.
After all, he was giving it everything he had.
He had pushed his speed to the absolute limit.
Yet Uchiha Fugaku could still keep up with him.
Whenever Yatsuhashi was about to land a hit,
Uchiha Fugaku would dodge at just the right moment.
Impossible. This was absolutely impossible!
After all, he had the boost of his unique ocular technique, Return to Basics.
And Uchiha Fugaku wasn't some Taijutsu expert.
How could he possibly keep up with Yatsuhashi's movements?
Suddenly, amid their ongoing exchange of blows, Yatsuhashi noticed the blood streaming from Uchiha Fugaku's eyes.
Was that the ocular technique of his Mangekyō Sharingan?!
Once Yatsuhashi realized that Uchiha Fugaku wasn't matching him through Taijutsu,
his mind actually settled.
And so, the fight between them began to take on a strange quality.
If there had been anyone else here, they would have been utterly bewildered.
The movements of both fighters were bizarre in the extreme.
As Yatsuhashi and Uchiha Fugaku fought,
their attacks would often abruptly stop halfway through,
with one of them suddenly pulling back before a punch had even fully extended.
At other times, they would make all kinds of unexpected feints.
On top of that, they attacked and withdrew at incredible speed.
So to an onlooker,
their Taijutsu battle would have seemed utterly strange.
That was because both of them were using the Sharingan to predict the other's predictions,
but Uchiha Fugaku's predictions often had the upper hand thanks to his ocular technique.
This contest of wits made the battle full of pauses and changes in rhythm,
which was why it looked so strange.
The two of them fought for quite a while,
until the blood streaming from Uchiha Fugaku's eyes grew heavier and heavier.
Only then did he suddenly throw several Kunai at Yatsuhashi.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Several Kunai cut through the air.
Taking advantage of the moment, Uchiha Fugaku put some distance between them,
deliberately ending their Taijutsu clash.
"Lightning Release: Great Roaring Thunder!"
A brilliant blue bolt of lightning burst from his mouth,
striking toward Yatsuhashi, who had just dodged the Kunai.
Yatsuhashi didn't choose to dodge.
He planned to use this opening
to keep the pressure on Uchiha Fugaku.
But when the Lightning Release struck Yatsuhashi,
his body, poised to launch another attack, came to a halt.
Although, the moment the lightning touched him,
he had used Return to Basics to instantly restore the Lightning Release Ninjutsu to its original chakra,
the intense paralyzing effect carried by the lightning still coursed through his body.
It made Yatsuhashi's movements falter for an instant.
"Hah... hah..."
Taking advantage of the opening,
Uchiha Fugaku gasped for breath,
hurriedly trying to steady himself.
The Taijutsu clash had already pushed him to his physical limits.
Although Yatsuhashi hadn't landed a hit on him,
overusing the Mangekyō Sharingan had also caused his vision to blur.
So even with such a perfect chance to counterattack,
he no longer had the strength to launch an attack.
"Eight Inner Gates: Gate of Opening, open!"
"Eight Inner Gates: Gate of Healing, open!"
"Eight Inner Gates: Gate of Life, open!"
"Eight Inner Gates: Gate of Pain, open!!!"
Veins bulged on Yatsuhashi's forehead, and a powerful aura erupted from his body.
He forced his paralyzed body to keep moving,
and charged at Uchiha Fugaku once more.
This punch was powerful enough to split mountains and crack rocks,
its path wreathed in a fierce gust.
Yatsuhashi was confident he could kill Uchiha Fugaku on the spot.
Faced with Yatsuhashi's attack, its killing intent completely unconcealed,
Uchiha Fugaku couldn't be sure he could dodge it in time.
His gaze sharpened. He shouted, "Susanoo!"
An orange phantom instantly enveloped Uchiha Fugaku.
It was the ultimate power of the Uchiha Clan—Susanoo!
But just as the Susanoo was about to take shape,
blood suddenly streamed from Yatsuhashi's right eye.
As his Mangekyō spun wildly,
the orange Susanoo began to dissipate.
"Boom!"
A tremendous crash rang out as Yatsuhashi's punch landed.
The already crumbling Susanoo completely vanished before him.
Fortunately, at the last moment,
Uchiha Fugaku had already raised both arms to block.
But Yatsuhashi's strength had reached a terrifying level.
"Crack!"
The sound of breaking bones rang out clearly.
Not only were both of Uchiha Fugaku's arms broken,
but blood also sprayed from his mouth.
But Yatsuhashi's attack didn't stop.
His other hand changed from a fist to a palm,
the tips of his fingers thrusting straight toward Uchiha Fugaku's heart.
At this critical moment,
Uchiha Fugaku actually managed to use his broken arm to block Yatsuhashi's killing blow,
and although Yatsuhashi's hand had already pierced his chest,
his fingertips were still a short distance from the vital heart.
That short distance was enough.
"Cough..."
Uchiha Fugaku coughed up another mouthful of blood.
He stamped his right foot down,
then shouted, "Earth Release: Quicksand Burial!"
The ground beneath them instantly turned into surging quicksand.
Yatsuhashi's expression changed. He had never expected that...
Uchiha Fugaku managed to use a jutsu even with both hands completely disabled.
In the blink of an eye, the shifting sands had already engulfed them up to the waist.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Fugaku clung tightly to Yatsuhashi in front of him with his battered body,
looking as if he intended to take him down with him.
"Though you can erase jutsu, you can't undo the changes they've made to the environment..."
Blood kept spilling from the corner of Uchiha Fugaku's mouth. "Remember, that's your weakness."
Before you continue