A Prodigy of the Immortal Clan

"Tsk."

Ao, the Anbu captain who had remained silent until now, spoke up.

"Third, leave him to me."

"It's my duty as the Anbu captain, and the reason I came here."

As Hiruzen Sarutobi's eldest son,

Ao had wanted to prevent the sight of father and son fighting each other.

He had volunteered to take charge of this operation.

Ao stepped forward and stood in front of Hiruzen.

At the sight of this, Asuma Sarutobi's eyes darkened for a moment.

Ever since Asuma was a child, Hiruzen Sarutobi had never once acknowledged him.

Even though Asuma had clearly fulfilled the mission requirements and completed the village's missions perfectly,

he had never received Hiruzen Sarutobi's approval.

Hiruzen had always been dissatisfied with him.

The only thing Asuma Sarutobi ever got

was a stern scolding from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

His older brother, however,

didn't have to do anything to earn their father's favor and approval.

He had even become the Anbu captain, serving as one of the Hokage's most trusted protectors.

"Vmmm—!"

At the thought,

the Chakra Blade in Asuma Sarutobi's hand suddenly flared several inches brighter,

its sharp gleam crackling through the air.

Without another word,

Asuma Sarutobi charged at Ao.

The twin blades in his hands went straight for Ao's vital points.

At the same time, the Thousand-Armed Kannon behind Chiriku took shape.

Just as Chiriku was about to attack Hiruzen Sarutobi,

Might Guy and Kakashi had already rushed forward.

Guy opened the Gate of Limit with the Eight Inner Gates,

green chakra erupting from his body.

He swung a heavy punch at Chiriku,

while Kakashi held a Chidori in his hand, lightning flashing as he tried to flank him.

"Itachi!"

Yatsuhashi's voice rang out coldly.

He grabbed Uchiha Itachi, who was about to rush forward and help with the attack,

and tossed him backward.

Itachi landed right at the feet of the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Don't forget the mission. Your job is to protect the Third!"

At Yatsuhashi's reminder,

Uchiha Itachi gave up on the idea of helping them attack.

That was right. Their mission was to protect the Third.

At the thought, Uchiha Itachi couldn't help feeling ashamed.

As a ninja, he had actually forgotten their most important objective.

At the same time, he felt a measure of respect for the Anbu ninja wearing an Eagle Mask.

Yatsuhashi, however, simply felt that

Uchiha Itachi was currently his most valuable bargaining chip for keeping Uchiha Fugaku in check.

It would be a real shame if he fell here.

After all, Chiriku was no ordinary rogue ninja.

A fight of this caliber was already beyond Uchiha Itachi's ability to join.

On the battlefield, countless golden chakra fists launched a rapid barrage at Might Guy.

No matter how fast he moved, he was still hit.

Fortunately, Kakashi came to his aid in time,

using Earth Release to block the remaining attacks.

Watching from a distance, Yatsuhashi couldn't help but marvel.

"So this is a prodigy of the Immortal Clan..."

The Thousand-Armed Kannon's defense was impenetrable.

Kakashi and Might Guy kept attacking Chiriku,

but the golden chakra fists of the Thousand-Armed Kannon behind him intercepted them every time.

Chiriku, however, kept his brow furrowed.

Kakashi and Might Guy were only facing him head-on.

They were formidable, but against the Thousand-Armed Kannon's absolute defense,

they couldn't break through anytime soon.

They weren't causing him much trouble.

But the one other person there who hadn't made a move

was the one who made Chiriku feel most threatened.

He kept moving at high speed, but each time, he positioned himself in one of Chiriku's blind spots.

If Chiriku had to rate how troublesome they were,

Kakashi and Might Guy would get, at most, a seven or eight.

But Yatsuhashi, constantly on the move and searching for his blind spots,

would get a perfect ten.

Yatsuhashi was like a blade hanging over Chiriku's head,

threatening his safety every moment.

Although Yatsuhashi hadn't attacked him yet,

Chiriku still had to devote more attention to keeping an eye on him.

That kept him from using his full strength to deal with Kakashi and Might Guy.

"Hah!"

Seeing this, Chiriku decisively stopped forming the Hand Seals to maintain the Thousand-Armed Kannon.

Kakashi and Might Guy naturally didn't let such a good opportunity pass.

They both attacked him at once.

What surprised Yatsuhashi, however, was that

Chiriku managed to block their fierce attacks with nothing more than a staff in one hand, turning defense into counterattacks.

Then Chiriku suddenly hurled the wooden staff toward Yatsuhashi.

Facing Chiriku's attack,

Yatsuhashi, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated, merely tilted his head slightly to the side,

and easily dodged the staff.

"Hm?"

What Yatsuhashi hadn't expected, however,

was that Chiriku had tied a wire to the end of the staff.

The staff he'd dodged suddenly arced through the air and came at him again.

"Watch out!" Uchiha Itachi cried from the sidelines.

But before the Sharingan's peerless insight,

this was nothing more than a simple trick.

Yatsuhashi had already figured out how to deal with it.

Not only did he easily dodge Chiriku's follow-up attack,

he then reached out and caught the returning staff.

He gave it a sharp tug, using the force carried along the wire.

"Come!"

Chiriku felt an enormous force pull him forward,

and his body was dragged toward Yatsuhashi against his will.

But Chiriku grinned.

He used the momentum to close the distance with Yatsuhashi,

ready to form Hand Seals and unleash Welcome Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder once more.

He intended to take out the most troublesome of the three first: Yatsuhashi.

However, Chiriku had underestimated Yatsuhashi's speed.

Before he could finish forming the Hand Seals, Yatsuhashi had already closed in.

His right fist slammed into Chiriku's abdomen with tremendous force.

"Thud!"

Yatsuhashi's fist struck Chiriku hard in the stomach.

Chiriku's face filled with shock.

A large mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth,

and the punch sent him flying.

But it wasn't over yet.

Yatsuhashi tugged on the wire in his hand again.

Chiriku, who had been knocked into the air, was pulled back in front of him once more.

Yatsuhashi drew back his fist, ready to hit Chiriku again.

But just as the punch was about to land,

the Chiriku in front of him was replaced with a log.

"Bang!"

The log burst apart.

The real Chiriku had already used the opening created by the Substitution Technique to put some distance between himself and Yatsuhashi.

He knelt on one knee,

clutching his aching abdomen, disbelief filling his eyes.

"That terrifying speed and strength... What in the world is going on?!"

Before he could catch his breath, a green figure shot toward him like a cannonball.

"Youthful Spinning Kick!"

Faced with Might Guy's flying kick,

Chiriku ignored his pain,

formed Hand Seals, and roared, "Welcome Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder!"

This time, Chiriku unleashed the enhanced form of Welcome Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder—Furious Vajra.

The Thousand-Armed Kannon behind him instantly transformed into the red Wrathful Wisdom King Form.

Its golden fists turned into red chakra fists,

and both their speed and power increased enormously.

The red chakra fists clashed madly with the flurry of Guy's kicks in midair.

The collision unleashed a powerful shock wave,

kicking up clouds of dust from the surrounding ground.

But before the dust had settled,

a silver-white figure tore through it like lightning.

Kakashi swept past Chiriku at a speed the naked eye could barely follow.

"Gah...!"

Chiriku let out a muffled groan and looked down.

A terrible wound had appeared in his abdomen.

Blood gushed out like a spring,

staining the ground red in an instant.

It was the deadly wound left by Kakashi's signature Chidori thrust.

Chiriku staggered backward, clutching the wound,

but warm blood continued to stream between his fingers.