Besides, it wasn't that Naoki looked down on these Kirigakure Ninja. Compared to the formidable black-clad ninja from earlier and the black-armored giant wielding Kabutowari, the other Kirigakure Ninja were completely outmatched.
Naoki killed one of them in a single exchange.
The other two were shocked, but Naoki gave them no chance to react. His long blade came at them like a violent storm, and before long, they both made mistakes.
A smile appeared on Naoki's handsome face, smeared with blood.
He reversed his grip on the long blade and darted forward. The instant the two Kirigakure Ninja left themselves open, he slashed one of them across the throat.
Blood sprayed as the Kirigakure Ninja's eyes widened. Clutching his throat, he slowly collapsed.
The last Kirigakure Ninja saw that things had gone badly and turned to flee, but Naoki's Sharingan tracked his every move.
"Trying to run?"
Lightning flickered in his palm. His long blade, wrapped in electricity, flew from his hand and struck the man squarely in the heart from behind.
Having dealt with the black-armored giant's three guards, Naoki turned to look at the battle on Uchiha Setsuna's side.
The fight between Uchiha Setsuna and the black-armored giant had reached its climax.
Kabutowari whirled and howled in the giant's hands, the hammer and axe alternating in a relentless barrage.
Uchiha Setsuna's Three-Tomoe Sharingan calmly tracked every subtle movement his opponent made, allowing him to weave effortlessly through the dense attacks.
The two seemed evenly matched, but Naoki could see that the black-armored giant was having an increasingly hard time keeping up, while Uchiha Setsuna was still fighting with ease.
"Damn you! Is dodging all you can do?" the black-armored giant roared, the chain clattering in his hands. "If you've got the guts, take one of my blows head-on!"
Uchiha Setsuna didn't reply. Instead, he glanced around.
The fighting elsewhere had mostly ended. Even the badly wounded Uchiha Zongye had started treating his injuries. As for Hyuga Ryosuke, who was even more seriously hurt... he was on the verge of death.
After surveying the battlefield, Uchiha Setsuna knew that Naoki and the others had finished their "training." It was time to end the fight.
"That's about enough."
He murmured to himself, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan glowing an eerie red in the moonlight.
The black-armored giant swung Kabutowari and charged again. The hammer and axe howled, the chain clattered, and the attack was terrifying.
"Die!" the black-armored giant roared.
Uchiha Setsuna raised his right hand and caught the enormous axe blade between just two fingers.
"What?!"
The black-armored giant's pupils contracted. He stared at the scene in disbelief.
His full-strength strike, powerful enough to split mountains and shatter stone, had been caught effortlessly between two fingers by the old man before him, who looked nearly sixty. How was that possible?
"That's all you've got?"
Uchiha Setsuna's voice was as calm as if he were talking about the weather.
The next instant, his chakra erupted. Blue-white electricity covered his body, and the gray-white hair that had hung over his shoulders now whipped wildly in the air.
A bone-deep chill shot up the black-armored giant's spine. The sudden display of power from his opponent made even a battle-hardened ninja like him instinctively want to run.
Uchiha Setsuna released the axe blade and let it slip free.
"You're too slow."
His voice was flat as still water, yet it left the black-armored giant feeling as if he'd fallen into an icy abyss.
The next instant, blue-white lightning surged!
Uchiha Setsuna vanished from where he stood, leaving only a blinding arc of electricity in the air.
The black-armored giant swung his chain on instinct. The hammer and axe formed an impenetrable defensive circle around him, his proudest technique—one that had once held off the attacks of dozens of enemies.
But all he saw was a hand.
It passed through the whirling hammer and axe, through the gaps in the chain, as if they were nothing but empty air, and came to rest lightly against his chest.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Fist."
A low hum came from Uchiha Setsuna's palm.
The black-armored giant looked down. The armor on his chest began to glow red and melt. Blue-white light shone from within, illuminating his horrified face.
Boom!
Lightning flashed across his chest, exploding into a dazzling sphere of light beneath the night sky.
The black-armored giant's body stiffened for a moment. Blood spilled from his mouth and dripped onto Uchiha Setsuna's hand.
Kabutowari fell, and the chain clattered to the ground.
Uchiha Setsuna withdrew his hand. His grizzled hair fluttered faintly in the fading glow of the lightning.
Looking down at the gaping hole blasted through his chest, the black-armored giant reached up and removed his faceplate, revealing a youthful face.
"Who... are you?"
Uchiha Setsuna retrieved his weapon and slid it into the sheath on his back. With his back to the black-armored giant, he said slowly, "Uchiha... Setsuna!"
"You bastard! You were playing with me the whole time..."
The black-armored giant tried to chase after Uchiha Setsuna, but his wounds were too severe. He managed only a couple of steps before falling to his knees with a thud, then toppled onto his back and died.
When Uchiha Setsuna came over, Naoki smiled wryly. "So you were just dragging things out and slacking off the whole time, huh, senior..."
Though he didn't know the expression "slacking off," Uchiha Setsuna understood what Naoki meant. He countered, "I could've killed all the enemies myself. Then what would you have come all this way from Konoha for?"
Naoki fell silent.
The group gathered together, and Uchiha Setsuna spoke first.
"Let's go. The mission is complete, and we can't stay here any longer. The Kirigakure forces will investigate this place before long. If we leave too late and give ourselves away, we'll be in trouble."
Everyone knew what had happened to the Third Raikage, so they all nodded.
After the battle, only seven of the thirteen were left.
Besides Naoki and his four teammates, the survivors were Hyuga Hiroshi and Shi, an Anbu jonin.
Though the thirteen of them had defeated several times their number, their losses had been heavy.
Uchiha Zongye had lost his left arm, cutting his fighting strength by at least half.
Uchiha Zongxin, Itachi, and Hyuga Hiroshi had only minor injuries, but they were still young, and their chakra and stamina were badly depleted. They were more or less out of commission for the time being.
As for Shi, his chakra and stamina were also heavily depleted, but he had retained most of his fighting strength.
After assessing his companions' condition, Naoki couldn't help thinking that their group was a sorry bunch of old, weak, sick, and injured people...
After burning their companions' bodies, the seven disappeared into the dark forest and began heading north.
At the Kirigakure army's camp, Karatachi Yagura sat backward on a chair, staring blankly at the map of the battlefield.
Recently, many Konoha experts had appeared on the front lines, putting tremendous pressure on the Kirigakure forces.
But the pressure on the battlefield wasn't what worried him most. More troubling was a piece of news from back home.
Rumor had it that the Mizukage, who had been bedridden for years and hadn't appeared in public, relying solely on orders sent from afar to maintain his rule, had suddenly taken a turn for the worse. He might not have much longer to live.
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