"Only one person? How arrogant!"
Elite Jonin Gari rose to his feet, a disdainful smile tugging at his lips. "You Konoha trash, are you tired of living?"
"Who said there was only one person?"
Uchiha Fugaku snorted. His figure flashed aside, dodging several kunai that shot in from the flank.
At the same time, Aburame Shibi emerged from the shadows on the other side. Countless Kikaichū surged toward the Iwa-nin formation like a black tide, forcing the Chunin and Genin there to scramble desperately to defend themselves.
"It's an insect user from the Aburame Clan! Watch out for those bugs!"
The Iwa-nin's formation began to fall into disarray.
"Chidori!"
"Gah—!"
Uchiha Jun seized the opportunity. He used Chidori to enhance his speed and instantly killed an Iwa-nin Jonin, then formed hand seals and launched an attack. "Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Dozens of waist-high flames shot out like meteors, landing precisely in the Iwa-nin formation and triggering a chain of explosions.
Heat waves rolled across the battlefield, and dust and smoke billowed as the temperature throughout the valley rose rapidly!
Uchiha Jun's Sharingan spun rapidly, tracking every enemy's movements on the battlefield. He adjusted his position while continuously using Fire Release to pressure the Iwa-nin's defenses.
After Uchiha Fugaku unleashed a Great Fireball, he followed up with a succession of ninjutsu, clashing with Explosion Release: Hunting on the other side.
Fire Release Ninjutsu produced powerful updrafts. These currents pushed the moisture near the ground into the sky, accelerating the formation of cumulonimbus clouds—this was the first step in Uchiha Jun's plan.
"Still not enough..."
Uchiha Jun finished off an Iwa-nin Chunin with a sweep of his Chidori Blade, then looked up at the sky.
The already gloomy clouds grew even darker and heavier under the impact of the successive large-scale Fire Release techniques.
The flashes of lightning inside the clouds grew brighter and more frequent.
"Clan Head Fugaku, turn up the heat!"
At this, Uchiha Fugaku took a deep breath and formed hand seals. The chakra within him surged out like floodwater unleashed from a dam.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Uchiha Fugaku held nothing back. He unleashed his full power from the very start!
A fan-shaped torrent of flame, dozens of meters wide, burst from his mouth and swept toward the Iwa-nin formation, including Explosion Release: Hunting, like a crashing wave!
The flames, far more powerful than ordinary ninjutsu, instantly turned the Iwa-nin's earthen defenses red-hot and cracked them apart!
"What?!"
The Iwa-nin Jonin maintaining the earthen defenses paled and hurriedly poured in more chakra.
But that momentary shift in his attention gave Uchiha Jun the opening he needed.
"Now!"
Uchiha Jun's Sharingan caught a hairline crack in the earthen defenses. Without hesitation, he used the Body Flicker Technique to rush to it and formed a hand seal with one hand—
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
A giant dragon formed from blazing flames roared from his hand and slammed precisely into the crack!
Rumble—!!!
The earthen defenses shattered completely. The massive shock wave sent dozens of Iwa-nin nearby flying.
But just as the Konoha squad prepared to press their advantage, a sudden change occurred!
"Naive!"
A deep voice came from underground.
The next moment, the ground beneath Uchiha Jun split open. A giant stone hand burst from below and swung down at him!
"Earth Style: Rock Fist Jutsu!"
Uchiha Jun's pupils contracted. Thanks to his Sharingan's ability to predict the attack, he barely managed to dodge it by twisting aside.
But the shock wave from the Rock Fist slamming into the ground still made him stagger several steps.
At the same time, a burly Iwa-nin Jonin with bronze-colored skin burst out of the earth and stood in front of Gari.
"Captain Gantetsu!"
The Iwa-nin around him seemed to have found their anchor. Their disorganized formation quickly reassembled.
Gantetsu was an Elite Jonin of Iwagakure renowned for his defense. He was skilled in Earth Release and especially adept at using the terrain to change the course of a battle.
He swept his gaze across the battered battlefield, then fixed it on Uchiha Fugaku. "The Uchiha Clan's Fire Release is as impressive as they say. But you made one fatal mistake—"
He formed hand seals and slammed his hands into the ground.
"Earth Style: Earth Moving Core!"
Rumble—!!!
Centered on Gantetsu, the ground within hundreds of meters began to tremble violently and rise!
Massive layers of rock rolled like waves, transforming the relatively flat valley into a rugged stone maze!
The Konoha squad's positions were thrown into disarray. Uchiha Fugaku, Aburame Shibi, and several other Chunin were forcibly separated.
Each of them was trapped in a different rocky area.
"Jun!"
Uchiha Fugaku shouted and tried to find Uchiha Jun, but he had vanished into the shadows of the stone maze.
Gantetsu watched impassively, his voice devoid of emotion. "Surround them. Take them out one by one."
The Iwa-nin quickly sprang into action, splitting into multiple squads and closing in on the separated Konoha shinobi.
Three Iwa-nin Jonin surrounded Uchiha Fugaku. His Sharingan could track their movements, but the enemy's coordination was impeccable: one used Earth Release to restrict his movements, another kept him occupied head-on with Rock Fist, and the third waited for a chance to attack with long-range ninjutsu.
"This is bad. If this keeps up, they'll wear me down!"
"Damn it, how did the Iwa-nin reinforcements arrive so quickly?! And how did they even detect the Aburame's Kikaichū!"
Uchiha Fugaku gritted his teeth and backflipped to dodge a Rock Spike fired from behind him, then flung several kunai to fend off the Rock Fist charging from the front.
Just then, a Konoha Chunin's scream came from nearby.
"Ah—!"
Uchiha Fugaku's heart tightened. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the Chunin had been trapped by Gantetsu's Earth Release, with most of his body buried in rock and blood spilling from his mouth.
"Bastard!"
Fugaku's eyes burned with rage, but he knew he couldn't act recklessly.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes spun faster as his mind raced to calculate every possible way to break out of this predicament.
But each plan required at least three to five minutes of drawing the enemy's attention, as well as at least two people working together.
And right now, he was completely alone.
Aburame Shibi was tied up by five Iwa-nin Chunin. His Kikaichū were far less effective against the special powder the Iwa-nin had brought. Of the other two Chunin, one was injured and the other was dead.
"Could it be..."
A look of resolve flashed in Uchiha Fugaku's eyes.
He was about to accept the cost of killing a Jonin and breaking through the encirclement, then take Uchiha Jun and retreat.
This mission was definitely going to fail. They were up against multiple Elite Jonin and nearly the entire Explosion Release squad. He had no chance of winning!
Rumble—!!!
A deafening peal of thunder came from the sky.
Everyone still fighting looked up involuntarily.
The cumulonimbus clouds overhead had grown as thick as a heavy blanket. Lightning flashed within them, arcs of electricity leaping between the clouds with a disquieting crackle.
The air grew heavy and oppressive, as if the entire world were shrouded beneath the storm clouds.
"What is this..."
Fugaku's Sharingan detected an unusual fluctuation of chakra within the clouds.
That wasn't naturally occurring lightning!
Could it be?!
"Jun?!..."
At the same time, atop a tall cliff in the stone maze, Uchiha Jun stood at the front.
Lightning Release chakra poured out of him at an astonishing rate, resonating in a strange way with the storm clouds above.
"About time."
Uchiha Jun murmured under his breath, then looked down at the panicked Iwa-nin.
Behind him, Uchiha Hikari's figure appeared like a ghost. A hint of curiosity glimmered in her Mangekyō Sharingan. "Is this the technique you told me about?"
"Yeah. It's my first time using it in a real fight. Hopefully, it'll scare them straight."
Uchiha Jun flexed his fingers and took a deep breath. The chakra gathering around him had reached its limit.
He raised his right hand and pointed the Chidori toward the sky.
Bzzzz—!!!
In an instant, the Lightning Release chakra within him shot into the heavens like an invisible wire, connecting with the active electric currents inside the clouds!
"What's that..."
Down below, Gantetsu and Explosion Release: Hunting also sensed the abnormal chakra fluctuation in the sky.
He looked up at the tiny figure on the cliff, his pupils contracting.
"What's that brat doing?!"
"Bad news!" Gari realized what was happening, too. "He's trying to use a forbidden Lightning Release technique! Stop him!"
But it was already too late.
Uchiha Jun's voice rang down from above like a divine judgment.
"This technique is a bolt of lightning from the heavens."
"I'm merely guiding its power toward you."
Before he had finished speaking, Uchiha Jun swept his right hand—the Chidori—downward!
"The technique's name is—"
"Kirin!"
"Come on!"
Aaaah—
As the Lightning Release chakra in his palm surged, a phantom beast made entirely of lightning appeared in the clouds above!
"Vanish with the thunder."
The instant the words left his mouth, Uchiha Jun brought his palm down.
Boom—!!!
The deafening blast seemed to rip the very heavens and earth apart!
A bolt of azure lightning, thicker than a barrel, plunged down from the sky!
This wasn't ordinary Lightning Release, nor was it a ninjutsu formed from human chakra. It was the pure power of nature, guided, concentrated, and shaped by Uchiha Jun's chakra into a roaring Kirin!
The Kirin opened its jaws and charged toward the most densely packed part of the Iwa-nin encirclement, carrying the force to destroy everything in its path!
"Earth Style: Mountain Fortress Earth Flow Wall—!"
Gantetsu's face turned deathly pale. Instinctively, he unleashed his most powerful defensive ninjutsu.
More than a dozen thick earthen walls, each dozens of meters tall, rose from the ground in layer upon layer, trying to block the bolt of heavenly lightning.
But before the power of nature, it was all futile.
The Kirin struck the first earthen wall—and it shattered.
The second—and it crumbled.
The third, fourth, fifth... Every wall shattered the instant the lightning touched it!
The bolt of lightning swept through the entire Iwa-nin encirclement like a force of utter destruction!
Boom—!!!
A massive explosion echoed through the valley. The shock wave sent every rock, tree, and person within hundreds of meters flying!
The blast gouged a crater more than a dozen meters in diameter into the ground. The rock at its bottom melted under the heat, forming glass-like crystals.
Dozens of Iwa-nin were reduced to ashes in the lightning, without even having time to scream.
Gari and Gantetsu, both Elite Jonin, barely managed to evade the heart of the strike at the last moment.
But the aftershock still left them gravely wounded. The lightning had grazed Gari's left arm, blackening it and splitting his skin. Gantetsu was hurled away by the shock wave and slammed into a boulder, spitting blood.
Their chakra was nearly depleted!
After witnessing the overwhelming power of the heavens, the surviving Iwa-nin had lost all will to fight.
They slumped to the ground, staring at the young figure on the cliff with terror in their eyes.
The dust gradually settled.
Uchiha Jun leaped down from the heights and landed on the ground, his robes snapping in the wind.
He spoke calmly. "Clan Head Fugaku, you can finish things up."
He had used a great deal of chakra on his Fire Release and Lightning Release techniques, as well as Kirin. He still had to disguise himself as Shimura Danzō and steal the kills, so he shouldn't waste too much chakra.
Uchiha Fugaku looked at the boy before him, overcome with complicated feelings.
Shock, pride, and a faint hint of... awe.
"Good work, Jun."
Uchiha Fugaku patted Uchiha Jun on the shoulder, his voice tinged with gravity. "From today on, I'll recommend you as an elder of the clan!"
Uchiha Jun turned back and smiled without saying anything. The Three-Tomoe Sharingan shimmered in the glow of the setting sun.
In his mind, the system notification chimed right on cue.
[Ding! Mission [Battle of Qionggu Ridge] completed!] [Rating: S!] [Rewards: Copper Coin × 5,000,000, Ninja World Recruitment Scroll × 5, Random A-Rank Ninja Fragment × 5, A-Rank Mission Completion Count: +1 (Current: 3/7), Gold Coin × 650] [Current A-Rank Mission Completion Count: 3/7]
Uchiha Jun felt a flicker of joy, but didn't show it. He simply nodded.
"Captain, we shouldn't linger here. Iwagakure's reinforcements may already be on their way."
"You're right."
Fugaku suppressed his shock and began directing the remaining squad members to regroup and retreat.
On the other side of the valley, Gari, injured by the lightning strike, used his one remaining arm to push himself up. He watched Uchiha Jun's retreating figure, his eyes filled with malice and murderous intent.
"Konoha... Uchiha..."
Gari murmured the two names, flames of revenge flickering in his eyes.
But at that moment, there was nothing he could do.
If Uchiha Fugaku and the others hadn't been wary of the approaching Iwa-nin squad, they would have pressed their advantage and killed him long ago!
The dark clouds over Qionggu Ridge finally began to clear. Golden evening sunlight spilled through the gaps in the clouds, illuminating the land charred black by the lightning strike.
Everything fell silent.