Uzumaki Ayako

Whether Hideki did it on purpose or by accident, the black flames roared to life on Seiichiro's coat first, carefully avoiding direct contact with his skin.

The Senju Clan possessed well-developed countermeasures against Amaterasu, and the special robe Seiichiro wore was specifically designed to defend against it.

Crafted from a unique, heat-resistant material, the robe did not instantly turn to ash, even under the sun-like intensity of the black flames.

Furthermore, the coat featured a unique design that made it easy to discard. As the black flames ignited, Seiichiro released a burst of pale blue chakra, forcing the coat off and tossing it into the sea.

The discarded coat was quickly consumed by the Amaterasu flames, which began to spread across the surface of the water, burning with such intensity that even the ocean could not extinguish them.

By the time Seiichiro finished dealing with the Amaterasu and turned his attention back to Hideki, only the man's retreating back remained in the distance.

Left without an opponent, Seiichiro shouted in frustration, "Get back here! Do you have no sense of martial honor at all?!"

Hideki didn't break his stride, maintaining his high-speed escape while calling back, "We're ninjas, not samurai! There's no such thing as martial honor—if you don't want to fight, you run!"

Having clashed with Hideki many times before, Seiichiro knew that if the man was determined to flee, there was no way he could catch him.

Filled with pent-up frustration, Seiichiro had no choice but to vent his irritation on Uchiha Ryuji and Uchiha Sawa.

Ryuji and Sawa had already been exhausted by Senju Arashi's endless Water Dragon Bullets, and once Seiichiro joined the fray, the outcome was sealed; they were quickly trapped by his Water Prison Technique.

Chigusa watched Ryuji and Sawa, who were now immobilized within the water prison, with a complex expression.

After transmigrating, his soul had struggled to adapt to his new body, leaving him to grow up in a daze with few memories of the outside world.

It wasn't until the day Ryuji and Sawa hunted down his family of three that his soul and body finally began to merge, awakening the memories of his past life.

Now, looking at their faces, a nameless rage began to stir within his heart.

They are the ones who killed my parents and robbed me of my freedom, Chigusa thought, his fists clenching involuntarily.

Beside him, Wuming watched Chigusa with a worried expression, but not knowing what to say, she could only hold his hand in comfort.

Seiichiro and Senju Arashi, failing to notice Chigusa's distress, waited until the two Uchiha ninjas were gasping for air before dispelling the water prison.

Seiichiro pulled out two kunai and pressed them against their throats. "I ask, you answer."

Ryuji took a few deep, ragged breaths. He caught sight of Chigusa behind Seiichiro and, noting his expression, realized his fate was sealed. He smiled and said, "Don't waste your breath! You know we won't say a word!"

Sawa nodded slightly, a mocking smile on his face as he looked at Chigusa. "Your parents deserved it! We were just following orders."

Chigusa could no longer hold back. He lunged forward and punched Sawa in the face, sending his entire body flying until he landed far away in the water.

Seiichiro's expression shifted. He noticed that while Ryuji still wore a smile, blood was already leaking from his seven orifices. The man had stopped breathing, and his eyes seemed to be dissolving into pools of blood as if corroded by something.

He hurried to where Sawa had fallen into the water, but after a brief search, he found that Sawa was also dead.

"It seems these ninjas were on a suicide mission," Seiichiro analyzed. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have had such poison in their systems to ensure death upon failure."

Watching his enemies die by their own hands, Chigusa fell into a state of confusion. Without power, is even seeking revenge for myself just a pipe dream?

Seiichiro burned the two corpses to ash in mid-air, letting the remains scatter into the sea—a burial method fitting for a ninja.

Over there, the Amaterasu flames left behind by Hideki were still roaring across the sea, showing no signs of dying out.

The temperature of the entire area continued to rise, and fish from the sea floated to the surface, cooked by the heat, filling the air with the faint scent of grilled fish.

This was not the first time Senju Arashi had seen the black flames of Amaterasu, but usually, they extinguished themselves once they ran out of fuel.

Now that even the seawater couldn't quench them, she worried about how much marine life would be destroyed if they continued to burn.

Just as they were at a loss, another ship appeared in the distance, sailing rapidly from the direction of the Land of Whirlpools.

Standing at the bow was a woman of about twenty-five. She had vibrant red hair that danced in the sea breeze like flickering flames, marking her as a member of the Uzumaki Clan.

She wore a white robe patterned with red flames, which reminded Chigusa of the Hokage cloaks from Naruto.

The loose robe could not hide her curvaceous figure, which possessed a more mature charm compared to the youthful Senju Arashi.

As the large ship drew closer, an old man stepped out from beside the woman and handed her a massive scroll.

The woman unfurled the scroll into the wind; it was already densely packed with small characters.

After a series of hand seals, the woman pointed a hand toward the Amaterasu flames on the sea. A stream of pale blue chakra flowed from her palm, enveloping all the black flames.

The chakra-wrapped flames slowly returned to the unfurled scroll, which acted like a vacuum, collecting all the black fire into its depths.

After tying the scroll back up with a thin cord and handing it to the old man, the woman leaped from the deck and walked across the waves to stand before the group.

As she drew near, Chigusa was struck by her appearance.

Her eyes were as deep as the ocean, as if a galaxy were rotating within them; that gaze alone radiated an astonishing charm.

Her skin was as flawless as porcelain, and her posture was elegant and tall. Just standing there, she made one instinctively wonder about her noble status.

Senju Arashi was delighted to see her and introduced her to Chigusa and Wuming. "This is my aunt, Uzumaki Ayako, the youngest sealing jutsu expert in the Uzumaki Clan!"

Chigusa and Wuming hurriedly greeted her. After Ayako nodded in return, she looked at the two Uchiha and said, "These must be Uchiha Chigusa and Uchiha Wuming, right?"

Surprised that her aunt knew their identities before she had even introduced them, Senju Arashi asked, "Aunt, how did you know who they were?"

Uzumaki Ayako smiled slightly. "Ryoko sent a letter days ago explaining your intentions. She was worried about you coming to find me alone, so she insisted that I come to pick you up."

Seiichiro, standing to the side, said with a look of annoyance, "No wonder that brat Hideki ran so fast. He must have seen Aunt Ayako's ship with his Sharingan from afar and decided he had to escape."