"Gasp, so this is the strength of Star—no, of Uchiha Chen?"
"One against a hundred? That's terrifying!"
"Uchiha Chen really is the savior of our Hot Spring Village!"
Everyone from Hot Spring Village who had gathered to watch stood gaping at the scenes unfolding before them. They had never imagined Uchiha Chen could crush a whole squad of Sunagakure ninjas with such overwhelming force!
"Pakura, perfect timing! Hurry up and take him down!"
When Jaki saw Pakura appear before him, his eyes immediately lit up. Ignoring his injuries, he urged her on in a commanding tone.
Although the three brothers didn't get along with Pakura, her strength was undeniable. They needed her to step in now.
The Hot Spring Village ninjas had been astonished and excited to see Uchiha Chen single-handedly defeat a hundred-man squad from Sunagakure. But when they heard the name Pakura, they all froze.
"Pakura? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere..."
"Wait, I remember! This Pakura is a user of Sunagakure's Kekkei Genkai, Scorch Release!"
"Huh? Is she the famous Pakura, renowned throughout Sunagakure for her outstanding service?"
"Chen, watch out for that woman! She's incredibly strong!"
The Hot Spring Village ninjas hurriedly called out a warning.
"Kekkei Genkai—Scorch Release?"
Uchiha Chen looked Pakura up and down, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. For once, he felt a flicker of interest.
Of course, it wasn't because Pakura was as generously endowed as Tsunade. She was simply the first Kekkei Genkai ninja from outside Konoha he had encountered.
"Pakura, why aren't you attacking the enemy? Are you planning to betray Sunagakure?"
Seeing that Pakura still hadn't made a move, Jaki immediately hurled a damning accusation at her.
Pakura clenched her fists, doing her best to ignore Jaki's taunts. She closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. Judging from the battle so far, this Uchiha was clearly no easy opponent.
She slowly opened her eyes, a cold glint flashing in them. In the end, she chose to strike first.
"Scorch Release—Flame Bullet!"
Pakura gracefully raised her slender arms, and four perfectly round fireballs formed. They rose above her head, spinning rapidly until they merged into one enormous fireball.
Like a falling meteor, the massive fireball hurtled straight toward Uchiha Chen.
This fireball was clearly more powerful than the one she had launched earlier.
"Water Release—Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
As Pakura attacked, Uchiha Chen's thoughts stirred, and an upgraded version of the Water Dragon Bullet Technique burst forth instantly.
Four water columns as thick as barrels spiraled up around Uchiha Chen, transforming into four lifelike, enormous water dragons.
The four dragons roared and merged into one, forming an even larger water dragon.
With a roar that shook the heavens and the earth, it swooped down once more and crashed into the massive fireball.
"Rumble!"
The moment the fireball struck the water dragon, it exploded!
A tremendous shock wave radiated in every direction, destroying everything in its path.
Even the paving stones on the ground were not spared.
Even Uchiha Chen didn't want to be caught in the shock wave. He quickly performed several backflips, leaping to safety.
As the shock wave spread wider and drew closer, Pakura frowned, a flicker of inner conflict crossing her face.
Then she leaped away as well, escaping the danger zone.
"Lady Pakura, help us!"
The few Sunagakure ninjas still alive behind Jaki stared in terror and screamed in despair.
"Pakura, how dare you let me die?!"
"You bastard! My brothers won't let you get away with this!"
"Pakura, I was wrong! Save me!"
Seeing the cold look on Pakura's face and the approaching shock wave, Jaki finally realized how serious the situation was!
He wanted to escape, but his wounds wouldn't let him.
At last, Jaki could take no more and begged for mercy.
But Pakura remained unmoved, letting the shock wave swallow him and the others.
When the storm subsided, Jaki's body and those of the other Sunagakure ninjas came into view. Only then did Pakura narrow her eyes and murmur,
"Lord Jaki fought a Konoha ninja from the Uchiha Clan for the glory of Sunagakure and ultimately fell at the hands of the Uchiha Clan!"
Damn, I've become the fall guy?!
From a hundred meters away, Uchiha Chen stared at Pakura in disbelief. She was a pretty kunoichi, but he hadn't expected her to be so ruthless.
The storm had obscured the area between them, but with his Sharingan, Uchiha Chen had still been able to see what happened on Pakura's side.
Given Pakura's strength, she could have saved the Sunagakure ninjas. Instead, she chose to let them die.
Still, it wasn't hard to understand. Judging by the attitude of those Sunagakure ninjas, she and they clearly didn't get along.
"Uchiha brat, you dared to kill Lord Jaki of Sunagakure! I won't let you get away with this!"
Pakura pointed at Uchiha Chen and shouted furiously.
Looking at the anger on Pakura's face, Uchiha Chen couldn't help twitching the corner of his eye. Good grief, she's a convincing actress!
"What?! Who killed my third brother?!"
Uchiha Chen was about to speak when a deep, thunderous voice came from far away.
A few seconds later, two figures rushed over, followed by a crowd of several hundred.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
A tall figure and a shorter one suddenly appeared beside Jaki's fallen body.
They were none other than the brothers Fuki and Yuki.
"Third brother!!!"
The moment they saw Jaki's body, Fuki and Yuki's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
"Pakura, who killed my third brother?!"
Fuki looked at Pakura, his eyes bloodshot and his whole body trembling. He was clearly overcome with fury.
"It was him, a ninja from the Uchiha Clan!"
Pakura pointed at Uchiha Chen with an expression of "grief."
Uchiha Chen: ...
Uchiha Chen made no attempt to deny Pakura's accusation. There was no point.
After all, even if Pakura hadn't killed those ninjas, he would have. So there was no real difference.
"Ah!! I'll kill you!!"
Yuki charged straight at Uchiha Chen. His towering frame barreled forward like a crazed bear.
In just a few seconds, Yuki reached Uchiha Chen.
His fist, hard as steel, came crashing down toward Uchiha Chen's head.
"That's it?"
Uchiha Chen tilted his head slightly, dodging Yuki's attack. Then he kicked Yuki in the stomach!
With a muffled grunt, Yuki flew backward, landing on the ground. He kept sliding, carving a long furrow through the earth.