Fang Severing Fang

"Kiba, stop wasting your breath on him. You won't be able to reason with a man like that."

As he spoke, Uchiha Matsuri drew several shuriken from his scroll.

Seeing Uchiha Matsuri prepare for battle, Kitsuchi frowned and said, "Since you refuse to talk, I have no choice but to take you back and interrogate you properly."

"Earth Release: Fist Rock!"

With that, Kitsuchi threw a punch toward Uchiha Matsuri.

Uchiha Matsuri immediately began weaving hand signs.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow City Wall!"

A towering wall rose from the ground.

The next second, Kitsuchi's fist punched straight through the Earth Flow City Wall, slamming into Uchiha Matsuri's abdomen.

Uchiha Matsuri was sent flying instantly.

"He's incredible." Uchiha Matsuri climbed up from the ground, a trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth.

Just now, from that single blow by Kitsuchi, Uchiha Matsuri felt as if his internal organs had been shattered.

He truly lives up to his reputation as the man who once punched a Nine-Tails-cloaked Kinkaku away. I never expected him to be this formidable even in his youth.

Nearby, Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka were stunned to see Uchiha Matsuri sent flying by a single strike.

Although Uchiha Matsuri was only at the Chunin level, this was the first time he had been taken down in the very first exchange.

"Matsuri, are you alright?" Minato Namikaze asked with concern, seeing Uchiha Matsuri's pale face.

"I'm fine. Minato, Kiba, hold him off for a while. I need to heal my injuries," Uchiha Matsuri shouted through the pain.

"Understood," Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka nodded.

"Ninja Art: Flying Thunder God Technique!"

"Ninja Art: Passing Fang!"

Both men unleashed their strongest techniques.

As they engaged, Uchiha Matsuri began to perform medical ninjutsu.

"Ninja Art: Healing Jutsu!"

White light emanated from Uchiha Matsuri's hands as he pressed them against his injured abdomen.

Off to the side, Kitsuchi was locked in a fierce battle with Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka.

After punching away the "Passing Fang" of Kiba Inuzuka and his ninja hound Ono, Kitsuchi found himself struggling to keep up with Minato Namikaze.

"What kind of technique is this? I can't even land a hit on him," Kitsuchi thought, watching Minato Namikaze in his Flying Thunder God state with astonishment.

Meanwhile, Kiba Inuzuka, who had been knocked back, took aim at Kitsuchi and said to his ninja hound, "Ono, let's use that new move we learned."

"Woof, woof, woof." Ninja hound Ono looked at Kiba Inuzuka, a hint of worry in his eyes.

Seeing Ono's lack of confidence in the technique, Kiba Inuzuka encouraged him with fighting spirit: "Don't worry, Ono. We will definitely defeat this big guy."

"Besides..." Kiba Inuzuka's eyes revealed a trace of guilt, "I'm the one who led everyone into danger this time. Even if I die in battle, I must carve out a path of survival for you all."

Seeing Kiba Inuzuka's determined gaze, ninja hound Ono barked twice, filled with fighting spirit.

"Ninja Art: Fang Severing Fang!"

Kiba Inuzuka and Ono spun together like an unstoppable tornado, flying toward Kitsuchi's position.

"He's stronger than before."

Uchiha Matsuri, still healing, watched the spinning Kiba Inuzuka and ninja hound Ono in surprise.

Nearby, Kitsuchi, exhausted from trading blows with Minato Namikaze, noticed the "Fang Severing Fang" coming from Kiba Inuzuka and Ono.

"Earth Release: Earth Land Return!"

A massive slab of rock instantly formed in front of Kitsuchi.

Boom!

The rock shattered into pieces.

I was careless, Kitsuchi thought, quickly weaving hand signs.

"Earth Release: Hardening Technique!"

After being struck by Kiba Inuzuka, Kitsuchi, whose entire body had turned to stone, did not fly backward, but he was forced to take several steps back.

"Little one, that was an impressive move, but you shouldn't have much chakra left now, should you?" Kitsuchi smiled as he looked at Kiba Inuzuka.

"Damn it, he saw right through me." Kiba Inuzuka hugged ninja hound Ono, leaning against a wall and gasping for air.

Two down, now only the most troublesome one remains, Kitsuchi thought.

Seeing Kiba Inuzuka become exhausted after using "Fang Severing Fang," Minato Namikaze couldn't help but knit his brows.

The person before him was clearly more troublesome than the Narishige Sawa he had encountered a week ago.

The chakra within his own body would be depleted sooner or later; he needed to find a solution before he ran dry.

As Minato Namikaze pondered this, the speed of his Flying Thunder God Technique slowed down subconsciously.

At the same time, Kitsuchi was also calculating how he could defeat this elusive fellow.

Gradually sensing that Minato Namikaze's speed had slowed, Kitsuchi grew bolder.

Since I can't hit him with one strike, I'll just have to attack from multiple angles, Kitsuchi thought.

Having finalized his battle plan, Kitsuchi quickly formed hand seals.

"Earth Release—Earth Rising Spear!"

Rows of hard rock suddenly erupted from the ground.

Minato Namikaze dodged the first and second strikes, but he couldn't evade the third in time and was struck by the Earth Rising Spear, falling to the ground.

Seeing his chance, Kitsuchi rapidly formed hand seals.

"Earth Release—Rock Fist!"

In an instant, Kitsuchi swung his fist toward Minato Namikaze.

At this critical moment, a bolt of lightning struck toward Kitsuchi. The very moment Kitsuchi had to slow down to dodge the lightning, Minato Namikaze seized the opportunity to teleport ten meters away.

Phew, that was close, Minato Namikaze thought, feeling a secret sense of relief. He turned his head to see that Uchiha Matsuri had finished healing and returned to the battlefield.

Seeing Minato Namikaze escape disaster, Kitsuchi couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. This disappointment then transformed into anger, which he directed at Uchiha Matsuri.

"I actually forgot just now that among chakra natures, Lightning suppresses Earth," Uchiha Matsuri said with a smile.

"Even if you thought of it, it's useless," Kitsuchi said, gritting his teeth. "Your strength and mine are not on the same level to begin with. Even if the Lightning nature suppresses the Earth nature, your Lightning Release won't be able to hinder me much."

"Heh, is that so? Since you don't believe it, we'll just have to test it," Uchiha Matsuri laughed.

Immediately, Uchiha Matsuri formed hand seals.

"Yin Seal—Release!"

An endless amount of chakra surged into Uchiha Matsuri's body in an instant, causing his presence to reach its peak.

"Now, you have the qualifications to talk to me about elemental suppression." Kitsuchi felt the rapid increase of chakra within Uchiha Matsuri very clearly.

Off to the side, Minato Namikaze and Kiba Inuzuka watched Uchiha Matsuri with great astonishment.

"I didn't expect him to have this move," Minato Namikaze remarked.

All along, Minato Namikaze had viewed Uchiha Matsuri as a rival. During their last battle against the bandits and the illusion-using ninja, Minato Namikaze had clearly felt that Uchiha Matsuri's strength had already surpassed his own—and that was only Uchiha Matsuri without the Yin Seal released.

This time, Uchiha Matsuri had once again redefined Minato Namikaze's understanding.