Overwhelming Defeat

But!

"Is that all you've got, Raiga Kurosuki?"

Uchiha Ye's furious shout rang out.

The enormous Lava Fist suddenly broke through the Lightning Dragon Storm with overwhelming force.

The terrifying power made Raiga Kurosuki, standing at the storm's center, spit out a mouthful of blood.

He roared in disbelief, "How is this possible? How can you be so powerful? You actually overpowered the Lightning Dragon formed from thunder!"

This was something only the Mizukage in Tailed Beast Transformation could do.

But how old was Uchiha Ye?

How could he possibly have that kind of strength?

The sheer crushing force filled him with dread.

"I refuse to believe this!"

Raiga Kurosuki roared through gritted teeth, "We're both S-rank missing-nin! There's no way you can defeat me so easily!"

He unleashed all his chakra and poured it into the Thunder Blades.

"Roar!"

The Lightning Dragon's aura surged. With a roar, its body grew several times larger and pushed the Lava Fist back.

"You're still refusing to give up!"

Watching this, Uchiha Ye sighed. "It seems you still don't understand the gap between our strength!"

"Then let me show you just how fragile you are in front of me!"

He didn't appear to unleash any more power, and the Lava Fist didn't grow any larger.

But its density suddenly increased several times over!

Like a block of iron, it bore down with crushing weight, and within seconds, cracks spread across the Lightning Dragon.

Then it shattered completely.

Crackle!

The raging lightning scattered in all directions, destroying everything around it that could be destroyed.

Raiga Kurosuki spat out another mouthful of blood. Before he could even retreat, a fierce shadow flashed before his eyes, and he was hit by a sensation of suffocation and weightlessness.

Uchiha Ye's hand clamped around his neck like an iron pincer and lifted him into the air.

"Hand over the Thunder Blades, or die!"

Uchiha Ye looked up at Raiga Kurosuki with an inscrutable smile. "Make your choice!"

Raiga Kurosuki didn't dare hesitate. "I... I'll hand them over!"

The Thunder Blades were precious, but they were nothing compared to his life.

Uchiha Ye really would kill him!

"The right choice!"

After taking the Thunder Blades from Raiga Kurosuki and tossing them into the System Space, he let him go.

Raiga Kurosuki naturally didn't dare linger and hurried off.

"Damn brat, just you wait..."

Raiga Kurosuki ground his teeth, but before he could finish his venomous threat, searing pain suddenly shot through his lower abdomen.

"Ugh!"

Raiga Kurosuki spat out blood, along with his charred innards. He turned in disbelief. "You..."

Uchiha Ye pulled out his arm, glowing red-hot, his gaze especially sharp. "If you hadn't harbored thoughts of revenge, I might have let you live!"

"But you started plotting revenge again, and I just happened to sense it. So, I'm afraid..."

Watching Raiga Kurosuki collapse, Uchiha Ye said calmly, "I have no choice but to eliminate a hidden threat like you."

"Even if someone of your caliber could never threaten me in the future, leaving a potential danger behind would simply be irresponsible."

In the shinobi world, strength was ultimately what mattered.

It didn't matter if people called him despicable, treacherous, or ruthless.

Uchiha Ye only wanted to survive and fulfill his ambitions for the future.

But Raiga Kurosuki's death instantly placed unimaginable pressure on Zabuza.

You've got to be kidding!

Sasori of the Red Sands alone had already given him a hard time.

And now there was another terrifying Uchiha Ye?

He really might end up dead without a grave!

"Is this guy's strength a little too ridiculous?"

Looking at Uchiha Ye's youthful face, Zabuza couldn't help feeling a chill in his heart. "Even for the Uchiha Clan, this is completely unreasonable!"

That man had been one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen!

A renowned powerhouse in the shinobi world!

And Uchiha Ye had defeated and killed him so easily?

Among the powerful shinobi he knew, only the Five Kage might have that level of strength.

"So this guy is already a Five Kage-level powerhouse at such a young age?"

Zabuza found it truly absurd!

While he stood there stunned, Haku had already stepped in front of Uchiha Ye, his expression resolute. "I won't let you hurt Lord Zabuza!"

Seeing this, Uchiha Ye simply found a place to sit. "This is a fight between Big Brother Sasori and Zabuza. I won't interfere!"

"You don't need to watch me so warily. After all, your vigilance is completely useless against me!"

That was the truth!

As hard as it was to accept, that was the cruel reality.

"Demon Zabuza, you gave me two choices earlier. In that case, I'll give you two choices now..."

Over on Sasori of the Red Sands' side!

His voice was tinged with amusement. "I'll fight you using only this puppet, Hiruko. I won't use any other means."

"If you can defeat Hiruko, I'll let you leave. If you lose, you'll join the Akatsuki. How does that sound?"

Zabuza gritted his teeth, his gaze steely. "Fine. I hope you'll keep your word!"

Though he had once been in Kirigakure, he had learned a fair amount about puppeteers since becoming a missing-nin.

A puppeteer's strength was judged by how many puppets he could control.

He couldn't beat eight or ten puppets, but surely he could beat one.

How could he not?

There was no way Zabuza was that weak!

He had, after all, been nominated as a candidate to wield the Kubikiribōchō.

"Then... let's begin!"

With that, Hiruko's tail stinger shot out, so fast that the gust it kicked up was deafening.

"Gasp!"

Faced with the stinger, which was like a blade and made his whole body ache before it even reached him, Zabuza's eyes widened in shock. "How can it be so fast?"

Thud!

His body was pierced through, but Sasori of the Red Sands showed no joy. Instead, he praised him. "You've got some tricks!"

The next moment, Zabuza dispersed into a Water Clone!

"But too bad!"

The tail stinger swung around and shot out again, aimed straight at a spot to his front-left. "You're nowhere near as good as Ye was when I first met him!"

When Uchiha Ye first encountered him, Ye had counterattacked even as his body was pierced, disrupting his rhythm.

Zabuza, on the other hand, could only dodge!

The difference was clear!

In the distance.

Watching the scene, Uchiha Ye could also see what was going on. "Did Big Brother Sasori use Chakra Metal in the tail stinger?"

It had spun through the air and shot out again...

Based on his first fight with Sasori of the Red Sands, the tail stinger definitely hadn't been this nimble back then.

Chakra couldn't be transmitted that quickly!

Whoosh!

The moment Zabuza appeared, he heard Haku cry out urgently beside him. "Lord Zabuza, dodge!"

A cold tail stinger was already rushing toward him, growing rapidly larger in his vision. There was no way he could retreat in time.

"Did he predict where I'd appear?"

Zabuza was horrified. "Is this guy really so ridiculously strong?" Gritting his teeth, all he could do was raise his sword to block.