"Kid, you talk too much!"
Uchiha Ye's praise of Kamui and the others caught her ears.
The newly arrived kunoichi beside him, with straight, light-brown hair braided down to her waist, spoke in a frosty voice.
Her chakra was terrifyingly powerful!
Stronger than any of the three—Kamui included!
"How frightening!"
"Why don't I just surrender? You're so strong that I can't even bring myself to resist!"
Uchiha Ye put on a frightened expression, pursed his lips, and raised both hands in surrender.
"You think... I'll believe that?"
The brown-haired kunoichi gave a cold snort and immediately attacked Uchiha Ye. "I won't let you stop us from obtaining the secret technique!"
Uchiha Ye promptly dodged and landed in front of Sasori of the Red Sands.
"Big Brother Sasori, I may have to trouble you to wait for me a little while."
Uchiha Ye looked helplessly at the kunoichi who had landed ahead of him. "After all, she's no ordinary ninja!"
"Defeating her will be quite difficult for me."
At that, Sasori of the Red Sands glanced at the brown-haired kunoichi and narrowed his eyes. "That chakra... a Jinchuriki?"
That was right!
The brown-haired kunoichi was Kumogakure's Two-Tails Jinchuriki: Nii Yugito!
"I understand."
Sasori's expression remained calm. "I'll wait here. It'll give me time to repair Hiruko and take care of these three promising Puppet materials!"
He really didn't like waiting!
But if it was someone he respected, he didn't mind waiting a while.
"Thanks!"
Uchiha Ye grinned at that, then looked at Yugito. His playful manner faded, replaced by a serious expression. "This is my first time facing a Jinchuriki. Let me experience your strength for myself!"
The Five Great Shinobi Nations regarded Jinchuriki as strategic weapons, believing they could turn the tide of battle.
There was no question that Jinchuriki were powerful.
How could that not make someone eager to test them?
"Kamui, hold on!"
Yugito turned to Kamui and urged her, "Once I take care of this guy, I'll come back to help you!"
"Sasori of the Red Sands isn't an enemy you can handle. He definitely has more than one Puppet. Don't fight him head-on!"
"That battle just now was nothing more than a warm-up for Sasori."
With that, she darted toward Uchiha Ye like a streak of shadow, sharp claws sprouting from her hands as she slashed at him.
Her speed was astonishing, and her attack so fierce it felt like a mountain bearing down on him, enough to make anyone despair.
"Using the Tailed Beast's power from the start?"
Uchiha Ye's heart tightened, but he wanted to test the Tailed Beast's strength for himself. His arm quickly heated up, then burst forward, wrapped in molten rock.
"Hmph, foolish!"
Seeing Uchiha Ye meet her head-on, Yugito sneered. "If you're asking to die, I'll gladly oblige!"
Unless someone had trained in Nintaijutsu like the Raikage and possessed overwhelming strength,
meeting her head-on, when she was a Jinchuriki, meant certain death.
Obviously,
Uchiha Ye didn't have that kind of ability!
Boom!
The earth shook violently as a wave of scorching air erupted.
But Yugito's eyes widened in disbelief!
Staring at Uchiha Ye, who had firmly blocked her strike, she cried out in shock, "You... took my punch head-on?"
The force behind her blow was enough to shatter more than ten meters of earth with ease.
Yet Uchiha Ye had blocked it so effortlessly?
How could someone so young possess such terrifying strength?
She hurriedly leaped back, fixing Uchiha Ye with a hard stare. "Did you learn the Sannin Tsunade's secret technique, the Strength of a Hundred Technique?"
She couldn't think of any other explanation besides superhuman strength.
Not far away,
Kamui was just as shocked.
She swallowed, staring at Uchiha Ye as if he were a monster. "Who is this guy? He actually stood up to Big Sister Yugito!"
She was a Jinchuriki!
That was an overwhelming attack unleashed with the Tailed Beast's power.
Apart from the Raikage, who else in the world could match a Jinchuriki in strength?
Even if he'd used the Strength of a Hundred, that was still terrifying.
Uchiha Ye looked so young!
What kind of genius could master the Strength of a Hundred to such a degree at his age?
She'd thought Sasori of the Red Sands was already abnormal enough.
They'd fought for so long, and all they'd done was help him warm up.
But now it seemed Uchiha Ye was the real monster!
"So this is... a Jinchuriki's strength?"
Uchiha Ye shook out his slightly numb arm, his eyes burning with excitement. "It really does give you an overwhelming advantage over ninety-nine percent of ninja!"
"But!"
He shook his head in disappointment. "It's not as powerful as I imagined."
"Is that all a Jinchuriki can do?"
There was no doubt about it: he was taunting her!
"Kid, you arrogant little...!"
Yugito's expression darkened as she shouted, "Fine! I'll give you a surprise you won't forget. Then you'll understand just how terrifying the Tailed Beasts' power is!"
Boom!
Her chakra instantly surged several times over. A tangible wave of force spread out, cracking the earth.
She dropped to all fours like a beast, blue chakra markings appearing across her body.
Her hair stood straight up, as flashy as a Saiyan's.
Her eyes lost all their color, turning a terrifying, empty white.
From a distance, she looked like a humanoid cat demon, eerie and dangerous!
"Partial Tailed Beast Transformation, drawing on the Tailed Beast's power?"
Though Uchiha Ye had said he was disappointed, he was already on high alert.
He activated his Two-Tomoe Sharingan and sensed the surroundings with Observation Haki.
Whoosh!
In an instant, Yugito vanished!
Even the Two-Tomoe Sharingan couldn't see where she'd gone.
A piercing whistle of wind suddenly rang by his ear, and an overwhelming sense of danger descended.
Even his Observation Haki could only pick up her general location.
"Her speed has been dramatically boosted by the Partial Tailed Beast Transformation?"
"And Yugito was already fast to begin with, so now her speed is even more unpredictable!"
He grinned. "This is exciting!"
In the next instant, sharp Cat Claws mercilessly ripped through his body.
The air itself seemed to wail in pain as visible, claw-shaped shockwaves spread out.
"Is... is it over?"
Kamui asked uncertainly at the sight.
That was what Yugito wanted to know, too.
"Was he... really that easy to take down?"
After landing her hit, Yugito didn't press the attack. Instead, she backed away and considered the situation.
It had gone too smoothly!
Her strength had certainly increased considerably with the Partial Tailed Beast Transformation.
But Uchiha Ye had shown plenty of strength just moments ago. He shouldn't have been that easy to defeat.
It didn't feel real!
"That was a ruthless, lightning-fast strike!"
Just then, Uchiha Ye's voice rang out, his body torn apart.
Molten rock bubbled and flowed across his body, and the gashes began to close.
He looked like a god of fire, radiating astonishing heat.
"Lava Release?!"
Yugito was taken aback by the sight, but quickly frowned. "No, Lava Release can't turn the entire body into molten rock!"
"Besides, he isn't the Four-Tails Jinchuriki!"
She knew the Four-Tails possessed the Kekkei Genkai of Lava Release.
But even the Four-Tails couldn't turn its body into molten rock the way Uchiha Ye had.
Before you continue