Yugito's gaze sharpened at once as she spat out a terrifying fireball. "Mouse Tail Ball!"
It was a fireball far more agile than Mouse Fireball.
Yugito could control it to pursue enemies nimbly, and it caused devastating explosions.
"You're not giving me even a moment to catch my breath?"
He had just burst out of the smoke when he was faced with the threat of a scorching, high-temperature fireball hurtling straight at him.
Even Uchiha Ye couldn't help feeling his scalp prickle.
Without Observation Haki to aid him, it would be extremely difficult to avoid this attack with Logia intangibility.
He might even end up injuring himself instead!
So—
He could only retreat again!
And keep pushing past his current limits, improving his Sharingan's insight so he wouldn't be forced into such a predicament again.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
Thanks to his Sharingan's insight and the forest terrain, he managed to narrowly evade the fireball's bombardment.
But—
"Your guard's slipping!"
Yugito appeared behind Uchiha Ye like a ghost.
Before Uchiha Ye could react, her icy Cat Claws slashed a bloody gash across his back.
"Ungh!"
Uchiha Ye staggered, but had no time to worry about the pain. He hurriedly tracked Yugito's movements.
But Yugito had already vanished from the area around him.
And yet—
Before Uchiha Ye could analyze the situation, another wave of killing intent came from behind.
"Hellhound!"
He retaliated almost instinctively.
Scorching magma gushed from his arm as he spun around and unleashed a full-powered punch toward the front.
Ahead—
Yugito's icy Cat Claws had already cut through the air, aimed straight at his vitals.
Boom!
Uchiha Ye reacted in haste, while Yugito attacked with all her might.
Caught off guard, Uchiha Ye was naturally no match for her and was sent flying several meters back.
"It's over, Uchiha Ye!"
Seeing this, Yugito pressed her advantage and immediately pursued him.
She flashed around Uchiha Ye, looking for a chance to land the final, fatal blow. "This time, it's your... death!"
But Uchiha Ye was already fully focused. His Two-Tomoe Sharingan tracked Yugito's every move, missing not a single detail.
The two tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, and the shadow of a third had already appeared.
Evolution was happening now!
"Whoosh!"
Yugito moved, so fast the air she tore through erupted in a series of sharp cracks.
"She's coming!"
Uchiha Ye's Sharingan immediately caught a blurry figure.
Under his almost bursting gaze, it slowly came into focus, and he could just barely track her movements.
He still couldn't perfectly follow Yugito as she moved at high speed. It was like a nearsighted person trying to make out something in the distance—everything remained a little blurry.
"But this is enough!"
Even if her figure was blurred, as long as he could discern her movements, he could retaliate.
Scorching power surged from his right arm, bursting forth at full force along the trajectory his eyes had caught.
At that moment—
He felt an unprecedented heat in his eyes.
As if a volcano had erupted in his mind, a mysterious power flowed into his eyes and coursed through his body.
It was like breaking free of some kind of restraint. His body evolved as well, finally able to keep pace with his Sharingan's reactions.
And—
Yugito's movements seemed branded into his mind, etched there with absolute clarity.
He could mimic them at will.
He knew it!
He had successfully awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan!
Boom!
Their fists collided, and the surrounding ground cracked apart as if the mountains were crumbling and the earth splitting.
Even the three Kumogakure shinobi in the distance, along with Sasori of the Red Sands, were affected.
Yugito's final killing blow had been firmly stopped.
"Ye, that guy..."
Looking at Uchiha Ye's eyes, now evolved into the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Sasori of the Red Sands said with a hint of understanding, "Did he deliberately let himself fall behind just now to evolve his Sharingan?"
"He's got some nerve. Facing such a dangerous enemy, he deliberately put himself in a desperate situation to draw out his potential!"
Even Sasori of the Red Sands, usually so indifferent, couldn't help being shaken by Uchiha Ye's reckless behavior.
"How is that possible?!"
Watching Uchiha Ye once again match Yugito evenly, Kamui covered his mouth in disbelief.
Wasn't Uchiha Ye supposed to overuse his Sharingan, then fall behind Yugito, and finally be badly wounded and finished off?
Why had Uchiha Ye turned the situation around again?
And—
"Why did his Sharingan evolve, too?"
Kamui couldn't believe it, but a crazy thought still surfaced in his mind. "Did he deliberately let himself fall behind just now?"
"Was it all just to force himself to evolve his Sharingan?"
His teeth began to chatter, and a chill shot through him to the crown of his head.
Could they really win against an enemy this insane?
"Then it's time to settle things between us, too!"
Looking at Kamui, who had healed Oroi and Katai, Sasori of the Red Sands calmly pulled his clothes apart, revealing the core in his chest marked with the character "Scorpion."
Then he took out a scroll marked with the character "Red" and unrolled it, as if showing off a prized treasure. "You're lucky. This is the first time I've ever used this scroll!"
As he spread it open, the seal inside the scroll was released, and countless terrifying silhouettes shot out.
Before long, they filled the sky above the entire forest.
They were human puppets of all kinds, clad in red robes.
Like a hopeless cloud, they loomed over the land.
Kamui and the other two stared in shock, their mouths agape, completely unable to understand how the scene before them could be real.
"Controlling this many... puppets? Is this guy... insane?!"
"We have to... face all these puppets? Do we really stand a chance?"
"How... is this even possible?!"
Everyone knew that ten puppets was the maximum number a puppeteer could control in battle at once.
No one could break that rule!
So what was this puppet army, cloudlike and densely packed, blotting out the sky?
There had to be far more than ten!
Even Kamui, who had lived through the Third Shinobi World War and had a strong will, couldn't help trembling with fear. His body felt cold, and a deep sense of helplessness washed over him.
They had already struggled just to deal with one puppet.
Katai and Oroi had nearly been lost, too!
How could they possibly win against this many puppets?
Even if none of them could be as powerful as Hiruko—
There were simply too many!
"What... are you scared?"
Seeing the three of them pale with shock, Sasori of the Red Sands looked rather pleased. "You knew I was a puppeteer genius. You should've realized I wouldn't be bound by the rules of puppetry!"
Countless Chakra Threads shot from the core in his chest and connected to every puppet. Then he said, "This is the puppetry style I created: the Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets."
"In theory, it can conquer a small country!"
But this explanation only plunged Kamui and the other two into utter despair!
Before you continue