Fire Style...
was the Uchiha clan's specialty.
The advantages of this Ninjutsu weren't limited to its terrifying destructive power.
There was also the immense heat carried by the flames as they gathered.
That scorching heat could turn the air into a force that struck fear into people's hearts.
And that force was what had kept Fire Style powerful for so long.
In an instant, Yuzhen completed the hand seals.
He leapt into the air.
Chakra gathered in his throat, and sparks began to flicker at the corners of his mouth.
[Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!]
At his command, a meteor-like, arrow-shaped fireball descended toward the crowded part of the courtyard!
Just as the fireball, like an arrow of divine punishment, was about to hit the grounds—
Boom!
At Yuzhen's command, the fireball instantly spread into a sea of flames.
The suffocating heat began to affect the air around it.
The heat made the air rise and ripple.
It became a tremendous shock wave that swept toward everything below!
"What is that?! That Fire Style is terrifying!"
"Idiot, we're under attack! Defend yourselves before that sea of flames hits!"
The Arrow of Great Fire descended!
The incomparable flames carried a terrifying force.
The heat burned the Sand Ninja who hadn't reacted in time to death on the spot.
Those who managed to react and defend themselves with various Ninjutsu—
were sent flying elsewhere by the shock wave.
At that moment,
all the Sand Ninja on the grounds were stunned by the attack!
Sasori, who had appeared after being startled by the commotion,
knew why the Sand Ninja had been slow to react.
To be honest, even he was a little stunned.
Who would have thought that someone would dare launch an attack in the Land of Wind, in its capital, no less—
right in the heart of Sunagakure's territory?
But when he saw the sea of flames, he could only smile helplessly.
A powerful Fire Style like that had to be from an Uchiha!
Which meant Konoha had made its move.
"Only Konoha would dare pull something like this on Sunagakure."
Shaking his head with a wry smile, he took a scroll from his robes.
He was about to unseal it and deploy the appropriate puppets to extinguish the flames—
when a massive quantity of Black Iron Sand came flying in from elsewhere.
It put out every flame in the courtyard.
Seeing this, Sasori understood.
Lord Kazekage had made his move.
"In that case, I'll go protect the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers and his son."
Sasori understood the situation clearly.
He knew what Konoha was after.
While his own Lord Kazekage dealt with the enemy,
as the second-highest-ranking Sand Ninja present, he needed to guard their targets.
That was what he thought,
and he was about to head over to the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers and his son.
But, as the saying went, things rarely went as you wished.
A figure dropped from above.
"Sorry, but even though I know where you're headed, I'm still going to stop you."
Uchiha Yuzhen's Sharingan had spotted Sasori some time ago.
That enormous chakra signature couldn't be hidden.
Especially since it was connected to that mass of Iron Sand.
It must have been the Third Kazekage!
He didn't need to worry about that.
Namikaze Minato could handle him.
All Yuzhen had to do was deal with the red-haired young man in front of him.
"Oh? Those eyes, and that clan crest..." Sasori's brow furrowed, and his expression turned serious. "I take it you're the Uchiha who unleashed that terrifying Fire Style?"
The power of that Fire Style was enough to make him take this seriously!
But this Uchiha in front of him—
was so young.
He hadn't expected that.
Yuzhen had no intention of answering Sasori.
In the original story, both he and Kankuro
had shown the characteristics of puppeteers to the fullest!
Sometimes, their words were traps.
After all, what Yuzhen could see now was this:
Sasori was alone, and there were no puppet mechanisms in sight.
Who knew if he was trying to stall for time so he could summon his puppets?
With that thought, Uchiha Yuzhen's body trembled slightly.
His three-tomoe Sharingan spun.
Faint sparks began to rise from his body.
Yuzhen activated Uchiha Style Nintaijutsu at full power.
Boom!
The ground beneath his feet shattered instantly.
And then... his figure vanished.
He decided to test the waters.
After all, against a powerful shinobi on par with a village's Kage,
it was impossible to be too cautious.
Yuzhen instantly appeared beside Sasori.
At some point, he had drawn his Ninja Blade.
A glint of cold light flashed.
A deadly edge appeared!
Just as the blade was about to strike Sasori—
something unexpected happened.
Bang!
The ground beneath Sasori's feet shattered in the blink of an eye.
A tall, hulking puppet appeared, raising the Adamantine Iron Wall in its hand.
It blocked Yuzhen's Ninja Blade.
Clang!
The Ninja Blade clashed with the puppet's steel arm.
"What a naive boy. Did you really think we puppeteers would just stand there without putting up any defenses?!" Sasori sneered as he moved the Chakra Threads in his hand.
The mechanisms inside the hulking puppet whirred.
Click—!
The Adamantine Iron Wall that had clashed with the Ninja Blade...
changed!
The side of its arm began to transform, extending several small mechanical arms.
At the ends of the arms were Kunai marked with purple stains.
The purple stains on the Kunai gave off a foul stench.
Even while locked in a struggle with the puppet, Yuzhen recognized them.
That was Sasori's usual tactic: mechanisms and potent poison!
Seeing this, Yuzhen calmly dodged backward.
"Trying to run?! What a naive brat. I guess I gave you too much credit." A look of contempt appeared in Sasori's eyes.
His fingers lightly touched
the Chakra Threads connected to the puppet.
Click, click!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The puppet responded to Sasori's command.
Its inner mechanisms shifted, firing poisoned Kunai on the spot.
Yuzhen's Sharingan spun rapidly. His left hand swiftly pulled several Flying Thunder God Kunai from his pouch.
He infused them with chakra and flung them!
[Uchiha Style: Five-Fold Shurikenjutsu!]
The Kunai left his hand and followed subtle trajectories, flying toward the poisoned Kunai.
Clang, clang, clang!
The poisoned Kunai were all knocked away!
But that wasn't all. The Kunai Yuzhen had thrown using the Uchiha's special technique
continued along their set trajectories, curving around the puppet.
They flew straight at Sasori!
"What is this?!" Sasori's eyes widened.
This was the first time he had seen such exquisite Shurikenjutsu!
Not only had it knocked his poisoned Kunai aside,
it had used the force of the Kunai colliding with each other to send them flying toward him.
It completely upended his understanding of Shurikenjutsu!
"Ha!" Seeing the Kunai about to hit him, Sasori shouted and slightly raised his free left hand.
A scroll appeared.
Bang!
Amid swirling smoke, another mechanical puppet appeared.
It was a round puppet!
Chakra Threads quickly extended from Sasori's hand.
As soon as they connected to the new puppet,
a series of clicks sounded.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Dozens of mechanical arms sprang out of the round puppet.
"I admit, you're the best Shurikenjutsu user I've ever seen, but..." Sasori's expression remained calm. "Shurikenjutsu alone can't kill anyone!"
Sasori admitted that Shurikenjutsu was useful,
but only at the Genin and Chunin levels!
Against a shinobi of his caliber, he didn't think Shurikenjutsu could accomplish much.
The round puppet's arms swung.
Just as they were about to knock away the Kunai,
the Kunai collided again!
Bang, bang, bang!
Their trajectories changed.
One of them broke through the puppet arms' encirclement.
It appeared in front of Sasori.
Riiip!
A flash of black and red light streaked past.
Uchiha Yuzhen appeared beside the Kunai.
The Ninja Blade in his hand glimmered with bursts of flame.
"Sorry, my Shurikenjutsu is a little unusual!"
Yuzhen raised the Ninja Blade in his hand.
Its gleaming edge aligned with his brows, illuminating his pair of scarlet Sharingan.
The Tomoe in his Sharingan spun.
Whoosh—!
A crimson thrust shot toward the blazing fire of death,
surging forward!
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