Bloody Battle

Meanwhile, inside the original hideout of the three children and Uchiha Chiba.

"Smiley, why aren't you torturing that little girl? That doesn't sound like you," a woman wearing a Weeper mask said, feigning gentleness.

"Weeper, I may be a pervert, but I don't have the sick hobby of torturing a child who isn't even a ninja," Smiley said, lounging lazily against his chair, his tone filled with mockery.

"I'm still quite curious. Hannya wasn't weak, so how could he have died at the hands of that brat named Uchiha Chiba?" The speaker was an old man wearing a raven mask, codenamed Raven.

"Hmph... Lord Danzo sent the eleven of us, but in my opinion, it's making a mountain out of a molehill," a man wearing a pristine white mask said in a muffled voice. He was tall and sturdy, like a pagoda.

Raven coughed a few times, stretched out a hand that did not look particularly aged, and touched the surrounding walls before slowly smiling. "Blank, you really are an honest man. Lord Danzo didn't send the eleven of us just for that little brat. Otherwise, why are only the four of us here? Why did the others have to go to the battlefield?"

Blank, standing to the side, nodded blankly and stopped speaking; this man was indeed somewhat strange.

"Hmm? They're here. A Jonin and an Elite Jonin," Weeper frowned, her long purple hair scattering in the wind. A faint, shimmering light began to emanate from her body.

Raven continued, "When the fight starts, Blank and I will handle them. Smiley possesses special interrogation ninjutsu, and you, Weeper, have special sensory ninjutsu. Although you two have reached Kage-level, that brat managed to kill Hannya, so he certainly isn't a pushover. This old man and this honest fellow will deal with them."

Smiley and Weeper exchanged glances and nodded.

Raven was, after all, the only ninja among the current twelve Root members to serve three consecutive terms. It was rumored that he was a secret disciple of Lord Danzo, though, of course, no one could say for sure.

"Careful." Blank's tower-like frame appeared in front of Raven in an instant.

The next second.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A terrifying ball of flame, enhanced by the Sharingan, emitted rolling waves of heat. One could vaguely see the water vapor in the vicinity beginning to evaporate, and the bright red fire gradually turned blood-red!

"Brat! Let me test you," Raven said, slamming his hands onto the ground.

Then:

"Earth Style: Earth Wall."

A thick, grayish-yellow wall of earth rose up in front of Blank. Looking at Blank, who stood before Raven, there wasn't a flicker of change on his face.

BOOM!!!!!!

"Give Konan back to me!!!" Uchiha Chiba's figure gradually appeared inside the dilapidated shack.

"Young man, don't be so anxious. That little girl is currently on a cliff some distance away. Our people have set up a special technique; from now on, every five minutes, the rope holding the girl will fray a little more. In two hours, she will fall off the cliff and be smashed into pulp. Hehehehe." Raven's shrill laughter made Uchiha Chiba feel nauseous.

"Water Style: Water Tornado."

A deep blue water tornado roared down from above.

That was the work of Katsuzuki; she didn't yet know she had been discovered, as Chiba was the only one who hadn't hidden his chakra upon arrival.

"Don't disturb Raven." Blank's figure appeared in mid-air, his giant hand pushing upward!

BOOM!!!!!

A cloud of dust descended.

Blank landed steadily on the ground, completely unscathed. It seemed he was the wielder of some special Kekkei Genkai.

"Sister Katsuzuki, can you take him down?" Uchiha Chiba asked worriedly, his eyes fixed on the old man in front of him.

"Don't worry..." Katsuzuki glanced at Weeper and Smiley, who were sitting and lying down not far away.

"We won't interfere~" Weeper, seemingly sensing Katsuzuki's hesitation, deliberately pitched her voice to sound innocent.

"Disgusting." Katsuzuki's beautiful eyes narrowed. Then, her pupils constricted, and she leaped backward violently!

Where she had been standing, Blank's giant fist shattered the ground.

He muttered in a muffled voice, "I underestimated you. Your speed is no slower than mine. I will crush your head."

As for Chiba's side:

Raven was in no rush to attack. He simply held a pocket watch, saying nothing, the ticking of the watch echoing in the silence.

This guy wants me to get impatient... and reveal an opening. Uchiha Chiba gripped his kusarigama; he naturally understood the opponent's overt strategy.

But.

How could he not be anxious?

He couldn't worry about that now.

While Katsuzuki was still keeping the others occupied, he had to take this old man down quickly.

"Chiba Style: Heart Hook."

Uchiha Chiba's right-hand sickle flew out violently. Then, he yanked the chain with his left hand, and the sickle, after flying past Raven, flew straight back, gleaming with a cold light!

"Kid, that wasn't very accurate, and your intent was too obvious," Raven said, pulling a short blade from his pocket. Sparks flew as the blade clashed with the sickle.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire."

Several deep red fireballs flew toward Raven, one after another.

"Water Style: Water Gun."

Raven's reaction was exceptionally fast; with a mere flick of his hand, those Phoenix Sage Fire bullets were shattered with surgical precision, as if he had anticipated them all along.

If this was the sensory capability of a Kage-level powerhouse, then it was truly terrifying.

Time to try close-quarters combat!

Uchiha Chiba slammed his foot into the ground, darting forward like a black afterimage!

At the same time.

BOOM!!!!!

Blank and Katsuzuki the Salamander had already reached the outdoors, with Weeper following close behind.

"Earth Style: Mountain Defending Palm."

The man's massive palm expanded infinitely within Katsuzuki the Salamander's pupils!

This guy was too fast!

She had only just landed on her front foot, and his back foot had already arrived at her side, accompanied by a fist that shook the air with violent gusts!

"Forbidden Technique: Surge."

Katsuzuki the Salamander's legs flashed instantly.

The next second.

BANG!!!!!!!

This was a strike fueled by Blank's killing intent!

I can't block it; there's no way I can block this move, damn it. Not only do I have to deal with this brute, but I also have to watch out for that woman over there, which makes it impossible to focus. Katsuzuki the Salamander's legs were visibly trembling.

This was the side effect of using a forbidden technique.

If she used it too many times in succession, her legs would be crippled or severed.

Then, Katsuzuki looked toward Uchiha Chiba in the distance. Her willow-leaf brows furrowed; she felt that something was wrong.

Suddenly, she shouted, "Chiba, smash his pocket watch! That thing is the medium for his genjutsu! It must have the hand seals for some technique carved onto it!"

BANG!!!!!

Dust billowed into the air.

"So that's it. I was wondering why I could never land a hit on you. Even if I were as strong as the current Demigod of the Shinobi World, I probably wouldn't be able to touch you... all because of that genjutsu of yours that dulls one's senses!" Uchiha Chiba gritted her teeth, and blood-red tears slowly trickled from her Double Tomoe Sharingan. After all, this was a genjutsu laid out by a Kage-level powerhouse.