Wow! The Drop Rate is Extremely High!

"Darkness Technique."

In an instant, the small hut was plunged into absolute darkness.

"As expected of the Sharingan. You sensed the genjutsu and immediately cast your own to neutralize mine," Raven chuckled.

Following that, he stood in place and closed his eyes.

The next second, BOOM!!!!

The kusarigama flew out, smashing heavily toward Raven. Raven exerted a sudden burst of force, and his withered, frail body expanded instantly. In the span of just a few breaths, he transformed from a man in his fifties or sixties into a youth of about twenty!

Raven threw a punch violently at the incoming sickle.

Another familiar, explosive sound rang out.

What? Uchiha Chiba's scalp tingled. This guy has a second phase? That's not right, I haven't even finished the first phase yet!

The young Raven remained with his eyes closed, rubbing his chin.

Then, crack!

He performed an action that made Chiba's pupils constrict: he crushed the pocket watch he had been using to release the genjutsu!

"Dispelling Technique: Scatter."

Raven spoke with a smile, "I thought you were the one attacking me personally, but it was just a weapon. You really are cautious. It's a pity I couldn't shatter your skull with a single punch."

The pocket watch hadn't been engraved with a genjutsu at all, but rather the Dispelling Technique: Scatter. It could neutralize most genjutsu, excluding forbidden techniques.

In other words, if Uchiha Chiba had attacked the watch at close range, Raven would have entered his current state in an instant and used his full strength to crush Chiba's skull with one blow! It would have been an instant kill.

"Actually, I'm a taijutsu ninja, kid. The only reason I didn't attack you earlier was to stall for time. Hahahaha!" The young Raven's temperament seemed to have grown younger as well; he laughed wildly, devoid of the restraint he had in his elderly state, replaced only by the violent aura radiating from him at every moment.

Damn it!

The original story never had these monsters!

Chiba: I request the system to descend! Descend! Damn system!

RUMBLE!!!!

A massive impact hit him head-on.

A punch landed squarely on the bridge of Chiba's nose.

He could feel the bone shattering.

"So fast! I can't see him!" Uchiha Chiba suddenly felt his world turn upside down! A mouthful of metallic-tasting blood surged up his throat!

In the distance, Raven wiped the blood from his fist, humming a little tune nonchalantly. "You've already spent forty minutes. Your little companion has one hour and twenty minutes left. Can you defeat me and make it there in time?"

I have to gamble.

I don't know if a forbidden technique can actually bridge the gap for a kill.

"Can you tell me what kind of technique this is?" Uchiha Chiba asked, while his right hand secretly gathered blood, preparing for a sneak attack.

Raven heard this and replied joyfully, "Oh my, you finally asked me that. I've been waiting for a long time, kid. Since you want to waste time, I'll indulge you. This technique is my taijutsu bloodline limit—Body Binding Technique."

In the ninja world, rare elemental releases are usually bloodline limits, the most famous being Hashirama Senju's Wood Release, Onoki's Particle Style, and so on. Physical bloodline limits like the Uchiha's Sharingan, the Hyuga's Byakugan, or the Blood Dragon Eye are even rarer and more powerful.

However, there are some ninjas with such poor aptitude for ninjutsu that they can only practice taijutsu, leading to the emergence of taijutsu bloodline limits. But these users usually can't defeat ninjutsu-wielding ninjas, as no one is going to act as a stationary training dummy for them.

Of course, there are ninjas who have pushed taijutsu bloodline limits to the extreme, such as the Raven standing before Uchiha Chiba right now.

"I can compress my flesh and blood, then expand it. However, I'm getting old, and this technique has its drawbacks... but of course, I won't tell you that. Hahahaha!" Raven held his forehead, seemingly very satisfied with the act of teasing a child.

Whoosh! Whoosh!!!

Uchiha Chiba frowned. He seemed to have picked up on something and threw two kunai!

Raven was stunned for a moment before instantly batting the kunai away.

"If I'm not mistaken..." Uchiha Chiba smiled. This time, it was his turn.

He had originally intended to use the "Thorn Shatter"—a move that would hurt the enemy by a thousand while damaging himself by eight hundred—to kill this guy through his blood. While that would have worked, it would have wasted a significant amount of time, and there would have been a high probability he wouldn't be able to save Konan. Of course, that was only if he were forced into a corner.

"Kid, your smile reminds me of an old acquaintance from the Uchiha clan, Kagami Uchiha... Forget it, you aren't qualified to know. I'm going to break your legs now. Hey, Smiley, once I break this kid's legs, perform a soul search on him. Don't worry about whether he lives or dies." Raven seemed to have lost interest in playing around because of Chiba's smile. His eyes narrowed as he stared fixedly at Chiba.

The next second, Chiba threw the kusarigama.

"The same trick won't work the first time, and it won't work the second time either." Raven waved his large hand, grabbed the sickle, and pulled with all his might, intending to drag Chiba directly toward him for a killing blow!

This guy has immense strength.

But for a split second...

Uchiha Chiba was pulled to within five meters.

"Old man, let me clear out some of that poison for you," Uchiha Chiba swung his left hand out violently.

"Not good!" As a Kage-level powerhouse, Raven naturally reacted, but because his arm was bound by the chain of the Kusarigama, he was a fraction of a second too slow.

The next second.

Shing!

Blood formed a straight line, but it was merely a shallow cut; the blood did not seem to flow out.

A gash one finger wide had been sliced into Raven's abdomen.

"Kid, I suppose I was careless. Is it because I'm getting old? After expanding, my body really can't keep up with my muscle reflexes," Raven muttered to himself.

Just as I thought... I wasn't wrong. Expansion comes with a price. Uchiha Chiba gripped the Blood Scythe, then put it away. That single strike had consumed a tenth of his blood reserves; it seemed that with his current strength, breaking through the opponent's defense was extremely difficult, hence the high cost.

"Konoha Fist!"

Raven's figure flashed and appeared above Uchiha Chiba!

A heavy, powerful strike blotted out the meager light.

The next second.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

A terrifying gust of wind sent the approaching Raven flying. Ordinarily, a Kage-level powerhouse would not be blown away so easily, but this moment confirmed Chiba's hypothesis.

"Old man, I intend to give you a gift," Uchiha Chiba formed hand seals.

"What?" Raven was puzzled, but he didn't slacken his pace. He attacked once more, feeling an ominous premonition.

"Wind Style: Wind Vortex Barrage!"

These Wind Style techniques had all been taught to him by Katsuzuki.

"I'm sending you an explosive balloon; just think of it as fireworks, old man," Uchiha Chiba threw several green wind orbs with force.